On their annual quest for the national championship, the Carleton men’s basketball team has the best record in Canada for a ninth season. They recently won the Ontario title and as a result of their success have been showered with individual awards they seem eager to redirect to the rest of their team.
Stuart Turnbull was named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East player of the year and in typical Ravens fashion dismissed it.
“Yeah I’m a little surprised. I don’t think I’m the best player in the conference,” Turnbull said in an interview outside of the Raven’s Nest. Turnbull then added that “Aaron [Doornekamp] won last year and if he really wanted to, if it was something that was im-portant to him, he could have won it again.”
However, as the top scorer on the top team, the award fell to Turnbull this year. Both Turnbull and Doornekamp were named first team all-stars while their teammate Rob Saunders was named the OUA East Defensive player of the year.
“I think that’s very well deserving,” said Ravens head coach Dave Smart.
“[Rob] doesn’t have the block or steal numbers that some guys do but he gets the job done and I think it’s a credit to the coaches in our league that they saw that”.
First-year forward Kyle Smendziuk was named to the all–rookie team which coach Smart said was also a testament to the coaches who voted for the award. “It’s hard to make an impact as a freshman on a team that has the success that we’ve had,” Smart said.
“[Kyle] could have put up big numbers if he’d played for another school but he’s willing to defer for his first couple of years and he’s still making a huge impact on this team.”
Coach Smart was also named OUA East coach of the year which he too was quick to dismiss.
“It’s a team award, it really has nothing to do with me. If the team wins, you get coach of the year,” he said.
“I have good players who generally get it done and they make me look better than I re-ally am.”
The one award yet to win is the one that Ravens fans, players and their coach have been looking forward to all year.
“The nationals are what we strive for,” Smart said. “You play all year to put yourself in a position to win it but the national championship is more meaningful than the others.”