Malik Duffy, Isaiah Brooks, and Kevin Warren could have been college graduates heading home after a long day at work Tuesday evening, or somewhere else in the world playing professional basketball. Instead, they were in Chico studying or making dinner after their 500^th-plus Chico State basketball practice when the news broke: all three earned First Team All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honors and Duffy was named the CCAA Player of the Year. Fellow senior Colby Orr and junior Joshua Hamilton garnered honorable mention All-CCAA.
 
It was an appropriate awards haul following one of the greatest regular seasons in the 100-plus season history of the Chico State men's basketball program. The Wildcats enter this week's CCAA Tournament with a record of 19-3, ranked No. 1 in the West and No. 11 in the nation, and having finished second in the regular-season conference standings at 15-3.
 
"All of those guys could have graduated and gone on to do other things," Chico State Head Coach Greg Clink said in Monday's virtual press conference ahead of the CCAA Tournament. "I feel so grateful that we get to play in the postseason because of the sacrifice that these guys made. We knew we had a great team. To get three of the five guys who were going to be seniors back and to be able to have the success we've had makes me feel very grateful."
 
Warren will wrap up his graduate studies this spring with a master's degree in communication studies after earning his undergraduate degree in communication studies in the spring of 2021. Brooks will graduate with two degrees this spring—in psychology and philosophy—along with a trio of minors. Duffy graduated last spring with his degree in communication studies and is currently in his second semester of Chico State's master's program in social science. Orr will graduate this spring with his degree in business administration. All four boast GPAs of 3.0 or better. Hamilton, a junior, is Chico State's lone underclassman to be honored.
 
Duffy is the program's sixth ever conference player of the year and third CCAA Player of the Year. He joins 1990-91 Northern California Athletic Conference Player of the Year Jake Hodges, 1991-92 NCAC Player of the Year David Fluker, 1993-94 NCAC Player of the Year Aaron Martella, 2011-12 CCAA Player of the Year Jay Flores, and 2015-16 CCAA Player of the Year Robert Duncan.
 
Duffy is a back-to-back First Team All-CCAA selection and was a Second Team selection as a sophomore. Duffy ranks among the conference's top-10 in seven different categories during CCAA play: second in points per game (17.6); seventh in rebounds per game (7.7); first in 3-point field-goal percentage (.444); second in field-goal percentage (.489); sixth in free throw percentage (.829); seventh in 3-pointers made per game (2.4); and seventh in blocked shots (13). Duffy is one of eight players in Chico State men's basketball history with career totals eclipsing 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He ranks 11^th all time with 566 boards and 18^th all time with 1,096 points. The Sacramento (Jesuit High School) product ranks sixth in career threes (177), 10^th in career 3-point percentage (.408), and fourth in career free throw percentage (.837).
 
This is also Brooks' third All-CCAA honor. The product of Sheldon High School in Sacramento was an honorable mention selection as a sophomore and Second Team selection as a junior. Brooks leads the CCAA and ranks 13^th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1) and ranks second in the CCAA in 3-point percentage (.427). He averaged 12.7 points and 3.1 assists in conference play, while shooting 47 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line. Brooks ranks fifth in program history with 310 career assists, is tied for eighth with 153 made threes, and is 10^th with a career free throw percentage of .808.
 
Warren was an All-CCAA honorable mention selection as a true freshman at Cal State Monterey Bay following the 2018 season, but was shut out despite leading Chico State in scoring as a sophomore and ranking second on the team in scoring as a junior. Off the court, he's been a CCAA Scholar Award winner and CoSIDA Academic All-District Award winner. His First Team All-Conference selection this season had as much to do with his offensive game as his defense. A CCAA Defensive Player of the Year nominee, Warren was a problem for many of the conference's top offensive talents while leading the Wildcats with 23 steals. He's also averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
 
Orr earned his honorable mention despite starting only twice. The team's biggest weapon off the bench, Orr averaged 9.7 points and 2.3 assists per game. He led the 'Cats in scoring four times during conference play and was one of the team's best players in clutch situations.
 
Hamilton ranked fourth on the team in scoring and rebounds, second in free throw percentage, and third in assists. He, like Orr, also hit some big buckets down the stretch. During conference play, Hamilton averaged 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game while knocking down 50 free throws (second on the team) at an 83% clip.
 
The defensive efforts of all five Wildcats on the All-Conference team deserve to be recognized. The Wildcats rank ninth in the nation in scoring defense, eighth in field-goal percentage defense, and second in 3-point percentage defense.
 
CCAA Tournament
The CCAA Tournament gets under way Thursday at Lumberjack Arena on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt, though the Wildcats earned a first-round bye and will await the Cal State San Marcos-Cal Poly Pomona winner Friday at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available through links on the Chico State men's basketball schedule page and the calendar section on the homepage. Cal Poly Humboldt ticketing and spectator policies can be found HERE.
 
Giving Day is (almost) here!
Wednesday is Chico State Giving Day! The support of our Wildcat Family over the years has helped propel our student-athletes' excellence. CLICK HERE TO GIVE
 
During our short time back together in 2021–22, Chico State's student-athletes are already back to blowing us away on every front. They've generated video companions aimed at encouraging all fellow Wildcats as part of their Scratch the Stigma initiative, re-launching with an enhanced version in March. They've earned six postseason berths, highlighted by CCAA and West Regional Men's Cross Country championships and the men's basketball team's highest-ever national and regional rankings. And they've excelled in the classroom, combining for 27 perfect 4.0 GPAs, while 217—more than two-thirds of them—earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher.
 
Since the very beginning, Chico State Athletics has been a special program. And that continues today. Since joining the CCAA—the nation's premiere NCAA Division II conference— in 1998, Chico State's student-athletes have continued to:

• Excel academically.
• Contribute in the community.
• Conquer in competition.
  • 80 CCAA titles.
  • 37 West Region Championships.
  • 16 NCAA Champions.  

Your gift to Athletic Training, Strength and Conditioning, 'CatsSkills, the Wildcat Athletic Fund (which provides for the department's greatest overall needs), and/or your favorite program, gets us a crucial step closer to the next special moment for our Wildcat Family. We go farther together than we do alone. Thank you!