Weber State’s Dillon Jones wins Big Sky Conference men’s basketball MVP for 2023-24 season
Jones leads contingent of Utah hoopers as finalists for national awards
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones, right, surveys the court at Montana State on Monday, March 4, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones rises for a dunk against Montana on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in Missoula, Mont.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones celebrates late in a win over Northern Colorado on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Ogden.
Dillon Jones became the 10th player in Weber State men’s basketball history to be named the Big Sky Conference MVP, the conference announced Thursday afternoon on a tally of votes by the league’s head coaches.
Jones leads the Big Sky with 20.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists — the only player in the country this year and the only in Big Sky history to lead the league in all three categories. Jones adds two steals per game.
He becomes the first men’s player voted as preseason MVP to win that year’s postseason MVP since the Big Sky began voting on preseason awards ahead of the 2015-16 season. He’s also a unanimous choice for the all-conference first team for the second straight season.
Jones, a 6-foot-6 wing/forward from Columbia, South Carolina, is three assists away from becoming the first Division I men’s player to total at least 600 points, 300 rebounds, 160 assists and 50 steals in one season since at least the 1992-93 season.
In Weber State history, he’s currently first in career steals, second in assists, third in rebounds, fifth in points and second in made free throws. He’s eight rebounds from passing Willie Sojourner to take over second place in that category, and 12 boards from passing ISU’s Steve Hayes for second in Big Sky history.
Jones has averaged more than 10 rebounds per game for three straight seasons.
He carries single-game career highs of 30 points, 23 rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
Other Weber State MVP winners since the award began in 1979: Ruben Nemhard (1995), Jimmy DeGraffenried (1996), Harold Arceneaux (1999, 2000), Jermaine Boyette (2003), David Patten (2007), Kellen McCoy (2009), Damian Lillard (2010, 2012), Davion Berry (2014) and Joel Bolomboy (2016).
In individual awards, Northern Colorado’s Saint Thomas is the Big Sky’s newcomer of the year, exploding from a two-points-per-game bench player at Loyola-Chicago to a step-by-step challenger to Jones, averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per game this season.
Eastern Washington’s LeJuan Watts is the league’s freshman of the year. Robert Ford III (Montana State) is defensive player of the year, Dejour Reaves (Northern Colorado) is top reserve, and EWU’s David Riley and NoCo’s Steve Smily shared coach of the year honors.
For Weber State, Steven Verplancken Jr. was named an honorable mention pick and center Alex Tew was named to the all-defensive team.
First team: Jones, Thomas, Cedric Coward (EWU), Aanen Moody (Montana), Ford, Brayden Parker (Idaho State), Trenton McLaughlin (Northern Arizona). Thomas, Coward and Moody joined Jones as unanimous selections.
Second team: KJ Allen (Portland State), Ethan Price (EWU), Dischon Thomas (Montana), Casey Jones (EWU), Carson Basham (NAU), Dejour Reaves (NoCo).
Honorable mentions: Verplancken, Maleek Arington (ISU), Brandon Whitney (UM), Brandon Walker (MSU), Jaron Rillie (NoCo), Zee Hamoda (Sac State).
All-defensive team: Ford, Arington, Basham, Casey Jones, Tew, Julius Mims (Idaho).
WOMEN’S HONORS
Weber State’s fifth-year seniors Daryn Hickok and Jadyn Matthews were named honorable mentions as WSU’s lone representatives on this season’s Big Sky women’s basketball postseason all-conference lists.
Eastern Washington’s Jamie Loera was unanimous choice for league MVP and also won defensive player of the year. Montana duo Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw (newcomer of the year) and Gina Marxen (top reserve) also won individual honors, with Sacramento State’s Summah Hanson winning freshman of the year and EWU’s Joddie Gleason taking coach of the year honors.
NATIONAL FINALISTS
Jones is also one of three Utah college hoopers to land as a top-five finalist for national awards at their positions.
Jones is one of five finalists for the Julis Erving Award, awarded to the top small forward in the country by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He joins Keion Brooks Jr. (Washington), David Jones (Memphis), Dalton Knecht (Tennessee) and Baylor Scheierman (Creighton).
At Utah State, Great Osobor is a finalist for the Karl Malone award given to the nation’s top power forward. He averages 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Osobor joins San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee, Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II and Arkon’s Enrique Freeman as finalists.
At the University of Utah, Alissa Pili is a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award, awarded to the nation’s top power forward in women’s basketball. She averages 21 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.