Palmer grad earns Pac West Conference honors

PALMER — The day Connor Looney signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Hawaii Pacific University and play basketball for the Division II Sharks, former Palmer boys basketball head coach Jason Marvel lauded the potential of the Moose standout.

“That’s what I told the coaches who were recruiting him. I think this guy’s upside is unbelievable,” Marvel said of Looney on an afternoon in May of 2013. “Connor, he’s just beginning his career.”

Marvel was exactly right.

Looney has enjoyed one heck of a college career. And it’s not over yet.

Looney, a 2013 graduate of Palmer High School, has received mass acclaim from the Pac West Conference, and Friday, he’ll have a chance to help the Sharks take a step toward a Pac West championship. The Hawaii Pacific senior has been named the Pac West Defender of the Year, and earned first-team all-conference honors after his first full year as a starter.

Looney started all 28 games for the Sharks who finished first in the Pac West Conference with an 18-2 record. Hawaii Pacific, 26-2 overall, received a first-round bye in the tournament in Irvine, California, and play in the semifinals Friday at 5:15 p.m. PST against either fourth-seeded Chaminade or fifth-seeded Azusa Pacific. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PST.

Hawaii Pacific is currently ranked fourth in the Division II West Region.

Looney, a 6-foot-2 guard, is ranked in the conference in several statistical categories. His 17 points per game are fifth in the Pac West. He is also seventh in the conference with a .485 field goal percentage and eighth with 2.3 three-pointers a game.

During his final home game of the season, Looney celebrated senior night with 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists during a 76-66 victory over Dixie State.

In addition to his 17 points per game, Looney also averages 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He leads his squad with 64 steals. Looney has scored nearly 500 points this season, and has collected 20 or more nine times. His season-high 29 game in an 111-38 victory over West Coast Baptist in November of 2016.

As a junior, Looney played I all 28 games, and made two starts. He averaged 11.8 points per game. Looney saw action in 26 games as a sophomore. His average minutes per game has raised from about 13 as a sophomore to about 21 as a junior, and now 31.9 as a senior.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.