EWU’s Groves earns Big Sky MVP

BOISE, Idaho (March 8, 2021) – Eastern Washington earned the Big Sky Conference’s Most Valuable Player nod for the fourth time in the last five seasons as redshirt-junior forward Tanner Groves collected the top honor to headline the 2020-21 all-conference team as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
 
Groves was dominant for the Eagles all season long posting six double-doubles and ranking among the top 5 in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage in conference play. The Spokane, Wash. native was fourth in scoring with 17.9 points per game, fifth in rebounding with 7.4 rebounds per game, and led the Big Sky in field goal percentage shooting 58.6 percent from the field.

Weber State senior guard Isiah Brown joined Groves as a unanimous first team honoree. Brown averaged 18 points, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 87.8 percent from the free throw line in league play.

Eastern Washington redshirt-junior Kim Aiken Jr. earned first team honors to give the Eagles two players on the first team. Aiken Jr. averaged close to a double-double against Big Sky opponents this season with 13.1 points and a league-best 8.9 rebounds per game.
 
Southern Utah junior guard Tevian Jones and Northern Arizona junior guard Cameron Shelton rounded out the first team. Jones was fifth in scoring in conference play averaging 16.7 points per game and was third in free throw percentage shooting 90.4 percent from the charity stripe. Shelton has led the league in scoring for the past six weeks averaging over 20 points per game in Big Sky play. The Chino, Calif. native was second in assists with 4.7 per game, third in steals with 1.6 per game, and eighth in rebounding with 6.4 per game.

Aiken Jr. became the first Eastern Washington player to be named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year since Alvin Snow earned the honor when the award was established during the 2001-02 season. In league play, he averaged 8.9 rebounds per game, 1.2 steals per game, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Eagles.
 
Eastern Washington sophomore guard/forward Tyler Robertson was named the Big Sky Top Reserve after making a big impact off the bench for the Eagles this season. Robertson averaged 10.9 points and 3.1 assists per game while sporting a league-best 2.94 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is the first EWU player to earn the accolade.
 
Brown garnered Big Sky Newcomer of the Year accolades, the first Wildcat since Davion Berry in 2012-13 to earn the award. After playing at Grand Canyon and Northwestern, Brown signed with WSU as a graduate transfer and led the Wildcats with 18.0 points and 3.0 assists per game in league play this season.
 
Weber State forward Dillon Jones collected Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors to become the first Wildcat since Jeremy Senglin in 2013-14 and six overall to earn the award. Jones averaged 8.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game in conference play.
 
The All-Big Sky Second Team consisted of Sacramento State’s Ethan Esposito, Southern Utah’s Maizen Fausett and John Knight III, Weber State’s Seikou Sisoho Jawara, and Montana State’s Xavier Bishop. The third team was comprised of Montana State’s Amin Adamu and Jubrile Belo, Northern Colorado’s Bodie Hume and Matt Johnson II, and Idaho State’s Tarik Cool.

Honorable mention accolades went to Portland State’s James Scott, Montana’s Kyle Owens, Idaho State’s Brayden Parker and Robert Ford III, Sacramento State’s Bryce Fowler, and Southern Utah’s Dre Marin.

The Big Sky Men’s Basketball Championship takes place March 10-13 at the newly renamed Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. Tournament information can be found at bigskyinboise.com.
 

Individual Award Winners
Most Valuable Player: Tanner Groves, Eastern Washington
Newcomer of the Year: Isiah Brown, Weber State
Freshman of the Year: Dillon Jones, Weber State
Defensive Player of the Year: Kim Aiken Jr., Eastern Washington
Top Reserve: Tyler Robertson, Eastern Washington