Saturday, March 28, 2009

Jet Chang wins PacWest Freshman honor

BYU Hawaii's 6-3 guard Jet (Tsung-hsien) Chang was named NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Year, winning the honor by averaging 12.5 points in 20.4 minutes per contest. (See Alves, Five Others Honored by Conference)

Chang became the second Taiwanese player since 6-8 forward/center Wu Tai-hao in 2006 to win the Freshman of the Year award for the Hawaii school. Wu returned to Taiwan after his sophomore year and is now playing for Taiwan Beer.

The explosive Chang showed a glimpse of promise in his freshman year, pouring in a career-high 32 points in the Feb. 28 game vs. Chaminade and shot 51.8% from the field for the season.

BYUH concluded the 2008-09 season 27-2 following the 59-58 loss to Cal Poly-Pomona at NCAA Div-II West Regional third round. The Seasiders advanced to the postseason after winning the PacWest Conference with a perfect 12-0 record.

Chang had 12 points in 16 minutes in Seasiders' 98-84 opening win over Humboldt State and 19 points in 27 minutes in the 84-71 win vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills. However, he failed to score in the season finale.