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There are five more years until the decade closes and we all as fans get the fun task of debating who the best players of the last decade were, but at the halfway mark it is nice to see a progress report. The following is one man’s opinion of who belongs on the all-decade team at the halfway point.
To be considered, players needed to meet one of the following criteria: win a major postseason award (conference POY or DPOY), be named to an all american team, be named to an all conference 1st team, or have a combination of lesser awards (2nd or 3rd team all conference, all defensive team, etc). The players also needed to have a minimum of five win shares over the course of the decade.
The stats and awards pulled for consideration only go so far back as the 2019-20 season. Any stats accumulated before then were removed. Apologies to players like Sam Merrill (but in fairness, he made the all decade team the decade before).
It’s safe to assume about half of these players won’t make the final cut at the end of the decade. One interesting thing to note will be how the transfer portal changes fans opinions. Should a player who had one great year and then left be included over someone who stayed loyal and had three good years but never reached the same ceiling? Time will tell.
Coach of the Decade:
Brian Dutcher, San Diego State: 134 Wins, 79.8% win percentage, five conference titles, two sweet 16’s, one Final 4.
No other Mountain West coaches resume has come close to what Coach Dutcher has accomplished. Leon Rice probably comes the closest with his two conference titles, but has had no March Madness success to date. The conference has had eight teams reach the Sweet 16 in its history, and Dutcher was the head coach for 2 of them, not to mention he’s the only Mountain West coach so far to make it to a Final 4.
Dutcher may not have the best X’s and O’s, and he can sometimes be bested in terms of in game adjustments, but his ability to find players that fit his system, and then develop them into better players, is among the best in the nation, let alone the conference.
Second Team:
Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming:120 games, 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, 46/28/72, 14.3 Win Shares –
Hunter Maldonado is probably the most versatile player of the decade. He was named first team all conference in 21-22, and for his career finished 6th in the Mountain West in points, 7th in rebounds, 2nd in assists, and 9th in steals. No one else has career marks in that many categories. His only weakness was shooting the ball. He dominated scoring inside, but never dialed in his outside shot. He managed to lead a traditionally poor Wyoming program to the tournament in 2022, only the third time this millennium the Cowboys have made the tournament.
Matt Mitchell, SDSU: 57 games, 13.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.3 blocks, 45/37/84, 8.6 Win Shares-
Mitchell only had two seasons in the decade, but made the most of both of them. He was named a first team all conference player each season, and won player of the year in 20-21. Mitchell was the best player on the conference champion Aztecs team in ‘21, as he played offensive option 1A, and guarded the opponents best player in crunch time. His combination of strength and skill made him a problem for opponents.
Tyson Degenhart, Boise State: 101 games, 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.4 blocks, 52/36/76, 16.1 Win Shares-
Tyson Degenhart is the only player on this list who can add to their resume. The two time 1st team all conference player currently ranks 16th for his career in win shares in conference history. If he duplicates what he did last season he’ll finish third in that category, and it’s not unrealistic to think he could finish number one overall. Throughout his career Degenhart has combined efficient scoring with elite defense and rebounding.
Neemias Queta, Utah State: 51 games, 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 2.7 blocks, 58/33/69, 8.6 Win Shares-
Queta was a force down low over the course of his career. In the decade he won Defensive Player of the year, and was both a first team and second team all conference player, along with being an all defensive player twice. In his final season before leaving early to turn pro, Queta led the nation in blocked shots, along with finishing 4th in the nation in total rebounds that year. In addition to his defensive prowess, he was an efficient scorer down low and a sneaky good passer.
Nathan Mensah, SDSU: 112 games, 6.9 Points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.8 blocks, 53/22/60, 11.4 Win Shares-
Mensah has the best defensive resume of the decade thus far. He led the conference in blocked shots twice, and finished third all time in blocked shots. In addition to his rim protection, the 6’10 center was capable of switching on defense and could guard any player on the opposing team. The vaunted San Diego State defense was built around his strengths for most of his career, and it paid off when SDSU rode that dominant defense all the way to the national championship game. Mensah lacked offensive production, but his defensive contributions are deserving of recognition.
Mensah also contributed to more conference championships in the decade than any other player on this list. He won two regular season titles and two conference tournament titles. (He was also on the 2020 Aztec team that won the regular season, but didn’t play a single minute in conference play due to injury, so that isn’t counted.)
