While Mike Kenny finishes his career with three national championships, Carleton’s award-winning young stars have just collected their first.
The teenage tandem of Tyson Hinz and Philip Scrubb played a big role in Carleton’s run through the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s Final 8 this weekend — a fact that wasn’t lost on head coach Dave Smart.
“The two most talented members of our team are 18 and 19 years old,” he said, pointing to their OUA championship loss to Lakehead as a big factor in taking the pressure of an undefeated season off their younger players.
That 22-0 regular season saw the 19-year-old Hinz lead the team with 17 points and six rebounds a game on his way to being named national player of the year — one of the youngest players to ever win that award.
As an encore, he put up 21.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in their three Final 8 games, including a massive 32-point nine-rebound effort against Saskatchewan.
For his efforts, Hinz was named tournament MVP, as the Ottawa native continues to bring in the honours.
“If you’re going to win nationals, you have to be able to do a bunch of things, you can’t be a one-trick pony,” Hinz said, adding that winning the tournament was “by far the best” moment in his basketball career.
“He did a great job. He’s basically our whole offence,” Scrubb said after the final game. “He’s pretty tough to cover one-on-one so most teams have to bring two guys, and when they do we’ll hit shots on the outside.”
Scrubb, the first Raven to be named national rookie of the year, was one of those players who benefited from the attention to Hinz.
The starting point guard put up 13.1 points and 2.8 assists with a 40.5 per cent shooting percentage from three-point range in the regular season.
He contributed 13.3 points a game at nationals to finally win the title that eluded him in high school.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” said Scrubb, who finished second and third with the Vancouver College Fighting Irish in the last two British Columbia senior boys Triple A basketball championships. “The individual awards are nice but this doesn’t even compare. This is awesome.”
He said it was his defence, which was on display throughout the playoffs, that improved the most this season.
“Learning the system really helped,” he said. “Knowing how to play defence the right way and get guys going to their weaknesses.”
With another off-season to tweak their game, both players said they know what they want to accomplish.
“My ball handling. It’s tough when guys really get in on you and pressure the ball so I have to take care of the ball more,” said Scrubb, who had 32 turnovers in the regular season.
“I’ve got to get bigger, stronger, and put some size on,” said the 6’6, 203-pound Hinz.
When informed that was the exact same thing he said after the House-Laughton tournament in October, Hinz laughed and said, “Well, it’s pretty much the same goal, can’t be scrawny.”
And the ultimate goal remains the same both before and after the season — keep the championships coming.