Marquette University Athletics
Brian Wardle and John Cliff Share Team MVP Honors
4/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 27, 2000
MILWAUKEE -- Senior guard John Cliff (Decatur, Ill.) and junior forward Brian Wardle (Clarendon Hills, Ill.), two mainstays on the 1999-2000 Marquette men's basketball team, were named co-recipients of the squad's Most Valuable Player Award. The announcement was made at Marquette's All-Sports Awards Banquet held Wednesday, April 26.
Cliff, 6-foot-2, started all 29 Golden Eagle games this past year and ranked second on the team and 11th in Conference USA in scoring with a 14.6 points per game average. Cliff knocked down a team-high 67 three-point field goals, fifth on the school's seasonal list, and finished fourth in the league in three-point goals per game (2.31 tpg). He scored in double figures on 23 occasions during the 1999-2000 campaign and was the squad's top scorer in a dozen outings.
Wardle, 6-foot-5, paced MU and finished ninth among conference performers in scoring with a 16.6 points per game average. Wardle produced 23 games of double-figure point production and was the squad's top scorer in 14 outings. A second-team selection to the All-Conference USA Team, Wardle placed eighth in the league in field goal percentage (.445) and fourth in free throw percentage (.783). His 1,146 points ranks him 25th on the school's all-time scoring ladder.
Sophomore Jon Harris (Edwardsville, Ill.), whose 188 rebounds was tops on the squad, brought home the Chairman of the Boards Award. The 6-foot-7 Harris, who stood 13th in the conference in rebound average (6.5 rpg), pulled down a team-high 110 defensive rebounds and his average of 2.69 offensive boards per contest placed him second on the team and seventh in the league. In addition, Harris also was the recipient of the team's Super Sub Award after coming off the bench in 28 of the team's 29 games and averaging 24.9 minutes per outing, tops among the Golden Eagle reserves.
Senior Bart Miller (Bradenburg, Kent.) was selected as the Most Improved Player Award winner and was the initial recipient of the Standard of Excellence Award named after him. The Bart Miller Standard of Excellence Award will go to the Marquette player who demonstrates the qualities of team play as well as academic excellence. Miller was a four-time C-USA All-Academic honoree. This past season, he appeared in 13 games.
Marquette finished the year with an overall record of 15-14 and earned a spot in the NIT.
