After leading the Beach to a conference title and a trip to the NCAA tournament, Casper Ware now has one more honor to add to his list of accomplishments.
The senior guard was named by the Associated Press and an honorable mention All-American on Tuesday.
Ware is the second basketball player in Long Beach State history to claim All-American status twice. Ed Ratleff was the first in 1972 and 73.
The guard lifted LBSU this season on multiple occasions, including a 33-point, six assist performance in which he converted eight three-point shots in the Big West tournament final against rival UC Santa Barbara.
He is the all-time LBSU assist leader, finishing with 545, which is also good for seventh in the history of the Big West Conference.
On his way to being named Big West Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, Ware led the Beach in scoring at 17.4 points per game (third in the Big West) and assists with 3.4 a night.
His other accolades include becoming one of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which is given to the best point guard in the country. He was named the United States Basketball Writers Association District IX Player of the Year. He was also named the Big West Player of the Week four times this season, one shy of the conference record.
A four-year starter, Ware rounded-out his LBSU career averaging 14.1 points, 4.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
After reading about his involvement with the NBA Lockout Summer League, he does not deserve any honors for having an advantage over the competition. That would not be right and the NCAA should look into this. I am outraged that someone who played with the pros is getting away with it rather than forfeit the senior season. This is another example of the athletic program’s dishonesty at their best and sadly, it is setting a bad example for everyone, especially children.