March 6, 2006
University of New Mexico men’s basketball seniors Mark Walters and David Chiotti were selected to All-Mountain West Conference teams today by the league’s head coaches and media. Walters was a first-team selection while Chiotti was named to the second team.
Walters makes a return appearance on the All-MWC squad, jumping from honorable mention as a junior to the first team this season. He is the fourth Lobo to be named to the All-MWC first team, joining Lamont Long (2000), Ruben Douglas (2002-03) and Danny Granger (2004-05). Walters led the Lobos and was fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 15.8 ppg. He also led the team with 3.0 apg and 2.1 spg. He currently has 153 steals in his career and needs six more to pass UNLV’s Marcus Banks for the MWC career record.
Chiotti was a third team selection as a junior and moves up to the second team this season. He is averaging 12.0 ppg and leads the team with 6.4 rpg. He is shooting 51.9% from the field and is second on the team with 2.2 apg.
BYU head coach Dave Rose captured Coach of the Year honors, while Brandon Heath of San Diego State was selected as the Player of the Year. Freshman of the Year honors went to Trent Plaisted of BYU, while Wyoming’s Justin Williams was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year.
Regular-season champion San Diego State led the league with three all-conference selections, including unanimous first-team honorees Brandon Heath and Marcus Slaughter. Air Force, BYU, New Mexico and Wyoming also had multiple players chosen with two apiece, while Colorado State, TCU, UNLV and Utah each had one. All institutions were represented on the all-conference teams for the fourth straight season.
First-year head coach Dave Rose led BYU to a 20-win season after the Cougars were picked to finish last in the preseason media poll. Rose served as associate head coach for BYU from 2001-05 before assuming head coaching duties prior to the season. Overall, Rose has been with the Cougar basketball program since 1997.
Heath, a 6-4, 198-pound junior from Los Angeles, Calif., led the Aztecs to their first outright conference championship since 1978. The only player to score double figures in every MWC game this season, Heath leads the league with 19.5 points per game. He also led the MWC with 54 made three-pointers in league games (3.38 per game). Heath is the only player to be named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week three times this season and was a first-team NABC all-District 13 selection along with teammate Slaughter.
Williams set the all-time single-season league mark with 140 blocked shots (5.19 per game) and also holds the career MWC block record with 221. Ranked second nationally in blocks, he set the MWC single-game record with 11 blocks vs. BYU Feb. 18. He is tied for the league lead with 17 double-doubles on the season.
Plaisted, a 6-11, forward from San Antonio, Texas, led all freshmen in rebounding (8.0 per game), while helping the Cougars to a second-place finish in the conference. He received National Freshman of the Week awards three times during league play (CBS Sportsline.com, ESPN-Dick Vitale, Rivals.com) and MWC Player of the Week honors once.
2005-06 All-Mountain West Conference Men’s Basketball Team
(Selected by media and head coaches)
First-Team All-Mountain West
Brandon Heath Jr G San Diego St. 6-4 198 Los Angeles, Calif.
Marcus Slaughter Jr F San Diego St. 6-9 220 Riverside, Calif.
Antoine Hood Sr G Air Force 6-4 205 Sugar Land, Texas
Mark Walters Sr G New Mexico 6-2 225 Albuquerque, N.M.
Jason Smith So F Colorado State 7-0 230 Kersey, Colo.
Second-Team All-Mountain West
Louis Amundson Sr F UNLV 6-9 225 Boulder, Colo.
Trent Plaisted Fr F BYU 6-11 240 San Antonio, Texas
Jacob Burtschi Jr F Air Force 6-6 225 Chickasha, Okla.
Mohamed Abukar Jr F San Diego St. 6-10 216 San Diego, Calif.
David Chiotti Sr F New Mexico 6-9 240 San Jose, Calif.
Third-Team All-Mountain West
Nile Murry Sr G TCU 6-4 202 Houston, Texas
Justin Williams Sr F/C Wyoming 6-10 225 Chicago, Ill.
Brandon Ewing Fr G Wyoming 6-2 190 Chicago, Ill.
Bryant Markson Sr F Utah 6-7 198 Monrovia, Calif.
Keena Young Jr F BYU 6-6 205 Beaumont, Texas
Honorable Mention
Air Force: Dan Nwaelele (Jr., G)
BYU: Brock Reichner (Sr., G), Rashaun Broadus (Jr., G)
Colorado State: Michael Harrison (Jr., F)
UNLV: Jo’Van Adams (Fr., G)
Utah: Luke Nevill (Fr., C), Johnnie Bryant (So., G)
Player of the Year: Brandon Heath, San Diego State
Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Williams, Wyoming
Freshman of the Year: Trent Plaisted, BYU
Coach of the Year: Dave Rose, BYU