PacWest Weekly Awards (Jan. 30)

IRVINE, Calif. – A strong week on the glass by junior forward Latrell Williams helped Academy of Art men's basketball to a 2-0 week, and now his average of 13.0 rebounds (10.0 defensive rebounds avg.) and 3.0 steals per game have earned him the honor of being the Pacific West Conference Defender of the Week. The award is for games played from Jan. 23-29. 

The week for Williams began with a bit of history, as he produced the third-most rebounds in a single ART U game by collecting 19 boards while the Urban Knights captured an 82-72 victory over Hawaii Pacific, falling just one shy of the program record while 14 came on the defensive end. In yesterday's 83-75 win over UH Hilo, Williams snagged another seven rebounds with six on the defensive end. In both games he swiped three steals, reaching his season best for the third and fourth times. 

Though this is the first such honor Williams this season, it is the second time he has been named the PacWest Defender of the Week in his career, earning the award once last season (Dec. 13, 2021). Meanwhile, he is the third Urban Knight to collect the honor in the 2022-23 campaign, joining senior forward Mike Asante (Jan. 4, Jan. 23) and senior guard Klay Brown (Nov. 21) with ART U's fourth overall award, putting them just over halfway to the five Urban Knights and seven total awards earned last season (both program records).