By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University junior guard Josiah Frank (Turlock, CA/John H. Pitman HS) has been selected Second Team All-Northwest Conference for the 2023-24 men's basketball season in voting by the NWC head coaches. Graduate wing Jack Boydell (Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) earned Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition for the second consecutive season.
Jojo Anderson, a junior guard at Whitworth University, was chosen NWC Player of the Year. Senior guard Grant Hunt of Whitman College was named NWC Defensive Player of the Year. Hugo Rutherford, a first-year forward at the University of Puget Sound, was voted NWC Rookie of the Year. Whitman Head Coach John Lamanna, who guided the Blues to a tie for the regular season title, was selected NWC Coach of the Year.
Willamette finished the season with a 14-10 overall record (9-7 NWC) in the Bearcats first year under Head Coach Michael Lenahan. Willamette tied for third place in the NWC standings, but missed qualifying for the four-team NWC Men's Basketball Tournament, as the University of Puget Sound and Pacific University, both 9-7, won the tie-breakers for the final two berths.
The winning overall record by the Bearcats is the first for Willamette since the team ended the 2008-09 season with a 12-11 mark. WU also registered its first NWC record above .500 since going 9-7 in 2007-08. For the season, Willamette averaged 86.8 points per game to lead the NWC and rank 10th in NCAA Division III. The Bearcats hit 199 three-pointers (8.3 per game), averaged 41.3 rebounds and a +2.8 rebound margin per game, and shot 75.0% on free throws. The Bearcats ranked 37th in the NCAA in steals per game (9.4), 38th in rebounds per game, and 39th in free throw percentage. Willamette was 9-4 at Cone Field House.
Second Team All-Northwest Conference
Josiah Frank (Jr., G) was chosen Second Team All-NWC for the first time. He led the Bearcats and ranked fourth in the NWC with 16.1 points per game. He scored 386 points during the season and has recorded 816 points in his career. He shot 84.4% on free throws to place fourth in the NWC and 70th in NCAA Division III. Frank also registered 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He made 43 three-pointers and shot 40.2% from 3-point range. He scored in double digits in 19 games.
In his three seasons at WU, Frank has earned a career average of 11.8 points per contest. He has accumulated 189 rebounds, 125 assists, and 63 steals. He provided the Bearcats with a career-high 35 points at Pacific Lutheran University on Jan. 6, 2024.
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference
Jack Boydell (Grad., W) repeated as an Honorable Mention All-NWC selection after first receiving the recognition a year ago in 2022-23. This season, he was second on Willamette's scoring chart with 13.9 points per game. He led the NWC and ranked 24th in NCAA Division III with 88.7% accuracy at the free throw line (63 of 71). He connected on 48 three-point shots while hitting 39.7% of his long-range attempts. Boydell contributed 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
Boydell concluded his Willamette career ranked ninth on the Bearcats' all-time scoring list with 1,389 points. He set a career record for the Bearcats by making 182 three-point baskets. He reached double figures in scoring 18 times this season. He scored a career-high 34 points at Multnomah University on Nov. 15, 2022.
