There is a lull in the action between the last game of the regular season and the first game of the tournament. To help pass the time, straight from WCC headquarters, the conference awards are here to be discussed.
The West Coast Conference regular season wrapped up on Saturday and the Oscars were Sunday so it's award season. In the WCC, the ten head coaches vote for the individual awards and the all-conference teams. Today, the WCC front office released the results.
Eight of the ten players selected to the preseason all-WCC team made the regular season team as well. In hindsight the coaches' preseason picks were pretty spot on. The two players who made the preseason but not regular season all-WCC team missed out for very good reason.
Gonzaga's Gary Bell Jr. broke his hand in the first conference game of the season and missed the following six. San Francisco's Cody Doolin left the program four games into the season after his coach encouraged him to fight with a teammate during a practice. Based on the findings of a detailed investigation from the Contra Costa times (the second link in the previous sentence), that was more likely the last straw than an isolated incident.
Somehow that coach won Coach of the Year. From a purely basketball viewpoint, Rex Walters does deserve coach of the year. His Dons have 20 wins and are third in the standings. Last season San Francisco went 15-16 (7-9) and finished tied for fifth. However, for a conference that prides itself on being focused on academics and service rather than just athletics, this sends a pretty hypocritical message.
All that said, here are the awards.
Player of the Year: Tyler Haws, Sophomore Guard, BYU
Coach of the Year: Rex Walters, San Francisco
Newcomer of the Year: Jared Brownridge, Freshman Guard, Santa Clara
Defensive Player of the Year: Brendan Lane, Senior Forward, Pepperdine
All-West Coast Conference First Team
Kyle Collinsworth, Sophomore Guard, BYU
Stacy Davis, Sophomore Forward, Pepperdine
Johnny Dee, Junior Guard, San Diego
Cole Dickerson, Senior Forward, San Francisco
Sam Dower Jr., Senior Forward, Gonzaga
Tyler Haws, Junior Guard, BYU
Stephen Holt, Senior Guard, Saint Mary's
Anthony Ireland, Senior Guard, Loyola Marymount
Kevin Pangos, Junior Guard, Gonzaga
Brad Waldow, Junior Forward, Saint Mary's
All-WCC Honorable Mentions
Jared Brownridge, Santa Clara; Matt Carlino, BYU; Brandon Clark, Santa Clara; Tony Gill, Pacific; Avry Holmes, San Francisco; Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga; Brendan Lane, Pepperdine; Ryan Nicholas, Portland; Kruize Pinkins, San Francisco; Thomas van der Mars, Portland
WCC All-Freshman Team
Jared Brownridge, Guard, Santa Clara
Gabe Levin, Forward, Loyola Marymount
Jeremy Major, Guard, Pepperdine
Eric Mika, Center, BYU
Evan Payne, Guard, Loyola Marymount
Take a look back at the preseason selections from the coaches and from MMM, if you so desire.
Poll
What is your biggest problem with the awards? Vote and explain in the comments.
Coach of the Year
Player of the Year
Freshman of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
All-WCC Team Snubs
All-Freshman Team Snubs
11 votes | Results