DANVILLE, Ca--If you watched any college basketball over the course of the last week, or so, it was hard not to hear the announcers discuss all-decade teams. They were doing it for the teams, conferences, regions, and nation..Majors and Mid-Majors. Ditto for many of the college basketball websites. I saw at least four such all-decade Mid-Majors team lists.
It is impossible to include all the worthy players on such lists. Invariably, someone who should have been included is left off. After all, the selections are subjective and tend to be provincial. Generally, there were only two or three western players on All-Decade Mid-Major teams.
There was one name, however, that surprised me by its absence from any of the Mid-Majors all-decade teams. That name was Christian Maraker, the 6'10" Swede for the University of Pacific Tigers. He played for four years at Pacific and was the difference maker during the Tigers' three consecutive year NCAA Tourney run. During those three years the Tigers were a staggering 47-3 in league play. The "Smooth Swede" was the focal point of team. He played forward, mostly, then "center" in his Senior year leading the team in both scoring and rebounding. He garnered BW Player of the Year honors, just for good measure. In the NCAA Tournament versus Boston College he scored 30 points in a double overtime thriller. In this writer's opinion, he is the BWC Player of the Decade.
In keeping with the spirit of all-decadeness, here is my Big West All-Decade team. Undoubtedly, there are some omissions:
Nate Harris, Utah State
Jaycee Carroll, Utah State
Christian Maraker, Pacific
David Doubley, Pacific
Miah Davis, Pacific
Donovan Morris, Long Beach State
Alex Harris, UCSB
Calvin Chitwood, Northridge
Tremaine Townsend, Northridge
Bobby Brown, Fullerton
Jamaal Brown, Fullerton
Josh Akognon, Fullerton
Vince Oliver, UC-Davis
(UC-Davis is included because they played seven years in the BW, four years in their transition years, and three in league).
