MWCConnection 2023-24 Postseason Awards: All-Conference Teams

The Mountain West conference got the first laugh Tuesday with Colorado State’s 25-point masterclass over Virginia. But we’re not here to talk about how the Mountain West is better than the AC—... never mind. Let’s get into the second part of our postseason award series—this one being our All-Conference teams! We cobbled together first- and second-team votes from eight panelists—including myself—for one consensus team. So let’s hop into it!

(Editor’s note: Instead of doing three guards and two forwards; we have two guards, one guard/forward spot with two additional forward spots.)

First Team:

Guard: Jarod Lucas, Nevada

Lucas was Nevada’s most consistent player all season. He averaged a career-high 17.8 points on 42.2 percent shooting and 39.7 percent shooting from 3-point range, tallying the third-most 3-point makes (77). He’s a deadeye two-level scorer who doesn’t mind hucking them up from a couple steps beyond the 3-point line. He also ended the season playing the best basketball of his career, posting 20.3 points on 40.6 percent shooting from deep with a 60.0 true-shooting percentage over his final nine games. Oh, and he also hit one of the most electrifying buzzer-beaters that you will see all season.

Guard: Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State

Stevens, who returned to Colorado State after entering the NBA’s early draft process last year, continued his standing as one of America’s best pure point guards. His scoring slightly decreased, but he experienced the most efficient season, averaging 16.2 points, 6.9 assists (career-high), 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals on 48.2 percent shooting and 44.8 percent from 3-point range on 4.1 attempts. In Mountain West play, he posted 16.5 points on 46.1/45.7/85.2 shooting splits (57.6 TS%) with a career-best 40.9 assist percentage across 18 games.

Guard/Forward: Tyson Degenhart, Boise State

Degenhart was sensational for Boise this season, even though he was on the outside-looking-in on the player of the year contest. He was the Mountain West’s second-leading scorer in conference play, posting 18.2 points on 54.2 percent shooting and 61.0 percent true shooting. He had his best season as a rebounder and is the biggest reason why Boise State was one of the conference’s most efficient offenses. Since the start of February, he’s tallied 20.7 points on a remarkable 67.0 percent true shooting, in addition to 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Forward: Great Osobor, Utah State

Osobor earned the conference’s Player and Newcomer of the Year in his first season with the Aggies. He came off the bench when he was playing under Danny Sprinkle at Montana State; that wasn’t the case in Logan, starting all 33 games despite posting a similar usage. He averaged 18.0 points and 9.2 rebounds on 58.3 percent shooting and 60.8 percent true shooting. He’s one of the conference’s most prolific low-post presences with a crafty arsenal inside 15 feet, though he’s also an excellent playmaker with a very good feel.

Forward: Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State

LeDee, named a third-team All-American Tuesday, was the conference’s leading scorer, averaging 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds on 55.7 percent shooting and 62.4 percent true-shooting. Few players have taken as big of a leap as him over the last calendar year. He’s the backbone of one of the toughest teams in America, being one of the league’s best, most versatile two-way presences.

Who I voted for: Jarod Lucas, Darius Brown II, Isaiah Stevens, Jaedon LeDee. Great Osobor (I had such a tough time leaving Degenhart out ... it was between him or Brown, for me.)

Second Team:

Guard: Darius Brown II, Utah State

Brown came over with Sprinkle and Osobor from Montana State. His number may not indicate it, but he’s one of the best two-way point guards on the West Coast. Brown’s your prototypical floor general, averagin12.4 points and 6.5 assists in 33 games, shooting 44.3 percent from the floor, 39.5 percent from 3-point range and 86.5 percent from the free-throw line. Brown is also one of the league’s best point-of-attack defenders with exceptional dexterity/hands, swiping 1.5 steals per contest. He was Utah State’s most clutch player and one of Utah State’s most important players down the stretch.

Guard: Jaelen House, New Mexico

Speaking of exceptional two-way guards, House’s relentless and limitless energy was the biggest reason for New Mexico’s run to winning the Mountain West title last week. He averaged 16.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals on 51.0 percent true shooting in 30 games. He won the MW Tournament MVP, averaging 23.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 assists on 45.6/33.3/92.0 (57.6 TS%) shooting splits, including a 28-point performance to send New Mexico dancing.

Guard/Forward: Dedan Thomas Jr., UNLV

Even though he’s technically supposed to be a senior in high school, Thomas developed into UNLV’s leader, averaging 14.1 points and 5.2 assists on 44.5 percent shooting and 35.2 percent shooting from distance. Over UNLV’s final 13 games—where it went 10-3—he averaged 17.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 56.7 percent true shooting. I’m not sure where the Runnin’ Rebels would be this season without Thomas, but it wouldn’t be where it’s at right now.

Forward: JT Toppin, New Mexico

Toppin won co-Freshman of the Year alongside Thomas. Toppin, a sensational 6-foot-9 athlete, was one of New Mexico’s best all-around players, averaging 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds while leading the conference in blocks per game (1.9) and blocked shots (66). He was also the conference’s best offensive rebounder, averaging 3.6 per contest (3.8 in MW play) with a fringe top-30 offensive rebounding rate (14.4) nationally. He may also have the best long-term NBA prospects of anyone in the conference.

Forward: Nick Davidson, Nevada

I wrote about Nick Davidson’s emergence earlier in the season. He was a vital cog in Nevada’s frontcourt alongside K.J. Hymes and Tre Coleman. He averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 33 games, including 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds on 63.1 percent true shooting in Mountain West play. He held his own against some of the conference’s bigs—including Osobor and LeDee—while providing a spark offensively behind Lucas and Kenan Blackshear. He’s been huge for them this season, supplementing the production lost by Darrion Williams and Will Baker.

Who I voted for: Jaelen House, Kenan Blackshear, Dedan Thomas Jr., Tyson Degenhart, Nick Davidson