Just before the San Jose State men’s basketball team headed to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Championship Basketball Tournament, senior guard Omari Moore and head coach Tim Miles received news that cemented their legacies in the SJSU record books.
On Tuesday, Moore was named Mountain West Player of the Year and Miles was named Mountain West Coach of the Year.
This is the first time in history for an SJSU player to be named Player of the Year in the conference.
Moore was also selected to the first team All-MW selection.
It is the third time in SJSU history for a coach to receive the Mountain West Coach of the Year.
“It was a little bit surreal really because, you know, in San Jose we don't typically get a lot of recognition at this conference at basketball,” Moore said. “It was definitely a little bit surreal and exciting. I had to call my parents to tell them about it. I was with all my teammates. They're all happy for me.”
On the season, Moore is averaging 17.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, while shooting 43.1% from the field in 36.3 minutes each game.
Moore averaged 20.1 points per game, leading the Spartans to a 10 - 8 record in conference play.
In the Spartans’ final game of the regular season, Moore scored a career-high 33 points and helped SJSU recover from a 20-point deficit, winning on the road against Air Force.
He will finish his career with the Spartans being the 16th player to reach over 1,000 points and will be 7th in career points at SJSU.
“Before the season started last summer, I wrote down a couple of goals in mind for this year and this was definitely on the list,” Moore said. “So I can't say that I'm surprised because of how much work I put in. This is something that I've worked for. It's definitely like, I'm grateful for it.”
For Moore, the award adds to the other prizes on his resume.
He was named to the All-Mountain West Honorable Mention in 2022 and was awarded the Mountain West Scholar Athlete and the Academic All-Mountain West award in 2020.
In just two seasons as SJSU men’s basketball head coach, Tim Miles took the Spartans from last place in the conference to garnering a first-round bye in the conference tournament this season.
Miles had led the Spartans to their best record since the 1980 season, when former SJSU head coach Bill Berry led the team to 22 wins and an NCAA tournament berth.
With the fifth seed in the Mountain West conference, the Spartans will enter their highest seed in the conference tournament since the 2013 season.
The team is having one of its best runs in recent years, and it is looking forward to possibly bringing home its first ever Mountain West Championship this week.
“If we want to make the NCAA tournament, we got to win three games in three days. It won’t be easy, but you know, we're definitely built for it. We're prepared mentally and physically,” Moore said.
The Spartans are scheduled to face University of Nevada, Reno at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada.
