Feb. 29, 2004
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State junior forward Omari Westley has been named to the 2004 Horizon League All-Newcomer team in a balloting of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and select media. The award was announced on Sunday (Feb. 29) by the Horizon League office.
Westley, a native of Cleveland and graduate of Shaw High School, leads the league with 8.6 rebounds a game while also ranking among the conference leaders in scoring (8th, 14.8), field goal percentage (10th, .480), free throw percentage (14th, .709), steals (14th, 1.14), blocked shots (8th, 0.86), offensive rebounds (1st, 3.11) and defensive rebounds (2nd, 5.50).
"Omari proved on the court this year that he is truly one of the most outstanding players in the Horizon League this year," head coach Mike Garland said. "Even though he hadn't played or practiced at this level for almost 18 months, he stepped onto the court in October and instantly became a leader.
"As our front line became depleted because of injuries and other problems, we asked for Omari to take on a bigger and bigger role and he accepted that challenge, even though stopping him became the focal point of our opponents defensive schemes."
Westley has scored in double figures in 22 of CSU's 28 games this year, owning 11 double-figure rebounding efforts and a league-best eight double-doubles. He has scored 20 points or more five times, including a career-high 30 points against Loyola Chicago on Jan. 5, the fifth-highest scoring total by a player in the Horizon League this year.
Westley leads the league in rebounding by such a wide margin that Wright State's Seth Doliboa, who ranks second, would have to grab 35 rebounds in his next game and Westley go board-less for him to lose the lead.
Joining Westley on the all-newcomer team are UW-Milwaukee's Ed McCants, the league newcomer of the year, and Joah Tucker, Wright State's DaShaun Wood and UW-Green Bay's Brandon Morris.
Cleveland State opens Horizon League Championship play on Tuesday, March 2 with a 7:00 p.m. contest at Detroit.
