UNLV Rebel Cheikh Mbacke Diong (34) and Neemias Queta (23) of Utah State battle for the ball during the tip-off of their game at the Thomas & Mack Center Monday Jan. 25, 2021. UNLV beat Utah State 59 to 56.
Tuesday, March 9, 2021 | 11:44 a.m.
The Mountain West announced its postseason awards on the eve of the conference tournament, and, as expected, UNLV players were shut out of the major categories.
The All-MWC first team included Boise State forward Derrick Alston, Colorado State forward David Roddy, UNR guard Grant Sherfield, San Diego State forward Matt Mitchell and Utah State center Neemias Queta.
UNLV guard Bryce Hamilton made the first team last year as a sophomore and was a preseason pick for the first team in 2020-21, but after averaging 17.3 points per game in conference play on just 41.0-percent shooting this year he was relegated to the second team.
UNLV guard David Jenkins was the preseason Newcomer of the Year, but the South Dakota State transfer was beaten out by Sherfield for the honor on Tuesday. Jenkins did earn a nod on the All-MWC third team after posting 15.0 points in league play.
Mitchell was named the Player of the Year, while Queta was named Defensive Player of the Year.
UNLV center Mbacke Diong landed on the All-Defense first team by virtue of averaging 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.
The Mountain West coaches vote on the league’s official awards, while the media conducts its own separate poll. Hamilton also made the second team via the media vote, released on Monday, while Jenkins was not selected to any of the three All-MWC teams.
The media and coaches differed greatly on the Player of the Year, as the media overwhelmingly chose Queta by an 8 to 1 margin over Mitchell (Roddy received two media votes for POY).
There was a split on Coach of the Year as well, as the coaches selected San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher while the media opted for Colorado State’s Niko Medved. Both named Wyoming guard Marcus Williams the Freshman of the Year.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
