Best of the West: The Hotline’s selections for the top players and coach from across the region

Arizona's Caleb Love and Utah State's Great Osobor were two of the top players in the western third of the country in 2023-24.

Conferences across the western third of the country have announced their postseason award winners, but the Hotline aims for a higher-level assessment of the state of play.

Our weekly Best of the West (BOTW) rankings during the regular season offered fans a means of comparing teams in different leagues.

The Hotline’s BOTW postseason honor roll aims to do the same.

Utah State’s Great Osobor was terrific. But was he the best player in the West?

Washington State coach Kyle Smith offered a master class in tactics and player development, but was he the best in the region?

For the awards and honors below, we considered candidates from the Big Sky, Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12, WAC and West Coast Conference, along with Brigham Young.

Here we go …

BOTW Player of the Year: Arizona’s Caleb Love. The best player on the best team in the region from start to finish, although we would argue the candidate pool was less than stellar this season. Love excelled in several marquee games (36 points at Oregon, 29 against Purdue, 28 at Washington State) and contributed with his rebounding and passing skills. Of note: We also considered Utah State wing Great Osobor.

BOTW Coach of the Year: Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle. The first-year coach inherited a team that had no returning production (no points, rebounds or assists) and was picked ninth in the Mountain West preseason poll. He proceeded to rebuild the roster and win the conference. We also considered Washington State’s Kyle Smith, whose team was picked 10th and finished second. The difference: Sprinkle’s work came in a tougher league.

BOTW Freshman of the Year: Washington State’s Myles Rice. In a category that included players destined for the lottery portion of the NBA Draft, a little-known cancer survivor made the greatest impact. Rice, who missed the 2022-23 season because of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was the engine behind WSU’s stunning rise to second place in the Pac-12.

BOTW Defensive Player of the Year: San Diego State’s Lamont Butler. Several factors contributed to SDSU possessing the best defense in the West and one of the most efficient units in the country (per the Pomeroy advanced metrics). Butler’s knack for causing havoc, both on and off the ball, was atop the list.

All-BOTW teams

First team

Arizona G Caleb Love
San Diego State G Jaedon LeDee
Saint Mary’s G Aidan Mahaney
Colorado G KJ Simpson
Boise State F Tyson Degenhart

Second team

Colorado State G Isaiah Stevens
Weber State G Dillon Jones
Utah State G/F Great Osobor
Gonzaga F Graham Ike
Washington F Keion Brooks

Third team

Washington State G Myles Rice
Saint Mary’s G Augustas Marciulionis
BYU G Jaxson Robinson
San Francisco F Jonathan Mogbo
UC Davis G Elijah Pepper

All-defensive team

San Diego State G Lamont Butler
New Mexico G Jaelen House
Arizona State G Frankie Collins
Saint Mary’s C Mitchell Saxen
UCLA F Adem Bona

All-newcomer team (transfers)

Arizona G Caleb Love (North Carolina)
Cal G Jaylon Tyson (Texas Tech)
Utah State G/F Great Osobor (Montana State)
San Francisco F Jonathan Mogbo (Missouri State)
Washington State F Issac Jones (Idaho)

All-freshman team

Washington State G Myles Rice
New Mexico F JT Toppin
Oregon G Jackson Shelstad
San Francisco G Ryan Beasley
USC G Isaiah Collier

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