Feb. 27, 2007

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SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- Gonzaga and Santa Clara battled for the West Coast Conference regular season title up until the final game of the season, and both teams were rewarded as the Bulldogs' Derek Raivio and the Broncos' Sean Denison shared WCC Player of the Year honors, as selected by the league's coaches. Santa Clara Head Coach Dick Davey, who will retire at the end of the season, was honored with the WCC Coach of the Year award after guiding the Broncos to their first 20-win season since 2001. Santa Clara senior guard Danny Pariseau, a transfer from Eastern Washington was selected as the WCC Newcomer of the Year, while Loyola Marymount junior guard Damian Martin was tabbed for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Raivio is the seventh consecutive Gonzaga player to earn the conference's top award. He follows former GU standouts Adam Morrison (2006), Ronny Turiaf (2005), Blake Stepp (2004, 2003), Dan Dickau (2002) and Casey Calvary (2001). The Vancouver, Wash. native leads the Conference in scoring with 18.0 points per game, while shooting an astounding 95.5 percent from the free throw line to lead the nation. Denison was a key player in the Broncos' run at the WCC regular season title, averaging 11.8 points per game and ranking third in the conference in rebounding with 7.6 boards per game during league play. Denison is the WCC's most efficient scorer, hitting a league-leading 59.8 percent of his field goals overall and 64.1 percent (59-for-92) during the conference season.

After guiding the Broncos to 20 wins for the 17th time in program history, Davey was honored with his fourth WCC Coach of the Year award. Davey, who earned the league's top coaching distinction in 1993, 1995, and 1997, led the Broncos to a 10-4 conference record, securing the No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament. The No. 2 seed is the highest the Broncos have been seeded in the WCC Tournament in a decade (1997-No. 1 seed).

Martin established himself as the premier defensive player in the league, leading the WCC in steals during conference play with 34 overall for a 2.43 steals per game average. Martin is the second Lion to take home the WCC's top defensive award, following Sherman Gay, who earned the distinction in 2004. Pariseau, a senior transfer from Eastern Washington, made the most of his one season at Santa Clara, leading the WCC in assists with 4.83 assists per game, while ranking third on the Broncos in scoring with 9.9 points per game.

2007 WCC Co-Players of the Year
Derek Raivio, GON
Sean Denison, SCU

2007 WCC Newcomer of the Year
Danny Pariseau, SCU

2007 WCC Defensive Player of the Year
Damian Martin, LMU

2007 WCC Coach of the Year
Dick Davey, SCU

2007 All-WCC First Team
Darren Cooper, POR
Sean Denison, SCU
Scott Dougherty, SCU
Matthew Knight, LMU
Jeremy Pargo, GON
Danny Pariseau, SCU
Gyno Pomare, USD
Derek Raivio, GON
Diamon Simpson, SMC
Alan Wiggins, Jr., USF

2007 Honorable Mention
Gonzaga: Sean Mallon
Loyola Marymount: Adoyah Miller
Pepperdine: Chase Griffin
Saint Mary's: Brett Collins
San Diego: Ross DeRogatis, Brandon Johnson
San Francisco: Antonio Kellogg, Armondo Surratt
Santa Clara: Brody Angley

2007 All-WCC Freshman Team
Matt Bouldin, GON
Taishi Ito, POR
De'Jon Jackson, USD
Chris Lewis, USD
Omar Samhan, SMC
Jay Watkins, USF