ROOTES HONOURED WITH OUA WEST MEN�S BASKETBALL MVP

HAMILTON, Ont. – Brock Badgers senior guard Brad Rootes (Niagara Falls, Ontario) had large shoes to fill in the 2006-2007 after the departure of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standout teammate Kevin Stienstra, and he did not disappoint. Heading into the OUA West semi finals, Rootes has been named the OUA West Most Valuable Player and first-team all-star. The five-foot-10 guard finished his last game of the regular season with a season high 32 points, which allowed him to surpass former All-Canadian, from the University of Western Ontario Jimmy Grozelle (1289) for 15th all-time in OUA career scoring with 1291 points after just four seasons. Rootes sits second in the OUA in scoring with an 19.9 points per game average, and is ranked number one in assists with 179 on the season. Rootes is an overriding threat whether it be on offense or defense, as he also sits third in the OUA in steals (48) and has 103 rebounds, 87 coming off of the defensive glass this season.

For the third consecutive year, McMaster Marauders’ Martin Ajayi (Hamilton, Ontario) has been named the OUA West Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-star. Regardless of the situation on the court, Ajayi is a dominate force. The fifth year geography major, finished the season with 46 steals and 90 rebounds. Not only does he excel on the defensive end of the court, but this year he has picked up his offensive game and finished the season first in the OUA in scoring, averaging 22.14 points per game.

Ajayi’s McMaster teammate Adam Steiner (Dundas, Ontario) is the OUA West nominee for the prestigious Ken Shields Award, presented annually to the student-athlete who best exhibits outstanding success in basketball, academics and community involvement. A second year MBA student, Steiner has a long list of awards and achievements. In 2006 he was the recipient of the Jack Kennedy Award for Top Marauder Scholar at McMaster University and has been an academic all Canadian the past four years. Steiner has been awarded the MBA Refining Directions Scholarship in 2006, as well as the Ray Lewis Award (Sport Volunteer Community Service). He has been a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) committee member from 2006 to the present, representing over 10,000 student-athletes across the country, and is a member of the McMaster Judicial Review Committee. Steiner is the lead student representative on the Judicial Board regarding athletes code of conduct. He is a member of the entrusted panel of university officials which hear the infractions involving McMaster student-athletes. As Co-President of McMaster Athletic Council, Steiner acted as one of two lead coordinators of the Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) program. On the court the six-foot-seven forward had an outstanding year finishing second in team scoring and ninth in the OUA in scoring averaging 16.7 points per game.

Andrew Wedemire (Sarnia, Ontario) of the Western Mustangs has been named the OUA West Rookie of the Year after exploding onto the OUA scene. Wedemire sat second on his team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game. Not only has Wedemire been an offensive threat for the Mustangs, but he also has hauled down 95 rebounds on the year. As a rookie Wedemire has also shown an impressive coolness and poise shooting an inspiring team high and seventh in the OUA, 53.1 percent from the field.

Joining fellow all-stars Rootes, Ajayi, and Steiner on the first-team all-stars is Windsor Lancer Kevin Kloostra (Chatham, Ontario). The six-foot-three forward finished the season eighth in the OUA in scoring averaging 16.77 points per game. He has been a leader on the Lancer team, helping them to the OUA West playoff semi finals. He collected 104 rebounds and 19 steals on the year, and is a player who you do not want to see on the foul line shooting an exceptional 89.3 percent from the charity stripe. Rounding out the first-team is Brock Badger Chris Keith (Burlington, Ontario). Keith has distinguished himself as one of the leagues top players, and is an all around player for the Badgers. He is a threat whether it be on the offensive of defensive end of the court. Keith finishes the season tenth in the OUA in scoring averaging 16.36 points per game, but has also brought down 170 rebounds for sixth spot on the leader board.

Chris Oliver has been named the West Coach of the Year in his second season as the Head Coach of the Windsor Lancers Men's Basketball program. Oliver has led his Windsor squad into becoming the OUA West Division Regular Season Champions (16-6) for the first time in 27 years. The Lancers have been nationally ranked for the entire season, and boast the best season record Windsor has seen in 25 years. Widely considered to be one of the top young coaches in Canada, Oliver has turned the Windsor Lancers into one of the top defensive teams in the nation, on average holding their opponents to under 70 points per game. His team led the OUA and sit second in the CIS in rebounds averaging 38.38 per game.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Brad Rootes- Brock

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Martin Ajayi- McMaster

KEN SHIELDS AWARD
Adam Steiner- McMaster

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Andrew Wedemire- Western

COACH OF THE YEAR
Chris Oliver- Windsor

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Brad Rootes- Brock
Martin Ajayi- McMaster
Kevin Kloostra- Windsor
Adam Steiner- McMaster
Chris Keith- Brock

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Greg Surmacz- Windsor
Matt Walker- Laurier
Aron Bariagabre- Guelph
Ryan Steer- Windsor
Warren Thomas- Lakehead

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Andrew Wedemire- Western
Andrew Pennycook- Laurier
Justin Golob- Laurier
Jermaine Decosta- McMaster
Saad Beg- Lakehead

24 teams, 4 CIS berths, 2 OUA champions - the OUA basketball playoffs, presented by Investors Group.

- OUA –

Michelle Church
Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics

Tel: (905) 540-5156
Fax: (905) 574-2840
E-mail: michelle.church@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca