April 11, 2007

BERKELEY - Senior guard Ayinde Ubaka, who averaged 13.7 ppg and 4.3 apg, was named the Golden Bears' Most Valuable Player for the 2006-07 season at the team's annual banquet Wednesday night at the Claremont Resort & Spa.

This past year, the 6-4 Ubaka reached double figures 26 times in 33 games, including a career-high-tying 29 points in Cal's 76-69 overtime victory over fourth-ranked UCLA in the Pac-10 Tournament. An honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection, Ubaka paced the Bears with 59 three-pointers and set personal bests with 142 assists and 24 steals.

Ubaka completed his career with 1,194 points, which ranks 17th on Cal's all-time list. In addition, he is third in three-pointers (160), fourth in assists (417) and ninth in free throw shooting (77.9%) on the Bears' career charts.

Other awards handed out went to:

Academic Achievement - Alex Pribble
Most Improved Player - Eric Vierneisel
Most Unselfish Player - Omar Wilkes
Hustle Award - Patrick Armstrong
Coaches' Award - Alex Pribble
Best Defensive Player - Theo Robertson
Outstanding Freshman - Ryan Anderson

Pribble, a 6-4 senior guard, was voted to the first-team Pac-10 All-Academic squad for the second time this year, while forward Anderson, who ranked fifth in the conference in both scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), was a Pac-10 All-Freshman choice.

Vierneisel raised his scoring average from 1.5 ppg last year to 4.3 ppg this season and scored at least 10 points on six occasions, including a career-high 13 in a win at Oregon State. Wilkes started 31 of 33 games and tossed in 9.9 ppg while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from three-point range.

Robertson, a 6-6 sophomore wing, was forced to play out of position at power forward the second half of the season due to injuries to a pair of Cal centers and responded by averaging 8.8 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Armstrong showed his perseverance by earning a spot on the team as a senior in 2006-07 in his fourth year trying out for the squad.