March 10, 2011
ST. LOUIS - San Diego State men's basketball head coach Steve Fisher has been named the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District IX Coach of the Year. Sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, was voted to the all-district team.
Fisher, who was named Mountain West Conference Co-Coach of the Year earlier this week, is at the helm of an Aztec basketball program that finished the regular season with the best record in the nation at 29-2. Fisher led No. 7/6 SDSU to a share of the Mountain West regular-season title and has had the Aztecs in the top 25 every week and in the top 10 of both major college basketball polls for 12 consecutive weeks, both feats no team in the district (California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska) can claim.
Leonard, meanwhile, was named to the all-District IX first squad for the second straight season after averaging 15.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Hailing from Riverside, Calif., Leonard has 21 double-doubles in 2010-11, which ranks fourth in Division I, and his rebounding average is the seventh best in the nation. Earlier this week, Leonard was named to the NABC all-District 17 first-team, the all-MWC first team, the MWC all-defensive team and the FOXSports.com All-America second team. Leonard is the third two-time honoree in school history, joining Randy Holcomb (01-02) and Brandon Heath (06-07).
Leonard was the lone San Diego State representative on the 10-player all-district team despite SDSU being the top team in the district. The Aztecs went 8-0 against teams that reside in the district this season and they currently own the third-best RPI in the nation and are the highest ranked District IX club in the both top-25 polls. And earlier this week, the NABC voted two Aztecs, Leonard and D.J. Gay, onto its all-District 17 first team.