Sharpe on and off the court

AUS basketball awards | Colborne, McFee named top AUS rookies

Fredericton's Amanda Sharpe was the big winner on the eve of the Atlantic University Sport Women's Basketball Conference playoff championship tournament Thursday night.

The 22-year-old fifth-year post was named the Most Valuable Player for her role on the court and the winner of the AUS student-athlete community service award for her work in the classroom and the community at the AUS awards banquet in St. John's, NL last night. Rookie wing Claire Colborne was named the top AUS rookie, completing a sweep of both the men's and women's awards in that category for UNB.

At the AUS men's basketball awards night in Halifax, UNB guard Will McFee nabbed the award as the top rookie in the Atlantic University Sport Men's Basketball Conference.

In Newfoundland, Sharpe's leading role in the V-Reds strong second place finish was recognized. The six-foot star finished second in the country in scoring with an average of 19.7 points per game, was second in the AuS in field goal percentage, hitting 53.7 per cent of her shots, was third in blocked shots, averaging 1.50 per game, and fifth in rebounding, pulling down 7.8 points per game. She became UNB's all-time leader in points scored, with a total of 1,526 over 100 games in her stellar five-year career.

"In my opinion, and I've heard this from coaches coast-to-coast, Amanda is one of the best post players in the country," said UNB head coach Jeff Speedy. "She is skilled, tough and plays much bigger than her size. She has worked harder than any player I have ever coached and you can see the results as she keeps getting better each year."

Off the court, the three-time first team AUS all-star and academic all-Canadian served as vice-president of the athlete's council at UNB, was actively involved in the "Read with the Reds" program in which athletes go to the elementary schools to read to youngsters, coached one of the Junior V-Reds club teams and ran the UNB girls basketball spring league.

Last month, she personally raised more than $900 during the Varsity Reds "Think Pink" week by having more than 10 inches of her hair cut off and donating it to "Locks Of Love", an organization which makes wigs for cancer patients.

"In addition to her success on the court, Amanda is an academic all-Canadian and very committed to becoming a better person and improving the lives of people less fortunate," said Speedy. "She has been an amazing role model for so many young girls in the Fredericton ara and is an unbelievable all round person who cares far more about her teammates and helping others than herself."

Sharpe was also named a first team AUS all-star for the third time in her star-studded career.

Her prime focus over the next few days will be helping the V-Reds capture an Atlantic University Sport championship. She'll get some help in that area from her teammates, including five-year veteran Leah Corby, who was named a second-team AUS all-star, a successful comeback after two seasons away, and the rookie Colborne, who stepped into a starting role with the V-Reds as a rookie and averaged 18.6 points per game, to lead all CIS rookies in that department and finish fourth in the Atlantic Conference overall as a freshman.

The six-foot wing finished second in the AUS in three-point shooting percentage, dropping 45.5 per cent of her shots from beyond the arc, and was the team's top free-throw shooter, hitting 74.8 per cent of her shots. She broke the 20 point barrier in 11 of the 20 games she played this year.

"Claire has had an immediate impact on our team," said Speedy. "She is leading all CIS rookies in scoring by a wide margin and to be ranked fifth overall in scoring in the CIS as a freshman is truly a great accomplishment."

The other major award winners Thursday night included Ashley Stephen of St. Francis Xavier X-Women as defensive player of the year, Brittany Dalton of Memorial as the Atlantic nominee for the Tracy MacLeod Award, given to the player who demonstrates "determination, perseverance and unwavering spirit," and Cape Breton Capers coach Fabian McKenzie as AUS coach of the year for the second straight season and fourth time in his 12-year career at Cape Breton.

Sharpe, Justine Colley of Saint Mary's, Ashley Stephen of StFX, Jahlica Kirnon of Cape Breton and Emma Duinker of Acadia were first-team AUS all-stars. Joining Corby on the second team were Grace Fishbein of Memorial, Ally Forsey of Memorial, Nicole Works of Cape Breton and Sheryl Chishlolm of StFX.

Colborne, Courtney Thompson of Dalhousie, Kristy Moore of Acadia, Amy Gough of UPEI and Kayla McCarron of Cape Breton were named to the all-rookie team.

Meanwhile, in Halifax, McFee, a rookie originally from Northbridge, Australia, captured the award as top freshman in the men's conference for his role in leading the V-Reds back to the AUS playoffs for the first time in five years.

McFee played in all 20 games for the resurgent V-Reds this season, averaging 24.7 minutes per game. He was second in team scoring with 13.7 points per game,

"Will's work ethic on and off the court are the attributes that make him a special player for our program," said UNB coach Brent Baker.

The other major award winners on the men's side included Joey Haywood of Saint Mary's Huskies as the MVP, Scott Jaspers-Fayer of Cape Breton for community service, Phil Nkrumah of Cape Breton as defensive player of the year, and John Campbell of the Dalhousie Tigers as coach of the year. Campbell is the husband of Fredericton native and former FHS and Canadian national team player Dianne Norman