|
|
|
UNLV's Lon Kruger Tabbed USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year New Mexico's J.R. Giddens receives nod as District VIII Player of the Year
March 14, 2008 LAS VEGAS - UNLV head coach Lon Kruger and New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens have been named the District VIII Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Joining Giddens on the all-District VIII team from the Mountain West Conference were BYU's Lee Cummard and Trent Plaisted, UNLV's Wink Adams, Wyoming's Brandon Ewing. The USBWA all-District teams are based on voting from its national membership. There are nine regions from coast to coast, with a player and coach of the year selected in each district. Kruger, who picked up his first MWC Coach of the Year award this season, is also a finalist for the USBWA's Henry Iba Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top coach. This season, he has led the Runnin' Rebels to a 24-7 overall record and a second-place finish in the MWC with a 12-4 league mark. He has guided UNLV to back-to-back seasons with at least 23 wins for the first time since 1990-91 and 1991-92. Giddens, a 6-5 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., is the Conference's leader in rebounding at 8.4 per game this season. He has a total of 244, 195 of which are defensive, which also is tops in the MWC. Giddens also averages 15.6 points per game (sixth in the league) and has a field goal percentage of 51.9 percent (fourth in the MWC). Cummard, the 2007-08 MWC Co-Player of the Year, is second for the Cougars in points (15.8 ppg), rebounds (6.6 rpg) and assists (3.4 rpg) while leading the Mountain West with a 56.7 shooting percentage from the field. A 6-foot-7 guard from Mesa, Ariz., he has scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games while topping 20 or more points on nine occasions this season.
Plaisted paces the Cougars with 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest while racking up 10 double-figure rebounding games. He is third in the MWC, shooting 54.0 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in 24 games, including 11 outings with 20 or more points. This year's USBWA all-District selection is the second for Plaisted, who was one of three freshmen in the nation to receive the award in 2006.
Adams, a 6-foot guard from Houston, Texas, leads UNLV this season in scoring with 16.0 points per game and free-throw percentage at 85.7 percent (108-of-126). His free throw percentage ranks first in the MWC, while his scoring average is third. He also averages 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Ewing, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Chicago, Ill., has amassed 1,507 points in his career, which currently ranks seventh all-time in the MWC. He is also second in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg) and assists (4.29 apg). DISTRICT VIII
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
COACH OF THE YEAR
ALL-DISTRICT TEAM |
|
