IRVINE, Calif. – The PacWest men’s basketball all-conference team for the 2020-21 season is led by Point Loma’s
Kaden Anderson, who was voted by the coaches as the conference’s Player of the Year, becoming the second player from Point Loma to have won the award along with Daulton Hommes.
Biola head coach
Dave Holmquist was picked by his peers as the conference’s Coach of the Year, and Hawai`i Hilo also earned two special awards.
Jordan Graves is the PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, and
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones is the PacWest Newcomer of the Year.
Anderson led Point Loma back to the NCAA West Regional in his junior year as the program has converted into a perennial power during his three years in San Diego. Anderson averaged 19.1 points per game along with 8.1 rebounds per game to help Point Loma to an 8-2 record on the season. The junior from Enumclaw, Washington, opened the year with three-consecutive double-doubles as the Sea Lions got a hot start to the season. On February 27, Anderson scored a career-high 37 points in a win against Azusa Pacific. He made 55.3 percent of his field goals for the year.
Holmquist put his name in the record books during the 2020-21 season, earning his 1000
th career victory as a head coach to join an exclusive club of five coaches in the history of collegiate basketball. After the Eagles were picked to finish at the bottom of the SoCal Pod, Biola flipped the script and took first place, earning the conference’s automatic bid into the postseason with a 9-2 conference record. The Eagles defeated No. 12 Point Loma in the regular season finale to win the pod, sending Biola to its first NCAA postseason appearance since joining NCAA Division II in 2017.
Hawai`i Hilo won the PacWest Hawai`i Pod with a 10-2 record, which is the Vulcans’ best winning percentage in nearly half a century. Graves was a key part of that as the top defender in the conference as voted on by the coaches. He recorded 22 steals and three blocks for the season along with 54 rebounds. He had a season-high six steals in the fourth of six games against Chaminade this season.
Tait-Jones won the Newcomer of the Year award as a freshman after leading the Vulcans in scoring during their run to the pod title. The New Zealand native averaged 16.5 points per game along with 8.5 rebounds and a 50.3 field-goal percentage. Tait-Jones scored a season-high 26 points against Hawai`i Pacific in the last meeting between the two teams, making 9 of 14 shots from the field. He scored at least nine points in every game and eclipsed 20 points three times.
Fresno Pacific’s
Aamondae Coleman was one of the top contenders for Player of the Year. He averaged 20.1 points per game and led the Sunbirds to the PacWest NorCal Pod title and their first NCAA postseason appearance.
Alex Wright from Biola as well as Hawai`i Hilo’s center
Sasa Vuksanovic were other Player of the Year nominees that finished the season on their respective all-pod teams.
Hawai`i Hilo was the most well-represented team on the all-pod teams with four selections. Biola, Fresno Pacific and Point Loma each had three student-athletes recognized by the coaches from within their pods. While Tait-Jones was the only freshman to be named to an all-pod team, he was joined by Chaminade’s
Kevin Kremer and
Isaac Amaral-Artharee along with
Lachlan Viney from Hawai`i Pacific as the only sophomores to earn recognition.
| 2020-21 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM |
| Player of the Year |
Kaden Anderson |
Point Loma |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Jordan Graves |
Hawai`i Hilo |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones |
Hawai`i Hilo |
| Coach of the Year |
Dave Holmquist |
Biola |
| 2020-21 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| HAWAI`I TEAM |
| Isaac Amaral-Artharee |
Chaminade |
G |
So. |
Portland, Ore./Central Catholic |
| Jordan Graves |
Hawai`i Hilo |
F |
Sr. |
Monterey, Calif./Santa Rosa |
| Kevin Kremer |
Chaminade |
G |
So. |
Chico, Calif./Pleasant Valley |
| Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones |
Hawai`i Hilo |
G |
Fr. |
Wellington, New Zealand/St. Patrick’s |
| Lachlan Viney |
Hawai`i Pacific |
G |
So. |
Melbourne, Australia/Mazenod |
| Sasa Vuksanovic |
Hawai`i Hilo |
C |
Sr. |
Novi Sad, Serbia/Sheridan |
| Darren Williams |
Hawai`i Hilo |
G |
Jr. |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Chaffey |
| SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TEAM |
| Kaden Anderson * |
Point Loma |
F |
Jr. |
Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw |
| Michael Bagatourian * |
Biola |
G |
Sr. |
Irvine, Calif./Crean Lutheran |
| Brock Mackenzie |
Point Loma |
G |
Jr. |
Sammamish, Wash./Eastside Catholic |
| Myles Franklin |
Point Loma |
G |
Sr. |
Brea, Calif./Villa Park |
| Chris Rossow |
Biola |
G |
Sr. |
Freeport, Texas/Southwest Baptist |
| Mandrell Worthy |
Azusa Pacific |
G |
Sr. |
Federal Way, Wash./Montana State |
| Alex Wright |
Biola |
G |
Jr. |
Riverside, Calif./California Baptist |
| NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TEAM |
| Adrian Antunez |
Fresno Pacific |
G |
Sr. |
Fresno, Calif./Clovis |
| Aamondae Coleman * |
Fresno Pacific |
W |
Sr. |
Las Vegas/Desert Oasis |
| Josh Hill * |
Academy of Art |
F |
Sr. |
Mobile, Ala./East Central |
| Nate Kendricks |
Fresno Pacific |
G |
Jr. |
Fresno, Calif./Immanuel High |
| Stefan Milivojevic * |
Academy of Art |
G |
Sr. |
Sokobanja, Serbia/Washington Academy |
| Jaelen Ragsdale |
Dominican |
G |
Sr. |
Stockton, Calif./Weston Ranch |
| Christopher Williams II |
Dominican |
G |
Sr. |
Anaheim, Calif./Orange Lutheran |
*Previous All-PacWest