Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers picked second in preseason men's basketball poll
10/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 28, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Long Beach State men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in a vote of the Big West Conference's media, while LBSU juniors T.J. Robinson and Casper Ware were named to the preseason all-league team.
The 49ers received 180 points and two first-place votes, trailing only preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara's 204 points and 20 first-place votes. Pacific received the remaining first-place vote and finished with 161 points. Long Beach State returns four starters, including Ware and Robinson, from a team that finished 17-16 and advanced to the championship game of the Big West Tournament.
Robinson was named to the preseason all-conference team after being named first-team All-Big West as a sophomore after leading Long Beach State in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.1 ppg). He finished the regular season as just one of 20 Division I players to average a double-double, while leading the Big West with 17 double-doubles. The 49er forward scored more than 20 points seven times during the season, while finishing with 30 double-digit scoring games and 17 double-digit rebounding games. He also led the Big West Conference in rebounding and field goal percentage (.520), while finishing eighth in scoring. Robinson ranked in the top 20 in the country in both rebounds per game and double-doubles. His 332 rebounds were the third most ever by a 49er and the most since the 1960-61 season, while his 216 free throw attempts were the most in school history. He also earned second-team All-District 9 honors from the NABC and was a member of the Big West Conference All-Tournament Team.
Ware was named to the preseason all-conference team after earning second-team All-Big West honors last year after averaging 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He finished the season with four 20-point games, 20 double-digit scoring games and one double-double. Ware led the Big West Conference is assists, the first 49er to do so in 37 years, and steals, while finishing sixth in free throw percentage (.784) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56). His 159 assists were the fifth most in a season at LBSU and his 69 steals ranked third on the single-season list. Ware also was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com and earned a spot on the Big West Conference All-Tournament team.
The 49ers open their season on November 13 when they play host to No. 25 San Diego State at 4:05 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid. The Beach travels to No. 8 North Carolina on Dec. 11 and No. 18 Washington on Nov. 30. LBSU also plays Clemson in the first round of the Paradise Jam Tournament on Nov. 19 in the Virgin Islands, at Arizona State on Dec. 21, at Utah State (receiving votes in preseason top 25) on Dec. 7 and against St. Mary's in the Wooden Classic on Dec. 18.
Long Beach State returns four starters and its sixth-man. The five, which are projected to start this season, combined to average 79.2 percent of the 49ers points last season, as well as 70.2 percent of their rebounds and 79.5 percent of their assists. In addition to Robinson and Ware, The Beach returns junior starters Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps, as well as senior Greg Plater, last year's sixth man. Anderson, a first-team all-league pick as a true freshman in 2008-09, averaged 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season, while Phelps finished the season averaging 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Plater is the Big West Conference's active 3-point field goals made leader and averaged 9.1 points last season, while making 66 3-pointers (36.1 percent).
Big West Conference release with complete poll and preseason all-league teams 
