#BWCFanVote: Top Guards in the Big West

In anticipation of the upcoming basketball season and the #MarchtoMarch, we asked the fans to choose their top five big men in the Big West.

After a weeklong voting period, the results are in.  The top five vote getters – in order – are UC Santa Barbara’s Alan Williams, UC Irvine’s Will Davis II and Mamadou Ndiaye, Isaac Fotu of Hawai‘i and Taylor Johns of UC Riverside.

Here is a capsule on each player as we head toward the first day of official practices on Friday, October 3.

Alan Williams • UC Santa Barbara • 6-8 • 265 • Senior • Center • Phoenix, Ariz.

The 2013-14 Big West Player of the Year, “Big Al” led the conference in scoring (21.3 ppg) and the nation in rebounding at 11.5 boards per game.  He was the first player to top the Big West in both scoring and rebounding since the 2005-06 season.  Williams was selected Big West Player of the Week a record six times during the 2013-14 campaign.  The Phoenix, Ariz. native collected a league-leading 16 double-doubles, and that total was the most by a Gaucho in 24 years.  His 817 career rebounds leads all active Big West players, and he is well on pace to become just the fifth player in the conference’s 46-year history to amass 1,000 rebounds.  Williams earned several accolades following his junior year, including Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, NABC First Team All-District, USBWA First Team All-Region and CollegeInsider.com First Team Mid-Major All-American.


Will Davis II • UC Irvine • 6-8 • 210 • Senior • Forward • Sacramento, Calif.

An All-Big West Honorable Mention selection in 2013-14, Davis II averaged 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 56.7% from the field.  Among the Big West leaders, he ranked ninth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage.  He also blocked 31 shots, which came on the heels of a standout sophomore campaign when he set a then-UCI single-season record with 88 swats en route to the Big West “Best Defensive Player” award.  Davis II enters his final season in the blue and gold with 174 career blocked shots, most of any active conference player.  His 944 career points puts him 56 shy of becoming the 24th player in UCI history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.





Mamadou Ndiaye • UC Irvine • 7-6 • 300 • Sophomore • Center • Dakar, Senegal

Ndiaye, the nation’s tallest player at 7-6, made quite the splash in his freshman season for UC irvine.  He became the first individual in Big West history to exceed 100 blocked shots in a season with a record 106.  He posted seven or more blocks in a game five times, and broke the Big West single-game record on three separate occasions, the final time on February 6, 2014 when he had 11 rejections against Long Beach State.  For his efforts, Ndiaye earned the Big West “Best Defensive Player” honor.  The Dakar, Senegal native also finished second on the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and fifth in scoring (8.0 ppg).





Isaac Fotu • Hawai‘i • 6-8 • 230 • Junior • Forward • Torbay, Auckland, New Zealand

Fotu has acquired several awards in his two-year career with the Rainbow Warriors.  In 2012-13, he was voted the Big West Co-Freshman of the Year and also was named a Freshman All-American by CollegeInsider.com.  For his sophomore campaign, Fotu captured first team all-conference honors and appeared on the NABC All-District 9 second team.  In the Big West rankings, Fotu was 10th in scoring (14.9 ppg), 11th in rebounding (6.1 rpg), second in field goal percentage (.584) and 10th in free throw percentage (.733).  He also ranked 17th nationally in field goal percentage.  Fotu also gained additional valuable experience during the summer competing with his native New Zealand at the FIBA World Cup.  He scored eight points against Team USA in a pool play game.




Taylor Johns • UC Riverside • 6-7 • 220 • Sophomore • Forward • San Francisco, Calif.

Significant strides were made by Johns from his freshman to sophomore seasons.  He became a force on the defensive end, amassing 72 blocked shots for the third-highest single-season total in Highlander history, and leaving him only two short of 100 career blocks.  Johns upped his game offensively as well.  He recorded five games of 20 points or more, including a career-high 31 against Montana State, and finished the year third on the squad with 12.0 points per game.  The honorable mention all-league recipient also collected nine double-doubles – tied for fourth among Big West players – and he placed fifth conference-wide in rebounds (7.8 rpg).



Honorable mention (next 5 vote-getters): Brian Bennett (Cal Poly); Stephen Maxwell (CSUN); Josh Ritchart (UC Davis); Joel Awich (Cal Poly); J.T. Adenrele (UC Davis)