Courtesy: Mark Washburn Junior Ronnie Dixon

HANOVER, N.H. — The men’s basketball team at Dartmouth College revealed its team awards for the 2009-10 season last week, and junior Ronnie Dixon (Danville, Ill.) was given the coveted A.D. “Dolly” Stark Award as the team’s most valuable player.

Dixon led the Big Green in scoring during the 2009-10 season, averaging 9.3 points per game, but really came into his own when play within the Ivy League began. The 6-1 shooting guard amped up his production to 11.6 points per game in conference play, shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range and 85.2 percent from the line while grabbing 4.4 rebounds — second most on the team. Against NCAA-bound Cornell, Dixon posted a career-high 20 points on Feb. 20.

The Newcomer of the Year award was bestowed upon freshman center Matt LaBove (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who was fifth on the Big Green with 5.3 points per game while seeing action in 27 of the 28 contests. The rookie also was second on the team in rebounding for the season at 4.6 per contest and blocks with a total of 13.

Earning the Rudy LaRusso ’59 Award as Dartmouth’s most improved player was junior forward Clive Weeden (Stow, Mass.). In his first two years at Dartmouth, Weeden averaged 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds a game, but more than doubled each of those totals to 5.2 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds, the latter mark ranking 10th in the Ivy League. In addition, the 6-9 forward blocked 16 shots to lead the Big Green.

The Alvin F. “Doggie” Julian Award for spirit and enthusiasm went to sophomore David Rufful (Warwick, R.I.). The 6-4 wing was an intense defender, leading Dartmouth with 39 steals on the year, plus was third in scoring at 7.8 points per game and second in assists with 38. Five times during the season he tallied at least 15 points with a high of 18 against cross-state rival New Hampshire.

Finally, sophomore Kirk Crecco (Gilford, N.H.) was named the recipient of the John DiIorio ’56 Award, which is given for hustle, drive and determination. Although seldom used for the majority of the season, Crecco never failed to give every practice his all. By the end of the season, he saw his playing time increase to more than an average of 13 minutes over the final five contests, scoring a career-high eight points against Cornell by hitting 3-of-4 from the floor including a pair of three-pointers.