April 25, 2012

 Cal Basketball Merchandise

Connect with us: Facebook | Twitter | Youtube

BERKELEY - The California men's basketball team celebrated the 2011-12 season at its annual team awards banquet on Wednesday, April 25. The Golden Bears honored senior forward Harper Kamp with the team's Most Valuable Player award named after legendary Head Coach Nibs Price.

Senior guard Jorge Gutierrez received the team's Defensive Player of the Year award for the fourth consecutive year. He is the only Bear ever to be honored with the award more than twice. Gutierrez and Kamp were each selected to share the 2012 Pete Newell Coach's Award and were both named co-winners for the team's Senior Award.

Sophomore guard Allen Crabbe earned the Darrall Imhoff Award as the team's leading rebounder (5.7 rpg) and also took home the Free Throw Award (.843). Fellow sophomore Justin Cobbs received the Jason Kidd Award as the team's assists leader (4.9 apg), and junior forward Robert Thurman took home the team's Field Goal Percentage Award (.638).

Kamp became the 18th player in school history to record at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career and was named the Pac-12's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, this season. He was selected to the Pac-12 All-Conference second team and was also a second-team All-Academic honoree.

Gutierrez became the first player in conference history to claim both the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year award. He did it in the same season. He was a Pac-12 All-Conference first team selection and earned all-academic honorable mention. His postseason activities included invitations to the NABC Reese's All-Star Team and the Portsmount Invitational Tournament. He was also an NABC All-District 20 First Team selection and was named to the USBWA All-District IX Team. Gutierrez is one of the most decorated players in program history and sits on the school's top ten lists for assists, steals, and games played; he also completed his career ranked 20th in Cal history for points scored.

Crabbe received Pac-12 All-Conference first team notice to follow up his Pac-10 Freshman of the Year performance. He was a pre-season Wooden Award Watch List player and earned NABC All-District 20 second team honors. Crabbe ranks ninth in career three-pointers made at Cal with 145 and reached second in single season triples at 83, this year.

Cobbs was a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention and took home the team's only Pac-12 Player of the Week honor on Feb. 20 following his performances against Oregon and Oregon State. His 169 assists this season ranked ninth in Cal's single-season history.

Thurman appeared in 30 games and made 51 field goals on 80 attempts. His .638 output ranks third in a single season at Cal and was the highest since Tony Gonzalez shot .640 (71-111) in 1995 and Mark McNamara's .702 percentage (231-329) set in 1982. Thurman was 42-65 for a .646 shooting percentage in 18 Pac-12 games.

The Bears completed the regular season tied for second place in the Pac-12 (13-5, 24-10 overall) and earned their third NCAA tournament bid in head coach Mike Montgomery's four seasons on campus. Cal's 17-1 mark at Haas Pavilion tied a record for home victories.

2011-12 CALIFORNIA MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS

Nibs Price Most Valuable Player - Harper Kamp, Sr.
Pete Newell Coach's Award - Jorge Gutierrez, Sr. and Harper Kamp, Sr.
Senior Award - Jorge Gutierrez, Sr. and Harper Kamp, Sr.
Team Captains - Jorge Gutierrez, Sr. and Harper Kamp, Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year - Jorge Gutierrez, Sr.
Darrall Imhoff Award | Leading Rebounder - Allen Crabbe, So.
Jason Kidd Award | Assists Leader - Justin Cobbs, So.
Field Goal Percentage Award - Robert Thurman, Jr.
Free Throw Percentage Award - Allen Crabbe, So.