TORONTO, Ont. - The team colours might be different, but Laurier men's basketball alum Omar Miles (BA, '06) is still soaring as a Hawk.

The former Golden Hawks point guard, who spent five seasons with the men's basketball program between 2002 and 2007, was named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's basketball Coach of the Year late last week.

It's the second time in his three seasons as head coach of the Humber Hawks that Miles has received the award, having done so in his inaugural 2021/22 season after leading the Hawks to an undefeated campaign and a Canadian College Athletics Association national championship.

"Being recognized as Coach of the Year for the second time in three years in the OCAA is an incredibly humbling honour, particularly because it's awarded by fellow head coaches in the league," said Miles, who spent four seasons as Humber's assistant coach before being named the program's 13th head coach in April 2020.

"The award is also a testament to the collective effort and resilience of my entire coaching staff and the new student-athletes, making this achievement deeply gratifying and motivating for the journey ahead."

Miles, who was Laurier's team rookie of the year and named to the OUA's all-rookie team after the 2002-03 season, under Golden Hawks Hall of Fame head coach Peter Campbell, still ranks sixth in program history (on record) for minutes played throughout his career with 2,752. He also ranks second in career assists (308) and steals (146).

"This recognition holds special significance to me as it comes two years after winning a national championship and having to rebuild an entirely new team and integrating eight rookies over the last two years," Miles added.

This year, the Hawks head into the OCAA championship weekend at Durham College in Oshawa with a semifinal match-up against the Durham Lords on deck Saturday night. Humber just completed a 13-5 regular season and breezed through two playoff wins over St. Lawrence and Sheridan to reach the final four. 

Since taking over the reins as the program's bench boss, Miles has compiled a 39-15 overall regular season record.

Laurier's current manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse conveyed the program's pride in their alum's achievements.

"(Omar) has built something very special (at Humber) since he took over," said Serresse, who has gotten to know his counterpart well, with Laurier having faced Humber in exhibition play the past number of years. "He's a great coach, a great guy, and a great alum. He's always very positive and we're very proud of his success."

Miles currently resides in Mississauga with his wife Makesha, son, Nehemiah, and two daughters, Mya and Ariana.