Chaminade University

PHOENIX, AZ – Chaminade earned two All-PacWest selections in a pair of California natives - junior guard Steven Bennett (Los Angeles, CA/Dorsey) and sophomore forward Matt Cousins (Santa Rosa, CA/Cardinal Newman).(Casa Branca, Brazil/Colegio Avanqo Ensino Progranado) the PacWest Player of the Year, while for the second straight campaign Dixie State’s Jon Judkins has been named the PacWest Coach of the Year.

Bennett earned Second Team accolades thanks to a strong season that landed him third in scoring and second in assist average in the conference. He averaged 17.0 points and 5.0 assists per game, while his 1.7 assist/turnover ratio ranked him third in the league for the year. He also shot 34.5% (48 for 139) from beyond the arc (11^th) and ranked fifth in three-pointers made per game (1.9). His steal average of 1.4 thefts per game left him in 12^th place overall.

Cousins, meanwhile, claimed Honorable Mention thanks to his scoring, rebounding and shooting prowess. He averaged 12.0 points (12^th) and 6.5 rebounds (6^th) per game while shooting 54.8% (102 for 186) from the floor to rank fifth in the league. He also made 73.6% (95 for 129) of his free throw attempts to finish 13^th in the PacWest.

For the third time in three seasons, the head men’s basketball coaches of the Pacific West Conference have selected BYU-Hawaii senior forward/center Lucas Alves

In addition, Hawai‘i Pacific senior forward C.J. Jackson (Buena Vista, GA/Tri-County) was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year, while Domincan (CA) rookie guard Austin Bryan (Wenatchee, WA/Wenatchee) was selected as the PacWest Freshman of the Year.

The honors - along with the 2009-10 All-PacWest Team - were announced by the conference media office in Phoenix, AZ, on Monday, March 15.

The three players of the year also earned All-PacWest First Team selections in addition to their major awards. A total of 16 student-athletes claimed All-PacWest accolades – seven First Team choices, seven Second Team picks and two Honorable Mentions.

Each year, the head coaches from the PacWest nominate and vote for the All-PacWest Team and the league’s four major awards in a weighted balloting process. The top seven votegetters are named to the First Team, while the player with the most points is named the PacWest Player of the Year. Players ranking 8-14 are named Second Team, while any player receiving a vote earns Honorable Mention.

This year the All-PacWest Team featured student-athletes from Washington, Texas, Georgia, Utah, California and Arizona, as well as Brazil, Taiwan and Fiji – but ironically none from Hawai‘i.

Two players represented Corona del Sol High School in suburban Phoenix, while two other players call St. George, UT, home. California had the most student-athletes on the squad with five, while Arizona claimed a trio of All-PacWest Second Team selections.

Alves was the lone First Team repeater in the group, while only four players from the entire 2008-09 squad earned All-PacWest honors again this year.

BYU-Hawaii claimed the most All-PacWest selections with four - two First Team members and two on the Second Team - while Dixie State had three spread across the spectrum – First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention. HPU also had three All-Conference selections – two on the First Team and one on the Second Team.

In one of the closest races in PacWest history for Player of the Year, Alves garnered four first-place votes and totaled 65 points to edge out runner-up Jackson and third-place Tom Whitehead (St. George, UT/Dixie), the junior forward from Dixie State. Jackson amassed 59 points and one first-place vote, while Whitehead accumulated 58 points and three first-place votes.

BYU-Hawaii senior guard Marques Whippy (Bua, Fiji/LDS) finished fourth in the player of the year voting with 42 points but no first-place votes, while Hawai‘i Pacific senior guard/forward Mike Helton (El Paso, TX/Montwood) placed fifth with 41 points and one first-place vote.

All five players – along with Bryan and Hawai‘i Hilo junior forward Justin Smith (Los Angeles, CA/Reseda) - were named All-PacWest First Team.

Alves was the lone First Team repeat and now completes his career with four straight All-PacWest First Team honors. He averaged 16.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52.1% (114 for 219) from the field this season, but you won’t find his name among the conference or national statistical leaders.

To be eligible for statistical rankings, players must compete in 75% of their team’s total games. With a 22-6 overall record, Alves needed to play in 21 games but fell just one contest shy of eligibility.

The head coaches of the PacWest recognized his contribution and voted him the PacWest Player of the Year despite missing the early portion of the Seasiders’ schedule while recovering from an off-season injury. He rebounded in time to lead the Seasiders to their third straight NCAA II West Region title game on March 15.

Whippy, on the other hand, was a major contributor to the BYU-Hawaii success in 2009-10 and finished the year ranked 15^th in the conference in scoring and second in rebounding. He averaged 11.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest while shooting 57.5% (126 for 219) from the floor – third best in the PacWest this year. He also wound up 13^th in handing out assists per game (2.6) and second in steals per contest (2.6). An All-PacWest Second Team choice last year, Whippy made the jump to the First Team this season with his outstanding play.

BYU-Hawaii also earned a pair of Second Team selections in senior guard Virgil (J.R.) Buensuceso (Eagle Rock, CA/Eagle Rock) and sophomore guard Tsung-Hsein (Jet) Chang (Yilan, Taiwan/Sing Rong). Buensuceso was an All-PacWest Second Team choice in 2009, while Chang was named the Freshman of the Year last season.

Like Alves, Chang will not appear on the NCAA or PacWest stat charts because he played in just 17 games; however his impact was undeniable after averaging 19.2 points per contest. He shot 53.1% (121 for 228) from the field.

