Pacific senior Christian Maraker received top honors as the Big West Player of the Year to lead the 2005-06 men's basketball all-conference team, announced today by conference commissioner Dennis Farrell. In addition, Pacific's Bob Thomason garnered his third consecutive Coach of the Year award for the regular season champion Tigers and Cal Poly guard Trae Clark was recognized as the league's Freshman of the Year.
Maraker became the third straight Pacific representative to be tabbed as the Big West's elite player. He also joins a prestigious group as just the sixth player in history to be selected first team all-conference three times in his career. The 6-9 forward joins three others to earn the all-conference distinction and capture a Player of the Year award. Maraker led the league in rebounding (9.0 rpg) and was second in scoring (17.2 ppg), while also ranking in the Big West top 10 in field goal percentage and free throw percentage. He also topped all Big West players with 15 double-doubles. Maraker scored in double figures 26 times in 29 games, including two 30-point games and a league-best 11 games with 20 points or more. He managed to shoot a league sixth-best 49.2 percent from the field despite drawing double and triple teams throughout the season. A native of Varberg, Sweden, Maraker also captured Big West Player of the Week honors three consecutive weeks.
Clark continued a long line of Cal Poly recruits who have started off their collegiate careers with a flourish. The 5-11 guard was the fourth Mustang honored as the Big West's top freshman in the school's 10 seasons as a league member. He was the first to earn the award since Jamaal Scott in the 2000-01 season. Clark averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists during the regular season primarily as a key player off the Cal Poly bench. He was the team's most accurate from three-point range, hitting at a 42.9 percent (27 of 63) clip. A native of Fremont, Calif., Clark poured in a career-high 20 points against Cal State Northridge and had four other double-digit scoring outings.
Thomason was just the second individual to earn Coach of the Year acclaim three straight times, joining UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian (1983-85). It also marked the fifth time in his career that he received the award, second-most in Big West history. In his 18th season at Pacific, Thomason led the Tigers to their third consecutive Big West regular season title. The Tigers finished conference play with a 12-2 record and with an overall mark of 22-7. He picked up his 300th career victory at Pacific on January 28 when the Tigers won 65-53 on the road against UC Santa Barbara. With a career record of 360-247 as a collegiate head coach, Thomason also was the first coach in Pacific men's basketball annals to pilot the program to three 20-win seasons in a row.
Four seniors and two juniors comprised the All-Big West First Team. Pacific teammate Johnny Gray joined Maraker, along with UC Irvine's Aaron Fitzgerald and Long Beach State's Jibril Hodges as the seniors. Juniors Bobby Brown of Cal State Fullerton and Derek Stockalper of Cal Poly also were first team honorees. Maraker was the only repeat first team honoree on this year's squad.
The complete 2005-06 Big West All-Conference Team is below.
2005-06 BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
| FIRST TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Ht. |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
 |
| Bobby Brown |
Cal State Fullerton |
6-2 |
Jr. |
G |
Los Angeles, CA |
| Aaron Fitzgerald |
UC Irvine |
6-3 |
Sr. |
G |
Seattle, WA |
| Jibril Hodges |
Long Beach State |
6-2 |
Sr. |
G |
Park Forest, IL |
| Johnny Gray |
Pacific |
6-1 |
Sr. |
G |
Agoura Hills, CA |
| ++Christian Maraker |
Pacific |
6-9 |
Sr. |
F |
Varberg, Sweden |
| Derek Stockalper |
Cal Poly |
6-5 |
Jr. |
G/F |
Carlsbad, CA |
| |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Ht. |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
|
| Cecil Brown |
UC Santa Barbara |
6-4 |
Sr. |
G |
Canoga Park, CA |
| Jamaal Brown |
Cal State Fullerton |
6-7 |
Sr. |
F |
Spartanburg, SC |
| Chris Devine |
UC Santa Barbara |
6-7 |
So. |
F |
Eagle River, AK |
| Shawn Hawkins |
Long Beach State |
6-6 |
Sr. |
F |
Pittsburgh, PA |
| Kejuan Johnson |
Long Beach State |
6-3 |
Jr. |
G |
Long Beach, CA |
| Rickey Porter |
UC Riverside |
6-3 |
Sr. |
G |
Fountain Valley, CA |
| Dawin Whiten |
Cal Poly |
6-3 |
So. |
G |
North Hills, CA |
| |
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| Player |
School |
Ht. |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
|
| Dedrick Bates |
UC Riverside |
6-0 |
Jr. |
G |
Los Angeles, CA |
| Calvin Chitwood |
Cal State Northridge |
6-6 |
So. |
F |
Phoenix, AZ |
| Mike Efevberha |
Cal State Northridge |
6-5 |
Jr. |
G |
Pomona, CA |
| Darren Fells |
UC Irvine |
6-7 |
So. |
F/C |
Fullerton, CA |
| Jonathan Heard |
Cal State Northridge |
6-5 |
So. |
G/F |
Inglewood, CA |
| Ross Schraeder |
UC Irvine |
6-5 |
Sr. |
G |
Denver, CO |
| |
| ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Ht. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
|
| Anthony Brown |
Pacific |
6-8 |
F |
Sacramento, CA |
| Trae Clark |
Cal Poly |
5-11 |
G |
Fremont, CA |
| Steffan Johnson |
Pacific |
6-1 |
G |
Kent, WA |
| Adam Templeton |
UC Irvine |
6-5 |
F |
Rapid City, SD |
| Chaz Thomas |
Cal Poly |
6-0 |
G |
Daly City, CA |
| |
| ++Three-time All-Big West First Team |
2005-06 BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Christian Maraker, Pacific
2005-06 BIG WEST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Trae Clark, Cal Poly
2005-06 BIG WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
Bob Thomason, Pacific