VANCOUVER - The Canada West unveiled its men's basketball 2015-16 All-Rookie and All-Star teams on Monday morning, and three UBC Thunderbirds – Taylor Browne (Surrey, B.C.), Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.) and Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary) – were among the 20 players honoured.
 
Browne, in his first season out of Holy Cross Regional High School, was named to the Canada West All-Rookie Team, and for good reason – the freshman guard has been a consistent scoring threat off the bench. Browne averaged 4.7 points-per-contest in just 12.7 minutes-per-game, and proved a threat from distance – Browne knocked down 38.9% of his three-point attempts, good for 14th in Canada West this past year.
 
The athletic guard really flashed his upside as an all-around weapon in a late January game against the Victoria Vikes, going off for 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting (3-for-3 from downtown), and adding four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in the 86-67 win.
 
"Taylor's been a great little sparkplug off the bench for us this year," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "We knew he could shoot it, but we're really happy about his defensive play as well. For a first-year guy to come in and play as well as he has both with and without the ball has been a real bright spot. He is our first perimeter player off the bench, and I think he's got a great future in the Canada West and the CIS."
 
Morgan, in his third season with the Blue and Gold, was named to the Canada West Second All-Star Team after a campaign that saw him post 14.8 points-per-game, 23^rd in Canada West and second on the T-Birds behind Jensen-Whyte. A 6-foot-9 athletic specimen at forward, Morgan impacted the game defensively as much as he did on the attack – his per-game averages of 1.5 blocks and 6.0 defensive rebounds placed him sixth and eighth in the conference, respectively.
 
"Conor does a little bit of everything for us," noted Hanson. "With his height and length, he's capable of putting big numbers up, he's capable of rebounding with the best, and we're getting there with his consistency. Obviously, he's had some really big games for us, and is a big part of our offense. We're really pleased with how he's progressed – this season, he's really come into his own, and he's a big piece of the puzzle for us."
 
A leader of the Thunderbirds, Jensen-Whyte's terrific two-way play in 2015-16 was more than enough to warrant his Canada West First All-Star Team selection. His stat line reflects Jensen-Whyte overall contributions, as the 6-foot-6 combo guard averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game during the regular season.
 
However, despite being one of the most efficient scorers in the conference, the Calgarian guard's offensive production is only part of what makes him so special.
 
"Jordan has had an outstanding season," said Hanson. "I think this is the best basketball that he's played of his career – matched up with the best offensive player on the other team every night. He defends one through five, so we've asked a lot of his this year. We've played him more on the wing this season, too, and he can score in transition, break anyone down off the dribble, and creates an awful lot for us. He continues to get better every game."
 
17 head coaches were polled in the selection of the All-Star and All-Rookie teams, the full rosters of which can be found here.
 
Browne, Morgan, and Jensen-Whyte will be heading to Calgary for the Canada West Final Four this weekend, but they have something even bigger on the schedule in two weeks – UBC will play host to to the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 in less than two weeks. Get your tournament packages and single tickets now, as the national championship is set to take place from March 17-20 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. UBC will play their quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 17, with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m. (PT). Get tickets now.