Former DVC talent Daniel Zitani went out with style

From Pacific (Oregon) University athletics:

ZITANI PUTS ON A SEASON-LONG CLINIC: The 2013-2014 basketball season started with a disappointing loss. It was not on the court, it was the loss of Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference guard DannyBrakebush (So., Portland, Ore.) who was likely to be the Boxers' primary scorer.

Enter Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.), who came into his senior season and immediately took control of the Boxers' offense by averaging 19.1 points per game, first in the Northwest Conference and 65th in the NCAA Division III. He led the NWC in scoring for the entirety of the season.

An absolute monster in the post, Zitani's eight rebounds per game also led the NWC. He had eight double-doubles on the year and his 1.04 blocks and .8 steals per game led the Boxers.

His success on the court led Zitani to a selection to the All-NWC First Team and the D3Hoops.com Men's All-West Region Third Team.

Zitani had a big increase in activity from a year ago. In the 2012-13 season, he only averaged 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Head Coach Tim Cleary attributes Zitani's growth to his hard work in the offseason. "He sacrificed a lot in the offseason and worked harder than anyone I've ever coached," Cleary said. "Most guys go home in the summer, but [Zitani] stayed here and focused on his game and completely dedicated himself to getting better and developing his skills."

Cleary also attributes the help of first year assistant coach Andy McClouskey to Zitani's success. "[McClouskey] did a great job at developing [Zitani] as a player," Cleary said. "That is part of why he was able to such a great improvement in such little time. We knew how much talent Daniel had. He is a super gifted and talented guy."

Zitani led the Boxers in points in 17 of the 25 games played. He put up 30 points twice this season, on Jan. 11 against George Fox and on Feb. 15 against Lewis & Clark. He did all of this while shooting 50 percent from the field, first on the team and ninth in the NWC.

Zitani was also named NWC Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week four times and the Boxer Club Student-Athlete of the Month three times over the course of the season.