March 8, 2016
LAS VEGAS - San Diego State collected a handful of hardware as the Mountain West released its postseason awards as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Steve Fisher was named the coach of the year, while Skylar Spencer and Jeremy Hemsley were voted the conference's defensive player of the year and freshman of the year, respectively. The coaches made their selections based on league games only.
As far as all-MW recognition is concerned, Trey Kell was voted to the first team, Winston Shepard landed on the second team and Hemsley was a third-team honoree. Shepard and Spencer were also named to the Mountain West all-defensive team.
For Fisher, this is the fourth season in which he has been named Mountain West Coach of the Year. He was also honored in 2011, 2012 and 2014. The 17th-year head coach helped the Aztecs match the conference record for largest separation between the first- and second-place teams (3; 2004-05 Utah) and most league wins (16; 2013-14 SDSU). Fisher also guided San Diego State to the outright title, which was the school's MW-best 10th league championship, with three games left to play. On Sunday, the media named him the conference coach of the year as well.
For the second season in a row, Spencer is the coaches and media's pick for defensive player of year after sweeping the honor from both parties a year ago. The senior averaged 1.5 blocked shots (4th in MW) and 6.8 rebounds (T-8th in MW) for one of the elite defensive teams in the country. Spencer was the anchor to a unit that ranked first in the Mountain West in scoring defense (59.9), scoring margin (+10.6), field-goal percentage defense (.378), three-point percentage defense (.264), rebounding defense (31.8) and rebounding margin (+7.9). It is also the second straight year that he has been named to the all-defensive team and is the first Aztec to land on the squad three times.
Kell is a first-time first-teamer after averaging a team-best 16.2 points in conference play, which ranked seventh in the league. The sophomore scored in double figures in all 18 Mountain West games and the San Diego native also shot a team-high 39.3 percent from three-point distance (min. 50 att.) to rank fifth in the MW, while averaging 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists. More recently, Kell has been deadly from deep, connecting on 24 of his last 46 from three-point range in his last six games (52.2 percent).
Shepard landed on the second team for the second straight season after a conference campaign in which he averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 boards, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals. The senior scored in double figures 12 times and had two double-doubles in 18 games. He finished the season ranked tied for eighth in rebounding, eighth in assists, seventh in defensive rebounds (4.9) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4). On Sunday, he was also named to the all-MW second team by the league's media. His all-defensive team selection, meanwhile, is the first of his career.
Hemsley is a coaches and media third-team pick while ranking second on the team in scoring (13.1) and three-point field-goal percentage (.391; min. 50 att.), and third in assists (1.7) and steals (1.1). The Rancho Cucamonga, California native led all Mountain West freshmen in scoring as well. Hampered by a bruised right foot, he did not start the final five games of the season after receiving the starting nod in the first 12 outings. Despite the injury, he scored in double figures in four of the five games that he did not start and reached the double-digit plateau in 14 of 17 conference games. He was a third-team choice by the media and is the fourth MW Freshman of the Year in school history, but first since Kawhi Leonard in 2010.
San Diego State will be the top-seeded team in this week's Mountain West Championship. The Aztecs will face the winner of (8) Wyoming and (9) Utah State on Thursday at noon PT inside Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.
2015-16 All-Mountain West Men's Basketball Team
First Team
Josh Adams, Sr., G, Wyoming
Elijah Brown, So., G, New Mexico
Marvelle Harris, Sr., G, Fresno State
Trey Kell, So., G, San Diego State
James Webb III, Sr., F, Boise State
Second Team
Marqueze Coleman, Sr., G, Nevada
Patrick McCaw, So., G, UNLV
Antwan Scott, Sr., G, Colorado State
Winston Shepard, Sr., F, San Diego State
Tim Williams, Jr., F, New Mexico
Third Team
Jeremy Hemsley, Fr., G, San Diego State
Jalen Moore, Jr., W, Utah State
Cameron Oliver, Fr., F, Nevada
Chris Smith, Sr., G, Utah State
Mikey Thompson, Sr., G, Boise State
Defensive Team
Marvelle Harris, Sr., G, Fresno State
Patrick McCaw, So., G, UNLV
Cameron Oliver, Fr., F, Nevada
Winston Shepard, Sr., F, San Diego State
Skylar Spencer, Sr., F, San Diego State
Honorable Mention
Hayden Graham, Jr., F, Air Force
Jason McManamen, Jr., G, Wyoming
Player of the Year: Marvelle Harris, Sr., G, Fresno State
Defensive Player of the Year: Skylar Spencer, Sr., F, San Diego State
Freshman of the Year: Jeremy Hemsley, G, San Diego State
Newcomer of the Year: Elijah Brown, So., G, New Mexico
Sixth Man of the Year: Brandon Clarke, Fr., G, San José State
Coach of the Year: Steve Fisher, San Diego State