Nevada Basketball – Dario Hunt - Freshman Block Record Holder

New Kid on the Block
By Paul Klein
Sixty-Seven times this year Nevada’s Dario Hunt has given the crowd a reason to chant ‘you got swatted’. Sixty-Seven times this year Hunt’s made the opponent feel outright rejection, literally. Hunt became a shot-blocking force for the Wolf Pack this year as a freshman. That’s right, he’s only a freshman.
Hunt’s incredible 67 blocked shots this season has set Nevada’s freshman single-season record, shattering the 44 rejections that Wolf Pack great Nick Fazekas had in his rookie campaign in 2003-04.
Hunt led the WAC and ranks 43rd in the country with 2.03 blocks per game overall, while he also paced first in the WAC with 2.50 blocks per league game. From a basketball standpoint, Hunt’s got more blocks than Lego land.
Hunt blocked a career-best six shots in a January 31 win at Idaho, besting his previous high of five January 8 at New Mexico State and February 7 vs. New Mexico State. He has blocked at least one shot in 28 of 33 games this year, including 22 with two or more.
Hunt’s efforts helped Nevada lead the WAC and rank 32nd in the nation with 4.88 blocked shots per game with a season high of 12 December 9 vs. Sonoma State. In conference play, the Wolf Pack led the league with 5.25 blocks per game.
Being a dominant shot blocker isn’t a new thing for hunt, he walked into Lawlor with a strong history of shot blocking averaging 3.1 blocks per game at Charis Prep School in Goldsboro, N.C.
He was also named the team MVP, earned first-team all-league honors, and averaged a double-double with 16.1 points and 15.3 rebounds per game as a senior.
Hunt has already climbed into third on Nevada’s single-season block shot-chart trailing only Edgar Jones’ 96-block season in 1978 and JaVale McGee’s 92-block season in 2008.
When asked about his blocking performance Hunt responded, “It feels good. Blocks can lead to big momentum changes and easy scores on the other end.”
The 6-foot-8 forward also contributes as a Wolf Pack starter. In nearly 20 minutes per game, Hunt has shot 50 percent from the field with 3.6 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game.
“I just want to keep on improving everyday,” he said. “And come back every year and get to the tournament and make something happen.”

BABBITT, JOHNSON EARN ALL-DISTRICT HONORS

BABBITT, JOHNSON EARN ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
RENO, Nev. - Nevada freshman forward Luke Babbitt has been named to the
all-district first teams by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches
and the United States Basketball Writers Association, while sophomore guard
Armon Johnson has earned NABC first-team all-district honors.

Babbitt and Johnson are two of five players on the NABC’s District 6 team,
joining Western Athletic Conference honorees Gary Wilkinson of Utah State, Mac
Hopson of Idaho and Jahmar Young of New Mexico State on the first team. Babbitt
was also one of 10 selections by the USBWA in District VIII, which encompasses
the states of Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Montana.
Hopson and Wilkinson were the other WAC honorees on the District VIII team. A
total of 240 players from 24 districts were honored by the NABC’s member
coaches, and the all-district honorees are now eligible for the State Farm
Coaches’ Division I All-America teams to be announced on Saturday, April 4 as
part of the 2009 NABC Convention in Detroit, Mich. The USBWA selected a Player
and Coach of the Year as well as a 10-team all-district team from nine regions.

The 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-WAC selection, Babbitt
leads the Wolf Pack and ranks fourth among the nation’s freshmen in scoring at
16.4 points per game. He has set the Nevada freshman single-season scoring
record with 492 points and is also leading the team and ranked third in the WAC
with 7.5 rebounds per game.

Johnson earned first-team All-WAC honors this season and is second on the team
and eighth in the conference with 15.0 points per contest. Last year’s WAC
Freshman of the Year, he is leading the team in assists for the second
consecutive season and ranks among the WAC’s leaders in assists per game (4.3)
and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.90).

Heartbreaker. Pack Loses in finals

Men’s Championship Game
Game Recap: Utah State beats Nevada 72-62 for WAC championship
No. 1 Utah State led the entire game en route to a 72-62 win over second-seeded Nevada. Tournament MVP Gary Wilkinson led the Aggies with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds.

All-Tournament Team
Luke Babbitt, Nevada
Armon Jones, Nevada
Jared Quayle, Utah State
Tai Wesley, Utah State
Gary Wilkinson, Utah State (MVP)

Women’s Championship Game
Top-seeded Fresno State repeated as tournament champion after a 56-49 win over third-seeded Nevada. Tournament MVP Jaleesa Ross led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine rebounds in the championship game, becoming the only player in WAC history to earn the award in back-to-back years.

All-Tournament Team
Dellena Criner, Nevada
Shanavia Dowdell, Louisiana Tech
Joh-Teena Filipe, Fresno State
Shavon Moore, Nevada
Jaleesa Ross, Fresno State (MVP)

WAC Tournament Photo Gallery

Photos by Fielding Cathcart

Former Wolf Pack Star Kirk Snyder Arrested

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Former Nevada basketball star Kirk Snyder has been jailed in Ohio on charges of aggravated burglary and felonious assault, a newspaper reported on its Web site Monday.
Warren County sheriff’s deputies said they arrested the former NBA player Monday morning at his home in Deerfield Township northeast of Canton, Ohio.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that a woman who lived near Snyder called police when she heard glass breaking downstairs at her house.

She told deputies that when she went to investigate, a tall man pushed her aside and ran to an upstairs bedroom where he allegedly began to assault the woman’s sleeping husband. She says she was able to pull the hood from covering his head and he then fled out the back door.

Deputies say their investigation and a canine led deputies to Snyder’s nearby residence where he was taken into custody within minutes of the offense.

Snyder, 25, led the Nevada Wolf Pack to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in 2004. He was the 16th player taken in the 2004 NBA draft and played for several NBA teams before spending the past season in a pro league in China.

Snyder was being held in the Warren County jail pending his arraignment Tuesday in Mason Municipal Court. The case remains under investigation.

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