Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Notebook

by Brad Best

The Mountain West Conference men’s basketball teams have collectively hit a bumpy patch in the road that has brought many teams down from their early season peaks and into the valley where pre-season expectations were formed.

Take Saturday, December 8 as an example. BYU and Utah each had opportunities to beat ranked opponents but came up short. San Diego State had a chance to knock off Saint Mary’s, the No. 2 RPI team in the country, and likewise didn’t come out on top. Colorado State went up against Minnesota and lost as well. These were opportunities for the conference to stretch itself beyond its borders and gain some national recognition.

With just a few more games on the non-conference schedule, we’ll see who can bolster their resumes for March with some quality wins and gain some momentum going in to conference play.

New Mexico Lobos (8-2)
After a 7-0 start, the Lobos dropped two in a row before rebounding with a convincing win over the University of San Diego. Mississippi handed the Lobos their first loss by an eight point margin. Arch-rival New Mexico State defeated them by nine points just three days later. These were two of the early tests for New Mexico and they failed to measure up on both accounts. These games were played away from the friendly confines of The Pit, which is often a difference-maker for New Mexico.
Coach Steve Alford is giving everyone a chance to play, with 10 players getting minutes in each game. This has led to 44 percent of the scoring and 45 percent of the rebounding coming off the bench.
Next opponents:
Dec. 15 vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 19 vs. New Mexico State

San Diego State Aztecs (8-2)
There is also a lot of team basketball being played at San Diego State. The Aztecs have five players scoring in double figures and Richie Williams is just shy of joining that group. After serving an early season suspension and having to earn his way back into the starting lineup, Williams has picked up the pace in the last three games. Junior college transfer Kelvin Davis is emerging as an explosive and consistent scorer who may develop into the go-to guy.
The Aztecs did not schedule especially tough this year, so losses to Cal and Saint Mary’s are missed opportunities. A road victory over Arizona next week would certainly help their chances for an at-large bid come March.
Next opponents:
Dec. 17 vs. Navy
Dec. 22 at Arizona

BYU Cougars (7-2)
The Cougars have beat up on the teams that they were supposed to and have played tough against ranked opponents. So no surprises either way out of BYU thus far. It should be status quo for the remainder of the non-conference schedule. The one exception may be the away game at Wake Forest in January. The Cougars get another shot at an ACC team and will look to make the most of it. Trent Plaisted, Lee Cummard, and Jonathan Tavernari are the team leaders in both points and rebounds.
Next opponents
Dec. 12 vs. Lamar
Dec. 15 vs. Pepperdine

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (7-2)
The Rebels have a perfect record in December after dropping two games in late November. They will have a tough test against Arizona next week, but they will have home court advantage. Curtis Terry, Wink Adams and Joe Darger are each averaging 13 points per contest to lead the way. Adams and Darger are shooting sub-40 percent from the field, so the Rebels will need to improve shot selection and execution as they move into closer to conference play. Their rebounding numbers are also surprisingly low considering how many shots they are missing. Not sure if the Rebels will be in the top tier of the conference when it is all over.
Next opponents
Dec. 19 vs. Arizona
Dec. 22 vs. Univ. Tennessee-Martin

TCU Horned Frogs (5-3)
With a lackluster schedule and so-so record, it’s hard to tell whether there will be much improvement this year by the Horned Frogs. Most recently they beat a 1-5 Texas Southern team at home. The Horned Frogs feature a three-guard, two-forward starting line-up. Junior college transfer Henry Salter is the leading scorer, with returning starters Brent Hackett and Kevin Langford close behind. While they are taking a team approach to rebounding, with five players averaging at least four rebounds per game, they will need more minutes and more help from their big men if they are going to be successful against the tall trees in the Mountain West.
Next opponents
Dec. 17 vs. Univ. Texas-Arlington
Dec. 22 vs. Prairie View

Utah Utes (5-3)
Utah has the type of inside-outside game that should make them a tough match-up on any given night. They also have one of the top big men in the country in Luke Nevill. New coach Jim Boylen just needs to figure out how to make it all work well together. Highly touted transfer Tyler Kepkay scored a career-high 23 points in the loss against Oregon, but was the only double-digit scorer for the Utes. Still, look for the Utes to make some noise in conference play.
Next opponents
Dec. 15 vs. Missouri State
Dec. 22 at California

Air Force Falcons (6-4)
After a 5-0 start, the Falcons dropped the next four games before bouncing back against Prairie View. The Falcons have three players shooting better than 50 percent, but it looks like this year’s squad will take a step back from where the program has been the last few years. Three-point shooting is down this year, and the Falcons are typically lacking in size as most military schools are. It looks like a tough road is ahead.
Next opponents
Dec. 13 vs. Norfolk State
Dec. 22 vs. Colorado Christian

Wyoming Cowboys (4-3)
Former Wyoming coach Steve McClain, now an assistant coach with Colorado, didn’t have the same type of homecoming his new head coach Jeff Bzdelik had when he returned to face the team he coached last season. Bzdelik and the Colorado Buffaloes were able to knock off Air Force, but they came up short against the Cowboys last week in a good early win for Wyoming. They have the best backcourt in the conference. Brandon Ewing is a potential MVP for the conference and tough to contain. If they can just get a little help from the frontcourt they should be pretty good.
Next opponents
Dec. 15 vs. Montana State
Dec. 21 vs. Buffalo

Colorado State Rams (5-4)
In their first three away games, the Rams dropped all three contests by a combined total of 69 points. Poor shooting and failure to take care of the basketball were key reasons whey they were not successful. Marcus Walker has put up nearly 40 more shots than anyone else on the team but is shooting close to 50 percent. His three-point shooting has been sub-par though and will need to improve if he is going to continue to shoot out there. The Rams can put up a size advantage over most teams, so look for them to slow games down and create opportunities for their big men inside.
Next opponents
Dec. 15 at North Dakota State
Dec. 19 at Nevada

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Notebook

by Brad Best

The Mountain West Conference men’s basketball is off to a solid start in early non-conference play, with a combined record of 36-10. Going into Saturday, five teams were undefeated, but that got trimmed to two teams as BYU, San Diego State and Air Force each lost for the first time. Even so, in a year that many saw as rebuilding for the future, the conference looks to be competitive, especially considering BYU’s showing against North Carolina.

The New Mexico Lobos lead the pack with their 6-0 start. The have easily won their five home games by an average of more than 30 points per game. The only competitive contest was a seven-point victory over Colorado in Boulder. Southern Utah and Mississippi are next up on the schedule. Junior Chad Toppert and Senior J.R. Giddens are the leading scorers so far, each averaging 13 points per game. Toppert is averaging 9 points per game from beyond the arc and is shooting 53% percent from long range. Giddens is an athletic guard who can break down defenses and score inside and out, and thus far he’s doing just that.

The TCU Horned Frogs are an improving team that is off to a quick 4-0 start. With two seniors and three juniors in the starting lineup, this veteran bunch should be able to move up the standing this season. They’ve had an easy time of it so far, but they will travel to Lubbock to square off against Bobby Knight’s Red Raiders next week.

BYU has breezed through its first four opponents as expected. Then came Louisville as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. The Cardinals were minus center David Padgett, who suffered a knee injury last week as well as senior forward Juan Palacios, so BYU had a timely opportunity to face a top 10 opponent on a neutral site and made the most of it with a two-point victory. Then on Saturday night they got a chance to play No. 1 North Carolina. Junior Trent Plaisted impressed a national audience with 24 points and 17 rebounds but it was not enough to upset the Tar Heels.

Next in line is San Diego State, where freshman and transfers are making an immediate impact in the Aztecs 5-1 start. They could field a pretty solid squad simply by starting their two transfers (Ryan Amoroso and Kelvin Davis) and three true freshmen (Tim Shelton, Billy White and D.J. Gay). With that lineup, they would have three guys averaging in double figures and a fourth averaging 9 points per game. Returning players Lorenzo Wade and Kyle Spain lead the team in scoring. The Aztecs got their first real test against Cal and came up short in the second half, after holding a seven-point edge at the break.

Air Force is a bit of a surprise to be at 5-1, as Tim Anderson is the only returning starter. But with all their games at home so far and no marquee opponents, it’s hard to determine how they’ll do against tougher foes. Andrew Henke, last year’s sixth man, and Anderson are the only two scorers in double figures, but Air Force likes to control the clock and limit possessions. Most recently they knocked off winless Mississippi Valley State. Montana handed the Falcons their only defeat in the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge. The real test will come next against Washington State.

The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels had a pretty easy time in their first three contests, leading to a 3-0 start. But Louisville came to town, and even without two of their starters, they handed UNLV a 20-point defeat. This broke a 19-game home win streak for the Rebels. Wink Adams and Curtis Terry are the two most proven returning players from last season and lead the team with 12 points apiece per game. Only Matt Shaw scored in double figures for the Rebels in their loss to Louisville. UNLV rebounded nicely in defeating arch-rival Nevada by 13 on Saturday, after leading by only a point lead at the half.

The Colorado State Rams stumbled in their first game at Montana, losing by 36 points in their first game. Then they surprised Pac-10 opponent Oregon State by beating them by 13 and went on to win the Top of the World Classic. They were 3-1 going in to the Stanford on Saturday, but had a miserable first half and ended up losing by 20.

Wyoming is 2-2, having played just one game at home. Saturday night they squared off against a tough Wichita State team from the Missouri Valley Conference. At half it was a one-point game, but the Shockers’ three-point shooting helped them coast to a 12-point victory over the Cowboys. As expected, guards Brandon Ewing and Brad Jones lead the team in scoring, but it has to be disconcerting that Jones is also the leading rebounder. The Cowboys big men need to step up at least on the defensive end if the team is going to succeed.

Utah is at the bottom of the conference with a 2-2 mark. They lost on the road against Washington and then fell by 15 points at home to Santa Clara. Johnnie Bryant is leading the team in scoring with 14 points per game and is playing a valuable sixth man role. Luke Nevill is averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. More was expected of returning starter Shaun Green, who is averaging 28 minutes per game but only producing 2 points per game. Next up is Weber State.

Mountain West Preview

Mountain West Conference 2007-08 Preview

by Brad Best

The Mountain West will look a lot like the Wild West as competition for the conference crown is wide open. With many of the proven scorers in the conference gone and with more than half of the teams adjusting to new coaches, the Mountain West is up for grabs. For now it’s too early to tell which team will gel together come conference play and become the team to beat.

Last season, two Mountain West teams found surprising success in postseason play. Coach Lon Kruger and son Kevin led the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament, knocking off Wisconsin and Georgia Tech along the way. Air Force stumbled down the stretch at the end of the regular season but found new life in the NIT. They were just a basket away from making it into the finals at Madison Square Garden. This year neither team figures to have that kind of magic.

BYU appears to be the early favorite. Coach Dave Rose has excelled in his first two seasons, winning 20 games his first year and 25 games and the conference title last year. So look for the Cougars to be in the hunt for the title again this season.

Coach Steve Fisher enters his ninth season at San Diego State and is now the most tenured of all MWC coaches. Air Force’s Jeff Bzdelik left the cupboard nearly bare when he moved on to coach the Colorado Buffalos. New Mexico, TCU, Colorado State and Wyoming all gave their coaches the boot as they hope new leadership will lead to greener pastures.

Once again, look for this to be a conference in which size matters. Big men Luke Nevill at Utah and Trent Plaisted at BYU look to tower over their opponents, while the much smaller Richie Williams at San Diego State and Wink Adams at UNLV seek to speed past the competition. The table is set for another exciting season in the Mountain West Conference.

All MWC First Team
Brandon Ewing, G, Wyoming
J.R. Giddens, G, New Mexico
Lorenzo Wade, F, San Diego State
Trent Plaisted, F/C, BYU
Luke Nevill, C, Utah

Honorable Mentions: Wink Adams, UNLV; Johnnie Bryant, Utah; Stuart Creason, Colorado State; Brad Jones, Wyoming; Richie Williams, San Diego State

Conference MVP
Brandon Ewing, Wyoming

Newcomer of the Year
Ryan Amoroso, San Diego State

1. BYU Cougars
2006-07 record: 25-9, 13-3 MWC (1st place)

Projected starting five:
Jr. G Lee Cummard
Jr. G Lamont Morgan
So. F Jonathan Tavernari
Sr. F Vuk Ivanovic
Jr. C Trent Plaisted

Even with the exodus of five seniors, three of them starters, Dave Rose feels confident his team is positioned well for this year and beyond. Certainly Keena Young along with Jimmy Balderson and Austin Ainge will be missed, but there should be enough role players ready to step up and newcomers who can play for BYU to continue its successful run of the past two years.

