The 2011-12 BIg West Men’s Basketball All-Specialty Team awards today were revealed with the selection of Long Beach State senior Larry Anderson as Defensive Player of the Year, Pacific sophomore Ross Rivera the Best Sixth Player and UC Irvine junior Adam Folker the Best Hustle Player.
The conference’s nine head coaches voted on the awards, but were not allowed to cast votes for their own players. This is the 12th straight year that the Big West has named an All-Specialty Team.
Anderson, who was named to the All-Big West First Team for the third time in his career, became the second straight 49er to be named the conference’s best defensive player. Teammate Casper Ware earned the award in 2010-11. Anderson was the centerpiece of a Long Beach State defensive unit that held Big West opponents to a league-low 61.1 points per game. The defensive persistence paid off as the 49ers had a 20-0 record when limiting an opponent under 70 points. Anderson, who led the Big West with 1.9 steals per game, became the school’s career leader in steals recently as he surpassed former NBA player Lucious Harris on the list. He had three or more steals on 11 occasions and amassed at least one steal in all but four games. Anderson enters the Big West Tournament with 205 career steals. The 6-5 guard also ranked third on the team in rebounds (5.0 rpg) and blocked 10 shots.
Rivera had a standout season off the bench in his first season with Pacific’s program. The sophomore topped the Big West in free throw percentage (.847) with 122 makes in 144 attempts. Rivera posted some monster games at the free throw line, getting to the charity stripe for double-digit attempts on four different occasions. He accounted for 15 of his 19 points from the line, hitting 15 of 16 free throw attempts at UC Riverside on Feb. 2. The 6-7 forward notched a career-high 26 points in 27 reserve minutes against Cal State Northridge on Feb. 11. Rivera tallied double-digits points in 17 games, including seven of the last nine and led the Tigers in scoring with 11.3 points per game. He also shot 49.7 percent (96 of 193) from the field during the regular season. Rivera is the third Tiger in the last four seasons to be selected the Big West’s Best Sixth Player.
Folker, a native of Markham, Ontario, is the first UC Irvine player to claim the Best Hustle award. Folker has excelled in the latter part of the season, scoring in double figures in eight of the final nine games after doing so just three times in the first 21 contests. He scorched Cal State Northridge for a career-high 28 points on 11 of 14 shooting on Feb. 25 and had 20 points on 9 of 13 efficiency versus Cal Poly on Feb. 11. Folker tallied a pair of double-doubles on the season and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against Seattle on Jan. 24. His late season offensive surge propelled him into the Big West rankings as he ranks No. 1 in field goal percentage (.569) in conference games only.
2011-12 BIG WEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Larry Anderson, Long Beach State
2011-12 BIG WEST BEST SIXTH PLAYER
Ross Rivera, Pacific
2011-12 BIG WEST BEST HUSTLE PLAYER
Adam Folker, UC Irvine