[UPDATED] Bruins Sweep Key Pac-10 Hoops Awards

by bluestreet on Mar 10, 2008 7:08 PM PDT Comment 18 comments

Bumped. Congrats to all our Ben Ball warriors. Although we are a little perplexed how Darren Collison was left off the first team All Pac-10. GO BRUINS. -N

From the UCLA official site:

UCLA freshman center Kevin Love has been selected Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year by vote of the league's coaches. He was also named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. Sophomore guard Russell Westbrook was named the Pac-10's Defensive Player of the Year.

Love is only the second freshman in league history to win the award, which started in 1975-76. The other freshman was California's Shareef Abdul-Rahim in 1996.

This is the seventh time a Bruin has captured the award. Junior Arron Afflalo won the award last season, Ed O'Bannon won it in 1995, Kenny Fields in 1983, David Greenwood in 1978 and 1979 and Marques Johnson in 1977.

Love is also the third Bruin in the last four years to win the Freshman of the Year Award. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute won it in 2006 and Jordan Farmar earned it in 2005. Other Bruins to capture that award include Jason Kapono (co-winner) in 2000, Baron Davis in 1998, Don MacLean in 1989 and Pooh Richardson (co-winner) in 1986.

snip

Love was also named to the five-man All-Pac-10 first team.

Junior guard Darren Collison was named second-team All-Pac-10 and was also named to the All-Defensive Team. Westbrook was named third-team All-Pac-10 and joined Collison on the All-Defensive team.

Juniors Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Josh Shipp earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention from the league's coaches. Love and Mbah a Moute were All-Defensive honorable mention.

Full breakdown available in the Pac-10 site.

Congrats to Love, Westbrook and all the other deserving Ben Ball warriors.

Go Bruins!!!

UPDATE - N: Also to no one's surprise Kareem Abdul Jabbar was selected as the greatest player of all time in WWL's Top-25 list. GO BRUINS.

UPDATE II - N: Looks like we weren't the only one upset with DC's exclusion from the First Team All Pac-10. From Dohn:

"My only disappointment is I think Darren Collison definitely deserves to be on the first team,'' said Howland, noting Collison leads the Pac-10 in free throwing shooting and steal and is second in 3-point field goal percentage. Thanks again to Coach Howland for is frank remarks (reflected in our comment threads). May be this snub will fire up DC even more heading into the post season. GO BRUINS.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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CONGRATS to our Ben Ball Warriors!

All well deserved.

by freesia39 on Mar 10, 2008 1:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

They didn't list one

Most Imspirational Player - Lorenzo Mata-Real

by Fox 71 on Mar 10, 2008 1:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

All Pac-10 First Team

3 Freshman (Love, Mayo and Harden) and 2 Sophs (Anderson and B Lopez). Amazing!

by charnaw on Mar 10, 2008 2:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Looking at All Pac-10 Team

I don't get how OJ2 was picked over DC. OJ2 scores 20+ pts a game because he keeps chucking up shots (has taken more shots than anyone else in the Pac-10 scoring leaders except for Brockman and Anderson).

DC on the other hand is among leaders of so many categories - assists, steals, 3 pt FG percentages, FT percentages - basically leading the best team in the conference. And yet he is not a first team All Pac-10?

by bluestreet on Mar 10, 2008 2:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I Totally Agree

That's ridiculous. DC is one of the best--if not THE best--point guards in the country.

Is it that the games he missed at the beginning of the season were "held against him" somehow?

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Mar 10, 2008 2:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry,

Not to take anything away from KL, RW, or ANY of the others named. Congratulations to all of them, that's a true accomplishment in this conference.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Mar 10, 2008 2:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

DC got jobbed

He is the best PG in the conference and maybe the nation, plain and simple. No one manages a game better than he does, and very few can take over a game like he can. He gets my [biased] vote. I can't believe Mayo was voted to the first team. That is garbage. His TO to assist ratio is one of the highest among Pac-10 poing guards, and his defense is not that great.

by tasser10 on Mar 10, 2008 2:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd rather have . . .

any of the guards on the second or third teams (DC, RW, Bayless, Low, Weaver) than either of the two guards on the first team (Mayo, Harden). I also don't believe Ryan Anderson belongs on the first team, although his stats say otherwise.

by vanaaron on Mar 10, 2008 3:29 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Seriously?

Harden singlehandedly brought ASU back into significance this year as he practically willed his team over two wins against Arizona, sweeping them for the first time in 13 years!
Anderson is also one of, if not the most talented player in the entire Pac-10. He is basically a 6'10'' shooting guard and definitely deserves to be on the all Pac-10 first team but it is just hard to tell sometimes because the talent around him is so bad.

by turs12 on Mar 10, 2008 6:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Where you at?

Well Anderson was just named to Sporting News' 2nd team All-American list today. So much for him not deserving to be little old first team All Pac-10.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=379135

by turs12 on Mar 11, 2008 5:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If such things have any impact...

would you rather have (1) a player earning an award that he feels he has to live up to through his play, or (2) a player denied that award who may go off on the upcoming opposition due to the slight?

I wish that in this case, DC had won it, but if it provides an assist in regards to our backcourt's lack of depth and him striving for (hope hope) West region honors, I'll take it.

Vaya con dios.

by boston bruin on Mar 10, 2008 4:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Forgot to mention...

You guys (as well as the UCLA site) forgot to mention that Russell Westbrook was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year! He's the first player to receive that honor since they reinstated it last spring.

by BruinDLC on Mar 10, 2008 6:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Read the first para in blockquote

It ends with:

Sophomore guard Russell Westbrook was named the Pac-10's Defensive Player of the Year.

Again its in the first paragraph.

by Nestor on Mar 10, 2008 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Woops!

My eyes deceive me again...thanks! Sorry bout that.

by BruinDLC on Mar 10, 2008 7:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know everyone

probably wants to be done hearing about this, but this put me at ease a little (though the source is borderline developmentally challenged) about the controversy surrounding the Cal game. After the game, the only call Braun openly criticized was the out-of-bounds call (had no problem with the call on Shipp's shot). The All-knowing McCabe cleared this all up-
"(UCLA) pokes the ball out and Anderson lunges for the ball," said McCabe, after reviewing various angles of the play. "Somebody else said to me, 'He was pushed.' He wasn't pushed."
Not that I really take stock in anything that tool says, but at least any idiots that do value his opinion can lay off about that no-call.

by yarrrp on Mar 10, 2008 7:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm still fuming about the Anderson no call

If the officials had just whistled Westy for the reach in, then Anderson could have walked down, calmly hit 2 free throws, setting up Shipp for the game tying 3! as the buzzer sounds. What would that get us? 5 more minutes added to our season. I cant get enough of this stuff. Just like Stanfurd, the Bruins would have rolled in OT. Damn those Pac 10 officials for taking away that bonus 5 minutes to this season.

by popopapa on Mar 10, 2008 9:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

America's Shot of the Year!!!

The UCLA haters are all grousing about Josh's "Immaculate Deception" but every school boy (and girl) is practicing that shot in the school yards, gyms and driveways from Lake Oswego to Lexington...and dreaming of someday being a Bruin. Thank you Josh. Shipp Happens!

by bruin75 on Mar 10, 2008 10:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs