FARMINGTON, Utah — After winning the outright regular season conference title for the second consecutive season, the Eastern Washington Eagles was recognized with several 2023-24 Big Sky Conference honors, as announced by the league office on Thursday.
EWU Honorees in 2023-24 Big Sky Men's Basketball Awards
Since joining the conference in 1987, EWU has now earned 35 First Team All-Big Sky Honors and 11 Second Team. The league changed up its awards format slightly this year, eliminating Third Team honors while introducing an All-Defensive Team.
David Riley — Co-Coach of the Year
Riley becomes the first Big Sky coach to pick up back-to-back Coach of the Year Awards since Wayne Tinkle did so for Montana in 2011-12 and 2012-13. It's the eighth time an Eagle head coach has earned the honor, joining Shantay Legans (2019-20), Jim Hayford (2014-15), Ray Giacoletti (2003-04), Steve Aggers (1999-00, 1997-98) and Bob Hofman (1989-90).
As has quickly become the expectation for Riley-led teams, the Eagles have been relentlessly efficient on offense, ranking third in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage (58.1) and fourth in total field goal percentage (50.4). Eastern also continues to share the ball exceptionally well, ranking 11th in the country with 17.6 assists per game and 9th in assists percentage, with assists on 62% of their made baskets.
Riley shares the award this year with Steve Smiley, who led Northern Colorado to a second-place conference finish despite being picked near the bottom of the preseason polls.
LeJuan Watts — Freshman of the Year (unanimous)
Watts joins teammate Ethan Price (2021-22) as a winner of the Freshman of the Year Award and is the 8th Eag overall to win it, also joining Marc Axton (2001-02), Matt Nelson (2003-04), Rodney Stuckey (2005-06), Glen Dean (2009-10) and Venky Jois (2012-13).
The redshirt freshman out of Fresno, Calif., has been a revelation this season, scoring efficiently while bringing energy and toughness off the bench. He opened the year with a double-double (15-10) and has averaged 9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. A terrific finisher around the rim with a sneaky-smooth jumper, he is shooting a scorching 61.9% on the season, including 15-for-36 from 3PT. He has been just one statistic away from two other double-doubles, posting 9 points and 11 rebounds at Washington, then 12 points and 9 rebounds versus Portland State.
Cedric Coward — First Team All-Conference (unanimous)
Coward, just two years removed from playing at Division-III Willamette University and in his first season as a regular starter, has done everything for Eastern this season. The junior — who, like Watts, is out of Fresno — leads the Eagles in scoring (472), rebounds (209), blocks (28) and steals (32). He ranks 6th in the conference in scoring, 8th in rebounding, 2nd in FG%, 1st in FT%, 7th in blocks and 13th in steals.
He has posted 24 games in double figures scoring, including nine with 20+ and a 30-point outburst in perhaps the biggest game of the season, a road win at Northern Colorado on Feb. 24. He has recorded six double-doubles.
Coward is one of four unanimous First Team selections, joining Weber State's Dillon Jones, Northern Colorado's Saint Thomas and Montana's Aanen Moody.
Ethan Price — Second Team All-Conference
Price has been steadily excellent in his third season as an Eagle. The former Big Sky Freshman of the Year, 2022-23 All-Big Sky Honorable Mention and 2023-24 preseason all-conference selection has lived up to expectations, averaging 12.2 points, 4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 52.2% from the floor.
The junior out of England has scored 20+ points four times this season, headlined by a 25-point outing against Sacramento State on Dec. 28 and 22 points against Idaho on Feb. 10. He has been in double figures in 9 of the team's final 10 games heading into the conference tournament, including a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double at Northern Colorado on Feb. 24.
Casey Jones — Second Team All-Conference & All-Defensive Team
Jones, a junior forward from Sammamish, Wash., has been a menace to opposing teams on both sides of the floor, adding a scoring touch to his punishing physicality this season to fill up all corners of the box score. He ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.5 per game, jumping up to 14.2 per game against Big Sky foes. Consistently driving the lane and playing through contact, he ranks 1st in the conference and 21st in the country in free throw attempts (207), 1st in the NCAA in free throw rate (98.0) and 10th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.4).
His most dominant performance was in the Eagles' title-clinching win over Montana on Feb. 29, when he scored a career-high 30 points on 8-for-10 from the floor and 13-for-14 from the free throw line, adding 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. He has corralled 137 rebounds on the season (4.4 average), adding 56 assists, 31 steals and 15 blocks.
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Eastern opens their Big Sky Tournament play on Sunday, March 10 at 5:30 p.m. MT / 4:30 p.m. PT against the winner of #9 Idaho vs. #10 Sacramento State. All games will be played at Idaho Central Arena in Boise. Tickets and tournament information are available at BigSkyInBoise.com.
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2023-24 Big Sky Men's Basketball Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player – Dillon Jones, Weber State
Newcomer of the Year – Saint Thomas, Northern Colorado
Defensive Player of the Year – Robert Ford III, Montana State
Top Reserve – Dejour Reaves, Northern Colorado *
Freshman of the Year –
LeJuan Watts, Eastern Washington *
Co-Coach of the Year –
David Riley, Eastern Washington & Steve Smiley, Northern Colorado
* Unanimous Selections
First Team All-Conference
Dillon Jones, Weber State *
Cedric Coward, Eastern Washington *
Aanen Moody, Montana *
Saint Thomas, Northern Colorado *
Robert Ford III, Montana State
Brayden Parker, Idaho State
Trenton McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
* Unanimous Members of the All-Big Sky First Team
Second Team All-Conference
KJ Allen, Portland State
Ethan Price, Eastern Washington
Dischon Thomas, Montana
Casey Jones, Eastern Washington
Carson Basham, Northern Arizona
Dejour Reaves, Northern Colorado
Honorable Mention All-Big Sky
Steven Verplancken, Weber State
Maleek Arington, Idaho State
Brandon Whitney, Montana
Brandon Walker, Montana State
Jaron Rillie, Northern Colorado
Zee Hamoda, Sacramento State
Note: Honorable Mention features Six Players due to tie for final spot
All-Defensive Team
Robert Ford III, Montana State *
Maleek Arington, Idaho State *
Carson Basham, Northern Arizona
Casey Jones, Eastern Washington
Julius Mims, Idaho
Alex Tew, Weber State
* Unanimous Members of All-Defensive Team
Note: Team features Six Players due to tie for final spot
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ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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