March 5, 2007
LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's basketball senior Joel Anthony was named the 2006-07 Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year as the annual postseason awards were announced by the conference on Monday.
Runnin' Rebel guards Wendell White (first team), Wink Adams (second team) and Kevin Kruger (third team) all earned all-league honors as well.
The awards were selected by the league's nine men's head coaches along with a selected media panel.
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. 7, also pulling down 11 rebounds in the contest to notch his first career double-double. His 94 rejections are the second-most blocks in a single season in UNLV history and Anthony's career total of 142 is third all-time.
White, a 6-6 senior, leads UNLV in scoring and is 10th overall in the Mountain West with 14.7 ppg and he also is the top rebounder for the Runnin' Rebels with 6.3 boards per game, which is fourth in the league. He was named the MWC Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 11, the first weekly honor of his career.
Adams, a 6-0 sophomore, leads UNLV in steals with 1.52 per game, is second in scoring with 14.1 ppg and third in assists with 2.35 per game. Adams was named the MWC Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 28 and he was an honorable mention selection last year as a true freshman.
Kruger, a 6-2 senior, leads the Runnin' Rebels and the MWC in assists with 5.04 per game and he handed out 5.17 apg in league-only contests. He is also third on the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game and he has made 64 3-pointers this season, which is the ninth-most in a single season in UNLV history. Kruger was named the MWC Player of the Week on March 5, the final weekly award this season.
Joining White on the first team were BYU's Keena Young, San Diego State's Brandon Heath, Colorado State's Jason Smith and Dan Nwaelele of Air Force
Adams was joined on the second team by Wyoming's Brandon Ewing, Air Force's Jacob Burtschi, San Diego State's Mohamed Abukar and BYU's Trent Plaisted.
Along with Kruger on the third team were Utah's Luke Nevill, Wyoming's Brad Jones, BYU's Lee Cummard and New Mexico's Tony Dandrige.
The honorable mention recipients were Tim Anderson and Matt McCraw of Air Force, Austin Ainge of BYU, Cory Lewis from Colorado State, Darren Prentice and J.R. Giddens of New Mexico, Jerome Hable and Lorenzo Wade of San Diego State, Brent Hackett Jr. and Kevin Langford of TCU and Johnnie Bryant of Utah.
BYU head coach Dave Rose captured Coach of the Year honors, while Young won the league's Player of the Year award and Freshman of the Year went to Jonathan Tavernari of BYU.
2006-07 All-Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Team (selected by head coaches & selected media panel)
First-Team All-Mountain WestKeena 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 WestBrandon 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 WestKevin 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 MentionTim Anderson, Jr., G, Air ForceMatt McCraw, Sr., G, Air ForceAustin Ainge, Sr., G, BYUCory Lewis, Sr., G, Colorado StateDarren Prentice, Jr., G, New MexicoJ.R. Giddens, Jr, G, New MexicoJerome Habel, Jr., F, San Diego StateLorrenzo Wade, So., F, San Diego StateBrent Hackett, Jr, G, TCUKevin Langford, So., F, TCUJohnnie Bryant, Jr., G, Utah
Player of the Year: Keena Young, BYU
Defensive Player of the Year: Joel Anthony, UNLV
Freshman of the Year: Jonathan Tavernari, BYU
Coach of the Year: Dave Rose, BYU