Trent Plaisted is the returning leader in scoring and rebounding for the Cougars. Joining him in the frontcourt are 6’10″ senior Vuk Ivanovic and 6’11″ Chris Miles, who is returning from a Mormon mission. They will compete for playing time at the power forward and center positions.

In the backcourt, starter Lee Cummard returns and looks to improve upon his nine points and five rebounds per game last season. He is the team’s best three-point shooter, a solid rebounder and excellent defender. Jonathan Travernari had a solid freshman season and should end up starting alongside Cummard.

BYU has a large crop of newcomers who could make an immediate impact. Most notably, freshman Jimmer Fredette is a sharpshooter from New York who averaged 28 points per game and led his team to the state championship game last year. Chris Collingsworth was a standout at Provo High School and can play inside and outside. Junior college transfer Lamont Morgan is quick with the ball and accurate with the pass, so look for him to fill Ainge’s shoes at the point guard position.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 23 vs. Louisville
Nov. 24 vs. North Carolina
Dec. 8 vs. Michigan State
Jan. 8 at Wake Forest

With the departure of MWC Player of the Year Keena Young, Trent Plaisted and company will need to come through when it counts to repeat as conference champion and move on to the Big Dance.

2. Wyoming Cowboys
2006-07 record: 17-15, 7-9 MWC (5th place)

Projected starting five:
So. G Brandon Ewing
Jr. G Brad Jones
Jr. F Joseph Taylor
Jr. F Bienvenu Songondo
Sr. C Travis Nelson

The good news for the Cowboys is that they have the best backcourt tandem in the conference. The bad news is that this is a conference dominated by big men, and they don’t have any proven players with size.

Brandon Ewing led the conference in scoring in his sophomore season and is the frontrunner for player of the year honors this time around. He can knock down shots on the perimeter or create his own shot and finish at the rim. His versatility will help keep the Cowboys in games, especially those played at altitude. Ewing’s backcourt partner is Brad Jones, who averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game. But this dynamic duo cannot do it alone.

First-year head coach Heath Schroyer will take over the reins for Steve McClain. Schroyer was previously an assistant with the Cowboys prior to roles as head coach at Portland State and assistant coach at Fresno State. He has looked overseas to fill immediate needs.

In the frontcourt, Joseph Taylor should start at the small forward but may be pressed for playing time by Eric Platt if Schroyer employs a more up-tempo pace. Travis Nelson and Bienvenu Songondo have the size to play power forward or center but are short on experience. Newcomer Mikhail Linskens of Belgium brings his 7-foot frame to the prairie in hopes that his European game will translate into playing time and wins for the Cowboys.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 24 at Wichita State
Dec. 5 vs. DePaul
Dec. 8 vs. Colorado
Dec. 29 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Schroyer needs to improve the league’s worst defensive squad from a year ago and put fans back in the seats in Laramie. If Ewing and Jones can get some help on the inside, they could compete for the top of the conference.

3. Utah Utes
2006-07 record: 11-19, 6-10 MWC (Tie/6th place)

Projected starting five:
Jr. G Tyler Kepkay
Jr. G Lawrence Borha
Jr. F Shaun Green
Jr. F Stephen Weigh
Jr. C Luke Nevill

After more than 20 years in the business, Jim Boylen gets his first shot at a head coaching position. The former Tom Izzo assistant should add focus and defensive intensity to a talented core of players who could surprise many opponents this year.

Luke Nevill is one of the most talented big men in the country. The 7’1″ center shoots over 60 percent from the field and averaged 16 points and 7 boards per game as a sophomore. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he will be even more effective.

Shaun Green is a scoring threat from the outside and a tough perimeter matchup from the power forward position. With 64 three-pointers last season, Green cannot be left open. Johnnie Bryant is another outside complement to Nevill from the guard position, but his style of play may not fit in as well in Boylen’s scheme. Instead, junior college transfer Tyler Kepkay brings toughness and true point guard capabilities to the position. Look for Lawrence Borha to maintain his role as shooting guard with Bryant playing a valuable sixth man role.

Talented sophomore Kim Tillie should figure into the mix as well. Boylen likes his ability to play either forward position and score with his back to the basket. He suffered a broken leg last season but has played well in the team’s preseason trip to Australia.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Dec. 8 at Oregon
Dec. 15 vs. Missouri State
Dec. 22 at California
Dec. 31 at Gonzaga

The Utes underachieved under Ray Giacoletti but look for better results under Boylen. With skilled players down low and on the perimeter, the Utes will be a tough out at home and on the road this season and have a good shot at post-season play.

4. San Diego State Aztecs
2006-07 record: 22-11, 10-6 MWC (Tie/3rd place)

Projected starting five:
Jr. G Richie Williams
Jr. G Kelvin Davis
Jr. F Kyle Spain
Jr. F Lorenzo Wade
Jr. F Ryan Amoroso

The Aztecs will be missing three players who accounted for 46 points per game a season ago, but still have enough talent to be dangerous. First Team All-MWC Player Brandon Heath, who is also the all-time leading scorer in the conference, was the go-to guy in pressure situations during his entire career and will be sorely missed. Mohamed Abukar and Jerome Habel provided both scoring and rebounding in the frontcourt and will be hard to replace as well.

This should be Lorenzo Wade’s year to shine. The athletic wing who transferred from Louisville needs to come into his own in his second year in the Mountain West. He is the team’s best defender and an exciting scorer. But his awkward and inconsistent outside shot needs to improve. Kyle Spain had a promising freshman year but slumped during his sophomore season. Both his scoring and shooting percentage need to return to or surpass his first-year performance for him to stay in the starting lineup.

At the point guard position, two-year starter Richie Williams will feature prominently in the Aztecs future. Williams shot a high percentage (.458) of three-pointers last year and will need to look for his shot more often. With the addition of freshman D.J Gay and a healthy Matt Thomas available once again, there should be sufficient depth at the point guard position for this to be one of the team’s strengths. Gay averaged 29 points per game in high school and could help spark the Aztecs offense.

Newcomer Kelvin Davis has been tabbed as Brandon Heath’s replacement. Davis played a season at UTEP before moving on to Southern Idaho, where he averaged 15 points and 4 assists per game. Rivals.com ranked him as the 11th-best junior college player, so the Aztecs have high hopes for him.

Ryan Amoroso sat out last year after transferring from Marquette. With the unexpected loss of Habel, Amoroso will be the centerpiece of the Aztecs frontcourt. At 6’8″, 270 pounds, he has the girth but maybe not the height to be a defensive stopper down low. Junior Chris Lamb (6’10″, 245 lbs) will likely see more minutes this year to help slow down opposing teams 7-footers.

Sophomore reserves Jer’Vaughn Johnson and Jon Pastorek are both small forwards that may be asked to play the four spot. Johnson is tough down low and a solid rebounder, but at 6’6″ it will be a challenge for him to defend some of the larger power forwards in the league. Pastorek is a taller, thinner player who is well-disciplined and has a good outside shot but lacks the strength to out-muscle players in the paint.

Freshman forwards Billy White and Tim Shelton will both compete for playing time right away. White is a very athletic lefty who averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds per game his senior year at Green Valley High. Shelton, son of former NBA player, Lonnie Shelton, can play inside and out and is coming off an ACL injury his senior year.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 11 at Fresno State
Nov. 24 at California
Dec. 8 vs. St. Mary’s (Wooden Classic)
Dec. 22 at Arizona

An undersized, yet athletic Aztec team may struggle against the tall trees in the MWC. Overall, look for them to play an exciting brand of basketball and outscore the competition with a fast-paced attack that puts them outside the top of the conference but in the NIT.

5. New Mexico Lobos
2006-07 record: 15-17, 4-12 MWC (Tie/8th place)

Projected starting five:
Sr. G J.R. Giddens
Sr. G Jamaal Smith
Jr. G Chad Toppert
Jr. F Daniel Faris
Jr. F Monquel Pegues

New Mexico lured Steve Alford away from Iowa to replace Coach Ritchie McKay. Alford appears to be the type of big name coach that Lobos fans were hungry for, and he promises to make them a contender again.

How well the Lobos perform this season may depend on how well Alford and J.R. Giddens get along. Giddens is as talented as they come but has had on and off-court issues that have prevented him from realizing his potential.

Tony Danridge was all set to return for his senior season before suffering a broken leg in a pickup basketball game, which will delay his ability to play until January. In his absence, Roman Martinez figures to pick up the slack. He played well in the team’s games in the Bahamas in May.

While there is depth and talent in the backcourt, the frontcourt is a bit of a mystery. The Lobos will miss Aaron Johnson’s rebounding ability and toughness in the middle. Daniel Faris started 10 games last season and is more experienced than the rest of the pack. 6’10″ junior college All-American Monquel Pegues should see significant minutes as well.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 9 at Colorado
Nov. 21 vs. Hawaii
Dec. 4 at New Mexico State
Dec. 15 vs.Texas Tech

The loss of Danridge for the first half of the season may mean a rough start for Alford and the Lobos. But returning most of the talent from a year ago and adding some key newcomers to the mix should enable the Lobos to return to respectability.

6. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
2006-07 record: 30-7, 12-4 MWC (2nd place)

Projected starting five:
Jr. G Wink Adams
So. G Marcus Lawrence
Sr. F Curtis Terry
So. F Lamar Robertson
Jr. C Emmanuel Adeife

While it is still too early to know for sure, the Rebels’ Sweet Sixteen finish last season may set them up for a bigger-than-expected fall this year. Lofty expectations will be hard to reach this season with the loss of four starters. Except for Wink Adams, all the principal players, including Kevin Kruger, Wendell White, Michael Umeh and more, from their return to glory will not be on campus this season.

Prized recruit Beas Hamga was pegged as the starting center en route to the NBA, but the NCAA Clearinghouse has delayed his eligibility for another year. In the meantime, role players, redshirts and newcomers will be called upon to deliver results.

Wink Adams will continue to be a tough matchup on both sides of the ball for most guards in the conference. Marcus Lawrence will likely start at the point as he builds upon the success of his freshman season. He had more steals than turnovers and an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio but will need to shoot better to make opponents respect him as a scorer. Freshman recruit Kendall Wallace will provide depth in the backcourt.

Up front, 6’10″ transfer Emmanuel Adeife will need to adjust quickly if the Rebels are going to be a contender. Curtis Terry is the likely starter at small forward as he returns for his senior season. Lamar Robertson, a redshirt sophomore, Joe Darger, more of a three-point threat, and sophomore Matt Shaw are all about the same size and will compete for minutes.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 21 vs. Louisville
Nov. 24 vs. Nevada
Dec. 19 vs. Arizona
Dec. 30 vs. Minnesota

UNLV has too many question marks to put them on par with last season. Under Kruger’s direction, they should finish in the middle of the pack as they integrate all the new faces.

7. TCU Horned Frogs
2005-06 record: 6-25, 2-12 MWC (9th place)

Projected starting five:
Sr. G Brent Hackett
So. G Jason Ebie
Sr. F Neiman Owens
Jr. F Kevin Langford
Sr. F Alvardo Parker

Look for continued improvement from the Horned Frogs that gets them out of the cellar for the first time in their three years in the Mountain West. Coach Neil Dougherty is in his sixth season and has four returning starters and four returning reserves.

TCU won three of their final five games last year, including a big upset over Air Force, and should enter the season more confident and battle-tested than before. Kevin Langford led the team with 13 points and 6 rebounds per outing a year ago, and he could improve upon those numbers in his second year in the Mountain West.

Brent Hackett was exceptional at times and earned TCU’s first Player of the Week award last year. It is still a question mark as to who will join him in the backcourt. Sophomore Jason Ebie will get a chance but look for freshman Mike Scott to push him for minutes at the point.

At the small forward position, senior Neiman Owens averaged six points and two assists per game. His numbers need to go up, but he is not a good three-point shooter, making only 22 percent of his attempts. He is a good defender and rebounder, so the Horned Frogs will keep him in the lineup.

Junior college transfer John Ortiz will get a shot at defending the post and will compete for playing time with redshirt freshman Luke Tauscher and incoming freshman Daniel Ford.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 28 at Texas Tech
Dec. 2 vs. Oklahoma
Dec. 5 at Southern Methodist
Jan. 2 at Texas

With most of the conference in a rebuilding process, this should be TCU’s best chance to rise to the middle of the pack and pull off some upsets.

