April 14, 2008
Dominique Kirk was named Texas A&M's Most Valuable Player and Joseph Jones received the Robert Gates Leadership Award for the third straight year at the 2007-08 Aggie Basketball Banquet on Monday night at the Zone Club.
More than 500 fans attended the event, which featured a highlight video and comments from Head Coach Mark Turgeon.
The Aggies finished 25-11 this season -- the third most wins in school history -- and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
A senior from Dallas, Kirk started in a Big 12 record 132 consecutive games and led the team in assists with 128. In addition to the MVP award, he also received the David Edwards Assist Award and the first Dominique Kirk Defensive Player of the Year Award.
A senior from Nomangee, Joseph Jones is the only four-time team captain in school history. He started in all 131 games in his career and ranks third on the school?â„¢s career scoring list (1,679) and is sixth in rebounding (843).
Beau Muhlbach, a senior from Lufkin, was given the Shelby Metcalf Most Inspirational Player Award. Muhlbach played sparingly for much of the year but played a key role in the Aggies?â„¢ late-season run at the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. He scored a career-high 12 points in a win at Baylor and had 11 against eventual national champion Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Freshman DeAndre Jordan (Houston) received the Vernon Smith Rebound Award, sophomore Bryan Davis (Dallas) was handed the Sonny Parker Most Improved Player Award and sophomore Shawn Schepel (Dallas) took home the Dr. John Thornton Academic Award.
Jordan led the team in rebounding with a 6.0 average. After averaging 1.9 points and 2.6 rebounds as a freshman, Davis averaged 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds as a sophomore and started in 15 games. Schepel is a honor student majoring in nuclear engineering.