Basketball player Blake Wallace signs with University of San Francisco
May 30, 2008
Irvine Valley College men's basketball coach Jerry Hernandez announced that sophomore forward Blake Wallace has signed with the University of San Francisco.
Wallace came to Irvine Valley before this past season from the University of Pepperdine.
He helped the 2007-08 Laser team to the best season in program history. IVC finished with an overall record to 27-5. The team was second in the Orange Empire Conference and reached the regional finals of the Southern California Playoffs.
The 6-6 Wallace was named the IVC team's most valuable player as well as first team all-Orange Empire Conference.
"Blake was a key guy for us this season," Hernandez said. "He played a lot of minutes and contributed in so many ways. He is so athletic and was a terrific offensive rebounder. He also didn't turn the ball over and could really shoot from all over. He hit so many big shots for us in big games. We didn't have anyone else like him."
Wallace averaged 12.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the season and shot 59.7 percent from the floor. He was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding.
Wallace ranked fourth in the Orange Empire Conference and 12th in the state in field goal percentage.
"We are very excited to welcome Blake Wallace to USF," San Francisco Coach Rex Walters said. "He's a very skilled 3-4 player who will have an opportunity to contribute right away. He will pose matchup problems with his ability to shoot and score from the perimeter. We're excited to have him and I look forward to working with him."
Out of Servite High, Wallace signed on to play at Pepperdine. As a freshman in 2005-06, he averaged 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds for the Waves before departing Malibu.
A highly decorated prep player at Servite High, Wallace averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks a game as a junior during the 2003-04 season. He was a second team Division III-AA All-CIF Southern Section selection, named third team All-Orange County by the Orange County Register and was selected to Cal-Hi's All-State Underclassman Team. As a sophomore, Wallace averaged 15.2 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a contest en route to being named second team All-CIF.