On a night that celebrated the achievements of Humber’s varsity squads and players, one made history doing so.
Men’s basketball star Malik Grant, who led the Hawks to their first national championship since 2022, added on to his already impressive list of accolades in his final season with Humber, taking home Male Athlete of the Year and Humber basketball MVP honours.
The honour adds to Grant’s laundry list of accolades in what was a historic season, which includes OCAA player of the year, male athlete of the year, and CCAA championship MVP.
But the power forward also made history as the first Humber Hawk to be selected in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) draft, with the Ottawa BlackJacks selecting Grant in the third round.
The CCAA all-Canadian had a season for the ages, which included a 42-point performance against Conestoga in January, in which Grant became the second player since 2011 to score 40-plus points for Humber.
“It feels great,” he said, “[I’ve been] dreaming about this since I was a little kid.
“From starting playing in high school, to not playing too much and then slowly getting bigger roles as time goes on and finally finding that one coach that really ended up believing in me, and giving me that opportunity to do what I do,” Grant said.
The coach in question is Omar Miles, who also took home the OCAA Coach of the Year title for the third time in four years this season.
Miles had the team rolling all season with an 18-0 regular season record, and Grant was a big part of the team’s success all year.
“He’s a six-foot-seven, do-it-all type of player,” Miles said. “Very calm, very reliable and a big presence.”
Miles not only stressed Grant’s ability on the court, but also what he brought to the locker room.
“Quiet leadership,” he said.
Grant was one of three team captains, the other two being guards Jalen Menzies and Kameron David.
And he said guys like David and Menzies allowed him to lead by example on the court.
“[Menzies] was great with his words,” Grant said. “He always motivated the team and kept us going even if we were down at a point in the game. All meanwhile, I had to just lead by example.”
“Same with Kameron, who was also a voice at times, too. And he was being a leader by example as well,” he said. “Without these guys, I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”
Where Grant is now is historic, something no other Hawk has done, as he now sets his sights on playing professional basketball for the CEBL’s Ottawa BlackJacks.
Grant joins a draft class for the BlackJacks that includes fourth overall selection Justin Ndjock-Tadjoré, another forward from the University of Ottawa, and second-round pick Alvin Icyogere, a guard from Nipissing University.
For Grant, he’s right where he’s wanted to be all of his life.
“That’s the biggest step towards my pro career,” he said. “It hasn’t fully set in yet, because I’m still not [in Ottawa] yet, but once I get there, I’m sure it’ll truly hit me.”
When asked about preparation for the next level, Grant simply said, “continue to work out,” and “just keep at it slowly.”
Despite the success for Grant, the focus for Miles now shifts to getting the team ready for next season, without three key pieces of the 2024-25 iteration of the Hawks. While there won’t be any Hawks action until the fall, the preparation for the next varsity season has already begun for Miles and his staff to repeat as National Champions.
Looking back on the season, Miles sees positives in the team’s depth that led to their success this season.
“It was really our young guys that helped with our depth,” he said, “and I thought our older guys really brought the younger guys along. I thought that’s what made us a really good team.”
And Miles knows the task of replacing his seniors won’t be easy, but also feels the influences of Grant, Menzies, and David will stick with the team going forward.
“I think their leadership and passion towards the game and within our environment, I think it spread throughout the team,” he said.
“They’ve left their mark, and I think they’ve left their mark with regards to what leadership looks like.”