8. Air Force Falcons
2006-07 record: 26-9, 10-6 MWC (Tie/3rd place)

Projected starting five:
Sr. G Tim Anderson
Jr. G Andrew Henke
Jr. F Anwar Johnson
Sr. F Eric Kenzik
Sr. C Keith Maren

This will be a rough year for the Falcons, who have enjoyed surprising success over the past four seasons. Coach Bzdelik has moved on along with four talented starters. Jeff Reynolds comes in as the Falcons’ fourth coach in five seasons. Reynolds was an assistant to Bzdelik but will not have nearly the talent and experience suiting up for him this time around.

Lone returning starter Tim Anderson will need to move up from the supporting cast to be the leading man and improve upon his 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists last season. Andrew Henke previously played a vital sixth man role and figures to start alongside Anderson going forward. The backcourt should be the strength of the Falcons this season.

Upfront there is an undersized group of unproven players. Eric Kenzik and Kevin Maren will see more court time and try to fill the gap left by Nick Welch and Jacob Burtschi. Maren is the team’s biggest player at 6′ 8″, 240 pounds. Freshman Phillip Brown is also expected to help rebound and block shots down low.

At small forward, Anwar Johnson should move into a starting role and increase his production. The Falcons hope that incoming freshmen forward Tom Fow and guard Tyler Burke can contribute right away.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 23 vs. Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 25 at Washington State
Nov. 29 vs. Colorado
Dec. 30 at Wake Forest

The core of players that won 90 games over the last four seasons is gone, and the Falcons will fall to the bottom ranks of the conference. These Falcons won’t enjoy nearly the home court winning percentage that Clune Arena fans have enjoyed in recent history.

9. Colorado State Rams
2006-07 record: 17-13, 6-10 MWC (Tie/6th place)

Projected starting five:
Jr. G Marcus Walker
Jr. G Willis Gardner
Fr. F Josh Simmons
Jr. F Ronnie Aguilar
Sr. C Stuart Creason

Sometimes things need to get worse before they get better. It will at least seem that way for the Rams this season. Jason Smith exited for the NBA, coach Dale Layer was let go, and several players decided to seek better fortunes elsewhere.

Tim Miles from North Dakota State takes over for Layer and brings enthusiasm and energy to the head coaching position. He helped his former school reach Division I status and pulled off some big wins over Wisconsin and Marquette in the past two seasons.

Stuart Creason should come into his own this year in the absence of Smith. The 7-foot senior will be the focal point of the offense and prove that he is one of the best big men in the conference. His 10 points and 5 rebounds per game last year should go up as he assumes more of a leadership role.

Ronnie Aguilar is a back-up center with limited playing time. He could start alongside Creason if Miles elects to employ a twin-towers strategy. Freshman Josh Simmons and Andre McFarland will compete for the wing position.

Junior college transfers Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner will get strong consideration for starting roles at the guard positions, with Gardner running the point.

Schedule Highlights
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 15 at Oregon State
Nov. 24 at Stanford
Dec. 19 at Nevada
Dec. 22 vs. Colorado

The Rams lost more than 80 percent of their scoring, assists and rebounding from a year ago. This will be a long, long season for new coach Miles and company.

MWC Summary

Rebuilding and readjusting to new coaches will be prevalent throughout the conference and will lead to some tough games among the top six teams. Don’t look for anyone to run away with the conference title.

With scarcely a complete balanced team in the bunch, the Mountain West will have a number of close games and upsets throughout the season. This may be a year in which only one team makes the Big Dance and a couple of teams compete in the NIT.

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Notebook

by Brad Best

No matter whom you asked – coaches, players, the media – everyone was saying that the Mountain West Conference would be tougher this season, both in and out of conference. So far, that prediction is proving true, at least in non-conference play. Collectively, the conference’s teams are off to a 35-10 start, even though they have had more former NCAA Tournament teams on their schedule.

With early wins against Texas Tech, California, UAB, Stanford and Colorado, Mountain West teams are building a résumé for postseason play and preparing to do battle with one another come January. Last season, the NCAA made Air Force a controversial selection because the Falcons didn’t have any marquee wins. The conference is hoping to improve its chances this year and possibly even get three teams into the big dance.

San Diego State Aztecs (7-0, 0-0)
The Aztecs are showing signs of being a good team. They are finding ways to win when they don’t bring their A game, and they are beating the teams they are supposed to beat. Last week, the Aztecs knocked off a Pac-10 team for the first time since 2000 and are off to their best start in 22 years. JuCo transfer Jerome Habel has filled much of the scoring and rebounding void left by Marcus Slaughter, and Louisville transfer Lorenzo Wade is proving to be a valuable addition on offense and defense. Senior Brandon Heath was named the most valuable player of the Shamrock Invitational, which the Aztecs won, and he was also the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week.

New Mexico Lobos (4-0, 0-0)
Coach Ritchie McKay is easing his team into the season with favorable match ups, and they haven’t left the friendly confines of the Pit. This combination has translated into four predictable victories for the Lobos, each by at least 24 points. Although their résumé includes wins against two Big 12 teams – Colorado and Kansas State – the Lobos have not faced any noteworthy challengers. New Mexico State and Texas Tech should prove to be tougher tests in the upcoming weeks. Kansas transfer J.R. Giddens is averaging 20 points per game and will be a difference-maker among the many new faces in the Lobos’ lineup.

Air Force Falcons (6-1)
With four returning starters in addition to a healthy Nick Welch – an All-MWC performer during the two years before leg and foot injuries forced him to sit out last season – the Falcons are an experienced team and have had an excellent start. Their lone loss was against Duke. Air Force faces Wake Forest this week at home. This season is coach Jeff Bzdelik’s second, and he should have a better grasp of the Princeton-style offense. All five starters have double-digit scoring averages, even for the low-scoring style of play that Air Force uses. Three players have 15 or more three pointers.

TCU Horned Frogs (4-1)
The Horned Frogs had a disappointing first season in the Mountain West and will struggle again this year. They will need to rack up some wins early to still look respectable by the end of the year. They have not beaten any teams of consequence, but at least the Horned Frogs are winning. Upcoming games against Texas Tech and Oklahoma will give us a better indication of TCU’s competitiveness this season. Transfers Ryan Wall from New Mexico and Kevin Langford from California are the team’s two leading scorers.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (4-1)
The Runnin’ Rebels lost at home to Santa Barbara, which is not a good sign. Wins against Washburn and Eastern Washington are not likely to mean much to anyone. Their most challenging non-conference games are still to come. UNLV travels to Arizona this week and then to Nevada. Beating either the Wildcats or Wolf Pack would make a much stronger statement and boost the team’s confidence. Sophomore Jo’Van “Wink” Adams continues to impress. Kevin Kruger has played in only two games because of a sprained ankle.

BYU Cougars (3-1)
With a loss at UCLA as the only blemish on their record, the Cougars are continuing where they left off at the end of last season. Seniors Keena Young and Jimmy Balderson lead the team in scoring. Sophomore sensation Trent Plaisted is starting to hit his stride, putting up 19 points and 12 rebounds in the win against Southern Utah. BYU hits the road Dec. 9 to face Michigan State. In the meantime, the Cougars will face Boise State and Weber State.

Wyoming Cowboys (3-1)
In early action, the Cowboys have split two games against UAB, with each team winning at home. Wyoming also roughed up Boise State and Montana at home. Looking forward, Wichita State presents a tough test Dec. 9. In terms of scoring, it’s been all about the backcourt. Sophomore Brandon Ewing and Junior Brad Jones are averaging more than 20 points per game and are carrying the team’s scoring load. The Cowboys will miss Justin Williams up front and will need to find a way to replace his dominant defense and scoring ability.

Colorado State Rams (3-2)
Jason Smith averages a double-double, but he’ll need more help from his teammates if the Rams want to improve this season. Smith is a junior 7-foot NBA prospect. Only one other player, Tyler Smith, has a scoring average in double figures. The Rams started 11-2 last season before crumbling during conference play. With an average, at best, start to this season, they don’t appear ready to challenge the top teams in the conference.

Utah Utes (1-3)
What has happened to Utah? The Utes used to be a perennial contender for the conference crown but haven’t shown many signs of life this season. They recorded their first win against Rice Saturday. Before that, they had been beaten down by Southern Utah, Santa Clara and Colorado. Sophomore center Luke Nevill leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Johnnie Bryant tied his career high of 28 points against Rice, so that’s at least a little encouragement. Upcoming games against Weber State and Washington State will show us what the Utes are made of.

Mountain West Preview

Mountain West Conference 2006-07 Preview

by Brad Best

With most of the top talent returning for another helping of collegiate competition, this looks to be a resurgent year for men’s basketball in the Mountain West Conference. Quality freshman recruits, impressive transfers and upperclassman leadership should add up to some real conference shootouts and well-fought battles on the hardwood.

Last season, the San Diego State Aztecs lived up to their potential and claimed the Mountain West Conference title for the first time. They went on to win the Mountain West Conference tournament and secure an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. But repeating as champions will be harder this year, even though they return four starters.

Big men will play a pivotal role in conference play this season. The Mountain West has more than its share of seven-footers, which will present interesting match-ups against some of the smaller squads. Colorado State’s Jason Smith is back for his junior season while Utah’s Luke Nevill and BYU’s Trent Plaisted are looking to become stars as sophomores.

But the guards will have something to say about the final score as well. Brandon Heath, last season’s MWC Player of the Year, returns to lead a rising San Diego State squad. Newcomer Kevin Kruger looks to help his father, Coach Lon Kruger, put UNLV back in the spotlight. And Kansas transfer J.R. Giddens is set to lead a lot of new but talented Lobos in New Mexico.

All-MWC First Team
Brandon Heath, G, San Diego State
J.R. Giddens, G, New Mexico
Kevin Kruger, G, UNLV
Trent Plaisted, F/C, BYU
Jason Smith, C, Colorado State

Honorable Mentions: Nick Welch, Air Force; Luke Nevill, Utah; Jacob Burtschi, Air Force; Mohamed Abukar, San Diego State; Brandon Ewing, Wyoming

Conference MVP
Brandon Heath, San Diego State

Newcomer of the Year
J.R. Giddens, New Mexico

1. San Diego State Aztecs
2005-06 record: 24-9, 13-3 MWC (1st place)

Projected starting five:
Brandon Heath, Sr. G
Richie Williams, So. G
Kyle Spain, So. F
Mohamed Abukar, Sr. F
Jerome Habel, Jr. C

The Aztecs return four starters and Coach Steve Fisher just inked a contract extension. This bodes well for their chances this year and beyond. Conference Player of the Year Brandon Heath should continue to light up the scoreboard and should get plenty of help from his teammates.

The small forward position should be a mismatch in favor of the Aztecs on most nights. Kyle Spain looks to be an emerging star who can play both inside and out. Louisville transfer Lorenzo Wade will likely come off the bench but will get plenty of minutes. He can slash his way to the rim or pull up for a midrange jump shot.

Down low, junior college recruit Jerome Habel will attempt to replace the rebounding void left by Marcus Slaughter, who submitted his name for the NBA draft but ended up playing in Turkey. Mohamed Abukar was a key component of last year’s success and is primed for a great senior season if his shins are healthy enough for him to practice and play.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 10-12 Shamrock Invitational
Nov. 18 vs. California
Dec. 9 vs. Arizona
Dec. 21 at Washington State

After last year’s success as well as the disappointment of a first round NCAA tournament loss, the Aztecs are hungry for more and are poised to position themselves atop the Mountain West once again. Their bench is not as deep this year, but their battle-tested starters will provide a formidable challenge to any team on the schedule.

2. Air Force Falcons
2005-06 record: 24-7, 12-4 MWC (2nd place tie)

Projected starting five:
Tim Anderson, Jr. G
Matt McCraw, Sr. G
Dan Nwaelele, Sr. F
Jacob Burtschi, Sr. F
Nick Welch, Sr. C

Nick Welch, All-MWC performer two years ago, returns after a red-shirt season to heal knee and foot injuries. He rejoins a sharp-shooting, well-disciplined team that is loaded with seniors and well-positioned for a successful run at the top.

Forward Jacob Burtschi is the leading return player in most of the statistical categories and will be counted on for another high-energy, high-productivity season. The Falcons will miss Antoine Hood, but maybe younger brother Adam will step up and replace some of his production.

