2019-20 BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
CSUN forward
LAMINE DIANE highlighted the major awards announcement for the 2019-20 Big West men’s basketball season with his back-to-back selection as Player of the Year.
Cal State Fullerton graduate transfer
BRANDON KAMGA earned Newcomer of the Year honors and
EZRA MANJON of UC Davis claimed Freshman of the Year accolades.
RUSSELL TURNER of Big West champion UC Irvine took home the Coach of the Year award. The conference’s nine head coaches voted for the awards.
LAMINE DIANE, CSUN
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Redshirt Sophomore • Forward • Dakar, Senegal • Findlay Prep
• First CSUN representative to earn back-to-back Player of the Year accolades
• Eighth individual in Big West history to be named two-time Player of the Year
• Averaged 25.6 points and 10.2 rebounds in 19 games – totals that would make him just the second player in Big West history to lead the league in both categories in consecutive seasons (Kevin Magee, UC Irvine, 1981-82). However, he missed the first 12 games of the season and does not meet the minimum games played standard (66.7%)
• In 16 Big West games, led all players with averages of 24.6 points and 10.0 rebounds. Also tied for No. 1 in total steals (25) and steals per game (1.6)
• Despite missing a total of 13 games, he led the conference in double-doubles (11) and total 30-point games (7), and tied for most double-digit rebounding games (11). His 13 games of 20 points or more ranks No. 2 overall
• Fastest player in CSUN history to 1,000 career points and ranks No. 9 on the school’s career scoring list with 1,304
BRANDON KAMGA, CAL STATE FULLERTON
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Senior • Guard • Reston, Va. • High Point
• Fourth Titan to collect Newcomer of the Year honors – Andre Hardy (2011), D.J. Seeley (2012) and Michael Williams (2014)
• Transfer from High Point ranked among Big West top 10 in scoring (No. 3, 15.5 ppg), field goal percentage (No. 10, .425), free throw percentage (No. 8, .810) and three-point field goals made (No. 9, 50)
• Notched six 20-point games and closed out the regular season posting 22 straight double-digit scoring performances
• In conference games only, scoring average jumped to 18.4 points per game – No. 2 overall – and ranked third in free throw percentage (.855, 71-of-83)
EZRA MANJON, UC DAVIS
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Guard • Brentwood, Calif. • Heritage HS
• Fourth Aggie to be selected Freshman of the Year – Mark Payne (2008), Julian Welch (2010) and Josh Ritchart (co-2011)
• Led all Big West freshmen and ranked No. 14 overall in scoring (12.1 ppg)
• Ranked No. 5 in Big West in field goal percentage (.454), No. 4 in assists per game (4.1), No. 10 in free throw percentage (.760)
• Dished out 130 assists against 63 turnovers for +2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio – fifth-best in Big West
RUSSELL TURNER, UC IRVINE
COACH OF THE YEAR
• Fourth Big West Coach of the Year honor in the last seven years – and third in the last four
• Ranks third all-time in Big West history for most Coach of the Year awards – Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV, 7) & Bob Thomason (Pacific, 5)
• Guided Anteaters to second straight outright Big West regular season title – and fifth in the last seven seasons
• Led UCI to at least 20 wins for the seventh time in the last eight seasons
• Has UCI ranked nationally in field goal percentage defense (No. 12, .388), field goal percentage (No. 21, .473), rebound margin (No. 3, +9.4) and rebounds per game (No. 23, 39.7)
The All-Big West First Team features features three two-time members – the CSUN duo of LAMINE DIANE and TERRELL GOMEZ as well as UC Santa Barbara senior MAX HEIDEGGER. First-time recipients include the UC Irvine pair of senior EVAN LEONARD and sophomore COLLIN WELP, and Hawai‘i senior EDDIE STANSBERRY.
The complete 2019-20 Big West men’s basketball all-conference team is on the attached PDF.