ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Mountain West conference awards were announced on Tuesday. Multiple members of the Lobo basketball team were given some of the highest honors.
Point guard Donovan Dent was named the conference player of the year and was named first-team all Mountain West. This season, Dent averaged 20.9 points and 6.0 assists per game in conference play. He is the first player in Mountain West history to average 20 points and 6 assists.
Head coach Richard Pitino was named the Mountain West coach of the year. This season, Pitino led the Lobos to a 17-3 Mountain West record, which is a program record. The Lobos ended the season with a conference regular season title.
Center Nelly Junior Joseph was named first-team all-conference and was also selected to the defensive team. In conference play, Junior Joseph averaged 14.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He was the only player in the conference to average a double-double.
Guard Tru Washington was honored with an all-conference honorable mention selection. He ended his year averaging 11.2 points and 2.0 steals. New Mexico won every game in which Washington scored in double-figures.
The No. 1 seeded Lobos will begin the conference tournament at 1 p.m. MT on Thursday. UNM will play the winner of San Jose State and Wyoming.