SPOKANE (Mar. 8) -- Central Washington University junior guard JC Cook (Canby, Ore.) has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball Newcomer of the Year for 2009-10, highlighting three all-conference selections for the Wildcats, as announced Monday by the conference office.

Cook was also named to the all-conference second team, where he was joined by junior center Chris Sprinker (Tacoma/Curtis HS). Senior point guard Jon Clift (Spokane/Joel E. Ferris HS) earned honorable mention all-conference honors.

Cook averaged 14.7 points per game during the regular season, leading the GNAC's top scoring team in individual scoring average. He ranked ninth in the conference in scoring and was eighth in three-pointers made per game, connecting on a team-high 50 treys in 136 attempts.

Sprinker finished the regular season as the top shot-blocker in the GNAC with 58 rejections in 26 games. He was also among the conference leaders in rebounds, leading Central with 7.6 rebounds per game, and his 12.8 points-per-game scoring average listed second on the Wildcats.

Clift had a banner offensive campaign as the Wildcats' floor leader, scoring 11.5 points per game and owning a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio with 90 assists on the season. He was also one of Central's leading free throw shooters, making 80.4 percent at the charity stripe.

Those three Wildcats were part of a Central team that finished the regular season with a 16-10 overall record and third place in the GNAC standings at 10-6. The Wildcats will extend their season with a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship tournament this Friday (Mar. 12) in Bellingham, facing an opponent to be announced.

Joining Cook as specialty award winners from the conference were league Most Valuable Player Chris Banchero from Seattle Pacific and Tarance Glynn of Western Oregon, who was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year in the conference. Head coach Ryan Looney of Seattle Pacific was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year.

2009-10 GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First Team
*+Morris Anderson, Sr., Western Washington; +Chris Banchero, Jr., Seattle Pacific; Brandon Larrieu, Sr., Seattle Pacific; +Blake Poole, Jr., Saint Martin's; Brandon Walker, Jr., Alaska Anchorage; Derrick Webb, Sr., Western Washington.

+ Unanimous ... * Repeater

Second Team
DeAndre Chambers, Jr., Montana State Billings; JC COOK, JR., CENTRAL WASHINGTON; Drew Eisinger, Jr., Northwest Nazarene; CHRIS SPRINKER, JR., CENTRAL WASHINGTON; Blair Wheadon, So., Western Oregon; Derrick Wright, Sr., Montana State Billings.

Honorable Mention
Zach Bruce, Sr., Western Washington; JON CLIFT, SR., CENTRAL WASHINGTON; Rob Diederichs, Sr., Seattle Pacific; DaVell Jackson, Sr., Montana State Billings; Emmanuel Jenkins, Sr., Alaska Fairbanks; Nashorn Maynard, Jr., Alaska Fairbanks; Rico Myles, Sr., Western Oregon; Casey Robinson, Jr., Alaska Anchorage.

Player of the Year: Chris Banchero, Jr., Seattle Pacific
Newcomer of the Year: JC COOK, JR., CENTRAL WASHINGTON
Freshman of the Year: Tarance Glynn, Western Oregon
Coach of the Year: Ryan Looney, Seattle Pacific