IRVINE, Calif.-- The UH Hilo men's basketball squad had three players named to the All-Pacific West Conference team, including the PacWest Conference Freshman of the Year.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, PacWest Newcomer of the Year in 2020-21, was named PacWest Freshman of the Year for his all-around work throughout the regular 2021-22 season.
Tait-Jones leads his team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots. He is the sixth-highest scorer in the PacWest (averaging 17.4 a game) and had a career-high of 30 points against Concordia.
He has the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the conference (.498), the second-most rebounds (averaging 8.1 a game), ninth-most blocked shots (18 total), and seventh-most steals (averaging 1.6 a game) in the league.
The 6-foot-7 New Zealand native had seven double-doubles and was named PacWest Player of the Week on two occasions. He was also named to the All-PacWest First Team, the first Vulcan to receive that honor since Salim Gloyd did in 2015-16.
Donald McHenry and Darren Williams received Third Team All-PacWest honors.
McHenry is the only true Freshman to be named All-PacWest, meaning he came to UH Hilo straight out of high school. He started in all 26 games for the Vulcans, is the eighth-highest scorer in the PacWest averaging 15.2 points a game. McHenry scored in double digits in all but three games, scoring 20 points and above in five games. He also has the third-highest field goal percentage in the league at .500 and was named PacWest Player of the Week once.
Williams is a huge contributor for the Vulcans. He leads the PacWest in assist to turnover ratio, having the second-most assists in the league (averaging 4.6). He also has the sixth-highest free throw percentage (.805) and the eighth-most steals (averaging 1.5).
Williams is also UHH's third-highest scorer totaling 300 points this season (13 a game), with a career-high of 29 against Alaska Anchorage.
The Vulcans open PacWest Tournament play on Wednesday with a 12:45pm HT (2:45pm PT) Quarterfinal match-up with Azusa Pacific. Follow along with the action at hiloathletics.com, links are available on the men's basketball schedule.
| 2021-22 ALL-PACWEST MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Kaden Anderson |
Point Loma |
| Defender of the Year |
Klay Brown |
Academy of Art |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Jelani Watson-Gayle |
Fresno Pacific |
| Freshman of the Year |
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones |
Hawai`i Hilo |
| Coach of the Year |
Scott Waterman |
Academy of Art |
| 2021-22 ALL-PACWEST MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Kaden Anderson** |
Point Loma |
F |
Jr. |
Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw |
| Jelani Watson-Gayle |
Fresno Pacific |
G |
Sr. |
London, England/Miles College |
| Chris Rossow* |
Biola |
G |
Sr. |
Freeport, Texas/Southwest Baptist |
| Ken West |
Azusa Pacific |
F |
So. |
Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian |
| Justin Hemsley |
Azusa Pacific |
F |
Jr. |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Hawai`i |
| Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones* |
Hawai`i Hilo |
F |
Fr. |
Wellington, New Zealand/Spire |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Alex Wright |
Biola |
G |
Jr. |
Riverside, Calif./California Baptist |
| Latrell Williams |
Academy of Art |
F |
So. |
Gary, Ind./Grayson College |
| Michael Bagatourian** |
Biola |
G |
Sr. |
Irvine, Calif./Crean Lutheran |
| Ben Okhotin |
Point Loma |
F |
Sr. |
San Diego/Westview |
| Brock Mackenzie* |
Point Loma |
G |
Jr. |
Sammamish, Wash./Eastside Catholic |
| Edward Gray |
Holy Names |
C |
Jr. |
Oakland, Calif./El Cerrito |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Zach McIntire |
Chaminade |
F |
Sr. |
Delaware, Ohio/Mercyhurst |
| Joshua Caston |
Concordia |
G |
Sr. |
Virginia Beach, Va./Point Loma |
| Darren Williams* |
Hawai`i Hilo |
G |
Jr. |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Chaffey |
| Myles Franklin* |
Point Loma |
G |
Sr. |
Brea, Calif./Villa Park |
| Isaac Amaral-Artharee* |
Chaminade |
G |
So. |
Portland, Ore./Central Catholic |
| Donald McHenry |
Hawai`i Hilo |
G |
Fr. |
Milwaukee, Wisc./Milwaukee Science |
