Both the BYU men's and women's teams won outright Mountain West Conference championships, so it came as no surprise on Monday when the Cougars cleaned up on most of the league's annual basketball awards.
BYU was well-represented on the men's side, as forward Keena Young was named player of the year, coach Dave Rose received coach of the year honors for the second consecutive season and Jonathan Tavernari captured freshman of the year recognition. Joel Anthony of runner-up UNLV garnered defensive player of the year honors.
Young was a unanimous selection on the MWC first-team.
"He's very deserving," Rose said of Young. "He's had a great season. He's really been consistent, game-in, game-out. I think how he's progressed as a player in the three years since he's been here is a real tribute to his work ethic, dedication and character."
While Young was gratified by the award, he's still focused on the rest of the year.
"It's a great accolade, but the season's not over," Young said. "We have a lot of games left. My teammates, they're the reason I got the award. They put me in the position where I could score and make plays."
BYU's Trent Plaisted was named to the all-MWC second team, while Lee Cummard was an all-MWC third-team selection.
On the women's side, BYU's Dani Wright and TCU's Adrianne Ross were selected as co-players of the year while Cougar coach Jeff Judkins earned coach of the year honors, like Rose, for the second straight season. Mallary Gillespie was part of the all-MWC second team.
Meanwhile, Utah center Luke Nevill was named to the men's third team while Ute guard Morgan Warburton secured a spot on the women's first team.
Rose, who became the first coach in BYU history to earn back-to-back coach of the year honors, guided the Cougars to a 23-7 regular-season record and the program's first outright conference championship since 1988. BYU set league records for most points scored (1,263), most field-goals made (459) and best 3-point field-goal percentage (.457) against MWC opponents while posting a 13-3 record in conference play. The Cougars currently hold the nation's longest active home win streak at 31 games.
"It's a real tribute to our coaching staff and how hard these guys work and their relationship to our players," Rose said of his award. "It's a tribute to our players. Any time a coach receives an award, it's because of all the people around him that put in all the work."
Young helped lead the Cougars to their third MWC regular-season title and first top 25 ranking since 1993. He has scored in double figures in 26 of 30 games this season to rank fourth in the league with 17.1 points per game. He recorded five double-doubles on the year and is seventh in the MWC in rebounding, averaging 6.2 per game.
Tavernari, a forward from Sao Bernardo, Brazil, led all freshmen in scoring (7.2 points per game) and rebounding (2.8 per game). He set an MWC freshman record for 3-point percentage with 6-for-7 shooting (.857) against TCU.
"His work ethic allowed him to be successful," Rose said of Tavernari, who Cougar coaches thought might redshirt at the start of the season. "He's a confident player and he kind of found a niche. For the most part, he played behind the player of the year. His minutes probably weren't as much as he wanted, but he was really efficient in the minutes he played for us."
Plaisted was the MWC's freshman of the year last season. This marks the first time since Shawn Bradley and Russell Larson in the early 1990s that the Cougars have had back-to-back freshman of the year awards.
Judkins was pleased that Wright was recognized for her play. "I'm really happy for her. She's worked hard and she's developed consistency in every part of her game," he said. "Her teammates were excited for her award, and without her teammates, she wouldn't have gotten it. Her teammates are very unselfish, and when you're a post player, people have to throw the ball in to you."
In addition to being named co-player of the year, Wright was a first-team all-MWC selection. She ranked second in the league in field-goal percentage (.585), fourth in scoring (15.1 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Wright is first all-time in conference history in career field-goal percentage (.578) and No. 19 in blocked shots (62).
Judkins thought Gillespie might be first-team all-MWC. "She played big in some big games for us," he said.
The MWC men's all-conference teams featured seven repeat selections from a year ago. San Diego State's Brandon Heath, the league's leading scorer, is a third-time honoree, receiving first-team honors for the second straight year.
Colorado State Jason Smith was also a repeat first-team selection. Plaisted, Air Force's Jacob Burtschi and San Diego State's Mohamed Abukar were second-team selections for the second straight year. Wyoming's Brandon Ewing was a second-team member this year after earning third-team honors a year ago.
BYU honor roll
MWC awards garnered by BYU on Monday:
Men's player of the year: Keena Young
Freshman of the year: Jonathan Tavernari
Men's coach of the year: Dave Rose
Women's co-player of the year: Dani Wright
Women's coach of the year: Jeff Judkins
Contributing: Scott Taylor
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com