OUA’s leading scorer Baker brings home player of the year win for Blues
Burlington, Ont. – An offensive juggernaut, a stalwart defender, and several other standouts have carved out memorable seasons on the conference hardwood this season. But topping the list of the talent-laden group of standouts is Varsity Blues Callum Baker, as the Toronto guard’s player of the year selection headlines the award winners and all-stars from the 2023-24 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men’s basketball season.
Player of the Year – Callum Baker, Toronto
The top scorer in the conference also takes home the top honour, as Toronto’s Callum Baker scores the 2023-24 player of the year nod.
Baker produced a per-game point total of 23.4, which was also good for third among his nation-wide peers, and much of that success came from his consistent offensive presence. The fifth-year arts and science major finished with double digit points in every game this season, while also topping 20 points on 16 occasions, and eclipsing the 30-point plateau five times. He was proficient from the field, from the line, and from deep as well, knocking down 83.1 percent of his free throws and a total of 55 triples.
The former NCAA player surpassed 850 career points this year in just his second season with the Blues, and his 491 total points marked the second highest single-season total in U of T program history. A workhorse for Toronto, totaling 776 minutes on the year, played a leading role to help his team finish fourth overall in the OUA and atop the Central Division, with a 14-8 record.
The former second team all-star earned first team honours this year, coming off a year in which he was drafted 11th overall by the Brampton Honey Badgers in the 2023 CEBL U SPORTS Draft, becomes the third Varsity Blue to win the award and first since 1996-97.
Defensive Player of the Year – Luka Syllas, Queen’s
In an OUA-topping regular season for the Queen’s Gaels, Luka Syllas was the team’s definitive leader on the defensive side of the ball.
As part of a disruptive defensive unit that surrendered just 71.4 points per game, good for the second stingiest mark in the OUA and across the country, the concurrent education student was the point person defensively for the Gaels. Syllas led the Tricolour with 47 steals, good for 2.1 per game, which also ranked him the OUA’s top-five on both fronts. He also chipped in with four defensive rebounds per game, and 10 blocks from the guard position.
More than just racking up the stats, the fourth-year Kingston, Ont. local was effective game in and game out at disrupting many of the top players across the conference, displaying great versatility all season through athleticism, strength, and toughness.
Syllas becomes the second player in Gaels program history to be tabbed as the conference’s top defensive player, joining Neal Dawson, who won the award in 2004-05.
Rookie of the Year – Xavier Spencer, Carleton
When it came to the 2023-24 crop of rookie players, Carleton Xavier Spencer found himself among the finest first year players not only in the province, but across the country.
To become the fifth Ravens player to receive the OUA’s top rookie recognition, Spencer soared to the top of the list of first-year scorers. He paced the pack in rookie scoring with 300 points, good for 13.6 per game, while also leading his year with 102 field goals made and 72 assists. For good measure, the Edmonton, Alta. guard was also third amongst OUA rookies in steals. The sociology and arts student also brought those leading numbers to his own team, as he paced the black birds in points per game, assists per game, and steals per game as part of the team’s 13-win season.
Not only did Spencer shine amongst this current iteration of the Ravens, but also in the context of the Carleton history books. Both his total steals and assists were the most ever by a Ravens, even surpassing decorated Carleton alumnus Philip Scrubb for this most by a Ravens newcomer for the latter.
Coach of the Year – Steph Barrie, Queen’s
The OUA’s top-seeded squad also boasts the conference’s top bench boss, as Queen’s Steph Barrie has been selected as the coach of the year.
Barrie led his Gaels to an OUA-best 19 wins on the year, and thanks in large part to a sweep of the nation’s capital competitors on the final weekend of the regular season, was able to secure the top seed heading into the postseason. Helping Barrie’s bunch boast such impressive overall numbers is his team’s ability to thrive on both ends of the court. Queen’s ranked second in the OUA in both offensive and defensive scoring, pouring in 86.9 per game and limiting opponents to just 71.4. They were also among the best shooting and rebounding teams, ranking in the top five in several facets therein, while also ranking in the top-10 in both blocks and steals per game.
Individually, the veteran coach led two of his players – Luka Syllas and Cole Syllas – to all-star seasons, which also saw the former take home another of the OUA’s major awards.
After becoming the first Queen’s coach to receive the conference honour a year ago, which he later parlayed into a national coach of the year nod as well, Barrie now claims back-to-back award-winning campaigns for the Gaels.
