Thornhill becomes sixth Redmen cager to merit All-Canadian honours

OTTAWA - Matt Thornhill of Ile-Bizard, Que., has become the sixth player in McGill Redmen basketball history to earn all-Canadian status. He was honoured along with teammate Olivier Bouchard, a Montrealer who merited CIS all-rookie honours, at the All-Canadian gala in the Marriott hotel, Thursday.

Thornhill, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard, made the CIS second team, becoming the first McGill player to do so since 2002, when Domenico Marcario also made the second team. The only other Redmen hoopsters to make the grade were: Joey Farroba and Charlie Galbraith, who both made the first team in 1976-77, plus Pierre Brodeur (second team, 1969-70) and Nasko Golomeev (first team, 1968-69).

Thornhill, a 23-year-old finance senior who was the Quebec conference player of the year, led the league in scoring with an 18.3 points-per-game average. He ranked second among conference leaders in three-point shooting (45.8%), third in free-throw percentage (79.3%), third in minutes played (31.3 avg.), sixth in defensive rebounds (3.8 avg.), ninth in field-goal shooting (45.9%) and was 12th in both rebounding (4.9 avg.) and steals (1.2 avg.).

Bouchard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 160, is the smallest player on the Redmen. He averaged 9.9 points and 3.7 assists per game in his rookie campaign. The 20-year-old management freshman shot 39.8% from the floor, 34.8% from beyond the three-point line and drained 79.6% of his free throws.

2009-2010 CIS MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Mike Moser memorial trophy (player of the year): Josh Whyte, UBC

Defensive player of the year: Phillip Nkrumah, Cape Breton

Dr. Peter Mullins trophy (rookie of the year): Clinton Springer-Williams, Brock

Stuart W. Aberdeen memorial trophy (coach of the year), presented by Coaches of Canada: Kevin Hanson, UBC

Ken Shields award (outstanding student-athlete / community service): Andrew Sullivan, Dalhousie

CIS ALL-CANADIAN FIRST TEAM

Position           Athlete                                    University       Year    Hometown                  Faculty

Guard               Josh Whyte                   UBC                4          Calgary, Alta.                Access Studies

Guard               Josh Gibson-Bascombe  Ottawa             5          Toronto, Ont.                Social Science

Point Guard       Christian Upshaw          StFX                 4          Halifax, N.S.                 BA

Guard               Showron Glover            Saskatchewan   4          Fresno, CA                   Arts & Science

Forward            Keenan Jeppesen          McMaster         5          Stoney Creek, Ont.        Business - MBA

CIS ALL-CANADIAN SECOND TEAM

Forward            Kevin McCleery            Carleton            5          Ottawa, Ont.                 Law

Forward            Ross Bekkering             Calgary             5          Taber, Alta.                  Haskayne Business

Guard               Matthew Thornhill McGill              4          Ile Bizard, Que.             Management (Finance)

Guard               Joel Haywood               Saint Mary's     3          Vancouver, B.C.           Arts

Forward            Andrew Wedemire        Western            4          Sarnia, Ont.                   Health Sciences

All-Rookie Team

G / F                 Clinton Springer-Williams           Brock   1          London, Ont.                 Psychology

Guard               Jordan Baker                Alberta             1          Edmonton, Alta.            Arts

Forward            Owen Klassen              Acadia              1          Kingston, Ont.               Kinesiology

Point Guard       Olivier Bouchard McGill              1          Montreal, Que.              Management

Guard               Emanuel Pasquale         Laurentian        1          Victoria, B.C.                COMP

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

Communications Officer

McGill Athletics & Recreation

514-398-7012