Oklahoma's White named player of the year
June 22, 2006 - United States Basketball League (USBL) News Release
MILFORD, CT - (June 22, 2006) The United States Basketball League has announced the recipients of the 2006 yearly awards tonight in Dodge City, KS. Each team votes for the six awards that include Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
Oklahoma heads into the 2006 USBL Post Season Championship with the league's best record, Player of the Year, Quannas White, and Coach of the Year, Bryan Gates. White has provided the Storm with veteran leadership and consistently keeps his teammates involved throughout the game. White finished the regular season with a 3.14 assist to turnover ratio and a 12 ppg scoring average. Guiding the team to a 22-8 record this season, Gates has made few changes to his roster all season. Working together to develop quality depth and chemistry, the Storm will try to get into the Finals after losing to the Kansas Cagerz in the Semifinals a year ago.
The 2006 rookie class may be most remembered by Dodge City's 7'9" Center, Sun Ming Ming logging his first minutes as a professional basketball player, however Long Island's Tristan Smith is the recipient of the 2006 USBL Rookie of the Year award. Smith led all rookies in scoring with 12.7 ppg and his 3.0 apg were second amongst rookies.
The Nebraska Cranes finished their second season in the USBL with a 17-13 record, riding a four-game winning streak into post season play this weekend. Elvin Mims has been solid off the bench for Coach Walsh all season long, earning him the 2006 USBL 6th Man of the Year award. Mims averaged 13.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 21 games, 19 played off the bench, for the Cranes.
One of the bright spots for the Kansas Cagerz this season was the play of Anthony Johnson, who earns recognition as the USBL's 2006 Defensive Player of the Year. Johnson averaged 1.12 steals, 4.9 defensive rebounds and nearly 1 blocked shot per game for the Cagerz this season.
Many obstacles arose during the 2006 season, making the work off the court a rigorous task. Stepping to the forefront of this challenging season and earning the USBL's 2006 Executive of the Year award is the league's Director of Administration, Lynn Casa. Casa has been with the USBL since the league formed in 1985 and her experience and leadership were invaluable during the 2006 season.
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United States Basketball League Stories from June 22, 2006
- Oklahoma's White named player of the year - USBL
- USBL announces weekly awards - USBL
- Patroons to Play Oklahoma Storm in USBL Championship Tournament - Albany Patroons
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