SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Mark Few was selected as the West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year, and Zach Norvell Jr. was named the Newcomer of the Year league officials announced Tuesday.
Rui Hachimura, Josh Perkins and Johnathan Williams were tabbed First Team All-WCC. Killian Tillie was named to the league’s second team, while Silas Melson was listed as honorable mention. Norvell Jr. was also on the conference’s All-Freshman Team.
Few extended his own conference record, capturing his 12th Coach of the Year honor. He receives the honor for the second straight season, after leading Gonzaga to the national championship game and a program record 37 wins last year. Few has guided the Zags to a 27-4 record thus far, which marks their 11th straight season with at least 25 wins. He also led GU to its sixth straight WCC regular season title. The No. 7/7 Bulldogs returned to the top-10 this season.
Norvell Jr. is the ninth Gonzaga player to be named either Freshman of the Year or Newcomer of the Year. Nigel Williams-Goss earned the honor last season. Norvell Jr. is averaging 11.8 points, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has scored in double-digits 17 times this season, including four 20-point games. The redshirt freshman scored 20 points in each of his first three collegiate starts. He ranks third in the conference shooting 63.9 percent from inside-the-arc.
Williams was named All-WCC First Team for the second straight season. He was tabbed the conference’s Player of the Week twice this season. The Memphis, Tenn. native, eclipsed 1,000 points and 900 rebounds in his collegiate career this season. He averages a team-high 13.5 points (ninth in WCC) and 8.0 rebounds (fourth in WCC) per game. Williams ranks fifth in the league, shooting 56.3 percent from the field. He’s also fifth in the conference at 1.2 blocks per outing.
Perkins was recently named to the WCC’s All-Academic Team and was honorable mention All-WCC last season. He became only the seventh Zag to score 1,000 points and dish out 400 assists in a GU career. The redshirt junior is averaging a career-best 13.0 points per game this season. He leads the conference with a 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio in league play. Perkins is second in the league averaging 2.5 made three-pointers per game. His 79 made three-pointers this season leads the WCC. He’s fifth in the conference, shooting 42.2 percent from behind-the-perimeter. The Park Hill, Colo. native is also fourth in assists (5.2) and sixth in steals (1.3) per game.
Hachimura has led the Bulldogs, averaging 12.9 points per WCC game. He ranks third in the conference, shooting 60.3 percent from the field. The sophomore is seventh in the league making 83.5 percent from the free-throw line. He is 63.6 percent from two-point range (sixth in WCC). Hachimura reached double-digit scoring 20 times this season, including four 20-point games.
Tillie had six 20-point games this season, scoring in double-digits 18 times. He is averaging 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The sophomore is second on the team with 34 blocks (sixth in WCC). During league play, he is shooting 46.8 percent from three-point range, which ranks second in the conference.
Melson’s 121 career victories ranks fourth in program history, one away from tied for second. He has started all 31 games this season, averaging a career-best 9.9 points per game during his senior year. The Portland, Ore. native, recently passed 900 points in his career. He is shooting 42.2 percent from behind-the-arc in conference action (eighth in WCC), and averaging 1.2 steals per game (ninth in WCC).
Saint Mary’s Jock Landale was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He was joined by teammate Emmett Naar on the league’s first team. Namdi Okonkwo of Pacific collected the WCC Defensive Player of the Year honor.
BYU’s Elijah Bryant and Yoeli Childs were selected to the first team, along with KJ Feagin (Santa Clara), Frankie Ferrari (San Francisco), and Isaiah Pineiro (San Diego).
All four individual awards — along with the All-West Coast Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team — were voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches.
The West Coast Conference Championships begin Friday in Las Vegas, Nev. The tournament, played inside the Orleans Arena, concludes with the championship game on March 6.
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Major Individual Honors
Player of the Year: Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s
Coach of the Year: Mark Few, Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year: Namdi Okonkwo, Pacific
Newcomer of the Year: Zach Norvell Jr., Gonzaga
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball First Team
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| Elijah Bryant | Jr. | G | BYU |
| Yoeli Childs | So. | F | BYU |
| KJ Feagin | Jr. | G | Santa Clara |
| Frankie Ferrari | Jr. | G | San Francisco |
| Rui Hachimura | So. | F | Gonzaga |
| Jock Landale | Sr. | C | Saint Mary’s |
| Emmett Naar | Sr. | G | Saint Mary’s |
| Josh Perkins | Jr. | G | Gonzaga |
| Isaiah Pineiro | Jr. | F | San Diego |
| Johnathan Williams | Sr. | F | Gonzaga |
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Second Team
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| James Batemon | Jr. | G | Loyola Marymount |
| Calvin Hermanson | Sr. | F | Saint Mary’s |
| Killian Tillie | So. | F | Gonzaga |
| Jahlil Tripp | So. | G/F | Pacific |
| Isaiah Wright | Jr. | G | San Diego |
2017-18 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Freshman Team
| Name | Pos. | School |
| Souley Boum | G | San Francisco |
| Zach Norvell | G | Gonzaga |
| Colbey Ross | G | Pepperdine |
| Eli Scott | F | Loyola Marymount |
| Marcus Shaver | G | Portland |
2017-18 WCC Men’s Basketball Honorable Mention Selections
Olin Carter III, San Diego; Roberto Gallinat, Pacific; TJ Haws, BYU; Silas Melson, Gonzaga; Zach Norvell Jr., Gonzaga; Miles Reynolds, Pacific; Colbey Ross, Pepperdine; Marcus Shaver, Portland
Release courtesy of Gonzaga University Sports Information
