2023-24 D2CCA All-West Region Teams

2023-24 NABC Division II All-District Teams

TURLOCK, Calif./KANSAS CITY – Nearly a week after the duo were named to All-Pacific West Conference First Team, the postseason awards continued to roll in for Academy of Art men's basketball senior forward Latrell Williams and junior forward Jamal Fuller who earned spots on the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-West Region First and Second Team respectively as announced on Mar. 15. Thereafter, Fuller was announced to the NABC Division II All-District Second Team on Mar. 25.

"It is great that Latrell and Jamal were acknowledged by the Conference Commissioner's Association for the success they had on the court this season," said Head Coach Scott Waterman. "These awards get bestowed upon teams that have success and when you have a record breaking season like we did, awards will follow."

It was a record-setting campaign for the pair of Wiliams and Fuller, who ranked among the top three in the region in rebounding and scoring respectively in addition to breaking program records. 

While Williams was named as the All-PacWest Player of the Year and Defender of the Year, the only student-athlete in conference history to ever do so in the same season, he was also named to the All-PacWest First Team. This season, Williams plastered his name all over ART U program history, becoming the career leader in steals (157), rebounds (745), and double-doubles (25) while bettering his single-season record in rebounds (264) from just last season. Williams is the first player in program history to earn Player of the Year and the second to be named Defender of the Year after Klay Brown in 2021-22.

"This is a great way to cap off his three years at ART U where he has rewritten the record books and has become the winningest player in program history" said Waterman. "There is a correlation between him being on the court and our team's success on the scoreboard. I could not be prouder of him and all his accomplishments."

The Gary, Ind. native was a machine for the Knights this season, bringing in the team-high in rebounds per game (9.1) while his average ranked second in the conference. Williams was also near the leaders in the conference in multiple categories, as he ranked fourth in steals per game (1.9), held a top 10 finish in field goal percentage by the regular season's end, and ranked top 20 in points per game (12.6). Williams saw his season-high in points (23) come against on Dec. 7 while matching that total just three days later against Chaminade on Dec. 10. His best rebounding performance (18) came against Dominican on Jan. 20 and he closed out the regular season campaign with the most steals in a game he had all year (5) against Point Loma on Mar. 2.

Joining Williams on the All-PacWest First Team was Fuller, who now collects two All-West Region Second Team honors. Fuller delivered multiple displays of quality contributions towards the team's success throughout the season as he was not just the scoring leader on the team (18.0 points per game), but was the leader for the entire conference. Fuller consistently put up quality shots with one of the three best field goal percentages in the PacWest (.525), was named the PacWest Player of the Week on Nov. 27, and, with 522 points this campaign, is now the single season points leader for ART U. 

"Jamal's ability to score the ball was a huge part of our success this year as seen by him leading the PacWest in scoring at 18 points per game," Waterman said. "Over the last year he has continued to improve and more importantly, thrived in the new role he stepped into this year."

Fuller showed time and time again what he can do on the floor in terms of scoring, as he scored 15 or more points on 21 occasions in the campaign. During Fuller's Player of the Week run, he contributed a season-high 33 points on Nov. 22 in a win against Stanislaus State while tacking on another 32 (including 10 made three throws) just two days later against Saint Martin's on Nov. 24. Fuller collected double-digit rebounds on two occasions, with the first taking place on Dec. 10 and the other on Jan. 13, both against Chaminade. In addition, Fuller racked in the most steals of his career in a game against Azusa Pacific on Dec. 7.

While this is Williams' first All-West Region honor of his career, he is the first Urban Knight to be named to the All-West Region First Team in program history, while Fuller joins only Andrija Blatancic from the 2018-19 season on the Second Team with his first All-West Region award as well. Additionally, Fuller is the first member of ART U to be named to an NABC team in the history's program.