Nevada’s Grant Sherfield (shown with coach Steve Alford during Friday’s game against Colorado State) was named the Mountain West’s newcomer of the year.
(Photo: University of Nevada)
For the fourth time in five seasons, a Nevada men's basketball player claimed the Mountain West newcomer of the year award as sophomore point guard Grant Sherfield was honored Tuesday.
San Diego State’s Matt Mitchell was named player of the year.
The conference announced its 2020-21 All-Mountain West Teams and superlatives, as voted on by the 11 head coaches, Tuesday morning. Along with taking home newcomer of the year, Sherfield was voted to the All-Mountain West first team, and redshirt junior guard Desmond Cambridge, Jr. was named to the third team.
Sherfield continues Nevada's top-newcomer run, following Marcus Marshall (2016-17), Caleb Martin (2018-19), and Jalen Harris (2019-20). His selection to the first team also marks five-straight seasons in which the Wolf Pack has been represented.
This season, Sherfield, who transferred to Nevada following the 2019-20 campaign and was granted immediate eligibility in the fall, paced the conference in scoring (18.2 ppg), assists (113 total and 6.65 apg), free-throw percentage (88.9 percent), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.51) in Mountain West-only competition.
He scored at least 20 points in nine of Nevada's 17 conference contests, and had at least six assists in nine contests.
Sherfield also created key moments for the Pack in his debut season, hitting game-winning shots in the final seconds in wins over Boise State (74-72) on Feb. 5 and Colorado State (85-82) on March 5.
Cambridge, Jr., also in his first season in the Mountain West, proved difficult for opposing defenses. After sitting out the 2019-20 campaign following his transfer from Brown, Cambridge, Jr. was a factor from the first game of conference play, going for 23 points in his league debut, and going on to score in double figures in 15 of 17 games, including four 20-point performances.
He averaged 16.4 points a game, sixth-best in conference play, and also ranked in the MW-only top 10 in 3-point field-goal percentage (35.5, third), 3-pointers made (44, t-fourth), and field-goal percentage (41.3, eighth).
Nevada, which went 10-7 in conference play, earned the No. 5 seed, and a first-round bye, in this week's 2021 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Championship. The Pack opens quarterfinal play Thursday against No. 4 Boise State at 2:30 p.m. 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, Boise State
Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Orlando Robinson, Fresno State
Jordan Schakel, Sr., G, San Diego State
Bryce Hamilton, UNLV
Justin Bean, Utah State
Third Team
A.J Walker, Air Force
Desmond Cambridge, Nevada
Makuach Maluach, New Mexico
David Jenkins, Jr., UNLV
Marcus Williams, Wyoming
Defensive Team
Nathan Mensah, San Diego State
Matt Mitchell, San Diego State
Cheikh Mbacke Diong, UNLV
Marco Anthony, Utah State
Neemias Queta, Utah State
Honorable Mention
Adam Thistlewood, Colorado State
Nathan Mensah, San Diego State
Richard Washington, San José State
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
