MEN’S BASKETBALL LANDS 4 WCC POSTSEASON HONORS
SAN BRUNO, Calif. – After completing 27-win regular season four members of the Pacific men’s basketball were represented on the 2017-18 West Coast Conference postseason honors lists. It was announced by the conference office on Tuesday morning.
This season marks the first the men’s basketball program has named three individuals to the All-WCC teams since rejoining the conference in 2013-14.
Senior center Namdi Okonkwo collected Defensive Player of the Year accolades after propelling the Tigers to their highest league wins tally since rejoining the WCC in 2013-14. Okonkwo collects the major WCC honor for Pacific since its return to the WCC and is the first Tiger honored since John Gianelli captured 1971 WCC Player of the Year honors. In his first season in Stockton, Okonkwo made an immediate impact in an impressive turnaround for the Tigers, ranking among Division I blocked shots leaders in both average (15th/2.58) and overall (10th/80). The Portland State transfer’s 80 swats was the most since Saint Mary’s Omar Samhan in 2010 (7th overall) and was second to only San Francisco’s Hondre Brewer (55/2001) in blocks during league contests (52). Okonkwo added 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in his debut Tiger season.
Also earning individual honors was Saint Mary’s Jock Landale, snagging the league’s Player of the Year honor. Zach Norvell Jr. was tabbed the conference’s Newcomer of the Year, while Gonzaga’s Mark Few snagged his 12th Coach of the Year nod.
Jahlil Tripp was selected to the WCC Second Team after averaging 10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The sophomore guard had 16 double-digit scoring performances. Tripp was one of two players to earn WCC Player of the Week, earning te program’s first weekly honor since Pacific guard Dulani Robinson was named on December 22, 2014.
Roberto Gallinat and Miles Reynolds have also had an outstanding season thus far for the Tigers with Gallinat leading Pacific’s scorers with 15 points per game, while Reynolds averages 13.2 points, 2.7 assists per game.
With the conclusion of the regular season, WCC teams head to Las Vegas to compete for the 2018 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship. Tournament action tips off Friday, March 2 at the Orlean’s Arena. Pacific enters tournament play as the No. 5 seed, earning a bye for the first round. The Tigers are set to take on San Francisco at 3:00 pm on Saturday.
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Major Individual Awards
Player of the Year: Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s
Coach of the Year: Mark Few, Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year: Namdi Okonkwo, Pacific
Newcomer of the Year: Zach Norvell Jr., Gonzaga
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball First Team
| Name | Year | Pos. | School |
| Elijah Bryant | Jr. | G | BYU |
| Yoeli Childs | So. | F | BYU |
| KJ Feagin | Jr. | G | Santa Clara |
| Frankie Ferrari | Jr. | G | San Francisco |
| Rui Hachimura | So. | F | Gonzaga |
| Jock Landale | Sr. | C | Saint Mary’s |
| Emmett Naar | Sr. | G | Saint Mary’s |
| Josh Perkins | Jr. | G | Gonzaga |
| Isaiah Pineiro | Jr. | F | San Diego |
| Johnathan Williams | Sr. | F | Gonzaga |
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Second Team
| Name | Year | Pos. | School |
| James Batemon | Jr. | G | Loyola Marymount |
| Calvin Hermanson | Sr. | F | Saint Mary’s |
| Killian Tillie | So. | F | Gonzaga |
| Jahlil Tripp | So. | G/F | Pacific |
| Isaiah Wright | Jr. | G | San Diego |
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Freshman Team
| Name | Pos. | School |
| Souley Boum | G | San Francisco |
| Zach Norvell Jr. | G | Gonzaga |
| Colbey Ross | G | Pepperdine |
| Eli Scott | F | Loyola Marymount |
| Marcus Shaver | G | Portland |
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