DAYTON –DaRon Holmes II was named the University of Dayton men's basketball team's White Allen Most Valuable Player Wednesday evening for the third time in his career.   Homes and his teammates were recognized at a private awards banquet. 

Holmes is the ninth Dayton men's basketball player to be the team MVP three times, but the first to earn the honor in his first three seasons of college basketball.

The others who have been three-time MVPs are Henry Finkel (1963-66), Donald Smith (1972-74), Jim Paxson (1977-79), Roosevelt Chapman (1982-84), Ryan Perryman (1996-98), Brian Roberts (2005-08), Chris Wright (2008-11) and Jalen Crutcher (2018-21).

Holmes was co-MVP in 2021-22 and 2022-23. As a true freshman, he shared the honor with Toumani Camara and classmate Malachi Smith.  Last year, Holmes and Camara repeated as MVPs.

A consensus All-American, Holmes was named to six All-America teams.  He was named a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press, the NABC and The Sporting News, and a Third Team All-American by the USBWA, ESPN.com and Field of 68.

The junior from Goodyear, Ariz. was Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.  He was the only player named First Team All-Atlantic 10 and to the league's All-Defensive Team.

Holmes led UD in scoring 20.4), rebounding (8.5), FG% (.544, 217-399) and blocked shots (68 of the team's 129).  He was also third on the team in steals (31), assists (86) and 3-pt. FG% (.386, 32-83).

He led the A-10 in scoring and rebounding, and was the only player in the conference's top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and FG%.

Holmes is the Dayton career record holder in blocked shots (215) and dunks (241).  He is currently 11th in career scoring at UD (1,745 points) and sixth in career FG% (.588, 630-1071).

The White Allen Most Valuable Player Trophy is sponsored by Tim White and White Allen Auto Group, Inc.  The award is selected by members of the team. The White Allen Trophy has been awarded annually since 1953.  White Allen now sponsors the MVP award for UD's men's and women's basketball, football and volleyball teams.  

As the team's top rebounder, Homes also won the "Shorty" Sharpenter Memorial Rebounding Trophy.   The Sharpenter award is named for Hall of Famer Ned "Shorty" Sharpenter, and has been sponsored by his family since its inception in 1979.  

Junior forward Nate Santos was the winner of the Chris Daniels Memorial Most Improved Player Award.  Santos was UD's second-leading scorer (11.7) and rebounder (6.3) in 2023-24.  A transfer from Pitt, he averaged 1.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 7.3 minutes per contest in 29 games the year before.  

Santos needed just 10 games in a Flyer uniform to match what he scored in two years as a Panther (116 points in 54 G).   He had 17 double-digit scoring games in 2023-24, after having just two in two years at Pitt.  He was named Third Team All-Atlantic 10, Academic All-A-10 and Academic All-District.

The Daniels Award is presented in memory of Flyer center Chris Daniels.  Originated in 1994-95 as the most improved player award, this award was renamed for Daniels following his death in 1996.  

Junior guard Enoch Cheeks was named the recipient of the Steve McElvene Award as the team's top defender.  The Best Defender Award was first presented in 1995, but it was renamed in 2019 to honor the memory of Steve McElvene, who died suddenly at home in the spring of 2016 of an undetectable heart condition.  

Cheeks was consistently assigned the opponents' top perimeter player on defense.  In the 25 games (out of 33) where the Flyer foe's top player was a guard or wing, that player was held under his average 17 times.  Cheeks led the Flyers in steals (40), was second in blocked shots (21) and third in rebounding (4.7) in 2023-24.  He started in all 33 games and averaged 8.1 points per game.

Cheeks was also announced as the 2023-24 recipient of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship.  The Uhl scholarship is awarded to the UD player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship and character.  It is named after and endowed by former Flyers Bill Uhl and Bill Uhl II.  

Brady Uhl was named the  winner of the James G. and Purcell S. Palmer Scholarship.  The Palmer Scholarship is given on behalf of the late Jim Palmer and his wife Purcell.  Mr. Palmer was a former Flyer and NBA player. The award is presented to the Dayton player who best embodies his characteristics, on and off the court.   Uhl was a former walk-on who earned a scholarship at mid-season last year.

