2020-21 Big West All-Specialty Team
Two seniors and a sophomore took home the 2020-21 Big West Men’s Basketball All-Specialty Awards. UC Irvine center
Brad Greene notched the Best Defensive Player award and UC Santa Barbara guard
Ajare Sanni collected Best Sixth Player honors. UC Riverside guard
Dominick Pickett received Best Hustle Player accolades.
The conference’s 11 head coaches voted on the awards – the 21st straight year an all-specialty team has been named.
BRAD GREENE, UC IRVINE
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Senior • Center • Lone Pine, Calif. • Lone Pine HS
• Continues tradition of Anteater big men recognized for this award
• It marks the seventh time in the last nine years a UCI frontcourt player has won, a list which includes Will Davis II (2013), Mamadou Ndiaye (2014 & 2016) and Jonathan Galloway (2017-19)
• Led the Big West in total blocks (44) and blocks per game (1.83)
• Notched a career-high nine blocks against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 20, tying for third on the Big West single-game list
• Started all 24 games for the Anteaters and posted two or more blocked shots in 12 of them
• Big West active career leader with 132 blocked shots
• Ranked third in Big West in rebounds (7.5 RPG), sixth in defensive rebounds (4.9 DRPG) and first in offensive rebounds (2.63 ORPG)
• Enters Big West Tournament with 670 career rebounds, tied for No. 11 in UCI history
AJARE SANNI, UC SANTA BARBARA
BEST SIXTH PLAYER
Sophomore • Guard • Houston, Texas • Clear Lake HS
• First Gaucho recipient of Best Sixth Player award since Kyle Boswell went back-to-back in 2013 and 2014
• Team’s third-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game
• Ranks eighth in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage (.411) and three-point field goals per game (1.9)
• Posted 12 double-digit scoring games as a reserve in all but one of his 21 games played
• Connected on at least one three-pointer in 17 of 21 games
DOMINICK PICKETT, UC RIVERSIDE
BEST HUSTLE PLAYER
Senior • Guard • Moreno Valley, Calif. • Rancho Verde HS
• Second Highlander to earn this honor and first since Christian Soto in 2008
• Former team manager turned walk-on and now a scholarship player, he started all 20 games for the Highlanders
• Ranked fifth on the team in scoring (7.4 PPG) and second in assists (2.7 APG)
• Posted .395 three-point field goal percentage which ranks 16th in the Big West
• Scored career-high 22 points in win over UC Irvine on Feb. 12, hitting 8 of 10 shots overall and career-best six threes