Starks and Brown Earn All-Big West Honors
3/8/2021 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball's junior backcourt duo of TJ Starks and Darius Brown II earned All-Big West Conference accolades, as voted on by the conference head coaches. Starks received the Newcomer of the Year award and All-Big West First Team honors while Brown II was placed on the Second Team.
Originally from Oak Cliff, Texas, Starks would lead the Big West in scoring during the regular season, averaging 21.6 points per game, in his first season with the Matadors. He finished the regular season seventh in the nation in scoring, shooting 45.9 percent from the floor. He also made a league-leading 147 field goals and 81 free throws while he ranked fourth in minutes per game (33.9), seventh in 3-point field goals made (36) and ninth in steals per game (1.4). Starks led the Matadors in scoring in 17 of 19 games and produced 11 games of 20 or more points.
A Texas A&M transfer, Starks surpassed 1,000 career points in the Matadors' road victory over CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 27. During conference play, Starks averaged 23.7 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field.Â
Starks is the second Matador in three seasons to win the Newcomer of the Year award, joining Lamine Diane who earned the honor in 2019. He is also the ninth Matador in team history to be named to the All-Big West First Team.
A native of Pasadena, Calif., Brown II has posted career-highs in points per game (10.8), assists per game (5.3), rebounds per game (4.8), steals per game (1.9), 3-point percentage (39.1) and field goal percentage (48.2) through 21 games. Brown II finished the regular season fourth in the nation in assists to turnover ratio (3.8) while he ranked second in the Big West in minutes per game (34.2) and third in assists per game and steals per game.
In conference play, Brown II averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He also shot 53.4 percent from the field in the Matadors' 14 league contests. Brown II would record the Matadors' second triple-double in team history and first against a Division I opponent in an overtime win over Hawai'i on Feb. 20.
A three-year letterwinner at CSUN, Brown II moved into third place on the school's all-time career assist list during the season. Currently with 414 career assists, Brown II has dished out at least one assist in all 87 career games including recording two or more assists in 83 of those games.
The Matadors open up play at the Big West Tournament on Tuesday against Long Beach State. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN3. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call the action in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
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Originally from Oak Cliff, Texas, Starks would lead the Big West in scoring during the regular season, averaging 21.6 points per game, in his first season with the Matadors. He finished the regular season seventh in the nation in scoring, shooting 45.9 percent from the floor. He also made a league-leading 147 field goals and 81 free throws while he ranked fourth in minutes per game (33.9), seventh in 3-point field goals made (36) and ninth in steals per game (1.4). Starks led the Matadors in scoring in 17 of 19 games and produced 11 games of 20 or more points.
A Texas A&M transfer, Starks surpassed 1,000 career points in the Matadors' road victory over CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 27. During conference play, Starks averaged 23.7 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field.Â
Starks is the second Matador in three seasons to win the Newcomer of the Year award, joining Lamine Diane who earned the honor in 2019. He is also the ninth Matador in team history to be named to the All-Big West First Team.
A native of Pasadena, Calif., Brown II has posted career-highs in points per game (10.8), assists per game (5.3), rebounds per game (4.8), steals per game (1.9), 3-point percentage (39.1) and field goal percentage (48.2) through 21 games. Brown II finished the regular season fourth in the nation in assists to turnover ratio (3.8) while he ranked second in the Big West in minutes per game (34.2) and third in assists per game and steals per game.
In conference play, Brown II averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He also shot 53.4 percent from the field in the Matadors' 14 league contests. Brown II would record the Matadors' second triple-double in team history and first against a Division I opponent in an overtime win over Hawai'i on Feb. 20.
A three-year letterwinner at CSUN, Brown II moved into third place on the school's all-time career assist list during the season. Currently with 414 career assists, Brown II has dished out at least one assist in all 87 career games including recording two or more assists in 83 of those games.
The Matadors open up play at the Big West Tournament on Tuesday against Long Beach State. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN3. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister will call the action in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
#UniteTheValley
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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