Jeff Bzdelik’s second season at the helm should enable him and his players to feel more comfortable in their modified Princeton-style offense. With a bunch of mature cadets who can light it up from beyond the arc, they are a difficult match-up, especially for their out-of-conference foes.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 18 at Colorado
Nov. 29 vs. Wake Forest
Dec. 28 at George Washington

A couple of big non-conference wins could help the Falcons tournament chances. They squandered a surprise NCAA tournament bid last year but appear to be better this season. The four returning senior starters need to give it all they’ve got.

3. BYU Cougars
2005-06 record: 20-9, 12-4 MWC (2nd place tie)

Projected starting five:
Jimmy Balderson, Sr. G
Rashaun Broadus, Sr. G
Fernando Malaman, Sr. F
Keena Young, Sr. F
Trent Plaisted, So. C

Dave Rose guided the Cougars to a surprising 20-win season in his first year so the expectations are high for yet another MWC team loaded with seniors.

Trent Plaisted earned Freshman All-American honors a season ago and should be a force down low for the Cougars this season. He is the returning leading scorer and rebounder. Keena Young is another key component in the front court and will need to take some of the pressure off of Plaisted.

In the backcourt, Rashaun Broadus will need to replace Brock Reichner at the point guard position and set up his teammates for easy looks. Jimmy Balderson will move in to a starting role and will need to continue to hit big shots as his minutes increase.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 15 at UCLA
Dec. 9 at Michigan State
Dec. 16 vs. Utah State
Dec. 30 vs. Seton Hall

With the emergence of Plaisted and a strong supporting cast, the Cougars should finish near the top and get the third NCAA tournament bid from the MWC.

4. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
2005-06 record: 17-13, 10-6 MWC (4th place)

Projected starting five:
Kevin Kruger, Sr. G
Michael Umeh, Sr. G
Jo’van Adams, So. F
Tristan Parham, Sr. F
Joel Anthony, Sr. C

The Runnin’ Rebels will field perhaps the smallest lineup in the conference, which could be a tell-tale sign. Kevin Kruger brings proven Pac-10 playmaking ability to his father’s team but doesn’t help overcome the need for size.

Joel Anthony will likely get the starting nod at center, but how well will his 6-9 frame hold up against the tall trees in the MWC? Will Wendell White and Gaston Essengue become more consistent threats this year? We’ll have to wait and see.

Jo’Van Adams should continue to be a spark in the backcourt along with senior Michael Umeh, who is coming off knee surgery.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 28 at Arizona
Dec. 9 at Nevada
Dec. 22 vs. Minnesota
Dec. 28 at Texas Tech

UNLV has potential to challenge the top teams in the conference, but issues about size and consistency make it hard to pick them any higher than fourth.

5. New Mexico Lobos
2005-06 record: 17-13, 8-8 MWC (5th place)

Projected starting five:
J.R. Giddens, Sr. G
Jamaal Smith, Jr. G
Tony Danridge, Jr. F
Aaron Johnson, Sr. F
Kellen Walter, Sr. C

There are lots of new faces on Ritchie McKay’s squad as four starters exit the program. Lone returning starter Tony Danridge will need to improve his outside shooting touch and become more of a consistent scorer.

The Lobos will rely heavily on two transfers who have had their share of off-court issues. J.R. Giddens is a tremendous athlete from Kansas and should make an immediate impact on the offensive side. Aaron Johnson from Penn State is more of a defensive stopper who led the Big Ten in rebounding in his junior year.

There are question marks about the remaining pieces. Jamaal Smith is a junior college recruit who could step in at the point. Freshman Derek Oestricher, 6’11, 245 lbs, has the size the Lobos need in the middle, but is he ready?

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 14 vs. Colorado
Nov. 21 vs. Kansas State
Dec. 5 at New Mexico State
Jan. 1 at Texas Tech

The Lobos are a tough team to predict as this is simply a team that has never played together. Giddens and Johnson have the pedigree to make a difference but without a strong starting lineup it will be tough for the Lobos to earn any post-season play.

6. Utah Utes
2005-06 record: 14-15, 6-10 MWC (6th place)

Projected starting five:
Johnnie Bryant, Jr. G
Chris Grant, Jr. G
Shaun Green, So. F
Misha Radojevic, Jr. F
Luke Nevill, So. C

The Utes are one of the younger teams in conference and it will show in the final tally. Luke Nevill showed a lot of promise in his freshman year, and the 7-1 center should continue to improve on both sides of the ball.

Johnnie Bryant is a nice outside complement to Nevill. Bryant is capable of some big performances and should be more at home in the shooting guard role this year.

Seven freshmen and redshirt junior Misha Radojevic will be called upon the bear the rest of the load. The Utes will certainly miss the scoring ability of Bryant Markson and will need to find some consistent scorers in a hurry.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 21 vs. Colorado
Dec. 2 vs. Washington State
Dec. 9 at Rhode Island
Dec. 28 vs. Albany

The Utes have had a big drop-off from their Sweet 16 run just over a year ago. Coach Ray Giacoletti is looking for the right recruits and chemistry to get them back on top, but it won’t be this year.

7. Colorado State Rams
2005-06 record: 16-15, 4-12 MWC (8th place)

Projected starting five:
Tyler Smith, Jr. G
Cory Lewis, Sr. G
Freddy Robinson, Sr. F
Jason Smith, Jr. F
Stuart Creason, Jr. C

The Rams got out of the gate quickly last year and rode to an impressive 11-2 start. But injuries and mental toughness caused them to spiral down and lose 13 of their final 18 games.

Junior forward/center Jason Smith is a very talented big man who needs to avoid foul trouble and get himself and his team in the game. With the announcement of Michael Harrison’s surprise departure, Smith will be counted on more than ever.

In the backcourt, senior Cory Lewis needs to continue to distribute the ball to his teammates and play under control. If he can continue to lead the league in assists and average double digits scoring, he will be a big part of the team’s success.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 14 vs. Baylor
Dec. 2 vs. Kansas State
Dec. 9 at Colorado

The Rams didn’t schedule a tough non-conference schedule and will have trouble convincing the committee that they are worthy of an at-large bid. Jason Smith will help keep them in some games, but it won’t be enough to produce a winning season.

8. Wyoming Cowboys
2005-06 record: 14-18, 5-11 MWC (7th place)

Projected starting five:
Brandon Ewing, So. G
Brad Jones, Jr. G
Chris Anderson, Sr. F
Joseph Taylor, Jr. F
Daaron Brown, Sr. C

Last year there were rumors about Coach Steve McClain’s job being in jeopardy, but he is back for another round. The Cowboys had some early success under McClain but have fallen on trying times the last couple of years.

The strength of the team is definitely guard play. Brandon Ewing had a very successful freshman season and should improve upon his 13 points per game from a year ago. His backcourt mate is Brad Jones, a junior point guard who led the team with 3.5 assists per game.

Upfront, senior Daaron Brown has enough bulk to clog up the middle but is not a real scoring threat. The Cowboys will miss the athletic shot-blocking ability of Justin Williams, who helped disrupt the offense of opponents and keep the Cowboys within striking distance.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 22 at UAB
Nov. 26 at Colorado
Dec. 9 vs. Wichita State
Dec. 20 at Nebraska

McClain will have to work wonders if he is going to stay in the good graces of the Wyoming faithful. A lot may depend upon a couple of junior college transfers and how quickly they can get into the flow of the game.

9. TCU Horned Frogs
2005-06 record: 6-25, 2-12 MWC (9th place)

Projected starting five:
Brent Hackett, Jr. G
Neiman Owens, Jr. G
Kevin Langford, So. F
Blake Adams, Sr. F
Femi Ibikunle, Sr. C

While the TCU football team made a nice transition to the Mountain West last year and took the conference crown, the men’s basketball team had the opposite fate. The Horned Frogs lost early and often, finishing with just two wins in conference.

It doesn’t figure to get much easier this year as the Horned Frogs will need to compete without their top two scorers from a year ago. Brent Hackett is their only proven player with 10 points per game.

In the front court, Femi Ibikunle is a good defender but needs to increase his rebounds and scoring ability this year. The bright hope is that California transfer Kevin Langford will step into a starting role and lead the team.

Schedule – Key out of conference games:
Nov. 29 vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 2 at Oklahoma
Dec. 9 vs. Tulane
Dec. 30 at Colorado

The expectations are low for TCU going into this season but look for them to at least hold their home court more often and put up more of a fight than a year ago.

MWC Summary

The Mountain West conference retained much of its talent from last season and should be more competitive top to bottom in the 2006-07 season. San Diego State, Air Force and BYU appear to be a notch above the rest and will fight it out to see who finishes first.

The conference has the potential to launch a few NBA careers and should come away with more non-conference victories than in previous years. Look for the top three to compete in the NCAA tournament plus one or two teams to be invited to the NIT.

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Notebook

by John Eisel

1. San Diego State (10-6, 3-1) (LW: 5)
Comment: Yes, I know Air Force beat them, but it was by three on the road. This is a different San Diego State team than at the beginning of the season.

Last week’s results: Won at Utah 72-67, beat UNLV 83-67.

What we liked: The Aztecs came back from halftime deficits in very different ways. Against the Utes, the Aztecs had a 35-25 rebounding advantage. Against UNLV, they were 31-37 from the free throw line.

What we didn’t like: Allowing Utah to shoot nearly 50 percent from the floor isn’t great.

Star of the week: Brandon Heath – He just finds ways to score.

2. Air Force (15-2, 3-1) (LW: 1)
Comment: It may take a few more weeks now for the Zoomies to get into the Top 25.

Last week’s results: Lost at Wyoming 55-50, beat TCU 75-49.

What we liked: Beating up and blowing out an inferior TCU team at home.

What we didn’t like: The complacency against Wyoming. No, the Cowboys haven’t been great this season (at least up till then), but the Zoomies now have the target on the chest in the conference and have to show up mentally every game.

Star of the week: Jacob Burtschi scored in double figures in both games, but most impressive (at least for Air Force) was his 13 rebounds against TCU, helping the Zoomies to a rare 28-20 rebound advantage over another team.

3. Colorado State (12-4, 1-2) (LW: 4)
Comment: Offense is looking great, but try to work on the defense.

Last week’s results: Beat Utah 84-78.

What we liked: It’s amazing that a team that hit 64 percent from the field, including seven of 12 from three-point range, only won by six.

What we didn’t like: The Rams are still allowing teams to shoot too high of a percent, with Utah hitting 54 percent this week. If it’s not corrected, the Rams won’t make it out of the MWC Tournament.

Star of the week: Guard Cory Lewis put up center-like numbers, making eight of 11 shots from the field for 19 points in the win.

4. UNLV (7-6, 2-1) (LW: 5)
Comment: No San Diego miracle this year.

Last week’s results: Beat BYU 82-72, lost at SDSU 83-67.

What we liked: The Rebels are playing team ball, averaging nearly 16 assists a game, while having more than SDSU and BYU last week. BYU is the current league leader.

What we didn’t like: The Rebels are not a good 3-point shooting team at 33 percent, yet they keep chucking the ball up, going 4 for 15 against BYU and 7 of 26 against the Aztecs.

Star of the week: Since none of the Rebels had consistently good performances, we’ll go with Jo’Van Adams for his 9-for-11 shooting night for 23 points against BYU.

5. Wyoming (10-7, 3-1 MWC) (LW: 8)
Comment: Steve McClain teams win they play good defense, rebound the ball and have at least three viable options on offense. Let’s see how long this lasts.

Last week’s results: Beat Air Force 55-50, beat New Mexico 77-70

What we liked: After surprising the Falcons, the Cowboys didn’t have a let down against the Lobos.

What we didn’t like: These were still two home games. To really make a jump up the charts, the team’s going to have to beat someone other than TCU outside of Laramie.

Star of the week: Freshman Brandon Ewing earned his first player of the week honors, averaging 17 points and four assists in the two games.

6. Brigham Young (9-5, 1-2) (LW: 3)
Comment: Just give Jo’Van Adams his due and move on to the next game.

Last week’s results: Lost at UNLV 82-72.

What we liked: The Cougars played toe-to-toe with the Rebels in Las Vegas, nearly winning the game.

What we didn’t like: Letting someone hit 9 of 11 shots is bad enough, but a freshman? Jo’Van Adams is showing why he’s going to be a stud in the league for years to come.

