Fresno State Athletics
Four Bulldogs Earn Men's Basketball All-WAC Honors
3/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Four members of the Fresno State men's basketball team received honors on this year's All-WAC team, selected by the league's 10 head coaches and announced today.
Damon Jackson was named first-team All-WAC while Hiram Fuller received mention on the All-WAC second team. In addition, Renaldo Major was voted onto the All-Newcomer Team and Ray Lopes was the WAC Coach of the Year.
Jackson was named to the first-team All-WAC squad after averaging 13.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game this season. During conference games, his numbers increased to an impressive 14.2 points and 4.8 boards. Jackson also finished second in the voting for WAC Player of the Year, won by SMU's Quinton Ross.
Though other players in the conference had more gaudy statistics, none proved to be as clutch as the senior guard from Perris, Calif. In one of the more amazing seasons in program history, Jackson won four games this year with late game heroics. He also weaved his magic March 1 against Nevada, hitting a three-pointer near the end of regulation to force overtime then drilling a 22-footer with 2.1 seconds left that necessitated a second OT.
For Jackson, it is the first time he has received mention on an All-WAC team. He is the eighth Bulldog selected as a member of the first-team All-WAC squad.
Fuller was voted onto the All-WAC second team after finishing with an 11.1 scoring and 8.2 rebounding average in conference games. He racked up five double-doubles during the year, four of which came against WAC foes. In perhaps his best performance of 2002-03, the senior forward scored 15 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked eight shots in a 74-70 double overtime victory at San Jose State on Feb. 19. He wound up just two blocks shy of the fourth triple-double in Fresno State history.
A member of the WAC All-Newcomer Team, Major emerged as one of the team's biggest offensive weapons during the year. He wound up with a 10.0 overall scoring average, but the junior swingman was especially impressive against conference teams. He posted an 11.7 scoring and 4.6 rebounding average during league contests. Major scored in double figures in 13 of the 18 WAC games, including a career-high 22 in Fresno State's three-point loss at Tulsa on March 5.
The Don Haskins Award for coach of the year went to Lopes, who in his first year at the helm led Fresno State to a 20-8 (13-5 WAC) record and an outright conference title. He was one of the most successful first-year coaches in the nation, and became the first Fresno State rookie leader to claim a conference title since Ed Gregory in 1965. Lopes is the second coach of the Bulldogs in three years to earn the Haskins Award; Jerry Tarkanian also received the honor in 2001.
Although Fresno State won the 2003 WAC title, the Bulldogs' season ended March 8 with a 92-71 loss to Rice. On March 3, University President John D. Welty issued a self-imposed ban on postseason play after finding instances of academic fraud involving some former basketball players. The Western Athletic Conference board then adopted a resolution that prohibits a member institution from participating in a conference championship tournament if it is also ineligible for NCAA postseason play in that same sport. The turn of events mean the Bulldogs will not play in this year's WAC Tournament.
Following are the 2003 All-WAC honorees:
First Team All-WAC
Quinton Ross, SMU
Damon Jackson, Fresno State
Antonio Meeking, Louisiana Tech
Kevin Johnson, Tulsa
Carl English, Hawai'i
Kirk Snyder, Nevada
Second Team
Dante Swanson, Tulsa
Omar-Seli Mance, Rice
Hiram Fuller, Fresno State
Terrance Green, Nevada
Michael Harris, Rice
Jason Parker, Tulsa
Player of the Year: Quinton Ross, SMU
Freshman of the Year: Bryan Hopkins, SMU
Don Haskins Coach of the Year: Ray Lopes, Fresno State
All-Newcomer Team
Aaron Haynes, Boise State
Bryan Hopkins, SMU
Michael Kuebler, Hawai'i
Antonio Lawrence, San Jose State
Renaldo Major, Fresno State
All-Defensive Team
Yamar Diene, Rice
Jerry Petty, Nevada
Brandon Hawkins, San Jose State
Kevin Johnson, Tulsa
Mark Campbell, Hawai'i
