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For the first time in the 12-year history of the Mountain West Conference, the league has a three-time First Team all-MWC selection, and BYU's Jimmer Fredette is also a unanimous selection as the MWC Player of the Year.
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Fredette led BYU's postseason awards parade on Monday afternoon. Teammate Jackson Emery was named to the all-conference Second Team, with Emery also doubling up as the league's Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the All-Defensive Team. BYU Sophomore center Brandon Davies was named as an all-league Third Team selection.
BYU Head Coach Dave Rose was named as the Co-Coach of the Year with SDSU's Steve Fisher. It is Rose's third annual coaching honor in six seasons on the Cougars' sideline.
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I broke down my ballot earlier today in the posting "How I Voted", and here's how my ballot compared to the actual award winners:
Player of the Year
MWC: Fredette
GW: Fredette
Defensive Player of the Year
MWC: Emery
GW: Emery
Sixth Man of the Year
MWC: Pierce Hornung, CSU
GW: Pierce Hornung, CSU
Newcomer of the Year
MWC: Drew Gordon, UNM
GW: Drew Gordon, UNM
Freshman of the Year
MWC: Kendall Williams, UNM
GW: J.J. O'Brien, Utah
Coach of the Year
MWC: Dave Rose, BYU/Steve Fisher, SDSU
GW: Dave Rose, BYU
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All-Conference First Team
MWC: Fredette, Kawhi Leonard (SDSU), D.J. Gay (SDSU), Andy Ogide (CSU), Dairese Gary (UNM)
GW: Fredette, Leonard, Gay, Emery, Gary
All-Conference Second Team
MWC: Emery, Malcolm Thomas (SDSU), Drew Gordon (UNM), Tre'von Willis (UNLV), Will Clyburn (Utah)
GW: Ogide, Thomas, Gordon, Willis, Chace Stanback (UNLV),
All-Conference Third Team
MWC: Davies, Michael Lyons (Air Force), Stanback, Hank Thorns (TCU), Oscar Bellfield (UNLV)
GW: Clyburn, Davies, Lyons, Desmar Jackson (Wyoming), Josh Watkins (Utah)
All-Defensive Team
MWC: Emery, Thomas, Leonard, David Foster (Utah), Gary
GW: Emery, Thomas, Leonard, Foster, Willis
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Based on the overall consensus, my ballot was a little too Ute-heavy, while I favored the wrong player from a poor team (Jackson over Thorns).
As I Tweeted someone earlier today, I probably did not give enough respect to UNLV and its 11-5 record; room could have been made for Bellfield.
I obviously thought Emery should have been a First Team selection, with the debate for me centering on which of Gay/Ogide/Gary should have been left out. Clearly, a lot of voters agreed that Gay's game is to be judged on more than just numbers, while Gary and Ogide's stats were enough to bump Emery to the Second Team.
As I noted in this morning's blog, I had six players for five spots on the All-Defensive team, and I chose Willis over Gary. Gary made the cut; Willis did not.
I expected Williams to win the Freshman honors on his point totals, but I still think J.J. O'Brien is a heck of a player.
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