The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN what has been his most productive season in the three years he has starred for the Niagara College Knights’ basketball team, Van ‘Bubba’ Hutchinson Jr was rewarded with the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Player of the Year award.

The presentation was made during the 2019 OCAA Men’s Basketball Provincial Championships at Georgian College yesterday morning when Hutchinson was also honoured as an OCAA 1st Team All-Star and a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadian.

“It’s a long time coming. It felt great to know that my hard work really paid off,” Hutchinson Jr told The Tribune immediately after collecting his awards. “It was a personal goal of mine from the beginning of the season and just to know that I accomplished it, just proved a lot for me. It tells me that if you stay focused to your task, you can accomplish it.”

The 24-year-old 6-foot, 4-inch guard did it as he finished the season with an average of 25.2 points per game (3rd OCAA), 12.9 rebounds per game (2nd OCAA), 7.0 assists per game (1st OCAA) and 2.8 steals per game (1st OCAA).

The General Arts major was named OCAA Star of the Week and CCAA Athlete of the Week in the week of November 19 after a two-game weekend road trip in which he scored a combined 81 points (including a career high 56 against St Clair), 22 rebounds, 14 assists and nine steals playing 79-out-of-80 minutes in the two games.

As he led the Knights all season long, Hutchinson Jr had an impressive showing, setting Niagara College’s records in four main single-season statistical categories.

They include:

• Single season points - 530 (previous mark of 475 was set by Dan Rzadkowski in 1977-78)

• Single season records rebound - 270 (previous mark was 208 by two players)

• Single season assists record - 148 (shattering his own previous record of 87 last year)

• Single season steals record - 58 (improving on his own previous mark of 55 from last year)

The only individual award left for Hutchinson Jr to go after is the CCAA Player of the Year. But as that announcement hasn’t been made yet, Hutchinson Jr is just basking in his achievement so far. “I knew once I got All-Canadian, I would have gotten the OCAA Player of the Year award,” he said. “I knew all of the other awards will follow with it because one could not go without the other.”

In the process, Hutchinson became the first Niagara College and Bahamian to accomplish the feats, something he will cherish for the rest of his life.

“It means a lot because the people who I grew up under always told me that when you are done doing what you do, you want to leave your legacy,” he said.

“So to achieve these stuff are a real big accomplishment for me and historically too because I was the first to do it for Niagara College, so I’m going to be up on the wall for a long time with my face on a banner.”

Add Knights’ career records of 303 assists and 154 steals to his résumé. But if there’s one thing Hutchinson Jr would like to secure for the Knights is the OCAA championship title.

“My personal goals have already been accomplished so now me and my team is on a mission to win the national title,” Hutchinson Jr said. “But we have to take it one game at a time and we should be able to accomplish it.”

The Knights’ postseason journey got started last night against the Lambton Lions. They will need to win three games in order to achieve that goal.

Hutchinson Jr has already surpassed the performances of his father Van Hutchinson Sr, who starred for St Gregory College from 1988-89.