Star of the week: We’ll split it between Fernando Malaman (13 points, three rebounds) and Brock Reichner (10 points, four rebounds).

7. Utah (8-7, 1-3) (LW: 6)
Comment: Down talent-wise or not, they’re not playing typical Utah basketball.

Last week’s results: Lost to San Diego State 72-67, lost at CSU 84-78.

What we liked: The Utes are shooting well, led by Johnnie Bryant, averaging over 50 percent over the past two games.

What we didn’t like: Utah teams have been built on rebounding and defense. Right now, they’re hit and miss on these points. They were out-rebounded by 10 by SDSU and then allowed CSU to shoot 64 percent from the field – thus their first three-game losing streak in conference play since I don’t know when. They’re also dead-last in conference play in free-throw shooting.

Star of the week: Sharpshooter Johnnie Bryant is certainly making his case for most dangerous deep threat in the conference, scoring 17 and 15 points, with most coming from three-point range.

8. New Mexico (11-6, 2-2) (LW: 7)
Comment: You don’t get credit for beating TCU at home by two.

Last week’s results: Beat TCU 56-54, lost at Wyoming 77-70.

What we liked: At least they’re still undefeated at home.

What we didn’t like: They probably should have lost to TCU, if not for the Horned Frogs’ inability to make a basket. It doesn’t help that they can’t hit free throws. They were a combined 20-36 in the two games and nine for 19 against Wyoming. That hasn’t been typical for the Lobos this season. Oh, and the Lobos are still winless on the road this season.

Star of the week: Let’s see…Chiotti or Walters, Walters or Chiotti…We’ll go with Walters, especially after his 26-point performance against the Pokes. Still, both players have reached 1,000 points for their careers.

9. TCU (4-11, 0-1) (LW: 9)
Comment: The only question right now is who will play the Horned Frogs in the 8-9 seed game at the MWC Tournament.

Last week’s results: Lost at New Mexico 56-54, lost at Air Force 75-49.

What we liked: They at least put up a fight against the Lobos, leading by seven with four minutes to go before the trap door slapped tight on the hoop and they didn’t score the rest of the game.

What we didn’t like: This team cannot put the ball in the hoop. It’s a good day if they hit 40 percent of their shots.

Star of the week: Judson Stubbs had six points and 10 rebounds against the Lobos and led the Frogs with nine points against Air Force. Yes, led them.

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Notebook

by John Eisel

1. Air Force (14-1, 2-0) (LW: 2)
Comment: When do you think the Zoomies will get the credit they deserve?
Last week’s results: Beat BYU 75-59, beat SDSU 65-62.
What we liked: On national television, Air Force beat up a pretty good BYU team. Someone has to have seen it, right?
What we didn’t like: Really, the only complaint is with the Falcons is rebounding, but that’s kind of like complaining that an offensive lineman doesn’t have 4.4 speed.
Star of the week: Dan Nwaele scored 20 points in both games, but he’s just one of four different scorers for the Falcons along with Jacob Burtschi, Antoine Hood and Matt McCraw.
What’s next: at Wyoming Wednesday, 7 p.m.; vs. TCU Saturday, 2 p.m.

2. UNLV (7-6, 1-0) (LW: 5)
Comment: If the Rebels want to be considered conference title contenders, they have to beat teams like Wyoming on the road.
Last week’s results: Won at Wyoming 88-77.
What we liked: Five different players scored in double figures against the Cowboys, including 20 by Louis Amundson.
What we didn’t like: The 3-point shooting was a little off, but besides that, you can’t complain about an 11-point conference win on the road.
Star of the week: With Wyoming trying to retake the lead early in the second half, Louis Amundson took over. He was nearly unstoppable in the first 10 minutes of the second half, on his way to a game-high 20 points as well as eight rebounds.
What’s next: vs. BYU Wednesday, 7 p.m.; at SDSU Saturday, 7 p.m.

3. Brigham Young (9-4, 1-1) (LW: 3)
Comment: Dave Rose has this cast playing a lot better than people thought they would.
Last week’s results: Lost at Air Force 75-59; beat Utah 72-60.
What we liked: Even though perennial power Utah appeared to be down going into conference play, it was an important win for the Cougars because it really validates their record, should give the team confidence and a win over a hated rival is always good, too.
What we didn’t like: Only 13,142 fans for BYU-Utah?
Star of the week: The scary thing about this team is the depth. Keena Young comes off the bench for 16 points and 11 rebounds against Air Force, then Rashaun Broadus scores 17 against the Utes.
What’s next: at UNLV Wednesday, 7 p.m.

4. Colorado State (11-4, 0-2) (LW: 1)
Comment: Don’t jump off the bandwagon. Yet.
Last week’s results: Lost at San Diego State 83-75, lost at New Mexico 83-75
What we liked: Nothing really stands out. But with the conference in such a state of flux this season, these losses might not look so bad down the season.
What we didn’t like: The Rams allowed both the Aztecs and Lobos to make more than 50 percent of their shots, this after holding opponents to less than 40 percent from the field during the pre-conference season. Making up an early big deficit is tough enough at home, let alone on the road.
Star of the week: JUCO transfer Michael Harrison is making his case for MWC newcomer of the year, scoring 21 and 12 points in the first two conference games.
What’s next: vs. Utah Saturday, 2 p.m.

5. San Diego State (8-6, 1-1) (LW: 8)
Comment: This helter-skelter teams is just par for the course for Steve Fisher’s SDSU teams. Have an awful pre-conference season and then go out and almost beat the teams with the two best records going into conference play. The eligibility of Florida transfer Mohamed Abukar has a definite hand in that.
Last week’s results: Beat Colorado State 83-75, lost at Air Force 65-62.
What we liked: It’s not so much that Brandon Heath scored a combined 43 points in the two games. He always gets his points. We’re more impressed with 15-28 shooting performance over the two games.
What we didn’t like: I understand Mohamed Abukar makes a big difference with this team, but that doesn’t justify the team’s pre-conference performance.
Star of the week: So that’s why everyone was picking Mohamed Abukar to be newcomer of the year. He had 22 points against CSU with Marcus Slaughter hurting and an efficient eight points in less playing time against Air Force because of illness.

6. Utah (8-5, 1-1) (LW: 6)
Comment: Inconsistent performances from an inexperienced team that was without senior point guard Tim Drisdom.
Last week’s results: Beat New Mexico 64-49, lost at BYU 72-60
What we liked: The held ground on the home court against New Mexico.
What we didn’t like: The team went a combined 16-31 from the free throw line in the two games. It didn’t decide the outcome of these two games, but it certainly will down the road.
Star of the week: JUCO sharpshooter Johnnie Bryant averaged 18 points in the two games last week.
What’s next: vs. San Diego State Wednesday, 7 p.m.; at Colorado State Saturday, 2 p.m.

7. New Mexico (10-5, 1-1) (LW: 4)
Comment: This team is 10-0 at home, 0-5 away from the Pit.
Last week’s results: Lost at Utah 64-49; beat CSU 83-75.
What we liked: Days after quitting the team, JUCO forward Joel Box changed his mind and said he’ll stick it out. He responded with eight points in nine minutes against the Rams.
What we didn’t like: The 15-point loss to the Utes is troubling. This is not the Utah teams of yesteryear and the Lobos still got defeated soundly, making less than a third of its shots. Unlike their non-conference schedule, the Lobos can’t play all of their games at home.
Star of the week: Mark Walters averaged 18 points in the team’s two games.
What’s next: vs. TCU Wednesday, 9 p.m. (ESPN2); at Wyoming Saturday, 1 p.m.

8. Wyoming (8-7, 1-1 MWC) (LW: 7)
Comment: Well, the Pokes won’t go winless on the road in MWC play.
Last week’s results: Lost to Denver 69-64, lost to UNLV 88-77, won at TCU 68-64
What we liked: With the fans jumping off the bandwagon, especially after two discouraging losses, Wyoming cowboy’d up and found a way to win in Fort Worth.
What we didn’t like: Losing to Denver is not acceptable in Laramie, especially when a good hunk of the ‘road’ crowd is sporting brown and gold.
Star of the week: We had a Jarrod Boswell sighting. After being a ghost his first two seasons, the sophomore had 19 points and 11 rebounds to keep the Pokes out of the MWC cellar.
What’s next: vs. Air Force Wednesday, 7 p.m.; vs. New Mexico Saturday, 1 p.m.

9. TCU (4-11, 0-1) (LW: 9)
Comment: I’m not sure if the Horned Frogs are going to win a conference game.
Last week’s results: Lost to St. Mary’s (Calif.) 65-57, lost to Wyoming 68-64.
What we liked: Chudi Chinweze had season highs in points in the two games as he comes back from major knee surgery.
What we didn’t like: Where do we start? This team has no consistent shooters. In both losses, they were under 40 percent from the field. They dropped two sizeable leads in the second half and their RPI is killing the conference.
Star of the week: Chinweze, who had 17 points, seven rebounds and five blocks against Wyoming.
What’s next: At New Mexico Wednesday, 10 p.m. (ESPN2); at Air Force Saturday, 3 p.m.

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Notebook

by John Eisel

Mountain West Power Poll

1. Colorado State (11-2)
Preseason ranking: 9
Best win: 83-82 vs. Colorado. It’s the Buffs’ only loss this season and it’s always nice to beat the in-state rival.
Worst loss: 71-67 at Kansas State. The Wildcats are 8-1 right now.
Comment: The Rams have had good big men inside for a few years. Now, they’re not turning the ball over. Dale Layer has gone from hanging by a thread to back on solid ground – at least for now. If the Rams keep it up, he’s in line for some postseason accolades.
If the season ended today: The Rams would have an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, from 5-8.

2. Air Force (12-1)
Preseason ranking: 6
Best win: 54-56 vs. Georgia Tech. The Jackets may not be a national power, but they’re still a name team.
Worst loss: 85-74 at Washington. Easy choice and at the end of the season, this loss may benefit the Falcons more than some of their wins.
Comment: This team is carrying the conference right now.
If the season ended today: The Falcons would be a 7-9 seed in the NCAA Tournament and Jeff Bzdelik would look like the coaching hire of the year in college basketball.

3. Brigham Young (8-3)
Preseason ranking: 7
Best win: 76-68 at Washington State. In four games, BYU is the only team Wazzu hasn’t beaten.
Worst loss: 83-71 vs. Loyola Marymount. Hey, it was their first game of the year.
Comment: New coach Dave Rose is certainly putting in the best players he thinks he has with no regard for who played a lot last year. BYU’s typical starting five has been Trent Plaisted, Brock Reichner, Jimmy Balderson, Fernando Malaman and Rashaun Broadus. Only Balderson had any significant playing time for BYU last season.
If the season ended today: The Cougars would miss out on the NCAA Tournament, but would get an NIT berth.

4. New Mexico (9-4)
Preseason ranking: 2
Best win: 95-52 vs. Ole Miss. Yeah, the Rebels are 9-3 but they’ve lost to the only decent teams they’ve played they’ve lost to.
Worst loss: at New Mexico State 67-61. The Aggies are not good and it hurts more since it’s an in-state rival.
Comment: The flux on the New Mexico Lobo roster keeps coming. Two junior college players left the team because of lack of playing time, including Joel Box, who was supposed to be a big force on the inside.
If the season ended today: A bunch of people in Albuquerque would be wondering what’s going on with this team.

5. UNLV (6-6)
Preseason ranking: 5
Best win: 67-61 vs. Hawaii. Sure, the Rebels lost to them later on the road, but a win against a good Hawaii team is still a win.
Worst loss: I was going to put their loss to Oregon State, when they blew a 27-point first half lead, but losing at home to Pepperdine 75-61?
Comment: Will the Rebel fans please calm down? The Rebels have played a tough schedule that will make the conference season look like a cakewalk.
If the season ended today: Lon Kruger would protest because the easy part of the schedule is coming.

6. Utah (7-4)
Preseason ranking: 4
Best win: 66-50 vs. Rhode Island. That’s not that good.
Worst loss: 69-42 at Washington State. BYU won at Washington State.
Comment: Ray Giacoletti’s honeymoon ended seconds after the 96-94 loss at Rice. Follow that up with lopsided losses to Colorado, Arizona and Washington State? And Tim Drisdom isn’t playing like he’s in his fourth year at the point.
If the season ended today: The Utes would not be going to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in 12 years.

