Clancy Gets Pac-10 Scoop

Sam Clancy was just sitting down for dinner at the Pacific 10 Conference honors banquet Wednesday night when his cell phone rang. The USC senior forward’s sister, Samantha, was calling, letting him in on a secret that wasn’t supposed to be revealed for another 30 minutes.

Surfing the Internet, she came across the Pac-10’s Web site and saw the posting that her brother had already been named the league’s player of the year in a vote of the league’s coaches.

“It feels good to win an individual award because it shows that people are taking notice,” Clancy said. “It means that the coaches have respect for me around the league, that I’m playing well and killing their teams.”

Clancy, who, was never honored this season as the Pac-10 player of the week, averaged 21.1 points (tied for third) and 9.8 rebounds (second) in league play. The 6-foot-7, 240-pounder also had 33 steals (tied for third) and blocked 24 shots (seventh).

But his consistency stood out most. He has 17 double-doubles, 11 in a row during league play.

Clancy is the third Trojan to be named Pac-10 player of the year, joining Wayne Carlander, who won it in 1985, and Harold Miner, who was honored in 1992.

Trojan seniors David Bluthenthal and Brandon Granville were named honorable mention all-league while guard Errick Craven, the Trojans’ second-leading scorer, was named to the Pac-10 all-freshman team after averaging 12.9 points and leading the league in steals with 51.

Arizona’s Salim Stoudamire was freshman of the year and Oregon’s Ernie Kent was coach of the year. UCLA forward Jason Kapono was all-league and Bruin center Dan Gadzuric was honorable mention, with guard Cedric Bozeman getting freshman honorable mention.

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Comparison

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Pacific 10 Conference Team

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