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LAS VEGAS — Neemias Queta could've left for the NBA draft each of the past two seasons.
But the surefire draft pick following the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament felt like he had some unfinished business. Top of the list, of course, was to win a Mountain West championship and bring the Utah State Aggies back to the tournament. To do so — and with the departure of Utah State legend Sam Merrill — Queta would have to prove he was the best player in the conference.
On Monday, he did.
The Aggies' 7-foot Portuguese center was named Mountain West player of the year and defensive player of the year, as announced by the league's media Monday morning. Queta is Utah State's second player of the year honorees in the past three years, joining Merrill, who won the award two years ago by league media and coaches.
On Tuesday, the coaches revealed Queta as the conference's defensive player of the year. San Diego State's Matt Mitchell was named player of the year by the coaches, Wyoming's Marcus Williams was freshman of the year, Nevada's Grant Sherfield took newcomer of the year honors, and San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher was named coach of the year.
Utah State senior Alphonso Anderson was named Mountain West sixth man of the year by the league's coaches.
Queta was one of five first-team selections by the media and coaches. The junior joined Boise State's Derrick Alston, Nevada's Grant Sherfield, San Diego State's Matt Mitchell and Colorado State's David Roddy on both ballot's first team.
The 245-pound native of Barreiro, Portugal, earned Mountain West freshman and defensive player of the year honors as a newcomer in 2019, then followed up with second-team all-league and all-defensive honors a year later as a sophomore.
But Queta passed on the NBA draft (again) by announcing he was coming back in April, and quickly established himself as one of the best post players in college basketball. Already the owner of Utah State's single-season record for blocked shots with 84, he set the Aggies' career blocks record with 197 stuffs in three years (so far).
Queta also refined his offensive game, increasing his scoring from 13.0 points to 14.7 points per game over the past year, even as the offense ran through him instead of Merrill. He shot 56% from the field in 25 games — all starts — for the Aggies in 2020-21, while also guiding his team on the boards with 9.9 per game.
One of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, Queta nearly doubled his assist output from 2019, going from 1.9 per game to 2.8 through the end of the regular season. He currently leads the Mountain West with 9.92 rebounds per game, is first with 56.5% shooting, and his 3.0 blocks per game in Mountain West contests is more than double the league's second-leading block specialist (San Diego State's Nathan Mensah at 1.42).
Most importantly for Queta, he did it all while leading Utah State to the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Tournament. The Aggies will open the tournament in Thursday's quarterfinals against the winner of UNLV and Air Force (7 p.m. MT, CBS Sports Network).
2020-21 All-Mountain West Men's Basketball Team
First Team
Derrick Alston, Jr., Sr., G, Boise State
David Roddy, So., F, Colorado State
Grant Sherfield, So., G, Nevada
Matt Mitchell, Sr., F, San Diego State
Neemias Queta, Jr., C, Utah State
Second Team
Abu Kigab, Sr., F, Boise State
Isaiah Stevens, So., G, Colorado State
Orlando Robinson, So., F, Fresno State
Jordan Schakel, Sr., G, San Diego State
Bryce Hamilton, Jr., G, UNLV
Justin Bean, Jr., F, Utah State
Third Team
A.J Walker, Jr., G, Air Force
Desmond Cambridge Jr., Jr., G, Nevada
Makuach Maluach, Sr., G, New Mexico
David Jenkins, Jr., Jr., G, UNLV
Marcus Williams, Fr., G, Wyoming
Defensive Team
Nathan Mensah, Jr., F, San Diego State
Matt Mitchell, Sr., F, San Diego State
Cheikh Mbacke Diong, Sr., F, UNLV
Marco Anthony, Jr., G, Utah State
Neemias Queta, Jr., C, Utah State
Honorable Mention
Adam Thistlewood, Jr., F, Colorado State
Nathan Mensah, Jr., F, San Diego State
Richard Washington, Sr., G, San José State
Hunter Maldonado, Jr., G, Wyoming
Individual superlatives
Player of the Year: Matt Mitchell, Sr., F, San Diego State
Defensive Player of the Year: Neemias Queta, Jr., C, Utah State
Freshman of the Year: Marcus Williams, G, Wyoming
Newcomer of the Year: Grant Sherfield, So., G, Nevada
Sixth Man of the Year: Alphonso Anderson, Sr., F, Utah State
Coach of the Year: Brian Dutcher, San Diego State
