USD Men's Basketball 2000-2001

1999-2000 SEASON IN REVIEW

Toreros Notch 20 Wins Brad Holland Named WCC Coach of the Year The USO Toreros finished the season strong, winning five straight to enter the West Coast Conference Tournament at 19-8 as the tourney's No. 3 seed. San Diego held off Portland in the first round, 56-52, for their 20th win of the season, but lost to eventual WCC Tournament champion Gonzaga, 80-70, in the semifinals. Sixth– year coach Brad Holland earned his second straight WCC coach of the Year honor. "I have a lot ofrespect for the WCC coaches," said Holland. "I'm humbled and very proud. I share this honor with my staff and players." Season highlights included wins over every WCC school , including an 82- 70 victory at Gonzaga, which ended the Zags 20-game home winning streak, and a

73 -62 home victory over WCC regular-season champ Pepperdine. Of the Toreros' nine losses, eight were to teams that finished with 19 or more victories, including two top-20 programs - a

,, Tll • 1, is team . . winning 20 games is an outstanding h . ,, ac ievement Brad Holland

seven-point loss at Oklahoma (61 -68) and a I0-point loss at Texas (66-76). The Toreros fought through difficulties late in the season to play some of their best basketball. Coach Holland's father, Ray, passed away in mid-February after a long illness, and senior starting point guard Dana White missed the final five regular– season games with a deep thigh bruise. "First and foremost , this team winning 20 games is an outstanding achievement," said Holland. "We overcame some adversity late in the season and bonded to become a better team. I am so proud of this group ." Sophomore guard Andre Laws, the team's MVP, and sophomore forward Tom Lippold both earned Honorable Mention All-West Coast Conference honors . Laws led

the team in scori ng at 12.9 ppg, and Lippold came on strong over the second half of the season and averaged 11.1 ppg. A couple ofToreros finished atop WCC statistical departments - junior center Tyler Field led the WCC in field goa l percentage (.606), while junior forward Cameron Rigby finished first in free throw percentage for the second straight year (.838). The 20 wins by the Toreros was just the program's second time reaching that goal since turning Division I in 1979- 80. USO also hit double digit wins in the WCC, finishing I0-4, and were 5-2 in WCC road games. With great team chemistry, the Toreros finished first in the WCC in team defense (62.6 ppg) and rebounding (39.1 rpg). Some top individual performances were turned in by Dana White (24 points vs. Oklahoma), Cameron Rigby (21 points/I I rebounds vs. CS Ful lerton), Andre Laws (28 points at LMU), Tyler Field ( 19 points/ IO rebounds at Gonzaga), and Tom Lippold (21 points vs. Pepperdine). TORERO HONORS wee HONOREES 1999-00 Final West Coast Conference Basketball Standings

Brad Holland - Coach of the Year; 2nd Time Andre Laws - Honorable Mention All-WCC Tom Lippold - Honorable Mention All -WCC USO TEAM AWARDS Andre Laws - Most Valuable Player Cameron Rigby - Zable Athletic Excellence Award Cameron Rigby - Zable Athletic Excellence Award Sam Adamo - Bully's East Most Improved Player Tom Lippold - Bully's East Most Improved Player Matt Delzell - Best Defensive Player Cameron Rigby - Miller Lite Student Athlete of Year Matt Delzell - Miller Lite Student Athlete of Year James Borrego - Bugelli Leadership Award

wee

School

Overall 25-9 26-9 20-9 19-12 19-9 10-18

Pepperdine# $ Gonzaga+ $

12-2 11-3 10-4

San Diego Santa Clara

9-5 7-7

San Francisco

4-10 3-11

Portland

Saint Mary's

8-19 2-25

Loyola Ma.rymount 0-14 # WCC Regular Season Champion;

+ Won WCC Tournament; $ NCAA Tourn. Bid