Monday, March 3, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Newcomers Keon Clark and Tyrone Nesby made enough of an impact in the Western Athletic Conference that the two UNLV juniors represented the Rebels on the All-WAC Pacific Division first team.
The duo was selected Sunday in a vote of the 16 conference coaches.
Clark, the WAC leader in field-goal percentage (.573) and blocked shots (95), and Nesby, UNLV's top scorer at 16.3 points per game, also were named to the all-newcomer team and Clark was named to the all-defensive team.
In addition, UNLV point guard Mark Dickel was selected the Pacific's freshman of the year. The Dunedin, New Zealand, native started in all but one of the Rebels' 27 games.
"I think it's tremendous," coach Bill Bayno said of the individual honors bestowed upon his players. "It's a sign that the hard work pays off.
"I hope they give their teammates credit for pushing them in practice because anytime you get an individual honor, the team had something to do with it."
Joining Clark and Nesby on the first team were Hawaii's Anthony Carter, Wyoming's HL Coleman (the WAC's leading rebounder at 10.7 boards a game) and San Jose State's Olivier Saint-Jean (the WAC's leading scorer at 23.8 points per contest).
No UNLV player made the second team, which consisted of Fresno State's Daymond Forney and Chris Herren, Colorado State's Bryan Christiansen, Hawaii's Alika Smith and San Diego State's Jason Richey.
Carter, who led the WAC in steals (72) and was second in assists (167) and fourth in scoring (19.1), was the Pacific's player of the year. Hawaii coach Riley Wallace, who led the Rainbows to a share of the division title with Fresno State, was the Pacific's coach of the year.
In the Mountain Division, Utah's Keith Van Horn was named player of the year for the third consecutive season. Van Horn was second in the WAC in scoring to Saint-Jean at 22 points a game.
Joining Van Horn on the WAC's Mountain Division first team were Utah teammate Michael Doleac, Tulsa's Shea Seals, New Mexico's Charles Smith and Texas Christian's Mike Jones. The second team consisted of Rice's Shaun Igo, TCU's Malcolm Johnson, SMU's Jay Poerner and New Mexico's Kenny Thomas and Clayton Shields.
Tulsa coach Steve Robinson was tabbed the Mountain coach of the year and SMU guard Stephen Woods was the division's freshman of the year.
It's a celebration
In San Diego Saturday, it hadn't dawned on anyone that with its win over San Diego State, Fresno State clinched the top spot in the Pacific Division.
Finally, Bulldogs Terrance Roberson, Kendric Brooks and Rashan Smith decided to celebrate by cutting down the nets at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Meanwhile, Hawaii was celebrating its share of the Pacific crown by breaking out "WAC Champions" T-shirts. Coach Riley Wallace got in the act, giving up his usual Island attire for a WAC shirt.
Of course, the Rainbows are only division champs. And they're co-champs at that, as well as being the second seed, as Fresno won the head-to-head battle.
Fitting tribute
Utah fans showed their appreciation for Van Horn, who was playing his final game at the Huntsman Center Saturday. The senior forward was given a lengthy standing ovation prior to the game and he responded with a huge performance, scoring 29 points and grabbing six rebounds in the Utes' 78-58 rout of New Mexico.
Van Horn became only the third player in school history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.
RPI update
Heading into the WAC tournament, it's nail-biting time for several conference schools that have postseason aspirations.
This week's Rating Percentage Index (RPI) saw UNLV drop 10 spots from 44 to 54 while Fresno State moved up from 60 to 56.
Of the WAC schools looking to play next week, Utah is tops at No. 7 followed by Tulsa at 18, New Mexico at 19 and Hawaii at 40. Texas Christian is at 58 and Colorado State moved up to No. 60 from 68.
The RPI is used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to help determine at-large bids.
Pay to park
A reminder to the UNLV fans who are attending this week's WAC tournament -- be prepared to dig into your pockets.
That's right, the free ride is over. Beginning today, it will cost $4 to park your car in the T&M lots. Because this is not a UNLV event, the Mack has to charge the parking fee which had been waived for Rebel basketball games.
For UNLV students, (are you listening, Rojos?) there is good news. Student tickets for each individual session are available, which means there's no need to shell out $120 to sit downstairs.
Student tickets are $10. Of course, there will probably be some grumbling about that, too, because UNLV students are admitted free to Rebels games.
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