Solomon, Jurkunas Among Tiger Award Winners

April 30, 2000

CLEMSON, S.C. — Will Solomon took home team MVP honors, while senior Andrius Jurkunas was named the squad’s top defensive player at the Clemson men’s basketball banquet held Sunday evening at the Madren Center on the school’s campus. Second-year head coach Larry Shyatt and his staff handed out 12 awards for the evening, nine of which went to seven different players.

Solomon won the Paul Bowie Award as the team’s MVP. The first-team All-ACC guard averaged 20.9 points per game this year, 16th highest figure in the nation and second best among sophomores. Solomon led the ACC in scoring, ranked first in three-point goals per game, third in three-point percentage and 10th in assists. The sophomore also won the Florence Country Clemson Club Award for accumulating the most assists.

Jurkunas won the Spartanburg Clemson Club Award as the team’s top defensive player. The fifth-year senior, who will graduate in two weeks, had 21 blocks, 23 steals and ranked third on the team in scoring and rebounding. For his career he had 77 blocked shots and 81 steals. He had a career high 23 points in Clemson’s win at NC State late in the season. He concluded his career as Clemson’s all-time leader in three-point goals by a forward (146) and finished third overall.

Sophomore Chucky Gilmore won the Lynch Award as the team’s most improved player. Gilmore started 23 games and played in 27 overall, and averaged 3.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this past season. He also led the team in blocked shots with 25. He had just 29 points and 46 rebounds his entire freshman year.

Edward Scott was the recipient of the Sumter County Clemson Club Award for giving the most hustle. The freshman from Columbia battled a broken foot all year and finished fourth on the team in scoring with a 6.5 average. He had just 53 turnovers in 789 minutes, the second best minutes per turnover figure in Clemson history for a point guard.

Adam Allenspach joined Solomon as the only Tiger to take home two awards. Allenspach was the recipient of the Greenville Clemson Club Award as the team’s top rebounder. Allenspach averaged 7.1 caroms per game, and ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in rebounding and free throw percentage. The junior also won the Fort Hill Clemson Club Award for Academic Excellence.

Pasha Bains, a freshman from Canada, won the Greenwood County Clemson Club Award for excellence in free throw shooting. Bains made 21-27 from the line this year, .778. That included a 79 percent accuracy mark in ACC games. Ray Henderson won the Greater Columbia Clemson Club Award for the highest field goal percentage. The Tiger freshman forward made 53 percent of his attempts from the field, including 51 percent against ACC teams.

Three other awards were also presented at the banquet. Shyatt presented longtime ACC official evaluator George Fowler with the Jim Phillips Coaches Award. Sammy Taylor won the Dr. R.C. Edwards Fan Award. Al Adams, former Clemson assistant SID who started the Orange & White 22 years ago, won the Bob Bradley Award for his contributions to Clemson basketball.

Clemson Men’s Basketball Banquet Awards, 2000