USC Holds Men's Basketball Awards Dinner At Galen Center

March 29, 2011

Nikola Vucevic, Marcus Simmons and Donte Smith each received two awards with Vucevic being named the most valuable player of the 2010-11 USC men's basketball team at the Trojans' annual awards banquet held tonight (March 29) in the Founders Room at the Galen Center.

Vucevic was named the Sam Barry Award winner as the team MVP and the Bob Boyd Award winner as the team's top rebounder. He averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds in 2011 and helped USC earn an NCAA Tournament berth. He scored 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in USC's first-round loss to VCU which was his 22nd double-double of the season, fifth best in the country. Vucevic became the first Trojan to average a double-double since Jaha Wilson in the 1994-95 season. Vucevic was named to the 2010-11 All-Pac-10 First Team and was tabbed a FOXSports.com All-America Fourth Team member and an Associated Press honorable mention All-American. His 350 rebounds in 2011 rank as the third most in a single-season by a Trojan and his 582 points scored were the 10th-most in a season by a Trojan.

Vucevic announced on March 18 that he would be foregoing his senior season and entering the 2011 NBA Draft. The multi-talented big man played 87 games in his 3-year career for USC, averaging 11.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. His 694 career rebounds tie him for 13th on USC's all-time list and he became the only Trojan to capture the Pac-10 rebound title in consecutive seasons, a feat he accomplished in 2010 and 2011. His 8.0 career rebounding average ranks 10th all-time by a Trojan.

Simmons received the John Rudometkin Awards for 110-percent effort and the Forrest F. Twogood Award as the team's best defensive player. The senior started all 34 games and averaged 5.1 points and 2.8 rebounds and earned the 2011 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Award. Simmons routinely was asked to guard one of the opponent's top scorers like Texas' Jordan Hamliton, Tennessee's Scotty Hopson and UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt and almost every time held them below their season's average.

Smith won the newly named Bill Sharman Award as the team's top shooter from the free throw line (83.3 percent) and the Harold Jones Award as the most improved Trojan. Smith came off the bench the first 25 games and then started the final nine games, averaging 9.7 points, fifth-best on the team. He led the team with 73 three-point baskets which were fourth-most in the conference and tied for the seventh-best total in a single season by a Trojan.

Senior Alex Stepheson was given the new Ryan Francis Scholarship Award for representing what it means to be a Trojan both on and off the court. Stepheson averaged 9.8 points and 9.2 rebounds during the season for USC. He posted 12 double-doubles during and the Trojans were 11-1 in those games. Stepheson ranked second in the Pac-10 in rebounds per game (9.2), eighth in shooting percentage (.552), tied for fifth in blocked shots (39), second in offensive rebounds per game (3.2), third in defensive rebounds per game (6.0) and ninth in minutes per game (32.9). Despite playing just two seasons for USC, Stepheson ranks tied for ninth on USC's all-time shots blocked list with 83.

Junior Jio Fontan was named the Ernie Holbrook Award winner for being USC's most inspirational player. After having to sit out the first 10 games of the season due to transfer rules, he started USC's final 24 games and finished second on the team with a 10.5 scoring average and in assists with 94. Fontan was also fourth on the team in three-point baskets (21) and third in free throws made (60).

Freshman Maurice Jones received the Tom Kimmel Award as the top 6th man. Jones started USC's first 25 games and then became a valuable spark off the bench in the final nine games for the Trojans, averaging 9.9 points and 2.6 rebounds. He finished third on the team in scoring and first in assists with 110. His assist total ranks fifth all-time by a Trojan freshman and his 69 steals set a USC freshman record and rank seventh all-time by a Pac-10 freshman. Jones was selected to the six-man Pac-10 All-Freshman team.

Eric Stangis was the Dr. james Zumberge Award winner as the player with the top GPA on the team. The junior played in six games his first season for USC after transferring from Moorpark College. He is a Sociology major at USC.

USC was 19-15 during the 2010-11 season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed, where they lost in the first round to national semifinalist VCU. USC also went 10-8 in Pac-10 play to finish tied for fourth in the conference while finishing first in field goal defense by allowing 62.7 points per game. USC played 24 games against teams that were .500 or better and was 5-6 vs. teams that made the NCAA Tournament, with those teams going 14-6 so far in the 2011 tournament. Head coach Kevin O'Neill became just the second coach, joining Tom Penders, to take five different programs into the postseason (NCAA or NIT) with at least three of the teams participating in the NCAA.

The following is a list of all of tonight's award winners:

Sam Barry Award         MVP         Nikola VucevicBill Sharman Award      Top FT Percentage   Donte SmithDr. James Zumberge Award    Top GPA             Eric StrangisJohn Rudometkin Award       110% Effort         Marcus SimmonsTom Kimmel Award        Top 6th Man     Maurice JonesErnie Holbrook Award        Most Inspirational  Jio FontanForrest F. Twogood Award    Best Defensive Player   Marcus SimmonsThe Harold Jones Award      Most Improved       Donte SmithBob Boyd Award          Top Rebounder       Nikola VucevicRyan Francis Scholarship Award   Example of Being a Trojan Alex Stepheson

USC Holds Men's Basketball Awards Dinner At Galen Center

Players Mentioned

Jio Fontan

Ryan Francis

Maurice Jones

Marcus Simmons

Marcus Simmons

Donte Smith

Donte Smith

Alex Stepheson

Eric Strangis

Nikola Vucevic

Nikola Vucevic

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University Southern California Trojans

USC Holds Men's Basketball Awards Dinner At Galen Center

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Players Mentioned

Jio Fontan

Ryan Francis

Maurice Jones

Marcus Simmons

Marcus Simmons

Donte Smith

Donte Smith

Alex Stepheson

Eric Strangis

Nikola Vucevic

Nikola Vucevic

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