7. Wyoming (7-5)
Preseason ranking: 8
Best win: 87-78 vs. Charlotte. It would have been a better victory last year.
Worst loss: 59-50 at Princeton. Yes, the same Princeton that only scored 21 points in another game.
Comment: Justin Williams needs someone else to step up. Everyone else is doing their own thing or figuring out what’s going on.
If the season ended today: There would be a lot of grumbling in Laramie.

8. San Diego State (7-5)
Preseason ranking: 1
Best win: UC Santa Barbara 66-54. No, I’m not kidding.
Worst loss: I would put in-town rival San Diego, but I’m going with the 66-63 loss to Illinois-Chicago.
Comment: Everyone was suckered into the team with the two first-team All-MWC players in the starting five and what we’ve gotten is the same underachieving Aztecs from the past few years. And now Marcus Slaughter is injured for the first two weeks of conference play.
If the season ended today: Steve Fisher would be long gone.

9. TCU (4-9)
Preseason ranking: 3
Best win: 71-63 against Texas Arlington.
Worst loss: I think we’ll go with the home loss to Division-II Tarleton State, 68-59.
Comment: Thank God they’re not in last year’s Conference USA.
If the season ended today: The team would go out and recruit some shooters. The team is only making 35 percent of its shots.

Non-conference First Team
Marcus Slaughter – SDSU
Jason Smith – Colorado State
Justin Williams – Wyoming
Mark Walters – New Mexico
Jacob Burtschi – Air Force

Coach of the Year – Dale Layer, CSU
Freshman of the Year – Trent Plaisted, BYU

Mountain West Preview

Mountain West Conference 2005-06 Preview

by John Eisel

Here’s the bad news for Mountain West Conference fans: Most likely, your team is down this year.

The good news? So is everybody else.

The conference lost two of its best players ever as Utah’s Andrew Bogut and New Mexico’s Danny Granger were both picked in the first round of the NBA Draft. Wyoming (Jay Straight), Colorado State (Matt Williams, Matt Nelson), BYU (Mike Hall), and even newcomer TCU (Corey Santee and Marcus Shropshire) all lost key people with inexperienced or unproven players having to take their places.

New Air Force head coach Jeff Bzdelik thought he may have avoided the other schools’ plights, but word came in the fall that Nick Welch would be lost for the season after complications from knee surgery.

That leaves San Diego State primed to make a huge jump in the standings, if they can pull together and play offense and defense.

The big change, which has led to a bunch of smaller changes, is the inclusion of TCU into the Mountain West Conference.

This has forced the abandonment of the ‘partner’ system of scheduling, in which geographically close schools would switch off Thursday-Saturday games at other geographically close schools. In its place is a Wednesday-Saturday slate that looks completely random and will be the bane of the existence of MWC fans as soon as they realize what’s happened. Wyoming at Colorado State and BYU at Utah are both on Wednesdays. I don’t think CSU or Utah really appreciates this.

Having nine teams has also forced a play-in game between the No. 8 and No. 9 teams during the conference championships – on Tuesday. The winner doesn’t play again until Thursday. So, if a 8/9 team should even upset a No. 1 team, that could mean an entire week of school lost.

Speaking of championships, this will be the last year for the Mountain West Tournament in Denver, at least for a few years, as it heads back to Las Vegas. The tourney has been hurt by lackluster local support, with Colorado State, Air Force and Wyoming generally doing lousy in the tournament and people not wanting to come to Denver just to watch basketball.

Besides a new team, the conference also has a few new coaches. The aforementioned Bzdelik probably had culture shock going from the Denver Nuggets to the Air Force Academy as he replaces Chris Mooney, who bolted after one year to Richmond. Another change was at BYU, where assistant Dave Rose stepped up to the take the reigns of the young but very talented Cougars.

Predicted order of finish:
1. San Diego State – NCAA
2. New Mexico – NIT
3. TCU – NIT
4. Utah – NIT
5. UNLV – NIT
6. Air Force
7. BYU
8. Wyoming
9. Colorado State

Preseason All-MWC
First team
C/F Justin Williams, Wyoming
F Marcus Slaughter, SDSU
G Brandon Heath, SDSU
G Antoine Hood, Air Force
G Nile Murry, TCU

Second team
F Jason Smith, CSU
G Tim Drisdom, Utah
F Bryant Markson, Utah
F David Chiotti, UNM
F Mohamed Abukar, SDSU

Conference MVP
Marcus Slaughter, SDSU

Defensive MVP
Justin Williams, Wyoming

Most improved
Austin Ainge, BYU

Newcomer of the year
Mohamed Abukar, SDSU

Freshman of the year
Lee Cummard, BYU

1. San Diego State
2004-05 record: 11-18, 4-10 MWC (6th place)
Projected starting five:
Brandon Heath, Jr. G (18.3 ppg, 3.7 apg)
Marcus Slaughter, Jr. F (17.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
John Sharper, Sr. G (6.0 ppg, 1.3 apg)
Mohamed Camara, Sr. C (2.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Mohamed Abukar, Jr. F (Transfer from Florida)

If this was any other team but San Diego State, the Aztecs would be landslide preseason favorites with two All-MWC caliber players in Brandon Heath and Marcus Slaughter. But Heath and Slaughter were All-MWC caliber players last year, and they still finished 6-10. The December gift of Mohamed Akubar could put the Aztecs over the hump.

Top Five Questions:
1. Can this team play defense?
The Aztecs allowed 74.5 points per conference game last season, by far the most in the MWC. They don’t need to be the Pistons, but they can’t be the Mavericks, either.
2. How will Mohamed Akubar contribute to the team?
A junior who will be eligible in December, Akubar showed flashes of greatness in a short period of time with the Gators and could be an overwhelming third scorer for the Aztecs. At 6-10, he could also help Slaughter on the boards. Slaughter was typically the Aztecs’ only presence on the boards, especially in conference play when SDSU was outrebounded by an average of five per game.
3. Can they be mentally tough?
The Aztecs crumbled down the stretch following its nausea-inducing loss to UNLV when it was up by ten with a minute to go. That was one of eight games it had leads with less than ten minutes to go and failed to seal the deal. They also lost four overtime games, tied for most in the nation. Champions win those games. Their mental toughness will decide whether they can live up to the potential. Slaughter and Heath were on the team last year, and they were still 11-18 overall. The Mountain West Conference is down a lot this year and team with two of its best players should be able to win it. That also means not losing to teams like Loyola-Marymount and UC Santa Barbara.
4. Will Brandon Heath start shooting better?
He led the team with 18 points a game. Then again, he only made 39 percent of his shots, including 28 percent of his 3-pointers. Brandon, start making your shots, shoot closer or pass the ball to Slaughter. The team as a whole made only 43 percent of its shots.
5. Will Steve Fisher back up his reputation?
Fisher came in as the savior of San Diego State basketball, with his national championship ring from Michigan. He came through in 2002 with an MWC tourney championship and 2003 NIT bid, then came two losing seasons. If he’s going to bring the Aztecs a conference championship, this is the year.

Schedule:
The Aztecs have a healthy mixture of big games and beatable opponents. The Top of the World tournament is lined up to have the Aztecs play either Sun Belt favorite Denver or C-USA’s Southern Mississippi. Also on the slate are California, Washington State and Providence. Those are name games the Aztecs can win, if they show up.

Postseason Hopes:
If this team plays up to its potential it should go to the NCAA Tournament by way of winning the regular season title. Then again, this looks to be a weak year for the MWC and a regular season title may not do it. Not making the NIT would be inexcusable.

2. New Mexico
2004-05 record: 26-7, 10-4 MWC (2nd place)
Projected starting five:
Mark Walters, Sr. G (10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg)
David Chiotti, Sr. F (10.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.5 apg)
Kris Collins, Sr. G (8.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.9 apg)
Tony Danridge, So. G/F (3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
Blake Harden, So. F (0.8 ppg, 0.7 rpg)

The Lobos need to prove last year’s team wasn’t Danny Granger and five other guys. The talent and experience is there to keep the Lobos in the conference race down the stretch.

Top Five Questions:
1. Will the Lobos win without Danny Granger?
They didn’t last year, when they lost at last-place BYU. The Lobos face much of the same situation as Utah does with Andrew Bogut: how to replace a player who made the difference between a mediocre team and an NCAA-caliber squad. Then again, the Lobos bring a ton of players back from last year’s squad – the Utes don’t.
2. Can Mark Walters, David Chiotti and Kris Collins carry this team back to the NCAA Tournament?
They are a talented, veteran trio. They probably gained a lot of confidence from last year’s streak through the conference tournament and how they came back to make it a game against Villanova in the first round. But they won’t have Granger as an automatic basket or foul like last year. If they make the NCAA Tourney for the second straight year, it will be as a team effort, not on the back of Granger.
3. How will Joel Box make the transition to Division I?
Hype is high for this 6-8, 250-pound junior forward, but he came from a lower-tier junior college. It’s a big enough adjustment going from a regular junior college.
4. Is New Mexico on the verge of returning to prominence?
Things are going in the right direction for this program. They have new facilities, crowd enthusiasm that is second-to-none when the team is at its peak, and nationally regarded players are starting to pay attention. Aaron Johnson of Penn State and J.R. Giddens of Kansas both decided to transfer to New Mexico.
5. But what kind of people are they bringing in?
Johnson, Giddens and another transfer, Josh Jenkins from New Mexico State, all got in trouble with the police. Johnson is actually facing battery charges on an officer and was kicked off the team. Giddens got into a bar fight in Kansas, although he’s been cooperative with police and will remain on the team. Jenkins remains suspended, as he’s had sexual assault allegations made against him. The program has tried to take the high road with all three cases, but the odds of having this kind of trouble with three recruits in the same offseason is inconceivable.

Schedule:
I was about to pan the Lobos’ schedule as being as weak as last year, when they probably needed a Mountain West Conference tournament championship to make it to the NCAA Tournament, then noticed a game I had overlooked: Dec. 10 vs. Washington in Anaheim. Sure, they still have their abundant home schedule filled with patsies and mediocre squads, but a win against Washington should carry merit.

Postseason Hopes:
Their NCAA at-large hopes could depend on the Washington game, and at home against UTEP and Oregon. The other schools they play likely won’t show if they’re NCAA-quality or not. It would be a shock if they didn’t make the NIT.

3. TCU
2004-05 record: 21-14, 8-8 CUSA (T-8th place)
Projected starting five:
Nile Murry, Sr. G (12.5 rpg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Femi Ibikunle, Jr. C (4.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
Chudi Chinweze, Sr. F (11.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
Judson Stubbs, Sr. F (6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
Brent Reese-Hackett, So. G (2.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)

TCU is the great X-Factor. No one knows what to expect from the Frogs and the Frogs don’t know what to expect from their opponents. Instead of looking up at teams like Louisville, Charlotte and Cincinnati, they should face equals in the MWC – or at least that’s the guess right now.

Top Five Questions:
1. How do the Frogs go from a superior Conference USA to the Mountain West Conference?
There’s no Louisville or Memphis in this league this year. Everyone can be beaten. Then again, everyone can beat the Frogs, too.
2. How do they deal with the altitude?
For those pointing out the football’s team success, basketball’s a different beast. The gridiron game has five-second plays. Stretch that out to at least five minutes in basketball.
3. Will the Frogs’ recent renewed success under Dougherty continue?
The team made the second round of the NIT last year after not having made the postseason since 1999. This is a program on the rise that’s poised to compete for MWC titles year after year.
4. What is the condition of Chinweze’s knee?
Chinweze went down eight games into the season last year after hurting his left knee. The surgery was successful, but many good players never come back after those kinds of injuries. His return could make the difference between the Frogs finishing in the middle of the pack or competing for a conference title.
5. How will Hackett do taking over the point guard spot?
The Frogs relied on Santee for the past three years to run their offense. With Neil Dougherty, Jr. sidelined for the first six to eight weeks of the season, they’ll find out if Hackett can hack it.

Schedule:
The non-conference schedule will more than prepare the Frogs for conference play. The Frogs will play Syracuse, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, possibly Boston College, as well as Saint Mary’s College and Colorado.

Postseason Hopes:
It all depends on how they handle the non-conference schedule. They should come in to league play with a winning record and finish in the top half of the conference. If they can pull some upsets against some big name teams and at least stay in contention for a conference title, they could be crossing their fingers in March. A second straight NIT bid is likely.

