Niesen Earns All-WCC Honors

Niesen Earns All-WCC Honors
Posted: Feb 28, 2006

Feb. 28, 2006

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - As the team's only departing senior and the Broncos' leading returning scorer and rebounder, Santa Clara's Travis Niesen has played the entire season with a target on his back.

The Mission Viejo, Calif. native responded by increasing both his scoring and rebounding averages and was rewarded today by West Coast Conference coaches with his selection to the league's 2006 all-conference team.

SCU freshman center John Bryant, a native of San Pablo, Calif who became the program's all-time freshman leader in blocked shots, was honored as a member of the league's all-freshman team.




Check out Santa Clara's exclusive WCC Tournament content on Broncos All-Access.
"I've been asked all year about what Travis means to our team," said SCU head coach Dick Davey. "The answer is always the same. He is one of the most competitive players to ever put on a Bronco uniform and he has a tremendous passion for whatever he does. He has a lot of interests in his life and he has a strong desire to excell at all of them. He is without a doubt one of the top players in our league."

Niesen, who was an honorable mention all-WCC selection as a junior last season, has moved into 14th-place on Santa Clara's all-time scoring list with 1,350 points heading into Friday's WCC Tournament first round game against the University of Portland. He is six points shy of Jens Gordon and 43 points away from Mike Gervasoni's 21th-place 1,393.

In addition, Niesen is among the SCU career leaders in starts with 88 and games played with 115.

Bryant ranks third in the WCC in blocked shots and field goal percentage and is listed seventh in rebounds per game. He is one of three Broncos to have played in all 27 games this season and has 14 starts in his first season on the Mission Campus.

Sixth-seeded Santa Clara faces seventh-seeded Portland at approximately 8 p.m. Friday in the first round of the WCC Tournament in Spokane, Wash. The winner of that game will play Saint Mary's College at the same time on Saturday with the winner advancing to face second-seeded Loyola Marymount in the semifinals.

Each of Santa Clara's games in the tournament will be broadcast in the Bay Area on KNTS-AM 1220 and via the internet through Broncos All-Access. In addition, Broncos All-Access will feature a variety of interviews, press conferences and other exclusive features throughout the week.

2006 All-West Coast Conference Team

Name Pos Ht Wt ClHometown
J.P. Batista Gonzaga 6-9F/C Sr,Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil
Eugene Jeter Portland 5-11G Sr.Gardena, Calif.
Daniel Kickert Saint Mary's 6-10F Sr.Melbourne, Australia
Matthew Knight Loyola Marymount 6-8F Jr.Burnie, Tasmania, Australia
Nick Lewis San Diego 6-10F Sr.Paradise Valley, Ariz.
Adam Morrison Gonzaga 6-8F Jr.Spokane, Wash.
Travis Niesen Santa Clara 6-7F Sr.Mission Viejo, Calif.
Armando Surratt San Francisco 6-0G Jr.Oakland, Calif.
Wes Wardrop Loyola Marymount 6-3G Sr.Anaheim, Calif.
Brandon Worthy Loyola Marymount 6-2G Jr.San Jose, Calif.

Honorable Mention
Pepperdine: Tashaan Forehan-Kelly; Portland: Darren Cooper; San Diego: Corey Belser, Ross DeRogatis; San Francisco: Alan Wiggins, Jr.

2006 WCC All-Freshman Team

Name School Ht Pos Hometown
John Bryant Santa Clara 6-10C San Pablo, Calif.
Michael Gerrity Pepperdine 6-0G Yorba Linda, Calif.
Brandon Johnson San Diego 6-0G Houston, Texas
Gyno Pomare San Diego 6-7F/C Oceanside, Calif.
Diamon Simpson Saint Mary's 6-7F Hayward, Calif.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Mark Few, Gonzaga

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Adam Morrison, Gonzaga 6-8 • Junior • Forward

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Corey Belser, San Diego 6-6 • Senior • Forward

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Armondo Surratt, San Francisco 6-0 • Junior • Guard