Ken Shields Award – Taijon Graham, Nipissing
After claiming the inaugural champion of EDI award a year ago, Nipissing’s Taijon Graham earns another conference honour in recognition of his off-court efforts, this time taking home the OUA’s Ken Shields Award.
Graham is the co-founder and president of the Nipissing University Black Association for Student Expression, holding the role for the past three years. Under his leadership, the group creates initiatives promotion equity, diversity, and inclusion on campus and across the North Bay community. The fourth-year forward from Scarborough, Ont. is also the founder and director of Athletes for Change, the first BIPOC student-athletes liaison group formed in Canada that offers a community of support across the country for BIPOC student-athletes.
Graham also sparked the creation of the With1Voice Night: Shoot for Change game, an anti-racism awareness game serving as a fundraiser for BIPOC bursaries, successfully raising over $34,000 over the last three years. This event established the first BIPOC bursary at Nipissing University, now named the Warren Lindsay Bursary, while also spreading across to events at other OUA schools (i.e., Windsor, Guelph, and Laurentian).
A regular starter for the Lakers on the court, and the team leader in rebounds, Graham also hosted a high school workshop for Black History Month that brought four North Bay high schools to the student union centre to create an inclusive environment amongst the kids in the community, as well as educate on microaggressions, stereotypes, and how to safely have a conversation around race.
This marks Graham’s second Ken Shields Award, having also been awarded the honour in 2021-22.
Champion of EDI Award – Patrick Tatham, McMaster
Passionate about all things equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the McMaster basketball program, the campus, and the community, Marauders coach Patrick Tatham takes home this year’s Champion of EDI Award.
Taking over the bench boss duties for the Marauders men’s basketball team in 2017, Tatham was the first individual at McMaster to raise awareness about Black History Month (BHM) in the department and was integral in planning McMaster’s first BHM basketball game in 2018. This year, the annual games featured special edition jerseys, designed by the Black Student-Athlete Council, with the funds raised from auctioning them off being donated to the Prodigal Sonz program by Liberty for Youth in Hamilton.
Tatham’s coaching philosophy reflects that of his own values and commitment. He places great emphasis on providing athletic and educational opportunities to young, racialized student-athletes and, because of that, does much of his recruiting from inner cities in both Ontario and across the country. Coach Tatham, a Hamilton, Ont. local, takes great pride in shares his strategies and values with other coaches and serves as an important role model and mento r to those who work with him.
Tatham, who was an active member of the anti-racism advisory group at McMaster following the 2020 climate review, is committed to developing racialized coaches and frequently provides opportunities for them to acquire skills and knowledge through internships. Outside of the gym, Tatham’s impact is felt across campus, as he has served as a facilitator and leader in the Empowered Program hosted by the Black Student Success Centre at McMaster University. In the community, the veteran head coach currently mentors and coaches STAC Basketball and Liberty for Youth.
The complete list of 2023-24 OUA men’s basketball award winners and all-stars is as follows:
Player of the Year – Callum Baker, Toronto
Defensive Player of the Year – Luka Syllas, Queen’s
Rookie of the Year – Xavier Spencer, Carleton
Coach of the Year – Steph Barrie, Queen’s
Ken Shields Award – Taijon Graham, Nipissing
Champion of EDI Award – Patrick Tatham, McMaster
Officials Award of Merit – Christine Vuong
First Team All-Stars
Callum Baker, Toronto
Luka Syllas, Queen’s
Taye Donald, Wilfrid Laurier
Brock Newton, Ottawa
Tyson Dunn, Western
Second Team All-Stars
Keon Baker, Ontario Tech
Cole Syllas, Queen’s
Aaron Rhooms, TMU
Evan Shadkami, York
Jordan Tchuente, Brock
Third Team All-Stars
Mike Demagus, McMaster
Dragan Stajic, Ottawa
Xavier Spencer, Carleton
Aryan Sharma, Western
Dezayne Mingo, Guelph
All-Rookie Team
Xavier Spencer, Carleton
Augustas Brazdeikis, Carleton
Gabriel Gutsmore, TMU
Ismael Konate, Laurentian
Andrew McKenna, Brock
*Please note that all OUA award winners and all-stars are selected based on the respective nominations and votes from each of the conference's 18 head coaches.