Porter Named All-Big West Second Team, Bates Named Honorable Mention, and Williams Named Player of the Week
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UC Riverside senior guard Rickey Porter was named to the All-Big West Second Team and junior guard Dedrick Bates was named Honorable Mention All-Big West, and senior guard Steve Williams was named Big West Player of the Week by the Conference Office Monday.
Porter, a native of Fountain Valley who attended Mater Dei HS, led the Highlanders with a 14.2 point per game scoring average. He shot 40.1% from the field, hitting 133-of-332 from the field and was 36.8% (64-of-174) from the three point line. He led the team with 92 assists, primarily playing the point guard position after having only played it sporadically over the previous three seasons.
"Rickey has been steady, consistent and has shown good leadership for us," UCR Head Coach David Spencer said. "It is really nice to see him have the year that he has had and we appreciate him to no end. He has done everything we have asked him to do."
Porter is in 10th place in UCR history with 1,035 points, two behind former teammate Vili Morton. He is tied for first with 112 games played, his 180 three pointers are second all-time, and his 92 steals are tied for ninth all-time. His 40-point effort at Pacific on January 7th is the highest point total in the conference this season. His 7-of-7 effort from the three point line is also the best in the conference.
Bates, who walked-on to the program three years ago from Manual Arts HS, suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee on February 9th in the Highlanders' loss to Cal State Northridge. Still, his performance in his 20 games was enough to impress the conference coaches, as he averaged 9.9 points and a team-high 5.1 rebounds. He was also the Highlanders top defender, often taking the assignment of the opponent's top scorer. Bates shot 42.0% from the field (74-of-176), tops among UCR guards.
On Tuesday, Bates was also honored as Big West Defensive Player of the Year, as the Big West Specialty Teams were announced.
"Dedrick is amazing, and we miss him so much right now. He was our 'Energizer Bunny,'" Spencer said. "I can't say enough about Dedrick. His character, resilience and drive has been outstanding all year long. I am really pleased to see him make honorable mention despite his missing about a third of the season."
Williams finished the regular season in a big way, posting a pair of double-doubles and coming one assist shy of the Highlanders first triple-double of the Division I era. Against Long Beach (3/2/06), he played 39 minutes and tallied season-highs of 10 rebounds and nine assists, including the dish on a game-tying three at the end or regulation the sent the game to overtime. He kept up the pace against UC Davis, scoring a career-high 30 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. He was a perfect 5-of-5 from the three point line and sunk three free throws in the final 41 seconds to help ice the game. He averaged 40 minutes per game and shot 64% overall.
The Highlanders, the No. 8 seed in the Big West, will play No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the Big West Tournament at Anaheim on Wednesday, March 8 at 6:00 PM at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Gauchos defeated CS Northridge on the road to clinch the No. 5 seed.
