March 11, 2003

LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's basketball senior guard Marcus Banks has been named the Player of the Year in District VIII by the United States Basketball Writers Association, as voted by the association's membership and announced by the organization on Tuesday.

Banks, who was selected to the All-Mountain West Conference first team and named co-Defensive Player of the Year for the conference on Monday, leads the MWC in assists (5.50 apg) and steals (2.82 spg), and is second in scoring (20.5 ppg). He ranks eighth nationally in steals per game and is one of three players in the country to have recorded eight or more steals in two different games this season.

Banks has posted six 30-plus scoring games this season and has had 15 with 20 or more points. He was selected as one of 15 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy (the USBWA's Player of the Year) and was named to the NABC All-District 15 first team. Banks was the only player in the league to win the MWC Player of the Week award three times this season.

Weber State's Joe Cravens was named the District VIII Coach of the Year.

District VIII includes the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The full USBWA District VIII team is listed below.

DISTRICT VIII PLAYER OF THE YEARMarcus Banks, UNLV

DISTRICT VIII COACH OF THE YEARJoe Cravens, Weber State

ALL-DISTRICT VIII TEAMMarcus Banks, UNLVRuben Douglas, New MexicoTravis Hansen, BYUJermaine Boyette, Weber StateDonta Richardson, WyomingUche Nsonwu-Amadi, WyomingKirk Snyder, Nevada, RenoDavid Bell, MontanaBritton Johnsen, UtahDavid Harrison, Colorado