The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

CANADA’S Atlantic University Sport cancelled their 2020-21 basketball season, but one Bahamian player was still recognised by his programme for his work during the pandemic.

Shamar Burrows was named the Dalhousie Tigers men’s basketball “Tiger of the Year” by head coach Rick Plato.

According to the programme, the award is given to the player who displays “unwavering commitment to training and devotion to the growth of the team.”

“There are a great many athletes who could have been selected as our Tiger of the Year this season, but there is one who really upped his level of commitment in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Plato said.

“Shamar’s energy and enthusiasm in practice was consistent regardless of the time of day, the drill, or the type of day he was having. A three-year veteran of the team, he has grown and matured leaps and bounds over the course of his career and has become a true leader and a great ambassador for the men’s basketball programme on and off the court.

The AUS announced in November that it would not host conference-sanctioned regular seasons or postseasons for the remainder of the 2020-21 winter sports season and would not host any conference championships.

Burrows is one of several players returning to a Dalhousie team that made programme history in the 2019-20 season.

The Tigers ended just short of their ultimate goal, but finished as the second ranked team in all of Canadian collegiate basketball. They finished with the silver medal at the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships, the best finish in programme history.

Burrows finished with nine points, five rebounds and four assists in the final.

In his second season with the Tigers, he appeared in 20 games with six starts. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line.

Fellow Bahamian Jordan Wilson, in his final season with the Tigers programme, averaged 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Dalhousie finished the season at 23-2.

“Simply stated, 2020-21, was a year unlike any we have ever seen. Coming off our first ever National Championship game, our men’s basketball team was riding high and had tremendous momentum on which to build for this season, then the pandemic struck,” Plato said. “The consistency and resiliency of our players and their collective work ethic and dedication made this coach more than proud. I have no doubt that we will be a better team in 2021-22 as a result of the collective effort of our players and coaches.”