Cal Trio Earns Pac-12 Postseason Honors
SAN FRANCISCO – Three California student-athletes earned 2021-22 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball All-Conference honors on Tuesday, as the conference office announced its annual postseason accolades.
Senior forward Andre Kelly and graduate guard Jordan Shepherd received All-Pac-12 Team honorable mentions and freshman forward Sam Alajiki picked up an All-Freshman Team honorable mention. The full slate of Pac-12 postseason accolades can be viewed on Pac-12.com.
In his lone season in Berkeley, Shepherd was a seamless fit with the Golden Bears as he averaged a team-high 14.5 points per game and scored in double figures 24 times. Cal went 3-1 in Pac-12 play when Shepherd scored 20-plus points, including 33 at Oregon on Feb. 12 and 28 against Stanford on Feb. 26. The Asheville, North Carolina native ranked among conference leaders with 32.5 minutes played per game and started all 31 regular-season games for the Bears.
Kelly was one of the Pac-12’s most productive big men all season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury at USC on Jan. 29, averaging career highs in points (13.4) and rebounds (8.4). In addition to being among national and Pac-12 leaders in field-goal percentage (60.7%), Kelly posted 15 double-figure scoring efforts and seven double-doubles. Against nationally-ranked opponents, Kelly was as consistent with 13.2 PPG and 7.4 RPG.
Alajiki averaged 12.2 minutes in 29 games played and earned four starts in his rookie season with the Bears. In addition to averaging 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, the Dundalk, Ireland native was an effective shooter from deep, knocking down 52.6 percent (20-38) of his 3-point attempts. He scored a career-high 11 points on 4-6 shooting at UCLA on Jan. 27.
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