In anticipation of the upcoming basketball season and the #MarchtoMarch, we asked the fans to choose their top five Big West guards.
After a weeklong voting period, the results are in. The top five vote getters – in order – are the Long Beach State duo of Tyler Lamb and Mike Caffey, CSUN’s Stephan Hicks, Negus Webster-Chan of Hawai‘i and Corey Hawkins of UC Davis.
Here is a capsule on each player as we inch closer toward the first day of official practices on Friday, October 3.
Tyler Lamb • Long Beach State • 6-5 • 205 • Senior • Ontario, Calif.
The UCLA transfer made an immediate impact for the 49ers after becoming eligible on Dec. 19 of last year, scoring 20 points in his debut in a one-point win against USC. Prior to him joining the lineup, the 49ers went 1-9, then finished 14-8 with him in there. Lamb earned All-Big West Second Team honors after averaging 15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He also led the team with 44 three-pointers and finished second in steals (30). In conference games, Lamb was No. 12 in scoring (14.1 ppg), tied for No. 5 in steals (1.3 pg) and No. 7 in three-point field goals made (1.8 pg). He reached double figures in points 19 times, including five games of 20 points or more.
Mike Caffey • Long Beach State • 6-0 • 175 • Senior • Corona, Calif.
Named to the Big West all-conference first team in each of the last two years, Caffey became the 23rd player in Long Beach State history to accrue 1,000 career points. He enters his senior season 16th on the list with 1,114 points. Caffey is also the Big West active career leader in assists (338) and minutes played (2,927). His assist total ranks No. 9 among all-time 49ers. In 2013-14, Caffey ranked in the Big West top 10 in multiple categories, including scoring (7th – 16.2 ppg), assists (4th – 4.3 apg), steals (2nd – 1.4 spg) and minutes played (4th – 34.5 mpg) en route to NABC All-District 9 second team recognition. He eclipsed the 20-point plateau on 10 occasions, including a career-high 29 in a road win against Hawai‘i. Caffey aims to be just the third player in LBSU history to earn all-conference first team praise three times, joining Ed Ratleff (1971-73) and Larry Anderson (2009, 2011-12).
Stephan Hicks • CSUN • 6-6 • 200 • Senior • Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Hicks is on pace to become just the seventh player in the Big West’s 46-year history to accumulate 2,000 career points. He enters his senior campaign having scored 601, 425 and 422 points in his three previous seasons, respectively, giving him a current total of 1,448 and making him the league’s active career leader. Hicks also is seventh in CSUN history with 624 career rebounds. The Thousand Oaks, Calif. native averaged 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 2013-14 to rank sixth and seventh in the Big West, respectively. An 82.1% shooter from the foul line, he helped the Matadors top the nation in free throw percentage last season. Adept on the defensive end as well, Hicks was No. 4 in the Big West with 1.3 steals per game, and his 125 career steals is more than any other current Big West player.
Negus Webster-Chan • Hawai‘i • 6-7 • 200 • Sophomore • Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
A transfer from the University of Missouri, Webster-Chan redshirted the 2013-14 season. He is expected to bolster a Hawai‘i backcourt that lost two starters in Brandon Spearman and Keith Shamburger. As a freshman at Missouri, he averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds, while appearing in 32 games with six starts. In one game he had six points and six rebounds against eventual national champion Louisville. Negus-Chan was a member of Canada’s U17 and U19 national teams and became a top-100 national recruit before signing with Missouri.
Corey Hawkins • UC Davis • 6-3 • 195 • Senior • Goodyear, Ariz.
Hawkins has scored 1,108 points in two seasons as an Aggie, ranking No. 17 on the school’s all-time list. He was the Big West scoring champion in 2012-13 and ranked No. 12 in the NCAA with 20.3 points per game. Hawkins was named All-Big West First Team and a Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American by CollegeInsider.com. Capping off his junior campaign with 18.0 ppg, Hawkins finished second in the league in scoring and first in steals per game (1.47). In 58 career games at UC Davis, Hawkins has amassed double figures in scoring 54 times, including 24 games or 20 points or more. He also finished sixth in the Big West last season in free throw percentage (.757). In a career full of highlights, none was more impressive than the school record 40 points he scored on Jan. 19, 2013 at Hawai‘i when he hit eight three-pointers.
Honorable Mention (next 5 vote-getters): David Nwaba (Cal Poly); Garrett Nevels (Hawai‘i); Ridge Shipley (Cal Poly); Michael Bryson (UC Santa Barbara); Alex Young (UC Irvine)