Gonzaga’s Turiaf, Few Earn Honors

Gonzaga swept the West Coast Conference’s major basketball awards as senior forward Ronny Turiaf was chosen player of the year and Mark Few won coach of the year.

Turiaf, who has been bothered by sore ankles most of the season, is averaging 16.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots for the 12th-ranked Bulldogs, who are 22-4 and won a fifth consecutive WCC regular-season title.

Few has been the league’s top coach the last five years.

“He’s just an amazing, amazing kid,” Few said of Turiaf, who is from the Caribbean island of Martinique. “It’d be great for him to talk to all those high school kids who want to go into the draft.”

Senior forward Glen McGowan and junior guard Alex Acker of Pepperdine were first-team all-conference selections. McGowan leads the Waves with averages of 19.2 points and 7.7 rebounds; Acker averages 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

Loyola Marymount center Matthew Knight, a sophomore, was an honorable mention selection. He leads the Lions with averages of 15.3 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Junior guard Erroll Knight and junior center J.P. Batista of Gonzaga were chosen the conference’s top defensive player and newcomer of the year.

-- Eric Stephens