by Curran McCauley
The West Coast Conference season continues to roll along, with Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga topping the conference table at 4-0 and 3-0, respectively, after two full weekends of action. After dropping their conference opener to Gonzaga, BYU sits at 3-1, including two straight blowout victories over Santa Clara and San Francisco last weekend. Monday offers a chance to revisit some of the best individual performances from throughout the conference in this week’s installment of the WCC Player Power Rankings.
1. Kyle Collinsworth – Jr. Guard / BYU
This weekend’s performance sealed Collinsworth’s ascension to the top spot. The Provo native recorded his third triple-double of the season against San Francisco on Saturday. Collinsworth is in rarefied air: the NCAA Division I record for triple-doubles in a single season is four. The feat was last accomplished by Stephane Lasme of UMass in 2007. With most of the conference season as well as the postseason to follow, Collinsworth has a chance to put himself alone in NCAA history.
2. Johnny Dee – Sr. Guard / San Diego
Dee takes the second spot in the rankings after making some history of his own on Saturday. Dee scored a game-high 20 in a loss to Santa Clara, breaking the Toreros career scoring record in the process (1,808 pts).
3. Kevin Pangos – Sr. Guard / Gonzaga
Pangos’ Zags played just one game this weekend an ESPN2 televised duel at travel-partner Portland. The limited schedule didn’t stop Pangos from making his mark as the Canadian point guard scored 21 to lead the Bulldogs over the Pilots.
4. Tyler Haws – Sr. Guard / BYU
Haws moved into fourth place all time on the BYU scoring list, passing Devin Durrant, whom he spoke with prior to the game . Haws is averaging a conference-high 21.6 pts per game for the Cougars. The No. 1 selection last week was eclipsed by teammate Collinsworth on this week’s rankings, but it’s hard to ignore the rock-steady impact that Haws has on a ballgame every time out as BYU chases another NCAA berth.
5. Brad Waldow – Sr. Forward / Saint Mary’s
Waldow went for 15 points and 8 boards against Pepperdine on Thursday before posting a double-double (13 pts, 11 rebs) against Loyola Marymount as the Gaels improved to 4-0 in conference. Next up in conference? A trip to Stockton to face travel-partner Pacific on Saturday.
6. Aaron Bright – Gr. Guard / Saint Mary’s
Bright enters the rankings after posting a season-high 24 points against Loyola Marymount on Sunday. The graduate transfer from Stanford will have an early-week opportunity to continue his heroics against non-conference opponent Morgan State, who visits McKeon Pavilion on Tuesday.
7. Stacy Davis – Jr. Forward / Pepperdine
Davis scored his 1,000th career point as part of a game-high 21 point performance in a victory over Pacific on Saturday. The Phoenix-area product joins 37 other Waves to reach the milestone.
8. Prezmek Karnowski – Jr. Center / Gonzaga
The Pole makes an appearance on the power rankings after he matched Pangos with 21 points in a Gonzaga victory over Portland. The 7-1 post will be hard-pressed to match his 62 blocks from a year ago, but with 11 so far this campaign, Karnowski has still proved an intimidating force down low for the nation’s seventh ranked team.
9. Brandon Clark – Sr. Guard / Santa Clara
Brandon Clark, the Heart of Indiana, channeled Colts kicker Adam Vinateri a night before the big Indianapolis playoff win, capping a 13 point performance against San Diego with four clutch free throws in the final minutes of the contest to seal the victory.
10. Evan Payne – Sr. Guard / Loyola Marymount
In what has been a disappointing season so far for the Lions, the Akron, Ohio native has shined. On Thursday, Evan chipped in a game-high 27 against Pacific before returning for 24 against Saint Mary’s. Payne is second only to Haws among all WCC players in points per game (20.5).
Conference Tidbits
David Taylor had a breakout game against LMU on New Year’s Day, helping Pacific to its first conference win of the season… Matt Hubbard continues to impress in his freshman season for Santa Clara, recording a double-double against San Diego in a victory on Saturday.
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