Griz announce 2009-10 awards
4/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Guard Anthony Johnson has been selected as the recipient of The University of Montana???s 2010 Carl Dragstedt Award (UM???s "Most Valuable Player") at the team???s annual post-season awards dinner held this evening (Wednesday, April 22) at the Depot Restaurant.
??Forward Vassy Banny was chosen the recipient of the Naseby Rhinehart Award, given to UM???s "Most Inspirational Player."
Center Brian Qvale (pronounced quall-ee) and guard Will Cherry shared the John Eaheart Award, which goes to the team???s "Outstanding Defensive Player."
??Guard Ryan Staudacher was presented the Allan Nielsen Award, which goes to the UM player who "Best Represented Griz Basketball".
??This is the second season in a row that Johnson, a 6-2, 175-pound senior from Tacoma, Wash., has been voted Montana???s MVP. For the past two seasons he was a unanimous first team All-Big Sky Conference selection and finalist for Big Sky MVP. He was named a Mid-Major All-American by CollegeInsider.com.
??This past season Johnson set Montana, Big Sky tournament, and Dee Event Center records by scoring 42 points in the league tourney championship game against regular-season champion and host Weber State. He was named the MVP of the league???s post-season tournament last year and set numerous tourney records, including most points (83). He averaged 27.7 points a game in UM???s three post-season tournament victories.
??In 2010, Johnson was among the top in the Big Sky in scoring (third, 19.2 ppg), free throw percentage (second, 87.4%), and assists (eighth, 3.2 apg). He was chosen the league???s player of the week four times last year and eight times in his two-year career.
??A 6-3, 230-pound senior forward from the Ivory Coast, Banny was Montana???s fifth leading rebounder with 3.0 a game, despite being slowed by several injuries during the season, and averaging under 10 minutes of playing time a game. He had 4 points and 8 rebounds in Montana???s 68-63 win over Northern Colorado in the semifinals of the league tournament.
This is the second consecutive season that Qvale has been tabbed UM???s top defensive player, sharing the award with Cherry. The 6-11 junior from Williston, North Dakota, had a team-leading 61 blocks this season, and his 2.0 blocks per game ranked him second in the conference. He had a career-high 26 points and a team-best 13 rebounds in the Grizzlies??? first-round NCAA game against New Mexico.
Qvale led Montana in rebounding with 7.1 a game, which ranked him fourth in the Big Sky, and he was the team???s second leading scorer with 10.2 points a game.
Cherry, a 6-1 freshman from Oakland, Calif., had a team-high 61 steals. He averaged 1.9 steals per contest, which ranked him fourth in the league. As a "true" freshman, Cherry played in all 32 games, had 22 starts, and was an honorable mention all-league selection. He was named to the Mid-Major freshmen All-American team by CollegeInsider.com.
One of the most prolific three-point shooters in Grizzly history, Staudacher led the Big Sky in three-point field goal percentage (45.5%) and was sixth (tie) in treys per game (2.2 pg).
A 6-4 senior from Kirkland, Wash., Staudacher was Montana???s third leading scorer this past season, averaging 8.6 points per game, and he was an honorable mention all-league pick. He is ranked third in Montana history and 10th in conference annals with 210 career three-pointers.
The Grizzlies went 22-10 this past season and tied for third in the Big Sky with a 10-6 record. Montana entered the league???s post-season tournament as the third seed, beating visiting Northern Arizona 81-60 in the quarterfinals; UNC 68-63 in the semis, and host WSU 66-65 in the championship game.
Fourth-year Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle???s team advanced to the NCAAs for the eighth time in school history, losing 62-57 to eighth-ranked (Associated Press) New Mexico in a first round game played in San Jose, Calif.
Next season the Grizzlies return two starters: Cherry and Qvale, along with six lettermen (Cherry, Qvale, F-C: Derek Selvig, G; Shawn Stockton, F; Mathias Ward, and F; Raason Young), and one redshirt (F-Eric Hutchison).
