York Lions guard Tut Ruach was named the Tissot Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Rookie of the Year on Wednesday at the CIS Men's Final 10 Basketball Championship in Halifax. Ruach's selection gives York a sweep of the national basketball Rookie of the Year awards after the Lions Laura MacCallum earned the women's honour last week.
Right: York Lions' Tut Ruach (photo by Andrew Craig)
Ruach, a Faculty of Arts student from Mississauga, is the second York Lion in three years to receive the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as CIS Tissot rookie of the year, after current teammate Dan Eves was honoured in 2002-2003.
The 6-foot-2 point guard stepped in to fill the void left by two-time Ontario University Athletics (OUA) all-star Tom McChesney, who was lost to graduation. Ruach's 4.91 assists per game ranked second in the Ontario conference and 11th in the country, while his 85.5 per cent success rate from the free throw line was fourth in the OUA and seventh in the nation. Ruach helped guide the Lions to a 16-6 record and a second-place finish in the OUA East division.
"Tut has been Mr. Everything for us this year," says York head coach Tom Oliveri. "He has scored, defended the opposition's best player and allowed us to transition into offence from the day he stepped onto the court."
Also on Wednesday, Lions forward Dan Eves was named a second team CIS All-Canadian. Eves, the OUA East Player of the Year, led the country in three-point shooting at 48.5 per cent. The third-year kinesiology & health science student was second in the OUA with 19.36 points per game.
This article was submitted to YFile by Jim McLarty, sport and recreation information officer, in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science.