Laurentian Voyageur Kadre Gray has been awarded Ontario University Athletics association's (OUA) Mike Moser Memorial Trophy, as U SPORTS Men's Basketball Player of the Year and U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian.
Gray is the first player to be named U SPORTS Men's Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, since Carleton's Philip Scrubb set the record with three titles from 2011-2014.
The 6-foot-1 guard claimed his first OUA title in his 2016-17 season, named U SPORTS Rookie of the year, before claiming U SPORT Men's Basketball Player of the Year and U SPORTS Male Athlete of the Year in 2018.
This year, the Ontario athlete led the country in scoring with 31 points per game, more than 4 ppg ahead of the next closest player. Gray also placed second in field goals with 206 shots, contributing to his season total of 620 points. The young athlete was also third in the country this season for 124 total assists, averaging 6.2 per game.
Gray contributed the two highest single-game scoring totals of the season, tallying 48 points against Lakehead in Nov. and 45 points against the Ryerson Rams in Feb. Laurentian's guard also contributed a triple-double this season and five double-double's to his athletic career.
Gray said that while winning back-to-back year's is an honour, it was not a solo effort, but an accumulation of the team's hard work. "This journey is about all the people arund me and how much faith we have. There's strength in numbers," said Gray.
Laurentian University's men's basketball coach Shawn Swords, said winning the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy two years in a row, is testament to Gray's dedication to improve his skills in spite of the accolades he receives.
“(Gray is) never satisfied with his skill set, he is always looking for ways to improve and refine all aspects of the game," said Swords.
"It's an amazing accomplishment to do it once and now, to be named MVP twice, is truly a testament to his willingness to learn and improve.“
Gray has been asked to join the Canadian Senior Men's National Team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers games against Venezuela and Brazil in November. The Laurentian athlete will be the only action U SPORTS player to be competing in the qualifiers.
While Gray said he is grateful for the recognition, his main goal is to bring provincial and national championships back the Ben Avery and that will still take a lot of hard work. "Every level has its 'Goliath' and it's about preparing like David for the opportunity," said Gray.
