ARLINGTON – Highlighted by Makaih Williams being named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Freshman of the Year and Phillip Russell as the Sixth Player of the Year, UT Arlington had a total of four players collect a league-high seven all-conference awards, as released by WAC officials on Monday.
 
In voting conducted by the WAC's 11 head coaches, DaJuan Gordon also earned spots on both the First Team and All-Defensive Team, while Shemar Wilson collected a position on the Second Team and joined Gordon on the All-Defensive Team. Additionally, Williams landed on the All-Freshman Team.
 
The seven total player awards are two more than any other WAC team as Grand Canyon and Tarleton State both had five. Furthermore, the four-different players receiving accolades is tied with GCU for the highest total in the conference.
 
This is the first time since the 2017-18 season when the Mavericks were in the Sun Belt Conference that they have representation on both the First and Second teams, and it's only the eighth such occurrence since 1975 (14 total times since UTA was a founding member of the Southland Conference in 1963-64).
 
With Williams claiming Freshman of the Year honors, it also marks the second-straight season UTA has laid claim to that honor as Chendall Weaver was the winner in 2023. Williams is now just the eighth UTA product to produce a conference Freshman of the Year campaign.
 
As for Russell, he is the first Mav to ever solicit Sixth Player of the Year hardware; nominees must have started fewer than 50% of a team's conference games (Russell started four of 15 league contests).
 
After being picked to finish 8th in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll, UTA finished five spots better than that in sole possession of 3rd place – the largest jump of any team in the league from predicted to final ranking – in KT Turner's first season at the helm of the Mavs (18-13 overall and 13-7 in the WAC). Those 18 victories are also the most by any first-year head coach in program history.
 
The Mavs enter the WAC Tournament riding a conference-best six-game winning streak. UTA has received a 1st-round bye, and the #3-seeded Mavs will face the winner of #6 Stephen F. Austin and #7 Abilene Christian in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. CT (8:30 local) from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
 
Below is more information about each award winner and the complete list of WAC recipients.
 
MAKAIH WILLIAMS
WAC Freshman of the Year | WAC All-Freshman Team
Williams leads all WAC true freshmen in scoring at 11.2 points per game, while adding 3 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the season. In conference games only, his 3.1 assists and 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio were the 12th-best averages in the league, and his 12.9 scoring average against WAC opponents was tied for the 2nd best on the Mavs.
 
Nationally, Williams is one of only 12 true freshmen with at least 345 points and 85 assists this season. The Long Beach, Calif., native has started each of the final 27 games of the regular season and has reached double-figure points 18 times this year. After averaging 7.8 points over his first 12 collegiate games, Williams has averaged 13.4 points in his past 19 outings.
 
The 6-1 guard has played like a veteran all year, and it was showcased early in the campaign as he knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer at New Mexico with 5.3 seconds remaining. He added another game-tying bucket in the closing minute in conference play on a driving layup at Tarleton State with 48 seconds left.
 
The Capistrano Valley Christian High School product delivered a season-high 24 points in that Tarleton contest – one of three 20+ showings during the year, all of which came in conference action. He pulled down a career-most eight rebounds at then-#21 Texas on New Year's Day and also has issued a pair of eight-assist performances in league play.
 
PHILLIP RUSSELL
WAC Sixth Player of the Year
After getting eligible in mid-December thanks to the rulings on multi-time transfers, Russell has made a profound impact on a revamped UTA offense which averaged a league-high 78 points in WAC tilts. In his Maverick debut versus Air Force on Dec. 16, the guard delivered a season-most 28 points – one of five 20+ point outings of his campaign.
 
The Southeast Missouri transfer reached double-figure points 13 times in only 19 opportunities on his way to a team-best scoring average for the season of 13.5. Russell matched Williams' 12.9 scoring average in conference contests, despite missing five games – three due to injury and two which occurred before he was eligible.
 
The 5-10 guard ranked 3rd in league play with exactly 4 assists per game and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0. The St. Louis native also registered the 5th-best free throw percentage in WAC play (83.3%) and had the 6th-highest 3-point average with 2.1 makes per contest.
 