4. Utah
2004-05 record: 29-6, 13-1 MWC (1st place)
Projected starting five:
Bryant Markson, Sr. F (10.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
Tim Drisdom, Sr. G (4.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Chris Jackson, Sr. C (2.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg)
Johnnie Bryant, 6-0 So. G
Shaun Green, 6-8 Fr. F

Losing Andrew Bogut is bad enough. Bogut, the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft and winner of just about every national award they give out, will likely go down as the best player in the conference’s short history. But besides the 7-foot Australian center, the Utes also lost senior Marc Jackson, as well as Richard Chaney and Justin Hawkins, who both left the program. That’s a lot of space to fill. However, although last year’s team had a star in Bogut, its success was based on rebounding and defense, two things that come from hard work and ethic and not necessarily athleticism. And they still have Tim Drisdom.

Top Five Questions:
1. How do the Utes make up for the loss of Bogut?
No one person is going to do this. Everyone knew the ball was going to Bogut, and nobody short of Kentucky could really contain him. It’s not just the scoring, rebounding, passing or athleticism – it’s knowing that when the things weren’t going well, the ball could go down to Bogut and something good would happen.
2. Can Bryant Markson be the man?
The senior forward showed glimpses of greatness last year as he was a steady third option behind Marc Jackson and Bogut. Now the 6-6 forward will be looked to be the primary scorer for the team.
3. Will this team mesh well enough?
A lot of new or inexperienced faces will need to play right away for Utah. Markson and Drisdom can’t carry the team by themselves. True freshman Green and transfer Bryant will likely start, with another true freshman, Luke Nevill, getting plenty of minutes on the court. Luckily, they have the premier floor general in Drisdom. He’s started since he set foot in Salt Lake City and knows how to run an offense.
4. Who’s going to pick up the slack on the boards?
Markson is the leading returner with four per game, and that won’t cut it. Although everyone will have to, the big increase will likely have to come from senior Chris Jackson, who came in for spot duty for Bogut last season. At 6-11 and 245 pounds, he definitely has the size.
5. Why does the program keep losing players?
Jermaine Calvin and Jake Schmidt were true freshmen who didn’t quite pan out like coaches thought. Fine. But Richard Chaney? Justin Hawkins? These were players entrenched in the program. And this was going on before coach Ray Giacoletti came on board, under Rick Majerus.

Schedule:
The only two games that stand out are at Arizona and against Utah State. Otherwise, it’s a bunch of mediocre to just awful teams, including Division II Adams State. I know where Adams State is, do you? They better have a good showing against Arizona or an at-large bid will be tough. Then again, an easier schedule to start out with should help down the road as they’re learning to play together.

Postseason Hopes:
Except for three great games in Denver, an NCAA Tournament berth is almost out of the question. They’ve lost a lot of players, but this is still Utah and no one looks to be head and shoulders above the Utes in the conference. Expect NIT.

5. UNLV
2004-05 record: 17-14, 7-7 MWC (T-4th place)
Projected starting five:
Michael Umeh, Jr. G (9.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg)
Louis Amundson, Sr. F (7.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg)
Ricky Morgan, Sr. G (4.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Dustin Villepigue, Sr. F (3.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Jason Petrimoulx, 6-4 195 Jr. G

Year two of the Lon Kruger era begins, but with a great recruiting class UNLV fans are more excited about year three when the younger players have a year with Kruger and the MWC Tournament returns to Vegas. However, the league is not strong enough that the Rebels can’t compete for a conference title, especially if the newcomers can contribute early.

Top Five Questions:
1. How much of a difference will a season make?
Under now second-year head coach Lon Kruger, the Rebels didn’t play their best basketball until the last half of conference play, when they caught up with Wyoming to tie for fourth. With a year together, the players and coaches should go into the season knowing what to expect from themselves and each other, leading to better performance on the court.
2. Will this be the anti-Vegas team?
Sin City loves stars, but there don’t appear to be any on this team to start the season. In the Rebels’ two exhibition games, minutes were spread out and plenty of players each game scored 8-12 points. On one hand it builds team chemistry and camaraderie when everyone gets involved. But who’s the go-to guy when UNLV desperately needs a basket?
3. How good was this recruiting class?
The Rebels have at least one starter in Petrimoulx, and Joe Darger was one of the best players coming out of Utah last season. But the real take may be Jo’Van Adams, who was part of one of the best programs in the country at Gulf Shores Academy in Houston. He nearly averaged a triple double with 28 points, 12 assists and eight steals a game.
4. How will this team rebound?
With hustle and position. No one is over 6-9, which may leave them at a disadvantage against the taller teams in the league like Utah and Colorado State. They should still outrebound Air Force, though.
5. Are anybody else happier that the conference tournament is heading back to Vegas than the Rebels?
Maybe the Lady Rebels.

Schedule:
This is an NCAA Tournament-caliber schedule, no matter the conference slate: Hawaii twice, Nevada, Minnesota, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Those are name-games, both at home and away.

Postseason Hopes:
If they can survive their preseason schedule intact mentally, physically and in the standings, an NIT berth is likely.

6. Air Force
2004-05 record: 18-12, 9-5 MWC (3rd place)
Projected starting five:
Antoine Hood, Sr. G (13.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Jacob Burtschi, Jr. F (8.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.6 spg)
Matt McCraw, Jr. G (9.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.8 apg)
Dan Nwaelele, Jr. F (7.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
John Frye, Jr. C (0.1 ppg, 0.3 rpg)

Despite losing their second coach in as many seasons, things were looking up for the Falcons as they returned a ton of experience and were poised to make their second run at a conference championship in as many seasons. Then came word that Nick Welch would be lost for the season. How will Air Force respond?

Top Five Questions:
1. Can this team survive the loss of Welch?
Air Force’s recent success began with Welch’s emergence two years ago. He’s not a forward in the traditional sense, but more like a quick shooting guard in a forward’s body, providing a unique inside-outside threat.
2. How will Jeff Bzdelik make the transition from the NBA to the Air Force Academy?
Altitude’s about the same, but not much else. He’s sticking with the motion offense, something unheard of for the NBA. Instead of massaging egos and picking plays, he has to deal with recruiting, grades, academy life and perhaps actual teaching of the players. Bzdelik says he’s here for the long hall, and you’d have to believe him. A coach with an NBA pedigree could get a much more prestigious job than Air Force, so Bzdelick must have really wanted to stay in Colorado.
3. How does the program deal with its third coaching change in as many seasons?
This could have been a bigger problem than it is. Bzdelik’s sticking with the same system and the athletes don’t (or at least I hope they don’t) go to Colorado Springs because of the coach. As long as Bzdelik is committed to the offense, this could be a good move for Falcons in the long run. There will be some tweaks, as Bzdelik wants the guards to move faster up the court so opposing defenses can’t sit back and set up for their offense.
4. Will the defense improve?
With the system the Falcons run, rebounding can be a problem, so they get a pass on that. But allowing teams to make almost 48 percent of their shots? Considering how much defense has to do with the effort a team puts in and the work ethic AFA athletes have to have, that’s a shock.
5. Why don’t they play more games at the World Arena?
It can fit 8,000 people, and I’m sure is probably nicer than Clune Arena. If there’s any doubt about selling out, just force the freshman to attend the game. That will help when the NIT decides whether to call Colorado Springs or not.

Schedule:
Perhaps taking advantage of recent success, the Falcons have upgraded their schedule to include the BCA Classic in Washington and Georgia Tech at home. If things fall right, the Falcons could face the ACC’s Miami (Fl) and the host UW Huskies. The Zoomies’ schedule is still filled with some duds, though, as the schedule includes Western State and Adams State. No, Adams State is not the setting for the Revenge of the Nerds movies. I know where it is, do you? The slate isn’t great, but it won’t be such a liability as in past years.

Postseason Hopes:
This team would be battling the Aztecs for the conference championship if Welch was healthy. Now? Errrr. NIT. Maybe.

7. Brigham Young
2004-05 record: 9-21, 3-11 MWC (T-7th place)
Projected starting five:
Austin Ainge, Jr. G (9.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.1 apg)
Keena Young, Jr. F (7.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
Derek Dawes, Jr. C (4.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
Lee Cummard, Fr. G 6-6 175
Rashaun Broadus, Jr. G 6-0 195

After a down year with a young team, head coach Steve Cleveland decided to jump ship and head to Fresno State. But rather than go out of the program for a new coach, the Cougars promoted Dave Rose from assistant to head coach. Can he bring along a very young but talented team back to the top tier of the conference?

Top Five Questions:
1. Is Steve Cleveland regretting his decision to leave BYU?
The decision was a surprise, especially considering all the talent the Cougars have coming back and the problems Fresno State has historically had following NCAA rules. Then came a self-imposed NCAA ban by the Bulldogs for infractions. Before last season, the Cougars had a streak of good to great seasons, and they seemed to be really making headway with recruiting.
2. Will the Cougars turn the Marriott Center back into a place to fear?
Before last season, Provo was a loss for a few seasons. Teams knew they’d lose. Then last year, it turned into a place where visiting conference foes had to get a win. The first thing that happens when a bad team turns good is that home winning percentages skyrocket.
3. They have to shoot better, don’t they?
BYU fans better pray that they do. They made 42 percent overall, less than 40 in conference play. Last year the team’s top three scorers made less than 40 percent of their shots. This comes back to a young team not executing plays or forcing shots.
4. Who’s going to start?
That’s kind of up in the air now. What’s up in the projected starting lineup will almost certainly be wrong. The Cougars have players at all positions and a few who can play multiple positions. Coach Rose said he’ll take a few games before he makes a decision.
5. Was hiring Rose the right choice?
Probably. Administrators obviously liked the direction of the program and saw Rose as the obvious choice to keep things going. Rose was mainly involved with defense and recruiting in his eight years under Cleveland. Before that, he had a very successful stint at Dixie College. He was also a captain of the Phi Slamma Jamma teams with Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler at Houston.

Schedule:
This is a schedule for a young team to make themselves feel good about themselves. The toughest game is at Utah State and includes trips to Los Angeles to face the Trojans and Spokane to face Washington State. It likely won’t carry much weight in March, but it’s more important to gain confidence than a good RPI.

Postseason Hopes:
The Cougars have enough gimme games in the preseason that if they can turn things around enough, they may be able to make an NIT appearance, especially with the Cougars’ outstanding yearly attendance. Outside of three great days in Denver, an NCAA bid is not going to happen. Next year, Cougar fans.

8. Wyoming
2004-05 record: 15-13, 7-7 MWC (T-4th place)
Projected starting five:
Justin Williams, Sr. F (8.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Steve Leven, Jr. F (8.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.6 apg)
Derek Wabbington, Sr. C (6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
Brandon Ewing, Fr. G 6-2 190 (Incoming freshman)
Brad Jones, So. G 6-0 170

Players leaving the program, recruits not developing and recent graduation have left the Cowboys with a bunch of players the fans just don’t know. Their entire starting five will likely go into the season with a year or less experience being out on the floor with the team. Someone needs to lead this horse or they’ll just be wandering aimlessly.

Top Five Questions:
1. How will the Cowboys fare off the Straight path?
For four years PG Jay Straight led the Cowboys, for better or for worse. Now the team needs to find someone else to do just about everything.
2. Will the real Steve Leven please stand up?
Leven started the season on fire, providing the Cowboys with desperately needed scoring punch. However, he never really recovered after injuring his knee early in the season. The Pokes need Leven at 100 percent – the entire year.
3. Who’s going to dribble the ball up the court?
Stepping in for a former Chicago prep star is… another former Chicago prep star. True freshman Brandon Ewing appears to be the starting point guard, giving him a great opportunity to be MWC newcomer of the year.
4. Who’s going to score?
Leven, hopefully. Williams just by default. Any other volunteers?
5. How much longer will Wyoming fans put up with losing?
The Poke fans are more tolerant than, say, UNLV fans, some of whom are already calling for Kruger’s job, but the Cowboy faithful are grumbling about Steve McClain. Another sub-par season and those grumbles will turn to shouts.

Schedule:
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southern Illinois and likely matchups against Charlotte in the BCA Tournament highlight the schedule. However, the team doesn’t have a real marquee game and playing CU-Colorado Springs doesn’t look good on the schedule.

Postseason Hopes:
Unless they have three great days in March in Denver, they’re not going to the NCAA Tournament. The conference is so mediocre, however, an NIT bid is possible, but not likely.

