July 21, 2010
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State sophomore Kawhi Leonard was chosen as a preseason fourth-team All-American by ESPN.com's Dick Vitale. The 2010 Mountain West Conference tournament most valuable player and first-team all-league selection was the only player from a state of California university to be named to one of the college basketball analyst's five preseason teams.
A native of Riverside, Calif., Leonard is coming off a freshman campaign in which he led the Aztecs in scoring and rebounding, a feat accomplished by only three other Division I freshmen in 2009-10. Leonard, who posted 17 double-doubles last season, enters the 2010-11 slate with the third-highest career rebounding average (9.9) among all Division I players.
Leonard is one of just three players, out of 25 total, from the Pacific Time Zone to be recognized and is only one of two players from the Mountain West to be honored.
In 89 seasons of San Diego State basketball, only eight players have earned All-America status. SDSU all-time leading scorer Brandon Heath was the Scarlet and Black's last All-American back in 2006 when he was named to the Associated Press' honorable mention list.
The Aztecs return nine letterwinners from 2009-10, including all five starters. Leonard leads the way for San Diego State and comes into the upcoming year ranked 18th nationally in career double-doubles. Also returning is senior Billy White (2010 MWC honorable mention), who enters the year as the nation's active leader in field-goal percentage, senior Malcolm Thomas (2010 all-MWC second team) and senior D.J. Gay (2010 MWC honorable mention).
SDSU enters the upcoming season fresh off one of its most successful efforts after winning the MWC tournament crown, advancing to the NCAA Tournament and compiling a 25-9 record. The Scarlet and Black have won 20 or more games and advanced to the postseason five consecutive seasons. San Diego State inches toward the 2010-11 season with much anticipation as it is ranked No. 23 in Vitale's preseason poll and No. 24 in Katz's rankings. ESPN.com's Pat Forde and FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman, meanwhile, have tabbed the Aztecs as one of their top teams heading into `10-11.
San Diego State men's basketball season tickets are currently on sale at GoAztecs.com and start at $99 for reserved chair back seats. For more information, please contact the Aztec Ticket Office at (619) 283-7378.