Mountain West announces 2020-21 preseason men’s basketball All-Conference Team

Neemias Queta. Photo by Clint Allen

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West released its 2020-21 Preseason All-Conference Men’s Basketball team Wednesday morning in conjunction with the start of men’s basketball virtual media days.

The preseason team, as selected by members of the media, is made up of two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. Of the seven preseason honorees, five earned all-conference accolades at the end of 2019-20.

Boise State senior Derrick Alston, Jr. was selected Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, while UNLV junior David Jenkins, Jr. was named MW Preseason Newcomer of the Year and Rebel Nick Blake garnered MW Preseason Freshman of the Year accolades.

A 2019-20 All-MW selection, Alston initially declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, but withdrew his name after deciding to return to Boise State for his senior year. Last week, Alston was named to the Julius Erving Award Watch List for the second year in a row. Alston led the Broncos in scoring (17.3 points per game) and assists (3.1 assists per game) during his junior campaign.

Jenkins enters his second year with the Runnin’ Rebels after sitting out 2019-20 due to NCAA transfer rules. Prior to UNLV, Jenkins played two seasons at South Dakota State under head coach T.J. Otzelberger. As a sophomore, Jenkins averaged 19.7 points and shot 45.3 percent from long range. Jenkins earned all-conference honors at the conclusion of his freshman and sophomore campaigns for the Jackrabbits.

Blake, a Las Vegas native, joins the Runnin’ Rebels as a true freshman in 2020-21. A four-star recruit, Blake spent the 2019-20 season at IMG Academy. After graduation, Blake returned home to play for the Las Vegas Knicks on the Adidas circuit, averaging 15.9 points and 4.9 rebounds.

Joining Alston on the preseason All-MW team are Colorado State’s Isaiah Stevens, San Diego State’s Matt Mitchell, UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton and Utah State’s Neemias Queta.

The 2020 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, Stevens started every game during his first season at Colorado State. Stevens led the Rams in scoring (13.3 points per game), assists (4.5 assists per game) and minutes (32.7 minutes per game). He set a CSU freshman record after dishing out 144 assists in 2019-20.

A senior from Riverside, California, Mitchell was one of two MW players to be named to the Julius Erving Watch List ahead of the 2020-21 season. A starter in the last 19 games of the 2019-20 campaign, Mitchell was a first-team All-MW honoree after averaging 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in nearly 26 minutes played per game. He finished his junior year ranked No. 27 in the country, shooting 87.3 percent from the free throw line.

A 2019-20 first-team All-MW selection, Hamilton appeared in 32 games and netted 16.0 points per game, while connecting on 45.3 percent from the floor, which was the third-best field-goal percentage in the Mountain West.

Queta, a junior from Barreiro, Portugal, helped the Aggies win the Mountain West tournament title for the second year in a row in 2020. He appeared in 22 games last season after overcoming an injury and netted double figures on 14 occasions. Queta averaged 13.0 points and shot 62.4 percent from the floor en route to earning second team All-MW honors at the conclusion of his sophomore campaign.

2020-21 PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM

 

Pos.      Name                            Yr.                    Team

G          Derrick Alston, Jr.          Sr.                    Boise State

G          Isaiah Stevens               So.                   Colorado State

F          Matt Mitchell                 Sr.                    San Diego State

G          Bryce Hamilton              Jr.                     UNLV

C          Neemias Queta              Jr.                     Utah State

Preseason Player of the Year

Derrick Alston, Jr., Sr., G, Boise State

Preseason Newcomer of the Year

David Jenkins, Jr., Jr., G, UNLV

Preseason Freshman of the Year

Nick Blake, G, UNLV

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