Matadors enjoy several Big West honors
Bobby Braswell, Calvin Chitwood, Jonathan Heard, Josh Jenkins, Deon
Tresvant, Tremaine Townsend Honored by Big West Conference
Irvine, Calif. - The post-season honors are starting to filter in, and
Cal State Northridge, based on their success in men's basketball this
year, is starting to reap the benefits.
 Head
coach Bobby Braswell, who coached the Matadors to a 20-9 overall
record and a Big West title (12-4), has been awarded 2007-08 Coach of
the Year honors in a league vote of his peers. The Matadors seized
control of first place in the first week of conference play and never
relinquished their grip on the top perch throughout, sharing the title
with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton. The 20-9 season in
2007-08 marked the third time in Braswell's 12-year tenure that he
coached the Matadors to a 20-win season.
"I'm extremely humbled and blessed with this award," said Braswell. "I
am thankful to God for blessing me with the opportunity to coach this
group of young men. Obviously, this is not possible without a good
team. These players have worked extremely hard. They have done
everything I have asked them to do."
"I also want to thank my assistant coaches (Louis Wilson, Stan
Johnson, James Blake, Ryan Dodd-Director of Basketball Operations). I
think I have one of the best staffs I've ever had since I've been here
at Cal State Northridge. They are loyal, dedicated ... not just to me
but also to the players and to the program. They have made my job
extremely easy this year with their hard work, commitment and
dedication."
Braswell's Coach of the Year award does not stop there for Cal State
Northridge. Senior forward Jonathan Heard has been named first team
All-Big West Conference while junior forward/center Tremaine Townsend
and junior guard Deon Tresvant were named second team All-Big West.
Honorable mention accolades were awarded to senior forward Calvin
Chitwood and junior guard Josh Jenkins.
"It's a great honor for these players," said Braswell. "As a coach,
you preach and teach team play, working together, playing unselfishly,
and playing hard throughout the year. These players epitomize that. I
think these honors are the result of this group determined to play
together. As a coach, I'm am excited and pleased that they have been
rewarded with these Big West accolades."
Calvin Chitwood, Senior, 6-8, 220, Forward, Phoenix, Az
(Honorable Mention)
CSUN's second leading scorer (10.7 ppg) ... Team leader in free throw
percentage (.785), and second in field goal percentage (.528) and
blocked shots (1.1 bpg, #3 in the Big West), and third in rebounding
(4.8 rpg) ... Began the 2007-08 season with 22 points and a
career-high 18 rebounds against Chicago State (11/10/07) ... Has
scored in double figures in 17 games ... Joined the 1,00 career point
club with 20 points against Vanguard (12/20/07) ... Set a school
record with six blocks at Washington (12/22/07) ... Has scored 1,159
points in his four-year Matador career, tenth-best in school history
... Has 29 season blocks, third-best in school history.
Jonathan Heard, Senior, 6-6, 195, Forward, Inglewood, Ca. (First
Team)
Averaged 11.6 ppg (#2 on the Matadors, #15 in the Big West) along with
5.6 rpg (#2 on the Matadors, #8 in the Big West) ... Averaged 1.3 spg
(#2 on the Matadors, #9 in the Big West) ... Has scored in
double-digits in 20 of the 29 games this season ... Shooting .512
(130-for-254) from the floor, fourth-best in the conference ... Became
the school's third all-time leading scorer (1,355 points) this year
... Tied a school year this year by appearing in his 119th career game
vs Cal Poly (3/8/08).
Josh Jenkins, Guard, 5-10, 185, Junior, Albuquerque, NM (Honorable
Mention)
Leads the Big West and is among the national leaders in assists (187,
6.4 apg, #3 for a single season at CSUN) ... Jenkins is attempting to
become the first Matador since Markus Carr (2001-02, 5.3 apg) to win
the conference title ... Has dished out ten or more assists in five
games ... Dished out 12 assists (#1 in the Big West this year) against
Cal State Bakersfield (11/21/07), three short of the school record ...
Has collected a team-leading 48 steals this year, fourth-best in the
conference ... Second in the Big West in assist/turnover ratio (1.64).
Tremaine Townsend, Forward/Center, 6-9, 215, Junior, Phoenix, Az
(Second Team)
Ranks first in the Big West in rebounding (9.5 rpg), blocked shots
(1.2 bpg) and second in field goal percentage (.531) ... Townsend is
attempting to become the first CSUN player to win the conference
rebound title ... Has grabbed ten or more rebounds in 13 games ... In
the last nine games, has averaged 12.1 rpg ... Earned Big West Player
of the Week honors twice ... Leads the Big West in double-doubles (9)
... Played one of the great games in school history with career-highs
in rebounds (22) and points (21) along with three blocks and two
steals in his first collegiate start at UC Davis (2/9/08) ... The 22
rebounds were two short of the school record and six short of the
league record ... The 22 rebounds is a Big West best this year ... Has
blocked a school record 34 shots. (over)
Deon Tresvant, Junior, 6-0, 170, Junior, Guard, Long Beach, Ca
(Second Team)
CSUN's leading scorer at 14.0 ppg (#10 in the Big West) ... Averaging
16.3 ppg during league play (#5 in the Big West) ... Has scored in
double-figures in 19 games, all in a reserve role ... Scored a
career-high 31 points (23 in the second half) at UCSB (1/5/08) ... The
31 points was eighth-best in school history ... Has a team-leading 82
three-pointers, second-best in the Big West and second all-time for a
single season at CSUN ... Has attempted 197 three-pointers, #2
all-time for a single season at CSUN ... Shooting .416 (82-for-197)
from three-point territory, #7 in the Big West ... Has made at least
one three-pointer in 28 of 29 games.
2007-08 Big West All-Conference Basketball Teams
Coach of The Year - Bobby Braswell (Cal State Northridge)
Co-Players of the Year - Scott Cutley (Cal State Fullerton); Alex
Harris (UC Santa Barbara)
Freshman of the Year - Mark Payne (UC Davis)
First Team
Jonathan Heard - Cal State Northridge
Scott Cutley - Cal State Fullerton
Alex Harris - UC Santa Barbara
Stefan Johnson - Pacific
Donovan Morris - Long Beach State Patrick Sanders - UC Irvine
Second Team
Tremaine Townsend - Cal State Northridge
Deon Tresvant - Cal State Northridge
Josh Akognon - Cal State Fullerton
Darren Fells - UC Irvine
Frank Robinson - Cal State Fullerton
Honorable Mention
Calvin Chitwood - Cal State Northridge
Josh Jenkins - Cal State Northridge
Anthony Brown - Pacific
Trae Clark - Cal Poly
Larry Cunningham - UC Riverside
Chris Devine - UC Santa Barbara
Ivan Elliott - UC Santa Barbar
James Powell - UC Santa Barbara Chad Troyer - Pacific
Freshman Team
Jalonni Diggs - UC Riverside
Shawn Lewis - Cal Poly
Mark Payne - UC Davis
Greg Plater - Long Beach State Terrell Smith - Pacific |
