April 30, 2007

Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's men's basketball team held its season-ending banquet on Thursday, April 26 at the Soda Activity Center on the Moraga campus. During the event, various awards were presented to both players and individuals who supported the team throughout the 2006-07 season. The banquet began with the team hosting a buffet style dinner for a crowd of nearly 150 members of the Saint Mary's basketball community. Following dinner, head coach Randy Bennett addressed the audience with comments of thanks for all those who helped the program through the season.

Following Bennett's comments, all 14 players came up to the stage and introduced a member of the team with choice words to describe the type of person and player this individual is. While this was going on, each player was also given their participation award when they were introduced. Freshmen received a certificate, sophomores received a SMC blanket, juniors were given a Saint Mary's pen, and the seniors were presented with a SMC watch.

Once the introductions were completed, Bennett returned to the podium to recap the 2006-07 season, as well as provide comments about the future of the SMC men's basketball program. Following Bennett's remarks, the assistant coaches presented the awards.

The first award presented was the Most Improved Player award, which went to redshirt freshman Omar Samhan. Samhan came to SMC in 2005 and redshirted the 2005-06 season. During that time, he dropped 30 pounds, and this season, made more of an impact than many expected. Samhan, who appeared in all 32 games with seven starts, averaged 19.2 minutes per game, finished third on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg), second in rebounds (5.6 rpg) and blocks (47), and shot 53.2 percent from the field.

The Appreciation Awards were then presented to two individuals, not involved with the program, whose contributions to the program helped with the overall success of the team. The Appreciation Awards, which were framed team photos from the 2006-07 season, were presented to former SMC basketball player and member of the SMC Hall of Fame, David Vann and Saint Mary's student and tutor Megan Manley.

Lucas Walker was presented with the team's Academic Award, which goes to the player that carries the highest grade point average for the 2006-07 season. Todd Golden and Brett Collins received the Leadership Awards, for their demonstration of consistent leadership throughout the season.

The three seniors, Brett Collins, John Winston and Blake Sholberg were next to the stage. The three graduating senior were presented with a framed action photo from their senior season. Lastly, the All-WCC awards were presented to the players. Diamon Simpson was given his plaque for his First Team All-WCC selection. Brett Collins received his certificate for his Honorable Mention All-WCC honor and Omar Samhan received a certificate for his All-WCC Freshmen Team selection.

Men's Basketball Awards

Most Improved
Omar Samhan

Appreciation Award
David Vann
Megan Manley

Academic Award
Lucas Walker

Leadership Award
Todd Golden
Brett Collins

Senior Awards
John Winston
Blake Sholberg
Brett Collins

All-West Coast Conference Awards
Diamon Simpson - 1st Team All-WCC
Brett Collins - Honorable Mention All-WCC
Omar Samhan - WCC All-Freshmen Team