Dave Rose, Keena Young and Jonathan Tavernari earn individual awards while six Cougars are recognized
COLORADO SPRINGS -- The Mountain West Conference announced its 2006-07 men's basketball awards Monday. The league's nine men's head coaches along with selected media picked the all-conference teams, as well as the coach, player, freshman and defensive awards.
BYU Head Coach Dave Rose captured Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season, while Cougar teammates Keena Young and Jonathan Tavernari were selected as the Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively. UNLV's Joel Anthony was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Regular-season champion BYU and runner-up UNLV led the league with three all-conference selections apiece, highlighted by unanimous first-team honoree Young for the Cougars. Air Force, San Diego State and Wyoming also had multiple players chosen with two each, while Colorado State, New Mexico and Utah each had one.
Seven players were repeat all-conference selections. Brandon Heath of San Diego State is a three-time honoree, collecting first-team accolades for the second straight year after earning second-team kudos in 2004-05. Jason Smith earned his second consecutive first-team nod, while Young makes the leap to the first team after receiving third-team honors last season. Air Force's Jacob Burtschi, BYU's Trent Plaisted and San Diego State's Mohamed Abukar were second-team selections for the second straight year. Wyoming's Brandon Ewing was a second-team member this year after earning third-team accolades in 2005-06.
Rose led BYU to its second straight 20-win campaign (23-7) and first outright conference title since 1988. The Cougars set league records for most points scored (1,263), most field-goals made (459) and best three-point field-goal percentage (.457) against Mountain West opponents while posting a 13-3 record in conference play. In addition, BYU currently boasts the nation's longest active home win streak at 31 games after going 17-0 in the Marriott Center this season. Rose is the first BYU coach to earn the award in back-to-back seasons and only the second coach (also Roger Reid) to earn it twice.
"I think it's a tribute to our coaching staff and how hard our guys work," said Rose. "It's also a tribute to the success of our players. Anytime a coach wins an award like this, it's because of all the people that put in all the work. Our staff, our coaches and our players are all responsible for an award like this."
Young, a 6-6, 215-pound senior forward from Beaumont, Texas, led the Cougars to their third MWC regular-season title and first top 25 ranking since 1993. He has scored in double figures in 26 of 30 games this season to rank fourth in the league with 17.1 points per game. A first-team NABC All-District 13 selection, Young has registered five double-doubles on the year and is seventh among MWC rebounders with a 6.2 average on the glass.
"It's a great accolade. My teammates really helped me win this award," said Young. "They put me in a position to score and make big plays. But it's not really about the awards. We still have a lot of basketball left to play. This is the kind of thing you think about a lot after the season's over and you're sitting down and looking back. Then you can really enjoy it. Right now, we just want to go play."
Anthony, a 6-9, 260-pound senior center from Montreal, Canada, leads the league with 94 blocked shots, including 58 rejections against Mountain West opponents, while helping the Runnin' Rebels to a second-place finish in the conference. Ranked 12th nationally in blocks, he set the MWC single-game record with 13 blocks vs. TCU on Feb. 6, also pulling down 11 rebounds in the contest to notch his first career double-double.
Tavernari, a 6-6, 220-pound forward from Sao Bernardo, Brazil, led all freshmen in scoring (7.2 points per game) and rebounding (2.8 per game) while aiding the Cougars' title run. He set an MWC freshman record for three-point percentage with a 6-for-7 effort (.857) against TCU on Jan. 10. He becomes the second Cougar to win the award in as many years, following 2006 Freshman All-American Trent Plaisted.
As BYU's second-leading scorer (12.9 ppg) and rebounder (5.1 rpg) in conference play, Plaisted scored in double figures in 12 of 16 league games while ranking among the top 15 in the MWC in league games, including field-goal percentage (sixth -- .563), blocks (tied for fifth -- 1.50), offensive rebounds (ninth -- 2.25) and scoring (14th -- 12.9 ppg). He shot above 60 percent nine times in conference action, including five outings above 70 percent.
Sophomore swingman Lee Cummard received his first all-conference recognition being named to the third team. He ranked among the top 15 in the MWC in four statistical categories, including eighth in steals (1.44), tied for ninth in assists (2.88), 11th in blocks (1.25) and tied for 12th in defensive rebounds (3.56). He scored in double figures five times in MWC play while averaging 8.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg and drawing the assignment to guard the opponent's top perimeter player.
Senior point guard Austin Ainge received honorable mention. He led the MWC in three-point field-goal percentage (.525) while ranking third in assist/turnover ratio (1.81) in league play, fourth in assists (4.88 apg) and 10th in three-pointers made (2.00 per game). He scored in double figures eight times while averaging 9.5 ppg. Ainge also received honorable mention as a sophomore.
2007 Mountain West Conference Postseason Awards
Coach of the Year: Dave Rose, BYU
Player of the Year: Keena Young, BYU
Freshman of the Year: Jonathan Tavernari, BYU
Defensive Player of the Year: Joel Anthony, UNLV
2006-07 All-Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Team
(Selected by media and head coaches)
First-Team All-Mountain West
Keena Young, Sr., F, BYU, 6-6, 215, Beaumont, Texas (South Plains College)
Brandon Heath, Sr., G, San Diego State, 6-4, 198, Los Angeles, Calif. (Westchester HS)
Jason Smith, Jr., F, Colorado State, 7-0, 240, Kersey, Colo. (Platte Valley HS)
Dan Nwaelele, Sr., F, Air Force, 6-5, 205, Bothell, Wash. (Inglemoor HS)
Wendell White, Sr., G, UNLV, 6-6, 215, Los Angeles, Calif. (Antelope Valley College)
Second-Team All-Mountain West
Brandon Ewing, So., G, Wyoming, 6-2, 190, Chicago, Ill. (Julian HS)
Jacob Burtschi, Sr., F, Air Force, 6-6, 225, Chickasha, Okla. (Putnam City HS)
Mohamed Abukar, Sr., F, San Diego State, 6-10, 216, San Diego, Calif. (University of Florida)
Trent Plaisted, So., C, BYU, 6-11, 245, San Antonio, Texas (Clark HS)
Wink Adams, So., G, UNLV, 6-0, 190, Houston, Texas (Gulf Shores Academy)
Third-Team All-Mountain West
Kevin Kruger, Sr., G, UNLV, 6-2, 185, Marietta, Ga. (Arizona State)
Luke Nevill, So., C, Utah, 7-1, 265, Perth, Australia (Kell HS-Ga.)
Brad Jones, Jr., G, Wyoming, 6-0, 170, Marked Tree, Ark. (Fort Smith CC)
Lee Cummard, So., G, BYU, 6-6, 175, Mesa, Ariz. (Mesa HS)
Tony Danridge, Jr., G, New Mexico, 6-5, 215, San Bernardino, Calif. (Cajon HS)
Honorable Mention
Tim Anderson, Jr., G, Air Force
Matt McCraw, Sr., G, Air Force
Austin Ainge, Sr., G, BYU
Cory Lewis, Sr., G, Colorado State
Darren Prentice, Jr., G, New Mexico
J.R. Giddens, Jr, G, New Mexico
Jerome Habel, Jr., F, San Diego State
Lorrenzo Wade, So., F, San Diego State
Brent Hackett, Jr, G, TCU
Kevin Langford, So., F, TCU
Johnnie Bryant, Jr., G, Utah