April 22, 2004
At the end-of-the-season USD Men's Basketball Awards Banquet at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on April 21st, junior center Brice Vounang (Dschang, Cameroon) was selected the team's Most Valuable Player. Vounang finished as the team's leader in scoring (16.9 ppg) and field goal percentage (.550), and second in rebounding (6.8 rpg). He was named First Team All-West Coast Conference and was also tabbed the WCC Newcomer of the Year by the league's head coaches.
Junior forward Brandon Gay (Missouri City, TX), who finished second on the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and first in rebounding (7.0 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. Gay also took home the Best Defensive Player award.
Junior Brett Melton earned the Miller Lite Student Athlete of the Year award. Given to the player who achieves excellence both athletically and academically, Melton excelled in the classroom in his major of Communications.
Additional awards went to Nick Lewis (Paradise Valley, AZ), the Bugelli Leadership Award, which is given to the player who best demonstrates those qualities that help make a group of people a team; freshman guard Michael Hubbard (Los Angeles, CA) was tabbed the Bully's East Most Improved Player; and juniors Corey Belser (Tacoma, WA) and Floyd North (San Diego, CA) each shared the Recruiting Award for their efforts in hosting recruits.
Head coach Brad Holland also gave senior awards to Brad Lechtenberg (Walnut Creek, CA) and Abdou Sane (Dakar, Senegal). Lechtenberg received special recognition for finishing first in the nation in three-point accuracy (.511), while junior guard Mike McGrain (Portland, OR) was highlighted for finishing 9th in the nation in assists per game (6.5 apg).
