May 9, 2003
At the end-of-the-season USD Men's Basketball Awards Banquet at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on May 8th, seniors Jason Keep (Moscow, Idaho) and Matt Delzell (Plano, Texas) were selected the co-Most Valuable Players. Keep finished as the team's top scorer (18.0 ppg), rebounder (9.1 rpg) and shooter in field goal percentage (.604). Delzell, the team's captain and floor leader, moved to the point guard slot midway through the season and from there the Toreros would finish 12-3, including winning the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Senior forward Jason Blair (Phoenix, AZ), who finished second on the team in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg), was the recipient of the Zable Athletic Excellence Award. This is presented to the player who by his effort level and commitment in practice and games, sets a standard for excellence. Blair earned this for the second straight year.
Seniors Jason Blair and Matt Delzell shared the Miller Lite Student Athlete of the Year award. Given to the player who achieves excellence both athletically and academically, this Torero duo share this honor for the second straight year. Blair earned national recognition this year by being named to the Verizon Academic All-America 2nd team with his 3.59 grade-point-average as a Business Administration major; he also was selected to the WCC All-Academic Squad for the second straight season. Delzell, who owns a 3.51 GPA in Business Administration, became just the second Torero to earn WCC All-Academic honors all four years.
Additional awards went to Matt Delzell, the Bugelli Leadership Award, given to the player who best demonstrates those qualities that help make a group of people a team; freshman forward Nick Lewis (Paradise Valley, AZ) was tabbed the Bully's East Most Improved Player; and sophomore forward Corey Belser (Spanaway, WA) was named the Best Defensive Player, as well as earning the Recruiting Award.
The Toreros finished the season with an overall record of 18-12. They became the first USD men's basketball team to win the West Coast Conference Championship; and they became the first WCC men's team to host and win the tournament. The Toreros advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in sixteen years where they dropped a tough 77-69 decision to the Stanford Cardinal.
