Gonzaga's Drew Timme named West Coast Conference Player of the Year; Malachi Smith wins 6th Man
Multiple Gonzaga Bulldogs were honored with West Coast Conference men's basketball awards on Wednesday.
Drew Timme added to his already stacked trophy case with his second consecutive WCC Player of the Year award, splitting the award with Santa Clara's Brandin Podziemski. Malachi Smith won Sixth Man of the Year, while Julian Strawther's career-best season earned him All-WCC first team honors.
Timme, who became the seventh player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons, was also named to the All-WCC first team after averaging 21.2 points per game, tied with Cam Shelton for the most in the league. He shot 61.6% from the field, second-best behind Anton Watson, while grabbing the fifth-most rebounds at 7.5 per game.
With the WCC title on the line, Timme paced the way with 19 points in Gonzaga's 77-68 victory over Saint Mary's on Saturday.
Timme is the second Zag to win back-to-back WCC Player of the Year awards, joining Blake Stepp who accomplished the feat in 2003 and 2004.
In his first season in Santa Clara, Podziemski became the first Bronco to earn WCC Player of the Year honors since 2009. Averaging 19.9 points per game, Podziemski led the WCC with 12 double-doubles.
Also adding to his trophy case, Smith was tabbed the conference's Sixth Man of the Year award in his first season as a Zag. After winning the SoCon's Player of the Year with Chattanooga last season, Smith came off the bench in all 30 games at Gonzaga. He scored in double-figures 12 times, including a season-high 27 points against Portland.
Smith knocked down 49.3% of his 3-point attempts, second-best in the conference, while shooting 55.6% from the field overall. He joined Andrew Nembhard as the only Zags to take home the conference's Sixth Man of the Year honor.
As for Strawther, he took home his first All-WCC first team honor after his best season in a Gonzaga uniform. The junior averaged 15.4 points per game while shooting 44.5% from deep, both career-best marks. He scored at least 20 points in seven outings, highlighted by a 40-point performance against Portland.
Watson, who leads the conference shooting 61.8% from the field, was named All-WCC honorable mention.
Timme, Watson, Smith and Rasir Bolton will all be honored as seniors on Wednesday when Gonzaga hosts Chicago State at 6 p.m.
Saint Mary's also saw multiple awards come its way, as head coach Randy Bennett earned his fifth WCC Coach of the Year award while Logan Johnson was named Defensive Player of the Year. The Gaels led the way with three first-team selections, with freshman guard Aidan Mahaney and junior center Mitchell Saxen joining Johnson.
Gonzaga, San Francisco and Santa Clara all had two players each on the first team.
