Post of the Year

Today the West Coast Conference released the four individual "_____ of the year" awards, the all-conference team and the all-freshman team. The conference's nine head coaches vote on these awards. Have a look.

WCC Player of the Year
Kelly Olynyk -  Junior Forward, Gonzaga

WCC Coach of the Year
Mark Few - Gonzaga

WCC Defensive Player of the Year
Mike Hart -  Senior Guard, Gonzaga

WCC Newcomer of the Year
Stacy Davis - Freshman Forward, Pepperdine



I have no issues with the recipients of three of these four awards. Kelly Olynyk is in the National Player of the Year conversation so he has to get the nod over last year's WCC POY Matthew Dellavedova or my preseason pick, Elias Harris. Mark Few assembled and led this Gonzaga squad to an undefeated record in WCC play and the #1 ranking in the nation, this is a no brainer. Stacy Davis for Newcomer of the Year is also pretty obvious, only because the way the conference defines "newcomer" excludes BYU sophomore Tyler Haws (despite Haws being quite literally a WCC newcomer. He played for the Cougars as a freshman before taking his mission, during which time the Cougars left the Mountain West and came to the WCC).

Disclaimer: I love the way Mike Hart plays the game. Before Gonzaga played BYU in the NCAA tournament I was discussing Jimmer with my friends and said Mike Hart should be given the task of stopping Jimmermania.  That said, he's not the best defensive player in the WCC. He's a great defender. He disrupts opponents' offense like no other. He's a starter but averages only 2 points and 1.2 assists per game. He must be out there for his defensive work, right? Well, yes. However his greatest impact on the game is not on the defensive end, it is on the offensive glass. He's the teams' third leading rebounder but of his 108 rebounds this season 58 have been offensive.

Had these awards been voted on by the media I don't think Mike Hart would have won. However, because it was the coaches' choice, I can see why he won. Hart's selflessness and work ethic (walk on to starter) are traits every coach wants to see in a player.  Hart winning isn't that big of a stretch though. If I had a vote he would have been my second choice, behind fellow Zag Gary Bell Jr.

While I would have voted for Mark Few for Coach of the Year if I had to I would have liked to have Few and Kerry Keating share the award. Keating kept all the players from last year's 0-16 squad and turned them into a 21 game winning team that earned a bye to the WCC quarterfinals. In the age of the transfer, to keep talented players (he has four 1,000+ point scorers) after an abysmal season takes a genius job of coaching. Keating deserves mention in the category for that alone. I wouldn't be surprised if Rex Walters voted for Keating considering Walters knows full well just how easy it is for players to transfer (even after a successful season).

All-WCC Team
Brandon Davies - Senior Forward, BYU
Matthew Dellavedova - Senior Guard, Saint Mary's
Cole Dickerson - Junior Forward, San Francisco
Kevin Foster - Senior Guard, Santa Clara
Elias Harris - Senior Forward, Gonzaga
Tyler Haws - Sophomore Guard, BYU
Anthony Ireland - Junior Guard, LMU
Kelly Olynyk - Junior Forward, Gonzaga
Kevin Pangos - Sophomore Guard, Gonzaga
Marc Trasolini - Senior Forward, Santa Clara

Honorable Mentions
Christopher Anderson, Jordan Baker, Gary Bell Jr., Stacy Davis, Johnny Dee, Cody Doolin, Stephen Holt, Lorne Jackson, Ryan Nicholas.

WCC All-Freshman Team
Stacy Davis - Forward, Pepperdine
Tim Derksen - Forward, San Francisco
Avry Holmes - Guard, San Francisco
Przemek Karnowski - Center, Gonzaga
Jito Kok - Center, San Diego

I have absolutely no issues with any of the players on these teams. I might have voted for Gary Bell Jr. to the first team but that's just because I really like his game. Maybe it would have been nice to give Sam Dower an honorable mention. Dower was on the preseason All-WCC Team but got stuck in the Zags' big man log jam and isn't eligible for the freshman team anymore.