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Posted on Mon, Apr 11, 2011 : 9:06 p.m.

Michigan guard Darius Morris takes home MVP, Tim Hardaway Jr. gets USA invite

By Michael Rothstein

morris-signature.jpg

Michigan sophomore Darius Morris waits to sign autographs before the annual basketball awards banquet at the Four Points Sheraton on Monday. At the end of the night, Morris was named the team's MVP.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

Darius Morris had a record-setting season for the Michigan basketball team and on Monday night he ended it as the team’s MVP.

Morris, a sophomore point guard, was given the Bill Buntin Most Valuable Player Award at the Michigan basketball banquet the Four Points Sheraton in Ann Arbor after leading the Wolverines to a 21-14 season.

It was one of two awards given to Morris, who also won the Gary Grant Award for most assists. Morris broke Grant’s single-season assist record with 235 this year. He also led Michigan with 15 points per game.

The big winner of the evening was junior guard Zack Novak, who won seven awards: The Charge Award (for most charges taken), the free-throw shooting award, the Bodnar Academic Achievement Award, the Iron Man Award for toughness, the Thad Garner Leadership Award, the Steve Grote Hustle Award and the Loy Vaught Rebounding Award.

Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz won the Sixth Man Award after coming off the bench for the last 11 games of the season. The man who replaced him in the starting lineup, junior guard Stu Douglass, won the Travis Conlan Sportsmanship Award and the Wayman Britt Outstanding Defensive Player Award.

Redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan won the Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player award after going from not playing last season to averaging 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds this year.

Michigan coach John Beilein also told the crowd that freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has been invited to the USA U19 World Championship tryouts, scheduled for June 16-23 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Should Hardaway make the team, the U19 World Championships are from June 30-July 10 in Riga, Lativa. Former Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt will coach the team and will be assisted by St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett and Jacksonville University coach Cliff Warren.

Melanie Maxwell contributed to this report. Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.

Comments

semperveritas

Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 1:27 p.m.

concur concur concur-----excellent choices all. glad that darius was recognized. always happy when zack novak is lauded. i have never thought that he's really 6'4, and like mr 81 wolverine wish that he were 3 or 4 inches taller. problem is-----were he 6'6 or 6'7, he'd be taking charges for IU or purdue or another prominent program.

tater

Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 1:14 p.m.

Congrats to Novak, but the number one priority for next season needs to be getting some rebounds from inside players. I know that putting up a lot of threes makes for a lot of long rebounds, but if Michigan wants to take that "next step" toward sustained national relevance, they can't have a 6-4 guard be their best rebounder. I'm guessing a few extra pounds, and another year of maturity for the bigs will help a lot.

81wolverine

Tue, Apr 12, 2011 : 12:11 p.m.

Novak deserved to win those awards. He's kind of a throwback player to an earlier time. If only he were a couple inches taller! Seriously, though I don't think I've ever seen a better player at drawing charges. The guy is amazing and tough too! Morgan was one of the real surprises this year. He really has talent and this being his first year playing, his ceiling is pretty high. Hardaway has superstar potential. His athletic ability really surprised me this year. It will be really interesting to see how he develops next year. Great year and congratulations to all the players.