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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Burgess to enter WCC Hall of Honor


GU great Frank Burgess, at the game Saturday, knows all about scoring big.
 (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
GU great Frank Burgess, at the game Saturday, knows all about scoring big. (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Gonzaga's Frank Burgess is among the eight former players or coaches who will be inducted into the WCC's Hall of Honor this weekend. Burgess, a 6-foot-1 guard, led the nation in scoring at 32.4 points per game in 1961. (Burgess is pictured above attending a GU game Feb. 26, 2006.)

More on Burgess and the inaugural Hall of Honor class here.

More honors for Josh Heytvelt, Matt Bouldin and Austin Daye. Read on for that and a few more WCC/GU-related items.

 

--Heytvelt and Bouldin were named to the NABC All-District 9 first-team. Daye made the second team. A cut-and-paste version is at the bottom of this post.

--Ex-Zag guard Kyle Dixon and his Powder Valley High basketball team are chasing an Oregon Class 1A state title. Dixon, in his fourth year as head coach, talks about what he learned from Mark Few, who was an assistant during Dixon's GU career, here. Dixon's team trailed by 10 in its state opener but came back to win. More here.

--The Union-Tribune and Mercury-News talked with commissioner Jamie Zaninovich about holding the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas and other topics.

--From the S-R's Four Corners college basketball page, find a brief look at GU's tournament outlook here, and a couple of notebook items:

Block party

Gonzaga sophomore Austin Daye broke Ronny Turiaf’s single-season blocks record. Daye swatted two shots against USC Upstate on Tuesday to bring his season total to 60. Turiaf blocked 59 in 2005.

Daye’s 54 blocks in 2008 ranked fourth in school history.

Back on top

Gonzaga returned to No. 1 nationally in field-goal percentage defense by holding USC Upstate to 29.8 percent. The Bulldogs are at 36.8 percent for the season. GU had dropped to 37.2 percent, just behind Memphis’s 37.1, after last week’s road trip to Santa Clara and San Diego. Memphis, updated through Wednesday's game, is at 37.0.

GU trio honored

 

Gonzaga University senior forward Josh Heytvelt and junior guard Matt Bouldin have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 9 first team, while sophomore forward Austin Daye was a second-team selection.

 

Selected  and  voted  on  by  member  coaches  of  the  NABC,  these  student‐athletes  represent  the  finest  basketball  players  across  America. The  240  student‐athletes,  from  24  districts  which  were  realigned  this  season,  are  now  eligible  for  the  State  Farm  Coaches’  Division  I  All‐America  teams  to  be  announced April  4  at  Hoop  City  in  the  COBO  Center  at  10  a.m.  as  part  of  the  2009  NABC  Convention  in  Detroit, Mich.

 

Heytvelt and Bouldin were each named to the All-West Coast Conference first-team earlier this week, while Daye was accorded honorable mention recognition.

 

Heytvelt, from Clarkston, Wash., who is in graduate school, is averaging a team-high 15.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg for seventh and is shooting 54.9 percent from the field for the Bulldogs. He capped the year with an amazing run that saw him set his career-high with 28 points against Pepperdine University and then come back five days later and set it again with 29 at SCU the final weekend of the WCC season. He had four double-doubles.

 

Bouldin, who hails from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was perhaps the Bulldogs most consistent performer this season. He is averaging 13.8 ppg as the Bulldogs are awaiting to see who their opponent will be in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament Sunday in Las Vegas. Gonzaga is the No. 1 seed in the tourney which carries with it an automatic bye into the semifinals.

 

Heytvelt and Bouldin are currently 25th and 26th, respectively, on the all-time Gonzaga scoring list. Heytvelt has 1,106 career points while Bouldin has 1,105.

 

Daye, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., is averaging 12.6 ppg and a team-high 6.9 rpg. His 114 career blocks are third on the Gonzaga charts and he set a single-season record with his 60th block of the season Tuesday against USC Upstate, surpassing the previous single-season record of 59 held by Ronny Turiaf.

 

Joining Heytvelt and Bouldin on the first team from District 9 are John Bryant, Santa Clara, University; Patrick Mills, Saint Mary’s College, and Josh Akognan of Cal State Fullerton. In addition to Daye the second team consists of Nik Raivio of the University of Portland, Dior Lowhorn of the University of San Francisco, Diamon Simpson of Saint Mary’s College and Gyno Pomare of the University of San Diego.

 

 

 



Jim Meehan
Jim Meehan joined The Spokesman-Review in 1990. Jim is currently a reporter for the Sports Desk and covers Gonzaga University basketball, Spokane Empire football, college volleyball and golf.

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