Mar. 3, 2015
Two Wildcats Named Among Conference's Best Men's Basketball Players
Central Washington University men's basketball standouts, guard Dom Williams(5-11, Sr., Tacoma)and forward Joseph Stroud (6-8, Jr., Seattle) were named Monday to the 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-conference team. [In the photo, Williams is in the photo to the left, Stroud on the right]
Williams, a first-team choice, capped his regular season as the GNAC's second leading scorer at 19.9 points per game. He also made an average of 3.6 three-point shots per game, which was No. 7 in the nation; connected on 43.9 on his three-point shots, 27th best in the country; and 81.4 percent from the free throw line, ninth in the conference.
"My goal was to be the conference MVP [Most Valuable Player]," Williams acknowledged. "But it's a blessing to be recognized on the first team."
Williams proved to be far more than just a scorer. He also ranked 18th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8), 10th in the conference in assists (3.4) and steals (1.4), and he did so playing 31.8 minutes per game, the fifth highest average in the GNAC.
"It's a great honor for Dom to the named to the first team," said CWU head coach Greg Sparling. "His hard work has paid off and this award shows that. He's been very instrumental to our success throughout the season."
A 2010 graduate of Curtis High School, Williams was named to the all-state 4A first-team. He began his collegiate basketball career at Tacoma Community College, where he averaged 11 points per game as a freshman and 14 points per game as a sophomore. He scored a career high of 36 points in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) championship-winning game his second year.
Williams joined the Wildcats for the 2012 campaign, starting in 19 games and averaging nine points over the 27 contests in which he appeared.
Stroud, a 2011 graduate of Rainier Beach High School, was named second-team all-GNAC. He's in his first year with the Wildcats, after transferring to CWU from Highline Community College, where he was named to the NWAACC first team, first-team West Region and the region's Defensive Player of the Year.
Stroud ended his inaugural season with the Wildcats as the nation's leader in field goal percentage (71.4). He also ranked ninth in the country in blocked shots (2.7).
"It's a blessing to be acknowledged," Stroud stated. "But my goal is to be first team and defensive player of the year. So I have more work to do next year to be where I want to be."
Sparling added, "JoJo exceeded a lot of people's expectations during his first year in the conference and he's just going to get better and better as time goes on. He blocks a lot of shots—and alters lots of others—and that really helps us on the defensive end."
Williams, Stroud and their Wildcat teammates enter the GNAC post-season Thursday when they face Northwest Nazarene University in a quarterfinal round game at the 2015 GNAC Men's Basketball Championships, which are being hosted by Montana State University Billings.
Williams added, "Now, I just want to keep things rolling for me, as a senior, and win the GNAC championship."