Russell was a two-time WAC Newcomer of the Week during the season, claiming the award on both Dec. 18 and Feb. 5. He issued 5+ assists on seven occasions, led by an eight-assist performance versus Southern Utah on Feb. 22, and is coming off a season-most five rebounds opposite California Baptist this past Thursday.
 
DAJUAN GORDON
WAC First Team | WAC All-Defensive Team
For the entire season, Gordon leads UTA in total points (386 / 12.9), rebounds (8.4) and steals (1.8). In league games only, the 6-5 guard's 15.4 point-per-game average is 8th best, and he also ranks 3rd in rebounding (8.2), 2nd in field goal percentage (50.8) and paces the conference in steals (2.2).
 
The New Mexico State grad transfer has notched a WAC-leading 12 double-doubles this year to go along with 23 double-figure scoring games. The dozen double-doubles are the most by any UTA player since Kevin Hervey had 16 in the 2016-17 season. To put that total in context, only 18 players in program history have more career double-doubles than the 12 Gordon has in only 30 chances.
 
The Chicago native reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 6 against UNT Dallas, and also joined the 700-rebound club this season. Additionally, he is one of only four players in the nation this year with at least 15 points, 17 rebounds and six assists in a game when he accomplished the feat at Utah Tech in February.
 
A three-time WAC Player of the Week – the first UTA member to earn that many in a single season since 2009-10 – Gordon is also one of only six players in the country this year to come off the bench and record at least 15 points and 15 rebounds against a Division-I foe (Air Force).
 
SHEMAR WILSON
WAC Second Team | WAC All-Defensive Team
For the entire year, Wilson is averaging 11.8 points and 7.9 rebounds – ranking 2nd on UTA in terms of totals for both categories – while pacing the Mavs in blocks with 59 (1.9). Those 1.9 rejections lead all WAC players and also rank 36th nationally; his rebound average is the 4th highest in the league.
 
In conference action, the senior forward ranked 4th in blocks (1.8) and 5th in rebounding (7.6). Wilson secured seven double-doubles during the season, which were the 2nd most among all WAC players, and he also missed seven more double-doubles by either one or two points or rebounds. The 6-9 native of Avondale, Ariz., also notched a conference-most 13 double-figure rebounding games.
 
Wilson reached 1,000 career points across all collegiate levels on a free throw in the closing minute against UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 18. The WAC Player of the Week back in November, Wilson posted a brilliant all-around performance at Texas Tech in December of eight points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and three steals – making him one of only six players in the nation with at least those totals in a game this season.
 
Completing his third season with UTA after transferring from Phoenix College, Wilson has 18 double-figure scoring performances this year and on 10 different occasions rejected three or more shots, highlighted by a pair of five-block outings. Wilson is also the only Mav to start all 31 games in 2023-24.
 
2023-24 WAC MEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
WAC Player of the Year: Tyon Grant-Foster, G/F, Grand Canyon
WAC Defensive Player of the Year: KiAndre Gaddy, F, Tarleton State
WAC Freshman of the Year: Makaih Williams, G, UT Arlington
WAC Sixth Player of the Year: Phillip Russell, G, UT Arlington
WAC Coach of the Year: Joseph Jones, Tarleton State
 
WAC All-Conference First Team
Tyon Grant-Foster, G/F, Grand Canyon
Gabe McGlothan, F, Grand Canyon
Cameron Tyson, G, Seattle U
Jakorie Smith, F, Tarleton State
DaJuan Gordon, G, UT Arlington
 
WAC All-Conference Second Team
Ali Abdou Dibba, G, Abilene Christian
Dominique Daniels Jr., G, California Baptist
Ray Harrison, G, Grand Canyon
Alex Schumacher, G, Seattle U
Shemar Wilson, F, UT Arlington
 
WAC All-Defensive Team
Collin Moore, G, Grand Canyon
KiAndre Gaddy, F, Tarleton State
Emmanuel Innocenti, F, Tarleton State
DaJuan Gordon, G, UT Arlington
Shemar Wilson, F, UT Arlington
 
WAC All-Freshman Team
Braden Housley, G, Southern Utah
Emmanuel Innocenti, F, Tarleton State
Makaih Williams, G, UT Arlington
Aric Demings, G, Utah Tech
Osiris Grady, F, Utah Valley
   
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