March 7, 2005
LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's basketball senior Odartey Blankson has been selected to the 2004-05 All-Mountain West Conference First Team as the annual postseason awards, which were selected by the league's eight men's head coaches along with a selected media panel, were announced by the conference on Monday.
Blankson, a 6-7 forward, was also named to the first team last year. Other first team selections for 2004-05 were Utah's Andrew Bogut and Marc Jackson, New Mexico's Danny Granger and Wyoming's Jay Straight.
UNLV had three players earn honorable mention for All-MWC. They were 6-2 sophomore guard Michael Umeh, 6-7 senior guard Romel Beck and 6-9 junior forward Louis Amundson. It is Beck's second straight year earning honorable mention.
Blankson was second in the league in scoring with 19.5 ppg and fourth in rebounding with 7.6 rpg during conference-only games this season. He also ranked third in free throw percentage at 82.1 percent and ninth in field goal percentage at 50.8 percent.
Umeh finished conference-only games 18th in scoring at 10.9 ppg and 15th in 3-point field goal percentage at 32.7 percent. Beck was fourth in the conference in free throw percentage at 81.8 percent, while Amundson was tied for sixth in blocks per game with 1.31 and eighth in rebounding at 7.0 rpg
Utah head coach Ray Giacoletti captured Coach of the Year honors, while Bogut won the league's player of the Year award. Freshman of the Year went to Colorado State's Jason Smith, while Wyoming's Justin Williams earned the league's Defensive Player of the Year award.
2004-05 All-Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Team(selected by head coaches & selected media panel)
First Team All-Mountain WestAndrew Bogut, So., C, Utah, 7-0, 240, Melbourne, Australia (Inst. of Sport)Danny Granger, Sr., F, New Mexico, 6-8, 225, Metarie, La. (Bradley)Jay Straight, Sr., G, Wyoming, 5-11, 178, Chicago, Ill. (Dunbar HS)Odartey Blankson, Sr., F, UNLV, 6-7, 220, Chicago, Ill. (Marquette)Marc Jackson, Sr., G, Utah, 6-1, 175, Salt Lake City, Utah (Olympus HS)
Second Team All-Mountain WestMarcus Slaughter, So., F, San Diego St., 6-8, 223, Riverside, Calif. (J.W. North HS)Brandon Heath, So., G, San Diego St., 6-3, 183, Los Angeles, Calif. (Westchester HS)Nick Welch, Jr., C, Air Force, 6-8, 215, Fort Worth, Texas (L.D. Bell HSMatt Nelson, Sr., C, Colorado State, 7-0, 270, Chicago, Ill. (Niles North HS)Antoine Hood, Jr., G, Air Force, 6-5, 189, Sugar Land, Texas (Clements HS)
Third Team All-Mountain WestBryant Markson, Jr., F, Utah, 6-6, 190, Monrovia, Calif. (Monrovia HS)Justin Williams, Jr., F/C, Wyoming, 6-10, 215, Chicago, Ill. (Colby CC)Mike Hall, Sr., G, BYU, 6-3, 205, San Bernardino, Calif. (Dixie)David Chiotti, Jr., F, New Mexico, 6-9, 245, San Jose, Calif. (St. Francis HS)Troy DeVries, Sr., G, New Mexico, 6-4, 195, Mt. Vernon, Wash. (Portland St.)
Honorable MentionAir Force: Tim Keller (Sr., G), Matt McCraw (So., G), Jacob Burtschi (So., F)BYU: Austin Ainge (So., G)Colorado State: Jason Smith (Fr., F), Matt Williams (Sr., F)New Mexico: Mark Walters (Jr., G), Alfred Neale (Sr., F)San Diego State: Matt Thomas (Fr., G)UNLV: Michael Umeh (So., G), Romel Beck (Sr., G), Louis Amundson (Jr., F)Utah: Justin Hawkins (So., F)Wyoming: Dion Sherrell (Sr., G)
Player of the Year - Andrew Bogut, UtahFreshman of the Year - Jason Smith, Colorado StateDefensive Player of the Year -Justin Williams, WyomingCoach of the Year - Ray Giacoletti, Utah
