Two Broncos garner All-Mountain West recognition; Kigab’s injury status is day-to-day
Redshirt senior guard Derrick Alston Jr. will finish his Boise State men’s basketball career as a three-time All-Mountain West selection.
Beginning as a sophomore, Alston has climbed from honorable mention recognition to second team and finally to a first-team pick in a vote of the league’s 11 coaches, which was released Tuesday by the Mountain West. Boise State senior forward Abu Kigab landed on the second team.
In 20 conference games, Alston totaled a league-leading 361 points and finished second in scoring average at 18.1 points per game. He shot 46.1% from the field, 38.6% from 3-point range and 85.7% from the free-throw line, ranking among the top four in each category.
Kigab, who may choose to use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was Boise State’s second-leading scorer (11.4 ppg) and rebounder (5.7 rpg) in Mountain West action. He blocked 20 shots in 20 league games — tied for the third-most blocks in the conference and sixth in blocks-per-game average. Kigab also ranked sixth in the conference in free-throw shooting at 75%.
Boise State (18-7) earned the No. 4 seed in the Mountain West Tournament. The Broncos begin play at 3:30 p.m. MT on Thursday against No. 5 Nevada (15-9) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
2020-21 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
First Team
Derrick Alston Jr., Sr., G, Boise State
David Roddy, So., F, Colorado State
Grant Sherfield, So., G, Nevada
Matt Mitchell, Sr., F, San Diego State
Neemias Queta, Jr., C, Utah State
Second Team
Abu Kigab, Sr., F, Boise State
Isaiah Stevens, So., G, Colorado State
Orlando Robinson, So., F, Fresno State
Jordan Schakel, Sr., G, San Diego State
Bryce Hamilton, Jr., G, UNLV
Justin Bean, Jr., F, Utah State
Third Team
A.J Walker, Jr., G, Air Force
Desmond Cambridge Jr., Jr., G, Nevada
Makuach Maluach, Sr., G, New Mexico
David Jenkins, Jr., Jr., G, UNLV
Marcus Williams, Fr., G, Wyoming
Defensive Team
Nathan Mensah, Jr., F, San Diego State
Matt Mitchell, Sr., F, San Diego State
Cheikh Mbacke Diong, Sr., F, UNLV
Marco Anthony, Jr., G, Utah State
Neemias Queta, Jr., C, Utah State
Honorable Mention
Adam Thistlewood, Jr., F, Colorado State
Nathan Mensah, Jr., F, San Diego State
Richard Washington, Sr., G, San José State
Hunter Maldonado, Jr., G, Wyoming
Player of the Year: Matt Mitchell, Sr., F, San Diego State
Defensive Player of the Year: Neemias Queta, Jr., C, Utah State
Freshman of the Year: Marcus Williams, G, Wyoming
Newcomer of the Year: Grant Sherfield, So., G, Nevada
Sixth Man of the Year: Alphonso Anderson, Sr., F, Utah State
Coach of the Year: Brian Dutcher, San Diego State
Kigab injury update?
Kigab exited Boise State’s 67-64 loss to Fresno State on March 2 with 12:25 to go in the second half with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
Coach Leon Rice confirmed in a Zoom call Tuesday that the 6-foot-7 forward dislocated his right shoulder. Rice did not say whether Kigab would be available for the Broncos’ Mountain West Tournament opener against Nevada, saying Kigab was “day-to-day.”
“I can be empathetic to shoulders,” Rice said. “Shoulders are a tricky, tricky deal. I mean, you just never know. Like I said, it just has to be day-to-day, because, man, some days if you have a bad shoulder, you can’t even lift your arm. Then other days it’s like: ‘Wow, that feels a lot better.’ ”
Trio of Broncos make All-MW media team
Three Boise State men’s basketball players received All-Mountain West recognition in a vote of select members of the media covering the Mountain West.
Alston garnered first-team honors, Kigab was voted to the third team, and junior guard Devonaire Doutrive was an honorable mention pick. Since he became eligible for the Broncos on Jan. 6, Doutrive has appeared in 15 games and contributed 8.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game off the bench.
Voting was conducted independent of Mountain West oversight by media directly covering teams in all 11 league markets. In markets where more than one outlet covers a team closely, beat reporters from competing publications or outlets submitted a joint ballot, giving each market one vote.
ALL-MW MEDIA FIRST TEAM
Neemias Queta, Utah State (156 points)
David Roddy, Colorado State (149)
Matt Mitchell, San Diego State (139)
Grant Sherfield, Nevada (134)
Derrick Alston Jr., Boise State (133)
ALL-MW MEDIA SECOND TEAM
Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State (96)
Jordan Schakel, San Diego State (96)
Bryce Hamilton, UNLV (92)
Orlando Robinson, Fresno State (70)
Justin Bean, Utah State (44)
ALL-MW MEDIA THIRD TEAM
Makuach Maluach, New Mexico (35)
Desmond Cambridge, Nevada (35)
A.J. Walker, Air Force (33)
Abu Kigab, Boise State (27)
Marcus Williams, Wyoming (21)
ALL-MW MEDIA HONORABLE MENTION
Richard Washington, San Jose State (17); Nathan Mensah, San Diego State (14); Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming (12); Brock Miller, Utah State (7); Mbacke Diong, UNLV (5); Trey Pulliam, San Diego State (3); Devonaire Doutrive, Boise State (2).
Player of the Year: Neemias Queta, Utah State (8)
Coach of the Year: Niko Medved, Colorado State (7)
Defensive Player of the Year: Neemias Queta, Utah State (11)
Newcomer of the Year: Grant Sherfield, Nevada (11)
Freshman of the Year: Marcus Williams, Wyoming (10)
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