Javon Bennett was this year's Thomas M. Luppe Award winner.  The Luppe Award goes to the first-year player on the team who best demonstrates the courage, desire and integrity of former Flyer freshman Tom Luppe.  The Luppe Award honors Thomas M. Luppe, who died in 1963 while playing in a UD freshman game.  

Bennett, a transfer from Merrimack, was thrust into the starting lineup after Malachi Smith was injured just seven minutes into the season.  He thrived in that role, leading the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio by a wide margin (3.3 to 2.6).  For comparison, the margins between Bennett and Davidson's Grant Huffman in second place is greater than between Huffman and Rhode Island's Luis Kortnight in 10th.  Bennett's 3.29 assist-to-turnover ratio is a Flyer single-season record.  

Bennett missed the last two games of the regular season with a thumb injury, but worked his way back to play important minutes in all three post-season games.  For the year, he averaged 8.4 points a game.

The Dr. George Rau Spirit Award, which is given annually to the player (or players) who display true team spirit, on and off the court, was presented to sophomore Isaac Jack.  It's rare that a team's "energy guy" is a post player, but Jack lives up to his nickname of "Maniac" with his effort on the court, and enthusiasm and support of his teammates off it.  

Primarily serving as Holmes' backup, Jack played in all 33 games.  He averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds while shooting .717 (43-60) from the field and .714 (15-210 from the line.

The Harry O'Rourke Insurance Agency originated the Rau Award, which was first presented after the long-time Flyer team physician's death in 1972.

Atticus Schuler was named the recipient of the John L. Macbeth Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award.  Schuler carries a 3.83 GPA in Finance.  The Macbeth Scholar-Athlete Award is presented in memory of Dayton businessman John L. Macbeth, and is sponsored by Mrs. John L. Macbeth and family.  It has been awarded since 1959.  

Kobe Elvis was the winner of the Alex Schoen Memorial Free Throw Trophy, which goes to UD's top free throw shooter.  The Schoen Trophy is named in honor of Alex Schoen, Sr., the captain of UD's first varsity basketball team in 1903-04. Awarded since 1950, it is sponsored by the Schoen family.  It goes to the UD player with the highest FT% with a minimum of 50 free throws attempted.  Elvis shot .847 (50-59) from the line in 2023-24.  During the season he made a UD-record 37 consecutive free throws.

One new scholarship was announced.  The Herb Dintaman Endowed Scholarship for Basketball Managers assists deserving students who are enrolled in and pursuing courses on a full-time basis at the University of Dayton. The fund honors the memory of Mr. "Herbie" Dintaman, who was an assistant basketball coach under Tom Blackburn, an assistant football coach under Harry Baujan, a baseball coach, the director of intramural programs and the long-time facilities director of the Fieldhouse and UD Arena. He served UD for more than 30 years. The scholarship is restricted to men's intercollegiate basketball managers without regard for race, gender or religion.

The first recipients of the partial scholarships are rising senior Liam Armstrong and rising junior Ben English.  Armstrong is from  Kettering, Ohio, and is majoring in Accounting with a minor in Management Information Systems.  English is a Mechanical Engineering major from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Dayton finished the season 25-8 overall and ranked 24th in the final Associated Press men's college basketball rankings.  The Flyers finished the year with a loss to 12th-ranked Arizona in the second round of the NCAA tournament.  UD was 15-0 at home in 2023-24 and 14-4 in the A-10.

2023-24 UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
WHITE-ALLEN MOST VALUABLE PLAYER –DaRON HOLMES II 
ALEX SCHOEN FREE THROW PERCENTAGE – KOBE ELVIS
JOHN L. MACBETH SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – ATTICUS SCHULER
DR. GEORGE RAU SPIRIT AWARD – ISAAC JACK
"SHORTY" SHARPENTER TOP REBOUNDER – DaRON HOLMES II
CHRIS DANIELS MEMORIAL AWARD – NATE SANTOS 
THOMAS M. LUPPE MEMORIAL AWARD – JAVON BENNETT
STEVE McELVENE BEST DEFENDER AWARD – ENOCH CHEEKS
UHL FAMILY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP – ENOCH CHEEKS
JAMES G. & PURCELL S. PALMER SCHOLARSHIP – BRADY UHL
HERB DINTAMAN MANAGERS SCHOLARSHIP – LIAM ARMSTRONG & BEN ENGLISH