PacWest Conference Champion Hawai’i Pacific University placed three players and collected two special awards as the 2017 All-PacWest Conference Men’s Basketball Team was announced Wednesday by the conference office.
Sharks senior Connor Looney was named the Defender of the Year and joined senior Chauncey Orr as first team All-PacWest Conference honorees by the conference’s coaches. Senior Jordan Martin was named second team All-PacWest.
Head Coach Darren Vorderbruegge was voted the Coach of the Year after leading HPU to the best regular season in school history at 26-2 and the PacWest Championship with an 18-2 conference mark.
Looney, a 6-2 guard from Palmer, Alaska/Palmer, earned PacWest Defender of the Year and first team All-PacWest after leading the Sharks to ranking as the top scoring defense in the PacWest and 20th in NCAA Division II by allowing 67.1 points per game. Looney ranked second in the conference and 17th in Division II in steals with 8.3 per game, and fourth in the league and 81st in the nation with an .843 free throw percentage. Looney ranks fifth in the PacWest with 17.0 points per game, seventh with a .485 field goal percentage, eighth with 2.3 3-point field goals per game. He had one double-double on the year with 16 points and 10 assists against Northwest Indian.
Orr, a 6-4 swingman from Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green, was named first team All-PacWest Conference after leading the Sharks, ranking fourth in the conference and 72nd nationally with 19.2 points per game, and leading the team, ranking fifth in the PacWest and 125th in the nation with 7.6 rebounds per game. The candidate for the Bevo Francis Award for Small College Player of the Year also ranks fourth in the league and 63rd nationally with a .552 field goal percentage, and seventh in the conference and 120th nationally with 1.6 steals per contest. Orr posted eight double-doubles with eight games of 24-plus points.
Martin, a 5-11 guard from Goodyear, Ariz./Millenium, earned second team All-PacWest Conference after averaging 12.3 points for the Sharks and ranking second on the team and 17th in the conference with 5.9 rebounds. Martin leads the team and is eighth with 3.8 assists per game, is tied for 10th in the league with 2.0 3-pointers per contest and is 17th in the PacWest with 1.4 steals per game. He posted three double-doubles on the season, including 21 points and 11 boards to close the regular season at Chaminade on Saturday.
Vorderbrugge, in his ninth season at HPU, is the winningest active collegiate coach in the state of Hawai’i with a 126-117 record. He led the Sharks to the best start in school history posting 13 straight wins before suffering a loss. He led the Sharks their best national ranking as an NCAA Division II member when HPU reached No. 3 this season in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll.
California Baptist’s Michael Smith was named the PacWest Player of the Year, with Chaminade’s Austin Pope selected as Newcomer of the Year and Point Loma’s Sterling Somers the Freshman of the Year.
Joining Looney and Orr on the six-member All-PacWest Conference first team are Cal Baptist’s Smith and Kalidou Diouf, Chaminade’s Rhondell Goodwin, and Dixie State’s Trevor Hill.
The top seeded Sharks begin play in the PacWest Conference Tournament in Irvine, Calif., on Friday in the semifinals at 5:15 p.m. HST (7:15 p.m. PST) against the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between fourth seeded Chaminade and fifth seeded Azusa Pacific. The PacWest Tournament Championship game is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. HST (4:30 p.m. PST).
2016-17 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year
Michael Smith
California Baptist
Defender of the Year
Connor Looney
Hawai’i Pacific
Newcomer of the Year
Austin Pope
Chaminade
Freshman of the Year
Sterling Somers
Point Loma
Coach of the Year
Darren Vorderbruegge
Hawai’i Pacific
2016-17 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
Name
School
Pos.
Yr.
Hometown/Previous School
FIRST TEAM
Kalidou Diouf
California Baptist
C
Jr.
Heidelberg, Germany/Alaska Anchorage
Rohndell Goodwin *
Chaminade
G
Sr.
Oakland, Calif./Merrill West
Trevor Hill *
Dixie State
G
Jr.
Sandy, Utah/Alta
Connor Looney
Hawai’i Pacific
G
Sr.
Palmer, Alaska/Palmer
Chauncey Orr *
Hawai’i Pacific
G/F
Gr.
Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green
Michael Smith *
California Baptist
G
Sr.
South San Francisco, Calif./El Camino
SECOND TEAM
Justin Davis
Concordia
G
Sr.
Tustin, Calif./Foothill
Parker Farris
Hawai’i Hilo
G
Sr.
