SAN JOSE, Calif. – For the second-straight day, San Jose State senior guard Richard Washington has been named a 2020-21 All-Mountain West Honorable Mention selection, this time by the league's 11 head coaches. The conference made the announcement on Tuesday.
A native of Newport News, Virginia, Washington was the conference's leading scorer in 2020-21 with 19.6 points per game. He finished the regular season with the highest scoring game of any player in the Mountain West in both a nonconference game (38 vs. NCAA Tournament-bound Fresno Pacific) and in league play (35 points vs. Colorado State). Washington finished with three 30 point games for the year, tied for the most by a Spartan in a single season since Adrian Oliver in 2011 (6).
Washington scored in double figures in all but two games in 2020-21, and had seven games of 20-plus points. On January 21st against New Mexico, he suffered a head injury in the first half that forced him to miss the next five games while in concussion protocol. He returned to the Spartan lineup in their home series against UNLV with 15 and 10 points, respectively, against the Rebels. Prior to the injury, Washington was averaging 22.9 points per contest, which ranked ninth in NCAA Div. I.
Washington will look to return to form as he and the Spartan get set to take on Wyoming in the opening round of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Basketball Championships on Wednesday, March 10, at 11:00 a.m. PT in Las Vegas.
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