The 2019-20 Canada West (CW) men's basketball all-star and all-rookie teams were announced by the conference on Thursday, with two Bisons being selected for their exceptional play.
Fifth-year guard Rashawn Browne was selected to the CW First Team All-Stars for the first time, while fourth-year forward James Wagner was selected to the Third Team.
Browne, 24, is a CW all-star for the second time in his career, having been named to the Third Team in 2018-19. The Toronto, ON native is the first Bison to make the conference's top team since Justus Alleyn in 2017-18.
Leading a historic season for the Bisons men, Browne averaged a career-high in points (19.6 PPG) that ranked third in the conference. The 6'1" guard also finished third in assists (99), first in free throw attempts (121), and ninth in minutes per game (33.0). On the defensive end, Browne tallied 27 steals.
"Rashawn has had an outstanding senior season for us this year," said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp. "He is one of the best point guards to ever play in our program and it is nice to see him get the recognition he deserves."
Wagner, 21, is a CW all-star for the first time in his fourth season. The John Taylor Pipers alum was fifth in the conference with 9.1 rebounds per game while scoring a career-best 16.9 points per game. Playing in all 20 games for the Bisons, the Winnipeg native played the second-most minutes of any player in the conference at 34.4 per game. His 62 offensive rebounds put him fourth in CW while 14 total blocks ranked 12th.
"Very excited for James to get his first all-star selection," said Schepp. "A true leader both on and off the court, James has played at an all-star level for a few years now and it is great to see him get recognized as one of the elite players in our league."
The Bisons finished the 2019-20 regular season with a record of 16-4, the program's best since joining Canada West as full members. Ranked No. 10 in the nation, Manitoba will face the Victoria Vikes in a conference quarterfinal on Saturday, February 22 at 1 p.m. CT — hosted by the University of Alberta.
Source: https://gobisons.ca/news/2020/2/20/mens-basketball-mbb-rashawn-browne-and-james-wagner-named-canada-west-all-stars.aspx