2014-15 Final Men's Basketball Release
In a season of men's basketball program milestones, UC Davis won its first Big West regular season championship, while UC Irvine notched its first Big West Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
BIG WEST NOTEBOOK
BIG AL IN EXCLUSIVE CLUB, NO. 2 ON BOARDS LIST
UC Santa Barbara senior Alan Williams finished his career inside an exclusive Big West club as just the fifth player to collect 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He eclipsed 1,000 rebounds on Jan. 15 versus CSUN. Concluding his Gaucho tenure with 1,125 boards, Williams ended up No. 2 in the conference career record book, trailing only Long Beach State’s T.J. Robinson (1,208, 2008-12) for the No. 1 slot.
THREE-TIME REBOUNDING CHAMP
Alan Williams also etched his name in Big West history as the first three-time rebounding champion. Averaging double-figure rebounds for the third consecutive year, the 6-8 center pulled down 11.8 boards per game, a figure that also led the nation. In fact, Williams led the country in rebounding in each of his last two seasons after averaging 11.5 in 2013-14. Williams posted three straight campaigns with at least 300 rebounds, and finished his career ranked No. 8 in Big West history with a rebounding average of 10.0 per game.
HICKS FINISHES CAREER NO. 1 IN FREE THROWS MADE
CSUN senior Stephan Hicks became the Big West’s all-time leader in career free throws made on Jan. 29 against Hawai‘i when he made a pair with 7:37 remaining in the first half. Hicks eclipsed Long Beach State’s Lucious Harris (1989-93) and his record of 549 that had stood for nearly 20 years. Hicks finished the season making 59 of his last 62 charity stripe tosses to conclude his career with 599 makes. He came up just short of the career record for free throw attempts, also owned by Harris with 755. Hicks attempted 737 free throws during his four seasons as a Matador.
HAWKINS EARNS SECOND SCORING TITLE
UC Davis senior Corey Hawkins, who ESPN named one of the nation’s top 25 players in 2014-15, polished off his career as Big West scoring champion for the second time in three years. Tallying a conference-best 16 games with 20 points or more, the 6-3 guard also ranked No. 7 nationally with 20.9 points per game. Hawkins also topped the nation in three-point field goal percentage, hitting on 48.8 percent (81-of-166) of his attempts from distance.
UC DAVIS HAS SEASON FOR THE AGES
Coming off of a 9-22 season, UC Davis won its first Big West regular season championship and posted a program Division I record 25 victories as conference Coach of the Year Jim Les spearheaded one of the greatest turnarounds in Big West history. The +16 win differential was No. 1 in the nation and tied the Big West record for biggest turnaround – Utah State improved from 4-23 in 1981-82 to 20-9 in 1982-83. In addition, the Aggies went undefeated at home (14-0), advanced to their first postseason D-I tournament (National Invitation Tournament) and finished the season No. 11 in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
UC IRVINE BREAKS NCAA TOURNEY DROUGHT
UC Davis earned the regular season conference crown, but UC Irvine grabbed the biggest prize of all in winning the Big West Tournament at Honda Center. Since joining the Big West and transitioning to Division I for the 1977-78 season, the Anteaters never had experienced a trip to the NCAA Tournament. That all changed in a span of three days as UCI dispatched UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Hawai‘i to earn the Big West automatic bid to the NCAA’s. Being newcomers to the Big Dance did not seem to phase the 13th-seeded Anteaters, which put a scare into No. 4 seed Louisville before falling, 57-55, in the NCAA Second Round.
ANTEATERS THRIVING UNDER TURNER
Russell Turner has won 90 games in his first five seasons as UC Irvine’s head coach. Sixty-five of those victories have been registered from 2012-15 as the Anteaters have strung together three consecutive 20-win seasons.
