Mountain West Wire Staff Announces 2018 Men’s Basketball Awards

Regular season play completed Saturday with Nevada winning its second consecutive title

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The Mountain West Tournament begins Wednesday

The Mountain West Wire staff has completed its Mountain West men’s basketball awards for the 2018 season.

Awards and recognitions are listed below.

Co-Coaches of the Year

Eric Musselman (Nevada) and Paul Weir (New Mexico)

—> Eric Musselman led Nevada to its second consecutive outright Mountain West title with a 15-3 record in conference play. Nevada spent six weeks in the Associated Press Top 25, and expects to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

—> New Mexico greatly surpassed expectations under first-year head coach Paul Weir, finishing third in the Mountain West at 12-6. The Lobos were picked ninth at Mountain West media days, and instead recorded their highest conference win total since 2014.

Player of the Year

Chandler Hutchison (Boise State)

Received votes: Caleb Martin (Nevada), Deshon Taylor (Fresno State)

—> Named the Mountain West Wire preseason player of the year, Chandler Hutchison averaged career-highs in points per game (21.5), rebounds per game (6.5), assists per game (3.2) and steals per game (1.7) during conference play. Hutchison also exploded for 44 points in a win over San Diego State on January 13.

Freshman of the Year

Brandon McCoy (UNLV)

Received votes: Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State)

—> Former five-star recruit Brandon McCoy averaged 15.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in conference play. His efforts helped UNLV improve from 4-14 to 8-10 in league competition.

Newcomer of the Year

Caleb Martin (Nevada)

—> North Carolina State transfer Caleb Martin averaged 20.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in conference play. Martin also averaged 34.1 minutes per game and made 39.8% of his three-point attempts.

First Team All-Mountain West

Chandler Hutchison (Boise State)
Caleb Martin (Nevada)
Brandon McCoy (UNLV)
Deshon Taylor (Fresno State)
Justin James (Wyoming)

Second Team All-Mountain West

Jordan Caroline (Nevada)
Hayden Dalton (Wyoming)
Malik Pope (San Diego State)
Cody Martin (Nevada)
Shakur Juiston (UNLV)

Honorable Mentions

Nico Carvacho (Colorado State)
Bryson Williams (Fresno State)
Kendall Stephens (Nevada)
Anthony Mathis (New Mexico)
Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State)
Devin Watson (San Diego State)
Ryan Welage (San Jose State)
Jordan Johnson (UNLV)
Jovan Mooring (UNLV)
Koby McEwen (Utah State)
Sam Merrill (Utah State)
Alan Herndon (Wyoming)