Two days after finishing the regular season in the upper half of
the Pac-10 standings for the first time since the 2001 season, the
UCLA men’s basketball team was rewarded for its success. The
conference coaches named guard Jordan Farmar the Pac-10 Freshman of
the Year on Monday, and selected senior Dijon Thompson to the
All-Pac-10 team for the first time in his career. UCLA guard Arron
Afflalo joined Farmar on the conference’s All-Freshmen team,
while freshman Josh Shipp was named an honorable mention selection.
“A lot of it has to do with us winning basketball
games,” Farmar said. “Winning equates to a lot of
awards like this.” That trend has left the Bruins somewhat
empty-handed at the Pac-10 awards banquet recently. Only Jason
Kapono earned first-team all conference honors over the past three
years for UCLA, which has finished sixth or lower in the Pac-10 in
that timespan. Picked to finish in the lower half of the standings
again this season, the Bruins (18-9, 11-7) defied the odds, earning
a third-place tie with Stanford. That performance, Thompson and
Farmar said, is what earned them consideration from the Pac-10
coaches. “We could have finished in last place, and then none
of us would have been honored,” Thompson said. Farmar, who
has started since the first game of his UCLA career, led all Pac-10
freshmen in scoring (13.5 ppg) and was second overall in the
conference in assists (5.30 apg). He is the fifth Bruin to earn the
Freshman of the Year award, and the first since Kapono shared it in
2000. “Jordan has had an outstanding freshman season,”
UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “Playing the point position is
so important and tough to do, and to have the impact he’s had
… is truly amazing.” Thompson, an honorable mention
selection for All-Pac-10 a year ago, is a more complete player this
season. He is third in the conference in scoring (18.4 ppg) and
rebounding (8.1 rpg). “I’m happy for Dijon and very
proud of him,” Howland said.
OTHER AWARDS: Arizona State’s Ike Diogu, the
conference’s leading scorer and rebounder, was named Pac-10
Player of the Year … Washington’s Lorenzo Romar was named
the Pac-10’s Coach of the Year after leading the Huskies to a
second-place finish.