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Lute Olson Preseason All-America Team
National Mid-Major Preseason Poll (Oct. 31, 2011)
ESPN.com story by Diamond Leung on Kevin Foster (Nov. 3, 2011)
Read Yahoo.com Jeff Eisenberg's preseason story on Kevin Foster
With the exhibition opener set for Fri., Nov. 4 vs. Ryerson, the Santa Clara's men's basketball team is receiving national attention this week as well. Earlier this week the Broncos were ranked No. 25 in the preseason National Mid-Major Preseason Poll. It is the first time in the 13 years of the national poll the Broncos have been ranked in the preseason after finishing the 2010-11 season ranked No. 22. Leading the nation in three-pointers and the West Coast Conference in scoring, Santa Clara junior Kevin Foster continues to collect preseason honors. On Wednesday he was named to the 2011-12 Lute Olson Preseason All-America team by CollegeInsider.com after being named to the preseason All-WCC team last week.
Santa Clara opens 2011-12 play on Fri., Nov. 4 with an exhibition vs. Ryerson. Ryerson College, located in Toronto, Canada, will play at Santa Clara Friday and then at Stanford on Saturday on its six-day road trip. Click here for more information on Ryerson. It will be Santa Clara's fifth-straight game vs. a collegiate team from Canada after playing four games in the Vancouver in early September as part of its foreign tour. Click here for a video review of the Vancouver trip.
To prove the strength and respect the WCC is receiving preseason, Gonzaga is No. 1, BYU No. 9 and Saint Mary's No. 11. The WCC being ranked as the seventh-best league in the country in the preseason and the No. 1 non-BCS conference.
In 2010-11 Foster averaged 20.2 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.7 rpg in 32.1 mpg in 2010-11 and was named the WCC February and March Player of the Month after leading the league in points per game. He was No. 1 nationally in threes made per game, made and attempted and set WCC record for 3 made in a season with 140 - No. 9 all-time on NCAA single season list. In addition, he set single season school record for points (766, was No. 6 all-time in WCC and No. 1 in Bay Area), minutes played, threes made and attempted. He enters his junior year at No. 15 on career list with 1,371 and scored double-figures in 36 of 38 games last season. He was named to the WCC First Team and the CIT Most Valuable Player. Last season was a comeback year for Foster after he suffered a broken foot in 2010 and was redshirted in 2009-10 after being named the 2009 WCC Newcomer of the Year and a Freshman All-American in 2008-09.
Rather selecting a first, second, third team and honorable mentions; the Lute Olson All-America squad is just one team. The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team. Freshmen and first-year transfers can be named to the All-America team, but are not eligible to receive the Player of the Year honors. The award is named in honor of coaching great Lute Olson, who won 780 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
The Broncos are coming off a 24-14 season after they won the CollegeInsider.com Post-Season Tournament with its final three victories coming on the road. Featuring up to 18 games vs. 2011 post-season teams and at least eight games on ESPN, click here for the 2011-12 schedule. The 2011-12 Santa Clara team welcomes six newcomers. In addition to Foster and Evan Roquemore, Santa Clara returns juniors Raymond Cowels III, who averaged 5.4 ppg in 15.3 minutes and Niyi Harrison, who averaged 5.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 14.4 ppg, as well as sophomore John McArthur, who appeared in 36 games in his rookie campaign. Senior Marc Trasolini, who led the team in rebounds and blocks last season and was second in point per game, will miss the 2011-12 with a torn ACL suffered in early September, but will return for his senior year in 2012-13.
Santa Clara will also host the 45th annual Cable Car Classic - the longest-running annual university tournament in the country on Thur., Dec. 29 and Fri, Dec. 30. This year's tournament will feature the Broncos, Eastern Michigan, Air Force and Wagner. Historically, 31 times in its 44 seasons a team from the Cable Car Classic has advanced to the NCAA Tournament later in the season.
Season tickets are available for purchase at the Leavey Center ticket office (500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.) by calling directly at 408-554-4660, or by purchasing online at SantaClaraBroncos.com/buytickets.
Because of their special status with Santa Clara Athletics, Bronco season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase single game tickets, including BYU, Gonzaga and St. Mary's before the official release of single game tickets. If you are interested in a private seating selection tour, please call 408-554-4660 to make a reservation today.