David Roddy named Mountain West Player of the Year

DENVER — The best in the Mountain West.

David Roddy was named the conference player of the year by the league’s media on Monday. Roddy joins Gian Clavell (2017) and Mike Mitchell (1990) as the only players in program history to earn the prestigious award. Roddy received eight of the possible 11 first-place votes for the honor and 161 out of 165 possible points in the voting.

Big-time shoutout to Team DNVR Athlete David Roddy (@droddy22) for being named the Mountain West Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/agBQ3WJRWK

— DNVR Rams (@DNVR_Rams) March 7, 2022

In what’s been a phenomenal season, the junior guard/forward out of Minneapolis, Minn., finished third in the league in scoring at 19.5 points per game. He was also sixth in rebounding (7.6 per game) and first in field goal percentage at 57.5 percent.

When CSU went down to the Virgin Islands in November, Roddy guided the Rams to three victories and a Paradise Jam Championship by averaging 31.0 points per game. During the  event he dropped a career-high 36 points in a convincing win over Creighton. And for his efforts Roddy was ultimately named MVP of the tournament.

Against league competition, Roddy averaged 19.06 points per game on 56.6 percent shooting from the floor. He hit 46 percent of his 3-point attempts, dished out 3.06 assists and pulled down 7.6 rebounds per contest as well. In the 18 league games played by the Rams in 2021-22, Roddy finished with double-digit scoring figures 17 times, including a 31-point performance in his first-ever trip to the Pit. In Saturday’s win over Boise State, he had a game-high 23 points, four rebounds and two assists. He then was praised by the home crowd with chants of “MVP” and “Roddy, Roddy, Roddy”.

In addition to being named the player of the year, Roddy was CSU’s lone representative on the All-Mountain West first team. The other honorees include Orlando Robinson (Fresno State), Graham Ike (Wyoming), Hunter Maldonado (Wyoming) and Bryce Hamilton (UNLV).

Congratulations to @CSUMBasketball on a phenomenal regular season & this well-deserved recognition. pic.twitter.com/QE0vyTrby0

— DNVR Rams (@DNVR_Rams) March 7, 2022

Isaiah Stevens was represented as well on the second team, along with Matt Bradley (SDSU), Abu Kigab (Boise State), Marcus Shaver (Boise State) and Justin Bean (Utah State). Stevens might not be as flashy of a scorer as some of his counterparts around the conference but he’s been the best true point guard by far. For the season he’s averaged 14.8 points per game, 4.9 assists and three rebounds. What’s more, despite being responsible for much of CSU’s ball handling duties, Stevens has only recorded 46 turnovers in 28 games compared to his 413 points and 138 assists.

Finally, after sweeping Boise State in the regular season, CSU has once again re-entered the top 25. The Rams came in at No. 23 in Monday morning’s AP Poll.

Next up: The Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.