JOHNS LEADS HIGHLANDER HIERARCHY
Becoming just the fourth player in school history to earn first-team all-conference accolades in 14 years as a Division I program, UC Riverside junior Taylor Johns is a prime candidate for Big West Player of the Year honors heading into the 2015-16 season. The 6-6 forward established himself as one of the conference’s best players as he finished among the Big West leaders in scoring (16.3 ppg - No. 3) and rebounding (8.2 rpg - No. 2). Johns also ranked second in the conference in blocked shots (1.7 bpg). He surpassed the career 1,000-point mark toward the end of the season, and sits at No. 8 in Big West history with 150 career blocked shots.
PARKS SETS SINGLE-GAME FREE THROW RECORDS
CSUN junior Aaron Parks turned in a record-setting performance on February 28 against UC Riverside at The Blacktop. The guard established Big West single-game records for free throws made (19) and attempted (23) as his career-high 29 points sparked the Matadors to a 83-76 victory. UC Irvine’s Johnny Rogers owned the previous record of 18 free throws made, accomplished against UNLV on February 15, 1986. The previous free throws attempted record jointly belonged to Hawaii’s Christian Standhardinger (12/14/13 vs. Chaminade) and Cal State Fullerton’s Leon Wood (12/19/81 vs. Texas-Arlington).
BOBBITT JOINS RARE CLUB
Hawai‘i junior Roderick Bobbitt became just the fourth player in Big West to record 100 steals in a season. The guard hit 100 on the dot, ranking him No. 4 on the conference’s single-season list. Bobbitt accumulated a season-high 10 steals – tied for No. 2 in Big West history – on Nov. 19 against Hawai‘i-Hilo. Coincidentally, Bobbitt finished with a triple-double that night (12 points, 10 assists, 10 steals). He finished with seven games of five steals or more on the season.
CAL POLY DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT CONTINUES
For the fifth consecutive season, Cal Poly topped the Big West in scoring defense and remained one of the nation’s stingiest clubs. The Mustangs finished No. 16 in the NCAA, allowing just 59.3 points per game.
COACHES NEAR MILESTONES
Three head coaches will enter the 2015-16 in pursuit of career milestones. UC Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams, No. 3 in Big West history with 288 wins, is 12 away from 300. Russell Turner of UCI and Cal Poly’s Joe Callero have won 90 games and need 10 more to reach the landmark 100.
BLOCK PARTY
Two seniors and one junior finished the season among the top shot blockers in the Big West record book. UC Santa Barbara’s Alan Williams ended up No. 2 in league annals with 219 blocked shots. He led the conference in blocks in 2014-15 with an average of 1.81 per game. Williams was the league’s runner-up in blocks his sophomore and junior season, and fourth as a freshman. The center came up 30 blocks short of the Big West career leader, former Gaucho Eric McArthur (1986-90) with 249. Will Davis II of UC Irvine also topped the career 200 block milestone, the third in league history to do so, as he totalled 208. And UC Riverside’s Taylor Johns, No. 2 in the conference this season at 1.68 blocks per game, moved up to No. 8 all-time on the list with 150. Johns will enter his senior season exactly 100 blocks shy of the league record.
HICKS FINISHES IN SCORING TOP 10
CSUN senior Stephan Hicks concluded one of the most prolific scoring careers in Big West history. He scored 1,959 points, good for 10th place in the conference record book.
MAXWELL MAKES MARK, TOO
CSUN senior Stephen Maxwell grabbed 976 career rebounds for the sixth-highest total in Big West annals. That total obliterated the previous school record of 807 that had stood for the better part of four decades.
HAWKINS, LES STAMP THREE-POINT SIGNATURE
UC Davis senior guards Corey Hawkins and Tyler Les, teammates and sons of former NBA players Hersey Hawkins and Aggie head coach Jim Les, respectively, mimicked their fathers quite effectively in 2014-15. Hawkins was the NCAA individual champion in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 48.8% (81-of-166) from distance, while Les concluded his career as one of the top perimeter shooters in league history. Les made 209 of his 474 three-point attempts, 44.1%, which ranks No. 10 in Big West career history.