Mountain West Announces 2016-17 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team

Colorado State head coach Larry Eustachy earned MW Coach of the Year honors, while Colorado State’s Gian Clavell was selected as Player of the Year. It is the 10th time in the league’s history that a school has boasted both the Coach of the Year and Player of the Year in the same year. For the third year in a row, a San Diego State Aztec was named the Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year as Dakarai Allen took home this year’s honor following consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honors from former Aztec forward Skylar Spencer in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Utah State’s Koby McEwen was recognized as Freshman of the Year, while Nevada’s Marcus Marshall and Wyoming’s Justin James were chosen as Newcomer and Sixth Man of the Year, respectively.

Eustachy led the Rams, who were picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West preseason poll, to 13 Mountain West victories, tying a program record, as well as a school-best second-place finish. In Eustachy’s fifth season in Fort Collins, the Rams also set school records with five consecutive road conference wins and seven-straight Conference wins overall. 

Clavell, a 6-foot-4 guard, led the conference in both minutes played (37.6 per game) and scoring (21.2 points per game). In addition to his scoring prowess, Clavell ranked seventh in the Mountain West with 6.9 rebounds per game and second in both steals (1.8 per game) and 3-point field goals (3.1 per game). From distance, Clavell was seventh in the conference, connecting on 40.9 percent of his attempts. The Puerto Rico native was a mark of consistency, scoring in double figures in all 18 Conference games, including two games of over 30 points. 

Allen, a San Diego State senior, took home the Conference’s top defensive honor as the anchor for the league’s best defensive team. It marks the third consecutive year that the Aztecs have boasted both the league’s best defensive team and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-foot-5 guard finished fourth in league play with 1.3 steals per game, while finishing second on the team with 14 blocks during the 18-game league slate.

McEwen, a freshman from Toronto, Canada, led all MW freshmen and was second on the team with a 15.4 points per game average in league play. As the Aggies lead guard, McEwen also finished second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game, while pacing the team with 3.0 assists per game. The 6-foot-4 guard proved to be a marksman from deep, connecting on 42.5 percent of his 3-point attempts, good for the third-best mark in the Conference.

Marshall, who transferred to Nevada from Missouri State University, was third in the league averaging 19.3 points per game. The senior guard shot 42.3 percent from the field while finishing third in the Mountain West with 3.9 assists per game. Marshall was also one of the league’s most dangerous players from beyond the arc, leading the conference with 3.2 makes per game while shooting 39.9 percent from deep, eighth in the Mountain West.

James, a sophomore guard from Port Saint Lucie, Florida, earned the league’s top reserve honor after averaging a team-best 14.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in league play. The 6-foot-7 guard was one of the MW’s most efficient players, shooting 46 percent from the field and 46.9 percent from 3-point distance.

Five student-athletes were repeat selections to the All-MW list in 2016-17, while 10 made their first appearance on the team. The five members of the First Team All-MW are all first-time honorees.

Brandon Clarke, So., F, San José State

Gian Clavell, Sr., G, Colorado State

Chandler Hutchison, Jr., G, Boise State

Marcus Marshall, Sr., G, Nevada

Emmanuel Omogbo, Sr., F, Colorado State

Elijah Brown, Jr., G, New Mexico

Jordan Caroline, So., G/F, Nevada

D.J. Fenner, Sr., G, Nevada

Jalen Moore, Sr., W, Utah State

Cameron Oliver, So., F, Nevada

Justin James, So., G, Wyoming

Trey Kell, Jr., G, San Diego State

Jovan Mooring, Jr., G, UNLV

Deshon Taylor, RS-So., G, Fresno State

Tim Williams, Sr., F, New Mexico

Paris Austin, So., G, Boise State

Hayden Dalton, Jr., F, Wyoming

Hayden Graham, Sr., F, Air Force

Jeremy Hemsley, So., G, San Diego State

Koby McEwen, Fr., G, Utah State

Dakarai Allen, Sr., G, San Diego State 

Brandon Clarke, So., F, San José State

Gian Clavell, Sr., G, Colorado State

Jaron Hopkins, RS-Jr., G, Fresno State

Cameron Oliver, So., F, Nevada

Emmanuel Omogbo, Sr., F, Colorado State

Player of the Year: Gian Clavell, Sr., G, Colorado State

Defensive Player of the Year: Dakarai Allen, Sr., G, San Diego State

Freshman of the Year: Koby McEwen, G, Utah State

Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Marshall, Sr., G, Nevada

Sixth Man of the Year: Justin James, So., G, Wyoming

Coach of the Year: Larry Eustachy, Colorado State