Weber State basketball: Wildcats' Damian Lillard named league MVP

OGDEN — A season after earning the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year Award, Weber State's Damian Lillard is the league's men's basketball Most Valuable Player.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard from Oakland, Calif., was unanimously selected by the conference coaches as the league MVP and member of the All-Conference First Team.

"This is a tremendous honor for Damian and our team," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "Damian has worked extremely hard on and off the court to improve his game, become a better player and a better teammate. He's certainly worthy of the recognition."

Lillard led Weber State to the regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Sky Championship. Lillard averaged a league-best 19.7 points per game during the regular season. He also leads the league in 3-pointers per game (2.7) and is fourth in assists (3.8), fifth in free-throw percentage (84.8), 12th in 3-point field-goal percentage (39.3) and 15th in steals (1.1 per game). He reached double figures in 26 of the Wildcats' 28 games, hitting for at least 20 points in 15 games and for at least 30 twice.

In 16 conference games, Lillard netted 20.7 points her game and hit 44 percent of his 3-pointers.

Lillard is one of just four sophomores to capture the MVP award, joining Montana State's Jason Erickson (2001-02), Montana's Larry Krystkowiak (1983-84) and Idaho's Brian Kellerman (1980-81). Lillard and Erickson are the only players to win Freshman of the Year and MVP in consecutive seasons.

Last season, Lillard became the first true freshman in Big Sky history to be named First Team All-Conference.

Lillard's teammate Franklin Session was tabbed as the Newcomer of the Year. The 6-2 junior forward/guard averaged 10.5 points, six rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocked shots during the regular season. In conference play, Session averaged 11.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of Franklin. He has worked his tail off to come in and fit into our program. He's become a great teammate and is one of the most unselfish players in our league. This is a tremendous honor for him and our team," said Rahe.

Eastern Washington's Glen Dean was named the Freshman of the Year. The 5-10 guard from Seattle averaged 12.2 points and 4.4 assists per game.