FOUR RUNNIN’ REBELS RECOGNIZED AS ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Dedan Thomas Jr. named Co-Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-MW, while Keylan Boone is on third team, Luis Rodriguez on defensive team and Kalib Boone is honorable mention All-MW
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UNLV men’s basketball’s Dedan Thomas Jr. has earned Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year honors as well as Second-Team All-Mountain West recognition as the league and its media announced their all-conference awards this week.
Also recognized from the Runnin’ Rebels were fifth-year seniors Keylan Boone (Second Team All-Mountain West), Luis Rodriguez (Defensive Team) and Kalib Boone (Honorable Mention All-Mountain West).
The MW’s 11 head coaches voted on the league’s awards, which were released Tuesday, while the media’s were conducted independent of conference oversight and announced Monday. The league’s awards included all of the above from UNLV, while the media’s only had Thomas Jr. as a second-team recipient and Kalib Boone as honorable mention.
Thomas Jr., a 6-foot-1-inch point guard from Las Vegas, is UNLV’s first freshman honoree since Brandon McCoy earned Freshman of the Year and second-team honors in 2018. Thomas Jr. led UNLV in scoring this season with a conference-only average of 14.4 ppg, which ranked ninth in the MW. He also led the team in assists at 4.4 apg, which ranked seventh in the league. In addition, he shot 75.8% from the free throw line (11th in MW) and had a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio (9th in MW), while playing 34.9 minutes per contest (8th in MW). He scored in double figures in 15 MW games and had at least five assists on eight occasions.
Keylan Boone, a 6-foot-8-inch forward from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who transferred to UNLV prior to this season from Pacific, averaged 12.9 ppg in conference-only action this season and 6.1 rpg (13th in MW). He was tops on the team and 10th in the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.1) and ranked 14th in the conference in blocks (0.8). He scored in double figures in 14 MW games, with a high of 24 points on Saturday at UNR, which included six made 3-pointers.
Rodriguez, a 6-foot-6-inch guard from Los Angeles, California, is in his second season at UNLV, led the team in rebounding with 6.7 rpg in league-only games (10th in MW) and also was the team’s steals leader, ranking 13th in the conference at 1.3 spg.
Kaib Boone, a 6-foot-9-inch forward from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who transferred to UNLV prior to this season from Oklahoma State, led the team in blocked shots with 1.6 per game in conference-only games (3rd in MW). He also recorded 5.3 rpg and shot 72.7% from the free throw line. He scored in double figures in seven MW games, including 29 in UNLV’s home win over New Mexico and blocked at least two shots on eight occasions during league play.
NEXT FOR THE RUNNIN’ REBELS: UNLV is the No. 4 seed in this week’s Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship. The Runnin’ Rebels will face No. 5 seed San Diego State in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center. Tickets may be purchased online at UNLVtickets.com, by calling 702-739-3267 or in person at the TMC Box Office.