Buensuceso averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game during the most recent campaign, finishing 13^th in scoring, sixth in helping and sixth in thievery. He also shot 35.0% (41 for 117) from beyond the arc to stand 10^th in the league, while his 1.5 three-pointers made per game ranked 12^th. He ranked fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6) and tied for eighth in foul shooting (75.5%) after making 83 of 110 attempts from the line.

Bryan was the lone representative on the All-PacWest Team for the Penguins, but the First Team honor and Freshman of the Year award is expected to soothe the pain of an injury that ended his season after 23 games. He garnered 7 of the 8 possible first-place votes for the Freshman of the Year honor (coaches may not vote for their own players).

Bryan led the Dominican (CA) club to a solid debut in the PacWest by winning the league’s scoring title after he averaged 19.3 points per game. He finished second in foul shooting for the year, making 85.5% (118 for 138) of his attempts, and ranked third in steals per game with a 1.9 average. He also made himself known around the defensive end of the court by rejecting 1.0 shots per game – good enough to rank fifth in the league for the season.

The rookie guard was deadly from beyond the arc, shooting 42.1% (48 for 114) to place third in the conference. His 2.1 three-pointers-made-per-game average left him fourth in the league for the season.

However, three-point shooting was clearly the domain of Dixie State thanks to Whitehead and junior guard Donovan Plunkett (Oroville, CA/Las Plumas) who packed a 1-2 wallop for the Red Storm.

Whitehead earned his All-PacWest First Team selection by leading the conference in three-point shooting (45.2%) and ranking second in three-pointers made per game (2.2). He connected on 56 of 124 shots from beyond the arc.

His long-distance shooting elevated him to fourth in the conference in scoring thanks to his 16.6 per game average, while his 5.1 rebounds per game ranked him 16^th. He shot 52.2% (127 for 242) from the floor, good enough for eighth in the league, while he finished the year fourth in foul shooting after making 82.5% (104 for 126) of his attempts. Whitehead also ranked third in blocks per game (1.2) in the PacWest.

Plunkett earned Second Team honors after making 44.1% (45 for 102) of his three-point shots from the field, finishing in second behind Whitehead in three-point shooting for the league. He was fifth in three-pointers made per game (1.7), but was the PacWest foul shooting champion after making 86.0% (83 for 90) of his free throw attempts. Plunkett wound up eighth in the league in scoring after averaging 14.0 points per game.

Dixie State senior forward Andy Palmer (St. George, UT/Pine View) earned his second straight All-PacWest selection, claiming Honorable Mention accolades after earning Second Team honors last year.

Palmer averaged 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, ranking 18^th in scoring and 15^th in rebounding in the PacWest for the year. He shot 49.7% (97 for 195) from the floor, finishing 12^th in the conference, while he made 75.5% (71 for 94) of his free throw attempts to rank seventh in the league.

As a team, the Red Storm claimed a share of its first PacWest Championship and a berth in the NCAA II National Championship Tournament in 2009-10 thanks to Judkins. The Dixie State mentor earned his second straight Coach of the Year award, garnering four first-place votes and totaling 16 points.

BYU-Hawaii Head Coach Ken Wagner finished second with 11 points and two first-place votes, while Tony Sellitto of HPU and Russ Pennell of Grand Canyon shared third place with eight points each. Sellitto had two first-place votes and Dominican (CA) Head Coach Bret Tovani picked up one that led to his finishing fifth overall.

Hawai‘i Pacific had a terrific season behind Jackson, Helton and senior guard/forward Ray Murdock (Phoenix, AZ/Pinnacle), who was named to the Second Team. All three players wound up ranked in the top seven in the PacWest in scoring.

As the Newcomer of the Year and First Team honoree, Jackson quickly established himself as one of the premier players in the league in 2009-10. He was the lone player in the PacWest to average a double-double thanks to his 15.8 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per contest. He led the league in boards and finished sixth in scoring, while his 62.2% shooting from the field (176 for 283) landed him second overall in the PacWest.

Jackson also was dominating on defense, leading the conference in blocks per game (2.6) and ranking 15^th in steals per outing (1.3). Like Bryan, he also claimed 7 of 8 possible first-place votes.

Helton ended his career at HPU by averaging 19.1 points per game, ranking him second in the league in scoring behind Bryan. He averaged 4.9 rebounds per contest (18^th), shot 72.2% (83 for 115) from the line (15^th), and averaged 1.7 three-pointers made per game (8th). He also tied for 14^th in blocks per contest (0.6).

Murdock ended the year leading the conference in assists per game (5.1), and he ranked seventh in both scoring and rebounding after averaging 15.0 points and 6.1 boards per contest. He finished 15^th in shooting after making 49.0% (153 for 312) of his field goal attempts and ranked sixth in foul shooting (77.4%) after converting 65 of 84 shots. He also ranked 11^th in steals per game (1.4) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).

Hawai‘i Hilo landed just one player on the All-PacWest squad in Smith who was the PacWest field goal shooting champion. The junior shot 62.7% (208 for 332) from the field, and he ranked fifth in both points per game (16.5) and rebounds per outing (7.0) this season. He ranked sixth in blocked shot average as well after posting 1.0 per game.

Grand Canyon claimed a pair of All-PacWest selections both from the same high school in senior guard T.J. Benson (Tempe, AZ/Corona del Sol) and freshman guard Brad Carroll (Chandler, AZ/Corona del Sol).

Benson averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.1 three-pointers made per game to rank 19^th, 10^th and third, respectively, in the PacWest. He shot 39.3% (68 for 173) from three-point land to rank fifth in the league this season.

Carroll averaged 9.0 points and 2.7 assists per game, finishing 26^th in scoring and 12^th in helping for the year. He stepped up his game in conference play by averaging 11.4 points per contest.