Isaac Bonton one of four Washington State players to earn Pac-12 postseason awards

Isaac Bonton missed seven games and a crucial stretch of the Pac-12 schedule with sprained ankles, but the Washington State guard still performed well enough in the 20 games he played to become an All-Pac-12 second-team selection.

Backcourt mate Noah Williams was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention and WSU’s promising freshman class was recognized with Efe Abogidi being named to the all-freshman team and fellow center Dishon Jackson being named all-freshman honorable mention.

USC center Evan Mobley became the first player in Pac-12 history to earn player of the year, defensive player of the year and freshman of the year honors.

Stanford’s Jaden Delaire was named most improved player, Arizona’s Jordan Brown was named sixth man of the year and USC’s Andy Enfield was named coach of the year.

Despite missing four of the past five games to injury, Bonton enters the conference tournament as the Pac-12’s fourth-leading scorer at 17.7 points per game, and third-leading scorer in Pac-12 games at 18.3 ppg. Bonton’s 4.0 assists per game rank fourth in the conference, and he leads the Pac-12 in steals at 1.96 per game.

Bonton’s 3-point percentage improved from 30% in 2019-20 to 32% in 2020-21. He averaged 4.0 rebounds per game this season after averaging 3.7 as a junior.

Carrying the offensive torch for a young Cougars team, the senior point guard from Portland had nine 20-point games during the regular season and scored 25 points or more on five occasions.

Williams boosted his numbers in almost every major category and had a chance to earn the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player award.

The sophomore guard from Seattle improved from 6.2 to 14.2 ppg and made drastic changes to his 3-point shot, hitting 14.8% of his 3s in 2019-20 before making 38.7% this season. Williams averaged 3.5 rebounds per game for the second straight season and improved his assist numbers from 1.9 to 2.6 per game.

In games against California and Stanford, Williams reached new career highs twice, scoring 32 points in a blowout win over the Golden Bears before scoring 40 to help WSU beat Stanford in triple overtime.

Abogidi, a native of Delta State, Nigeria, averaged 8.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg during his freshman season. The center’s rebounding average was good enough for fourth in the conference, his 1.35 blocks per game were tied for fifth and his free-throw percentage (81.9%) was seventh.

After an injury kept Jackson off the court at the start of the year, the center from Vallejo, California, blossomed during Pac-12 play, averaging 7.7 ppg and 4.5 rpg in conference games.

Jackson reached double figures in eight of his past 14 games and had a season-high 18 in WSU’s home loss to USC.