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Just before nine undoubtedly solid and increasingly unpredictable Mountain West men's basketball teams try their luck at conference glory this week at the Thomas & Mack, the league takes a moment to breathe, recap a satisfying regular season and award a deep field of superlative players.
G Kendall Williams of the New Mexico Lobos won coveted Player of the Year honors on the heels of outstanding offensive play, including a memorable 46-point explosion at Moby Arena against Colorado St.
New Mexico head coach Steve Alford was awarded Coach of the Year after leading the nationally ranked Lobos to their fourth regular season title in five years.
UNLV Runnin' Rebels F Khem Birch won Defensive Player of the Year after recording a league-high 48 blocks, while teammate G Anthony Bennett received Freshman of the Year recognition after a most impressive inaugural campaign averaging 12.1 points a game, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
Colorado St. F/C Colton Iverson was named Newcomer of the Year, leading the Mountain West in rebounds with 10.4 a contest and field goal percentage with a blistering 60.6%. Teammate G Daniel Bejarano won Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 5.6 points and 4.9 rebounds off the Rams' bench.
The 2012-13 All-Mountain West Men's Basketball Teams (selected by media and head coaches):
| First-Team All-Mountain West | |||||
| Name, Team | Cl. | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | City, State |
| Michael Lyons, Air Force | Sr. | G | 6-5 | 193 | Newport News, Va. |
| Colton Iverson, Colorado State | Sr. | F/C | 6-10 | 261 | Yankton, S.D. |
| Kendall Williams, New Mexico | Jr. | G | 6-4 | 185 | Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. |
| Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State | Jr. | G | 6-5 | 195 | Hawthorne, Calif. |
| Anthony Bennett, UNLV | Fr. | F | 6-8 | 240 | Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
| Second-Team All-Mountain West | |||||
| Anthony Drmic, Boise State | So. | G | 6-6 | 196 | Endeavor Hills, Victoria, Australia |
| Derrick Marks, Boise State | So. | G | 6-3 | 206 | Chicago, Ill. |
| Dorian Green, Colorado State | Sr. | G | 6-2 | 192 | Lawrence, Kan. |
| Alex Kirk, New Mexico | So. | C | 7-0 | 250 | Los Alamos, N.M. |
| Anthony Marshall, UNLV | Sr. | G | 6-3 | 200 | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Third-Team All-Mountain West | |||||
| Pierce Hornung, Colorado State | Sr. | F | 6-5 | 210 | Arvada, Colo. |
| Deonte Burton, Nevada | Jr. | G | 6-3 | 190 | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Tony Snell, New Mexico | Jr. | G | 6-7 | 200 | Riverside, Calif. |
| Chase Tapley, San Diego State | Sr. | G | 6-3 | 195 | Sacramento, Calif. |
| Leonard Washington, Wyoming | Sr. | F | 6-7 | 230 | Lake Charles, La. |
| All-Defensive Team | |||||
| Pierce Hornung, Colorado State | Sr. | F | 6-5 | 210 | Arvada, Colo. |
| Alex Kirk, New Mexico | So. | C | 7-0 | 250 | Los Alamos, N.M. |
| Khem Birch, UNLV | So. | F | 6-9 | 220 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Anthony Marshall, UNLV | Sr. | G | 6-3 | 200 | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Leonard Washington, Wyoming | Sr. | F | 6-7 | 230 | Lake Charles, La. |
| Honorable Mention All-Mountain West | |||||
| Wes Eikmeier, Sr., G, Colorado State | |||||
| Tyler Johnson, Jr., G, Fresno State | |||||
| Malik Story, Sr., G, Nevada | |||||
| Hugh Greenwood, So., G, New Mexico | |||||
| Cameron Bairstow, Jr., F, New Mexico | |||||
| Khem Birch, So., F, UNLV | |||||