Seniors
Scott Cutley of Cal State Fullerton and
Alex Harris of UC Santa Barbara headlined the 2007-08 men's basketball all-conference team with their naming as Big West Co-Players of the Year today, announced Commissioner Dennis Farrell. The honor of Big West Coach of the Year went to Cal State Northridge's
Bobby Braswell, while UC Davis guard
Mark Payne collected the conference Freshman of the Year award.
The selection of co-players of the year has not happened in the Big West since Utah State's Greg Grant and UNLV's Anthony Jones shared the distinction in 1985-86. The other time co-winners were named was in 1975-76.
Cutley averaged 14.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game during the regular season to help the Titans to their second co-championship in school history. The 6-5 forward ranked third in the league with a .521 field goal percentage, as well as eighth in both assists (2.7) and steals (1.4) per game. Cutley joined Greg Bunch, who earned the distinction 32 years ago, as the only Titans to earn the conference's top honor. Among Cutley's efforts this season were eight double-doubles - second in the Big West - and six games with 20 points or more. He overcame early season injury to post three consecutive double-doubles during one December stretch. Showing his versatility, Cutley also notched 10 games with at least four assists. Cutley's play led Fullerton to a school record-tying 21 victories in the regular season.
Harris shared top honors with Cutley after averaging 20.3 points per game for a Gaucho squad that also captured a share of the Big West regular season championship. The 6-6 guard scored in double figures in all 29 games, helping the Gauchos to a 23-6 mark and a school record for victories. More than half (15) of those games resulted in him producing 20 or more points, including a season-high 31 points in a win at Cal Poly on Jan. 19. Harris, with 1,659 points, stands just 29 points shy of UCSB's all-time scoring record held by Carrick DeHart (1986-90). In addition, Harris shot an impressive 44.0% (70 of 159) from three-point range, the fourth-best percentage in the conference. Harris also ranked in the Big West top 10 in free throw percentage (8th), three-point field goals made (4th) and minutes played (5th).
UC Davis competed as an official Big West member for the first time in 2007-08, and Payne proved that he will be a strong source of production for years to come. Payne is the third player in league history to earn the nod as top freshman in his team's first year as a competing member, joining Cal Poly's Mike Wozniak (1996-97) and Cal State Northridge's Ian Boylan (2001-02). Payne punctuated his season with the third triple-double in Aggie history, posting 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over non-conference rival Sacramento State on Mar. 1. A 6-6 guard, Payne's versatility was on display often as he led the team in field goal percentage (.524), rebounds (161), assists (99) and steals (57). On the league leaderboard, Payne was fifth in assists (3.2), 13th in rebounding (5.2) and first in steals (1.8).
It was a renaissance of sorts for Braswell, who completed his 12th season at Cal State Northridge with his first-ever Big West Coach of the Year award. After his teams finished no better than fourth place just once in the previous five seasons, Braswell led his troops to their first-ever Big West championship - shared or outright - with a 12-4 record. The Matadors seized control of first place in the first week of conference play and never relinquished their grip on the top perch throughout, sharing the title with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton. The turnaround resulted in a 20-9 regular season record, marking the third time Braswell has reached the 20-win plateau during his tenure.
Along with Cutley and Harris, who were named first team all-conference for the second time, other first team honorees included Cal State Northridge senior
Jonathan Heard, Pacific junior
Steffan Johnson, Long Beach State junior
Donovan Morris and UC Irvine senior
Patrick Sanders.
2007-08 BIG WEST MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Player School Ht. Yr. Pos. Hometown
+Scott Cutley Cal State Fullerton 6-5 Sr. F Inglewood, Calif.
+Alex Harris UC Santa Barbara 6-6 Sr. G Alameda, Calif.
Jonathan Heard Cal State Northridge 6-6 Sr. F/G Inglewood, Calif.
Steffan Johnson Pacific 6-1 Jr. G Kent, Wash.
Donovan Morris Long Beach State 6-3 Jr. G San Bernardino, Calif.
Patrick Sanders UC Irvine 6-6 Sr. F Corona, Calif.
SECOND TEAM
Player School Ht. Yr. Pos. Hometown
Josh Akognon Cal State Fullerton 5-11 Jr. G Petaluma, Calif.
Darren Fells UC Irvine 6-7 Sr. F/C Fullerton, Calif.
Frank Robinson Cal State Fullerton 6-4 Sr. G Los Angeles, Calif.
Tremaine Townsend Cal State Northridge 6-9 Jr. F Phoenix, Ariz.
Deon Tresvant Cal State Northridge 6-0 Jr. G Long Beach, Calif.
HONORABLE MENTION
Player School Ht. Yr. Pos. Hometown
Anthony Brown Pacific 6-7 Jr. F Sacramento, Calif.
Calvin Chitwood Cal State Northridge 6-8 Sr. F Phoenix, Ariz.
Trae Clark Cal Poly 5-11 Jr. G Fremont, Calif.
Larry Cunningham UC Riverside 6-2 Sr. G Downey, Calif.
Chris Devine UC Santa Barbara 6-8 Jr. F Eagle River, Alaska
Ivan Elliott UC Santa Barbara 6-8 Sr. F San Francisco, Calif.
Josh Jenkins Cal State Northridge 5-10 Jr. G Albuquerque, N.M.
James Powell UC Santa Barbara 6-2 So. G Glendora, Calif.
Chad Troyer Pacific 6-4 Jr. G Seattle, Wash.
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Player School Ht. Pos. Hometown
Shawn Lewis Cal Poly 6-4 G Emeryville, Calif.
Greg Plater Long Beach State 6-1 G Salem, Ore.
Mark Payne UC Davis 6-7 G Stockton, Calif.
Jalonni Diggs UC Riverside 6-1 G Los Angeles, Calif.
Terrell Smith Pacific 6-4 G Federal Way, Wash.
+Two-time All-Big West First Team
2007-08 BIG WEST CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Scott Cutley, Cal State Fullerton
Alex Harris, UC Santa Barbara
2007-08 BIG WEST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Mark Payne, UC Davis
2007-08 BIG WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
Bobby Braswell, Cal State Northridge