Vanhooren, Schlueter, Ogungbemi-Jackson earn Canada West honours

CALGARY – For the first time in his 15-year career, Dan Vanhooren is the Canada West men's basketball coach of the year, while rookie Lars Schlueter and star point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson also earned honours.

Schlueter, a freshman from Ulm, Germany, was named the conference's rookie of the year, while Ogungbemi-Jackson was selected as a first-team conference all-star.

Canada West announced its annual men's basketball awards and all-stars Wednesday, ahead of this weekend's conference quarterfinal series. The Dinos, who defeated Manitoba in their first-round series last week, travel to Abbotsford, B.C. this weekend to face the Fraser Valley Cascades in a best-of-three series. The winner will advance to the Final Four next week.

Ogungbemi-Jackson, who finished his career with 1,799 points – good enough for third on the Dinos' all-time list – wrapped up his illustrious five-year tenure with the Dinos with another great season. The Winnipeg native finished fourth in the conference with 386 points in 20 games, adding 103 assists (third in Canada West) and, perhaps most impressively, 130 defensive rebounds – the fourth-best total in the conference this year. He finishes his career in the top three on the Dinos' all-time list in scoring, field goals, three-point field goals, free throw percentage, defensive rebounds, assists, steals, games played, games started, and minute played, and he will go down as one of the greatest players to ever don the red and gold at the University of Calgary.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: LARS SCHLUETER
In his first season in CIS, Lars Schlueter started every game for the Dinos. He reached double digits in points nine times in the regular season, including his best game of the regular season when he scored 20 points against the Alberta Golden Bears on Feb. 5. The Arts student ranks in the top =-20 in the conference in three-point shooting percentage, despite his six-foot-eight frame, and comes in at third on the team in points and points per game in just his first season.

Schlueter is the fifth University of Calgary student-athlete to be named Canada West Rookie of the Year. He joins teammate Matt Letkeman (2011), and Dinos alumni Tyler Fidler (2008), Chris Harris (1998), and Josh Goertzen (1996).

"When freshmen enter the CIS, usually they are either not ready physically, not prepared technically for the speed of play, or not ready mentally to handle the responsibility of a starting role, let alone the academic demands of university," said Vanhooren. "Lars has surpassed all of these assumptions. He is physically ready and at 6'8" a tremendous asset on the perimeter or in the post. He sees the game well and has been taught, not only how to space a ball screen, but to rotate well defensively. He is a high percentage shooter with a quick enough release to handle the speed of our game and can run the floor very well. He is also a gem for us administratively and has shown a strong ability to manage his time well and perform in the classroom. Overall, he is a perfect recruit for any CIS program and we are fortunate to have him with ours."

COACH OF THE YEAR: DAN VANHOOREN
In his 15^th season at the helm, Dinos men's basketball head coach Dan Vanhooren was named the Canada West Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

After missing the playoffs the last two seasons, including last year with a 7-15 conference record, Vanhooren's Dinos turned it around in 2014-15 to finish with a 12-8 record, good for fifth in the Pioneer Division. With the likes of Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, one of the leading scorers in the conference for a number of seasons, the Dinos earned a berth in the postseason, winning a play-in series against Manitoba and will continue their quest for the conference title in the quarterfinal against the Fraser Valley Cascades.

Vanhooren is just the second coach in program history to earn the Canada West Coach of the Year honours since 1992. Former coach Gary Howard earned the honours five times in his coaching term with the Dinos.

"I am thrilled that Dan has been recognized by his peers as the conference Coach of the Year," said Dinos Athletic Director Ron Wuotila. "Dan did some great work in the off-season to give his team the very best chance to succeed in 2014-15. The team has really played some great basketball and this is a testament to Dan's leadership and vision. I am looking forward to watching them enjoy the fruits of their labour in the playoffs."

Vanhooren will represent the Canada West as the conference nominee for the CIS Stuart Aberdeen Memorial Award.

2014-15 Canada West Men's Basketball Awards
Outstanding Player of the Year: Chris McLaughlin, Victoria
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Baker, Saskatchewan
Rookie of the Year: Lars Schlueter, Calgary
Coach of the Year: Dan Vanhooren, Calgary
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Devin McMurtry, UNBC

2014-15 Canada West All-Stars
First Team
Chris McLaughlin, Victoria
Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Calgary
Tommy Nixon, UBC
Joel Friesen, Alberta
Josh Wolfram, Thompson Rivers

Second Team
Jelane Pryce, Winnipeg
Mamadou Gueye, Alberta
Franco Kouagnia, UNBC
Matthew Forbes, Saskatchewan
Jasper Moedt, UFV

Third Team
Marcus Tibbs, Victoria
Dadrian Collins, Saskatchewan
Denzel James, MacEwan
Kevon Parchment, UFV
Jonathan Tull, Regina

All-Rookie Team
Lars Schlueter, Calgary
Aldrich Berrios, UBC Okanagan
Zac Overwater, Lethbridge
Sebastien Denault, Alberta
Josh Mayorga, Thompson Rivers

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Players Mentioned

#11 Matt Letkeman: F; 6' 6"; 4th

#3 Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson: PG; 5' 10"; 5th

#10 Lars Schlueter: F; 6' 8"; 1st

Players Mentioned

#11 Matt Letkeman
: 6' 6"; 4th
: F

#3 Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson
: 5' 10"; 5th
: PG

#10 Lars Schlueter
: 6' 8"; 1st
: F

Players Mentioned

#11 Matt Letkeman

#3 Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson

#10 Lars Schlueter

Players Mentioned

#11 Matt Letkeman

#3 Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson

#10 Lars Schlueter