McKinleyville, Calif./McKinleyville
Petar Kutlesic *
Azusa Pacific
F
Jr.
Uzice, Serbia/Lee Academy
Jordan Martin
Hawai’i Pacific
G
Sr.
Goodyear, Ariz./Millenium
Josh Rodriguez *
Point Loma
G
So.
La Habra, Calif./Sonora
Kiran Shastri *
Chaminade
G
Sr.
Orinda, Calif./Miramonte
THIRD TEAM
Brian Chambers
Concordia
G
So.
Long Beach, Calif./Cypress College
Mike Crawley
Fresno Pacific
F
Jr.
Pittsburg, Calif./Fresno City College
Jeremiah Gray
Dominican
G
Jr.
Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake
Kuany Kuany ***
Chaminade
G
Sr.
Melbourne, Australia/St. Kevin’s College
Tanner Nelson
BYU-Hawaii
G
So.
Vancouver, Wash./Union
Austin Pope
Chaminade
G
Jr.
Burbank, Calif./North Idaho College
Honorable Mention: Tad Dufelmeier (Concordia), Andre Green (Holy Names), Jordan Heading (California Baptist), Spencer Krannitz (Fresno Pacific), Corey Langerveld (Azusa Pacific), Kyler Nielson (Dixie State), Luka Radovic (Academy of Art), Dante Robinson (Holy Names), Brandon Simister (Dixie State), Sterling Somers (Point Loma)
* – Previous All-PacWest selection
2016-17 All-PacWest Women’s Basketball Team
California Baptist’s Cassidy Mihalko and Kamille Diaz highlighted the 2016-17 All-PacWest Women’s Basketball team, released by the league office Wednesday. Mihalko and Diaz both earned their fourth-career All-PacWest honors, and Mihalko was named PacWest Player of the Year.
Mihalko became the first Lancers to win PacWest Player of the Year, ranking second in the conference in scoring (20.0), first in points (600), field goal percentage (.560) and free throw percentage (.855), 11th in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and third in steals (67). She is 13th in the nation in scoring and eighth in field goals (220). A four-time PacWest Player of the Week, she eclipsed 20 points in 16 games this season. She netted a career-high 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting, and had 11 rebounds, against Cal State East Bay. She had another double-double two games later against Saint Martin’s with 27 points and 18 rebounds. She scored 25 points against Hawai’i Hilo to surpass 2,000 for her career and is currently second in PacWest history with 2.097.
Sandra Ikeora (Dominican) was named PacWest Defender of the Year. She was the top rebounder in the nation, leading Division II in total rebounds (347) and rebounding average (12.9 rpg) and ranking sixth in defensive rebounds (8.3 rpg). She also led the PacWest (third in NCAA) in scoring (22.2 ppg) and ranked third in blocks (42) and fifth in steals (62). She recorded 19 double-doubles in 27 games, the most in the nation. She had 25 rebounds against Cal State Monterey Bay, a Dominican DII record, and added five blocks and three steals. She recorded a career-high seven steals against Dixie State.
Marissa Caballero (Notre Dame de Namur) was named PacWest Newcomer of the Year. In her first year in the PacWest from Columbia Basin College, Caballero ranked fourth in the conference in scoring and eighth in assists (3.4 apg). She was also third in the conference in free throw percentage (.839) and free throws made (143). She scored a career-high 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and had three steals at Concordia. Caballero is the second NDNU player to be named Newcomer of the Year (Laura Zasly, 2009-10).
Destiny Castro (Chaminade) was named PacWest Freshman of the Year, the first Chaminade women’s basketball player to win an individual award. A five-time PacWest Freshman of the Week, she led PacWest freshmen in scoring (11.0 ppg). She also averaged 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.0 assists per game. She had consecutive double-doubles against Holy Names (17 pts, 12 reb) and Concordia (11 pts, 10 reb).
Jarrod Olson (California Baptist) was named PacWest Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season. CBU defended its PacWest regular season title with a 20-0 record, a conference record for wins and only the second undefeated season ever. The Lancers began the season ranked No. 2 in the WBCA Coaches’ Poll, stayed in the top-10 the majority of the season, and enter the PacWest Championship a No. 3 in the nation.
Mihalko and Diaz were both repeat first-team All-PacWest selections. They were joined on the first team by Ikeora, Alex Brunk (Point Loma), Breanna Mackenzie (Hawai’i Pacific) and Rodericka Ware (Academy of Art).