BURLINGTON, Ont. – On Thursday, March 6, 2025, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the major award winners, all stars and all-rookie team selections for the 2024-25 men's basketball season with two Gryphons earning provincial recognition.
Ismail Hassan, a third-year sport and event management major at the University of Guelph, was named the recipient of the OUA's Ken Shields Award (outstanding achievement in community involvement and academics), while first-year guard
Amare Hamilton was named to the OUA All-Rookie Team.
Ismail Hassan is the recipient of the Ken Shields Award for the 2024-25 season. The Ken Shields Award goes to the male student-athlete who displays outstanding achievement in basketball, academics and community involvement. Hassan is the second Gryphon to earn the conference-wide award and the first since Dan McCarthy won the award in back-to-back seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Hassan, a third-year sport and event management major at the University of Guelph, is the founder of
Dribble Dreams Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to making sports accessible for underprivileged youth. Since 2023, Dribble Dreams has provided cost-free basketball programming for over 300 youth in Canada. In December 2024, the Dribble Dreams expanded internationally, raising over $13,000 to host basketball and educational clinics for 50 youth in Nairobi, Kenya. To date, the foundation has secured over $60,000 in funding, all reinvested into community initiatives. Hassan, a 6-foot-5 guard on the Gryphons men's basketball team, has also served as a mentor to first-year varsity athletes at U of G through the Gryphons Student-Athlete Mentorship Program. Ismail also volunteers with the Junior Gryphons basketball program and basketball camps at the university, and has organized basketball clinics for children and families affected by cancer in collaboration with
Campfire Circle. He has used his platform to speak at high schools and events such as Shoot4Change game as an advocate for social change, youth leadership, equity, and sports access.
Gryphons first-year guard
Amare Hamilton has been named to the OUA All-Rookie Team after and outstanding first season with the Gryphons. Hamilton, a 6-foot-2 guard from Mississauga, Ontario, developed into a reliable scoring option for the Gryphons throughout the season, finishing 2024-25 as the team's third-leading scorer with 212 points on the season, averaging just over 10 points per game at 10.1. The international development major was the team's top three-point shooter, making 32 from behind the arc while shooting 39.2% overall from the field. One of
Amare Hamilton's best performances of the season came in a win at Windsor on January 18 when he went off in the second half, scoring 18 of his season-high 25 points in the final 20 minutes of the game while making 10 of his 14 shots to lead his side to an 83-71 road win over the Lancers. In the playoffs against TMU, Amare had another great game, scoring a team-high 20 points on 7-14 shooting from the field.
For more information on the rest of the 2024-25 OUA men's basketball all-stars and major award winners visit
www.oua.ca.
2024-25 OUA Major Award Winners
Player of the Year - Aaron Rhooms, TMU Bold
Rookie of the Year - Ollie Engen, Queen's Gaels
Coach of the Year - Ryan Thomson, Lakehead Thunderwolves
Ken Shields Award - Ismail Hassan, Guelph Gryphons
Defensive Player of the Year - Jacques-Mélaine Guemata, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Basketball EDI Award - Aaron Tennant, Queen's Gaels
Officials Award of Merit - Tony Turnbull
2024-25 OUA All-Stars
First Team
Aaron Rhooms, TMU Bold
Nathan Bilamu, Lakehead Thunderwolves
Dragan Stajic, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Ollie Engen, Queen's Gaels
Noah Otshudi, Western Mustangs
Second Team
Xavier Spencer, Carleton Ravens
Harold Santacruz, Lakehead Thunderwolves
Taye Donald, Laurier Golden Hawks
Ankit Choudhary, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Luka Syllas, Queen's Gaels
Third Team
Davanté Hackett, Brock Badgers
Zubair Seyed, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks
Yohann Sam, Windsor Lancers
Nginyu Ngala, Laurentian Voyageurs
Jacques-Mélaine Guemata, Ottawa Gee-Gees
2024-25 OUA All-Rookie Team
Ollie Engen, Queen's Gaels
Owen Kenney, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Kevin Toth, TMU Bold
Amare Hamilton, Guelph Gryphons
Philippe Fandio, Laurentian Voyageurs
