Boogie Ellis, Drew Peterson Named MVPs At 2023 USC Men's Basketball Team Awards Banquet

USC guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson were named the Sam Barry Award recipients as the team's Most Valuable Players at the 2022-23 USC men's basketball awards banquet held at the USC Hotel Grand Ballroom tonight (May 3). Kobe Johnson was the only player to earn three awards, as he was named the team's Most Improved Player, Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Top Free Throw Shooter.

The Trojans went 22-11 during the 2022-23 season, including a 14-6 record in Pac-12 play which tied for second in the conference. It was the Trojans' fourth consecutive 20-win season, a school record for back-to-back 20-win seasons.

The senior Ellis was co-winner of the Sam Barry Award for team MVP as he led the Trojans and was fourth in the Pac-12 with a 17.7 scoring average. The San Diego native also led USC with 83 three-pointers and 120 free throws made en route to being named First-Team All-Pac-12. He set career highs for points scored in a game four times, first scoring 28 points vs. Auburn on Dec, 18, then 31 vs. UCLA on Jan. 16, 33 points vs. Stanford on Feb. 18 and finally 35 points vs. Arizona on March 2, the most points in a game by a Trojan since Bennie Boatwright scored 36 at California on Feb. 16.

The fifth-year guard Peterson was the co-winner of the Sam Barry Award for team MVP and the Bob Boyd Award winner as the team's top rebounder. Peterson was second on the team in scoring with a 13.9 points per game average and led USC with a 6.2 rebound average and dished out a team-high 143 assists. The native of Libertyville, Ill. was named First-Team All-Pac-12 for the second consecutive season. He was one of two Power 6 conference players to averaged at least 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 rebounds per game. He scored 1205 points as a Trojan, the 43rd USC player all-time to surpass 1,000 career points scored while wearing the Cardinal and Gold.

Johnson, a sophomore guard from Milwaukee, Wisc., was given the Harold Jones Memorial Award as the teams Most Improved Player, was co-winner of the Forrest F. Twogood Memorial Award as the team's Top Defensive Player and earned the Bill Sharman Award for having the team's best free throw percentage. Johnson averaged 9.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and had 72 assists and 14 blocks. He led the Trojans with an 84.1 shooting percentage from the free throw line and with 72 steals, both second among all Pac-12 players. As a freshman, Johnson averaged 1.2 points and 1.0 rebound per game.

The redshirt junior Joshua Morgan was co-winner of the Forrest F. Twogood Memorial Award as the team's Top Defensive Player. The Sacramento, Calif. native averaged 7.0 points and was second on the team with a 5.2 rebounds per game average. Morgan led the Pac-12 and ranked 16th nationally with a 2.17 blocks per game average. He registered 63 blocks overall.

Freshman Vincent Iwuchukwu was named the Ernie Holbrook Memorial Award winner as the Most Inspirational Player. Iwuchukwu suffered a cardiac arrest on July 1 and did not begin light practice until December. He saw his first action of the season on Jan. 12 vs. Colorado. The native of San Antonio, Texas ended up averaging 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds while registering 14 blocks in his 14 games played, including five starts.

Freshman Oziyah Sellers was the recipient of the Ryan Francis Scholarship Award as an underclassman who made an impact through example. Sellers had a very strong year in the classroom and on the practice courts. The Hayward, Calif. native averaged 1.1 points in 25 games played, but showed how lethal he can by by scoring 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting in 17 minutes of action vs. California on Feb. 16.

The co-winners of the John Rudometkin Award for 110 Percent Effort were sophomore Harrison Hornery and freshman Kijani Wright. Hornery, from Toowoomba, Australia, averaged 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. The forward scored a season best vs. California on Feb. 16 and scored 6 points at UCLA on Jan. 5, hitting a key three-pointer and grabbing 3 rebounds. Wright, a forward from Los Angeles, averaged 1.9 points and 18 rebounds per game. Of his 52 rebounds, 27 came on the offensive side of the court. He averaged 2.1 points and 2.5 rebounds over the Trojans' final eight games.

Junior guard Zach Brooker was honored with the Dr. James H. Zumberge Academic Award for the highest GPA on the team. Brooker maintains a 3.478 in Business Administration (Entrepreneurship and Innovation). The Calabasas, Calif. native played in two games this season for USC.

USC 2022-23 Team Award Winners

DR. JAMES H ZUMBERGE ACADEMIC AWARD (Highest GPA) - Zach Brooker (3.478)

BILL SHARMAN AWARD (Best Free Throw Percentage) - Kobe Johnson (84.1 percent)

BOB BOYD AWARD (Top Rebounder) - Drew Peterson (6.2 RPG, 206 Total Rebounds)

JOHN RUDOMETKIN AWARD (110 percent effort) - Kijani Wright and Harrison Hornery

FORREST F. TWOGOOD MEMORIAL AWARD (Best Defensive Player) - Kobe Johnson and Joshua Morgan

HAROLD JONES MEMORIAL AWARD (Most Improved) - Kobe Johnson

RYAN FRANCIS SCHOLARSHIP AWARD (underclassman who made an impact through example) - Oziyah Sellers

ERNIE HOLBROOK MEMORIAL AWARD (Most Inspirational Player) - Vincent Iwuchukwu

SAM BARRY AWARD (Most Valuable Player) - Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson

# # # #

Players Mentioned

Zach Brooker

Boogie Ellis

Harrison Hornery

Vincent Iwuchukwu

Kobe Johnson

Joshua Morgan

Drew Peterson

Oziyah Sellers

Kijani Wright