Colorado State University Athletics
CSU's Smith Named MWC Freshman of the Year
3/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Colorado State freshman Jason Smith (Kersey, Colo.) was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year while seniors Matt Nelson (Chicago, Ill.) and Matt Williams (Temple, Texas) received All-MWC second team and honorable mention honors, respectively.
Smith, a 7-0 forward from Kersey, Colo., averages 10.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for the Rams while ranking second on the team with 32 blocked shots. Smith is first among MWC freshmen in scoring and rebounding and 18th and ninth in the Mountain West in the categories, respectively. Smith is sixth in the league with a .551 field goal percentage and ranks seventh in blocked shots. The forward is averaging 11.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in conference play. Smith is currently third in the CSU freshman record books in scoring average and is second in rebounding average and fourth in blocked shots. This marks CSU?s first ever MWC Freshman of the Year award.
Nelson, a 7-1 center from Chicago, Ill., ranks seventh in the MWC in scoring with 15.9 points per game while posting the league?s eighth-best rebounding mark (6.0 rpg). Nelson is third in MWC career scoring with 1,623 points while ranking second in career rebounding (587) and career field goals made (588). Nelson currently ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (.618) while ranking 14th in the nation in the category. Nelson is third in career scoring at CSU and will graduate as CSU?s all-time leader in field goal percentage. He also ranks in the top five in career field goals, free throws and blocked shots at CSU.
Williams, a 6-6 forward from Temple, Texas, earns honorable mention status after averaging 11.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for CSU. The senior ranks fourth in the MWC and leads his team in free throw percentage (.840) while coming in fifth in field goal percentage (.561) and 13th in rebounding. Williams is eighth in career field goal percentage (.530) at CSU while ranking ninth in career blocked shots (60).
Colorado State (11-16, 3-11 MWC) will play in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament against top-seeded Utah at noon MT on Thursday in Denver.
Player of the Year: Andrew Bogut, Utah
Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Williams, Wyoming
Freshman of the Year: Jason Smith, Colorado State
Coach of the Year: Ray Giacoletti, Utah
First-Team All-Mountain West
Andrew Bogut, So., C, Utah
Danny Granger, Sr., F, New Mexico
Jay Straight, Sr., G, Wyoming
Odartey Blankson, Sr., F, UNLV
Marc Jackson, Sr., G, Utah
Second-Team All-Mountain West
Marcus Slaughter, So., F, San Diego St.
Brandon Heath, So., G, San Diego St.
Nick Welch, Jr., C, Air Force
Matt Nelson, Sr., C, Colorado State
Antoine Hood, Jr., G, Air Force
Third-Team All-Mountain West
Bryant Markson, Jr., F, Utah
Justin Williams, Jr., F/C, Wyoming
Mike Hall, Sr., G, BYU
David Chiotti, Jr., F, New Mexico
Troy DeVries, Sr., G, New Mexico
Honorable Mention
Air Force: Tim Keller (Sr., G), Matt McCraw (So., G),
Jacob Burtschi (So., F)
BYU: Austin Ainge (So., G)
Colorado State: Jason Smith (Fr., F), Matt Williams (Sr., F)
New Mexico: Mark Walters (Jr., G), Alfred Neale (Sr., F)
San Diego State: Matt Thomas (Fr., G)
UNLV: Michael Umeh (So., G), Romel Beck (Sr., G),
Louis Amundson (Jr., F)
Utah: Justin Hawkins (So., F)
Wyoming: Dion Sherrell (Sr., G)