9. Colorado State
2004-05 record: 11-17, 3-11 MWC (T-7th place)
Projected starting five:
Jason Smith, So. F (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Ryan Brown, Fr. G (Redshirted)
Freddy Robinson, Jr. G/F (DNP in 2004-05 due to injury)
Michael Harrison, Jr. F 6-10 215
Corey Lewis, Jr. G 6-0 175

Matt Nelson is gone. The giant who nearly single-handedly carried the Rams to a conference championship as a sophomore struggled through two injury-marred seasons and Colorado State finished last in the conference both seasons. But Dale Layer says this team is deep and the Rams believe they’ll escape the cellar – as long as they avoid the injuries that have crippled the team the past two seasons.

Top Five Questions:
1. What will Layer have to do to keep his job?
Layer enters the season as the Mountain West Conference coach with the hottest seat. Going to the NCAA Tournament loses its luster quickly when you finish last two years in a row. The program has suffered from attrition. The fans are apathetic, which is worse than being angry.
2. How will all the new players mesh?
With graduation and players leaving the team, the Rams brought in nine new players to the team. Some teams are in the conference are in the same situation as Colorado State, but they’ve also had more success than the Rams, too.
3. Will the Rams stop turning the ball over?
Colorado State had over 100 more turnovers than their opponents last season, a difference of four a game. In conference play, the difference was just over 4.75 more turnovers a game. They lost their conference games by an average of six points. It makes a difference.
4. Will the Rams win a road game?
I hope so. Their first regular season game is at Northern Colorado, about a half hour to the east. If they can’t win there, I don’t know.
5. How much will Michael Harrison help?
A JUCO All-American, Harrison should team up with Smith to make a potent 1-2 scoring punch in the frontcourt. But Colorado State’s problems the past few years haven’t been in the front court.

Schedule:
A trip to the Rainbow Classic highlights non-conference play. The Rams also welcome Auburn and travel to Kansas State, while welcoming a Pepperdine team that is down.

Postseason Hopes:
Let’s see a few road wins before we talk postseason, Ok? Baby steps. Baby steps.

Mountain West Recap

Mountain West Conference 2004-05 Recap

by John Eisel

2005 was the year of the Utah Utes in the Mountain West Conference.

After Alex Smith led the football Utes to an undefeated season, a blow out win in a BCS bowl and a No. 4 ranking at the end of the season, Andrew Bogut took the basketball to a play no other Mountain West team had gone before – the Sweet 16.

But 2005 was a down year for the Mountain West Conference overall. BYU fell in the tank, marquee wins were few and teams lost games that most would expect they should win.

Many different news groups and publications named Bogut national player of the year as he led Utah to unparalled success in the Mountain West Conference this past season. They won all but one game, a trip to the Pit against an ultra-hot New Mexico team. Utah (27-5) spent most of the season in the Top 25, peaking near the end of the season and finishing at 17 (AP) and 18 (Coaches).

The Lobos (26-7, 10-4) rebounded nicely from Danny Granger’s back injury at the beginning of the season to overtake Air Force for second place outright in the conference.

The Falcons (18-12, 9-5) proved 2004 was no fluke, finishing third in the conference. They had the league’s third-longest winning streak for a short time, before it was ended by Utah. Like most Air Force teams of the past, these Falcons couldn’t rebound over their more-athletic competition, but they won by forcing turnovers. Overall, teams averaged seven more a game than the Falcons.

UNLV (17-14, 7-7) didn’t live up to expectations, despite a bevy of experienced players. The team didn’t seem to come together until its miracle game against San Diego State, when they overcame a 10-point deficit in 28 seconds to beat the Aztecs 93-91 in overtime. After a very slow start, UNLV rebounded to win a few games down the stretch to take fourth in the conference.

Wyoming (15-13, 7-7) had a chance to finish fourth outright, possibly third, but an overtime loss at Colorado State late in the year dashed those hopes. Still, the Cowboys were picked to finish last in the preseason poll, so they exceeded expectations. Jay Straight capped a stellar career with perhaps his most complete season, while Justin Williams lived up to the hype as preseason newcomer of the year.

San Diego State (11-18, 4-10) collapsed down the stretch. After beating BYU and UNLV on the road to start the season, the Aztecs lost their last six conference games, starting with the aforementioned meltdown against UNLV. The Aztecs had the league’s worst defense, allowing nearly 75 points a game.

Colorado State (11-17, 3-11) could never get anything going. Despite having enough size down low to compete against an NBA team, they made barely 44 percent of their shots and were actually outrebounded in conference play. Turning the ball over five times a game didn’t help matters.

Promise didn’t translate into wins for BYU (9-21, 3-11). The Cougars had plenty of young talent, but they always found a way to make the crucial mistake that would crush their chances of winning. Baskets were a valued commodity in Provo: the Cougars shot below 40 percent from the field in conference play.

Mountain West Conference Tournament

The conference went almost as expected in the first round. Utah routed Colorado State while New Mexico beat BYU and UNLV dispatched Wyoming. The big surprise was San Diego State’s upset over Air Force, as the Falcons had beaten San Diego State on the road by 20 points just 12 days earlier.

The second round followed suit, with Utah beating UNLV and New Mexico toppling the upstart Aztecs. Then in the championship, with an NCAA Tournament bid likely on the line, the Lobos upset Utah 60-56 for the automatic berth.

Postseason

Despite having three teams (Air Force, UNLV, Wyoming) with a record over .500 that didn’t make it to the NCAA Tournament, only UNLV was invited to the NIT. The Rebels beat the Pac-10′s Arizona State before falling to eventual champion South Carolina on the road.

In the NCAA Tournament, Mountain West Conference fans were calling for New Mexico’s neck around halftime of its first round game against Villanova. The Lobos were down 34-11 and thoroughly embarrassing a league that would like to think of itself as more than a mid-major. But the Lobos battled back as Villanova went ice-cold from the field, before succumbing by a 55-47 score in the team’s first NCAA Tournament game in six years.

Utah actually had a tougher time in its first round game against UTEP than in its 67-58 second round upset victory over Oklahoma to put move into the Sweet Sixteen. There, the Utes met Kentucky, which has an annoying tendency of ending Utah’s runs in the NCAA Tournament. Bogut went ice-cold from the floor as Kentucky rotated in big men en route to a 62-52 win over the Utes.

Mountain West Conference postseason honors

First team
Andrew Bogut, C, Utah.  That was pretty easy.
Danny Granger, F, New Mexico.  Look at the Lobos with and without Granger.
Jay Straight, G, Wyoming.  He led the league in assists in conference play.
Marcus Slaughter, F, San Diego State.  He’d get more notoriety if he weren’t playing in San Diego State. The Aztecs just aren’t part of the immediate consciousness of the rest of the conference.
Odartey Blankson, F, UNLV.  Despite the Rebels’ struggles this year, Blankson was still in the top six in points and rebounding.

Newcomer of the year
Justin Williams, F, Wyoming. Best shot-blocker in the conference, can also be counted on for 8.9 points and seven rebounds a game.

Coach of the year
Ray Giacoletti, Utah. In his first year, the Utes were the most dominant team this conference has ever seen.

Player of the year
Bogut. Despite only playing two years, he’ll be thought of as one of the best players the conference has ever had.

Team recaps

1. Utah (27-5, 13-1)
MVP: C Andrew Bogut (20.4 ppg, 12.2 rpg)
Top scorer: Bogut (20.4 ppg)
Top rebounder: Bogut (12.2 rpg)
Top assist man: G Marc Jackson (3.7 apg)

Starters leaving:
Bogut (declared early for NBA) (20.4 ppg, 12.2 rpg)
Jackson (graduation) (10.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.7 apg)
F Justin Hawkins (leaving school) (8.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 apg)

Key players returning:
G Tim Drisdom (4.7 ppg, 3.1 apg)
G/F Richard Chaney (7.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
F Bryant Markson (10.4 ppg, 3. 9 rpg)

News:
Besides the graduating Marc Jackson, Ute fans figured Andrew Bogut would bolt for the NBA after winning virtually every single award for the top college basketball player. What they might not have expected is that three players – forward Justin Hawkins and freshmen Jake Schmidt and Jermaine Calvin – would be taking off. Schmidt and Calvin rarely saw the floor, but Hawkins would have been the team’s second-leading scorer if he had returned.

Outlook:
Next year’s Utes will have a completely new look with the loss of star Bogut and floor general Jackson. How the remaining players on the team step up will decide if the Utes can come close to replicating this year’s success.

2. New Mexico (26-7, 10-4)
MVP: F Danny Granger (18.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.4 apg)
Top scorer: Granger (18.8 ppg)
Top rebounder: Granger (8.9 rpg)
Top assist man: Kris Collins (2.9 apg)

Starters leaving:
Granger (graduation)
Troy DeVries (graduation) 11 ppg, 2.5 apg
Alfred Neale (graduation) 10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Key players returning:
G Mark Walters (10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg)
F David Chiotti (10.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg)

News:
As if the Pit didn’t need to be a little bit more daunting, the school decided to move the student section down to the floor. Freshman Sean Phaler left the team to be with his ailing father. Also, it looks like forward Aaron Johnson, who led the Big Ten in rebounding with woeful Penn State, will walk-on with Arizona, as opposed to taking a scholarship offer at New Mexico or with St. Joe’s.

Outlook:
The Lobos are in the same predicament Utah is, except everyone saw what the Lobos looked like without Danny Granger in the early part of the conference season.

3. Air Force (18-12, 9-5)
MVP: F Nick Welch (12 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.0 apg)
Top scorer: G Antoine Hood (13 ppg)
Top rebounder: F Jacob Burtschi (4.3 rpg)
Top assist man: Welch (3.0 apg)

Starters leaving:
Tim Keller (graduation) (7.2 rpg, 2.2 rpg, 2.8 apg)

Key players returning:
Welch (12 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.0 apg)
Hood (13 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Burtschi (8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.1 apg)
G/F Dan Nwaelele (7.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg)

Outlook:
Very, very good. If the Falcons can pull down a few more rebounds a game, they should be at the top of the league with the amount of talent it has. It would also help if they had a halfway challenging non-conference schedule, so it might have a decent RPI.

4. UNLV (17-14, 7-7)
MVP: F Odartey Blankson (17.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Top scorer: Blankson (17.5 ppg)
Top rebounder: Blankson (8.1 rpg)
Top assist man: PG Jerel Blassingame (5.5 apg)

Starters leaving:
Blankson (graduation) (17.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.2 apg)
Blassingame (graduation) (8.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 5.5)
G-F Romel Beck (graduation) (13.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg)

Key players returning:
G Michael Umeh (9.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg)
F Louis Amundson (7.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 0.4 apg)

Outlook:
The Rebels could have made things a lot easier on itself by winning this past year. Blankson was an all-conference player and Blassingame could have been. Maybe this could be the start of a good thing, with coach Lon Kruger bringing in his guys with a very talented class of recruits, instead of dealing with a bunch of players who like to shoot a lot and occasionally play defense.

5. Wyoming (15-13, 7-7)
MVP: PG Jay Straight (18 ppg, 5.4 apg, 3.4 rpg)
Top scorer: Straight (18 ppg)
Top rebounder: C Alex Dunn (8.6 rpg)
Top assist man: Straight (5.4 apg)

Starters leaving:
Straight (graduation) (18 ppg, 5.4 apg, 3.4 rpg)
Dunn (graduation) (9.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
SG Dion Sherrell (graduation) (11.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 apg)

Key players returning:
F Justin Williams (8.9 points, 6.8 rpg)
G Jerry Webb (5.6 points, 4.4 rpg)
G Steve Leven (8.4 points, 2.1 rpg)

News:
Assistant coach Leroy Washington decided to leave Laramie for Idaho, where he will be in charge of recruiting. The Cowboys are expected to bring in former Colorado player and current Northern Colorado assistant Shaun Vandiver.

Outlook:
The Cowboys need a lot of players to step up next year with its top three scorers leaving. Justin Williams should be better just by having a year of Division I play under his belt. Steve Leven never got over an early knee injury and it showed with his generally dismal shooting performances toward the end of the year. Wyoming needs him to be at his early-2005 form, when he was the Pokes’ top shooter.
Wyoming’s biggest question mark comes at point guard. Jay Straight played most of the time, not allowing true freshman Abdullah Lawal to get any time on the floor.

6. San Diego State (11-18, 4-10)
MVP: F Marcus Slaughter (17.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Top scorer: G Brandon Heath (18.3 ppg)
Top rebounder: Slaughter (9.0 rpg)
Top assist man: Heath (3.7 apg)

Starters leaving:
C Chris Manker (graduation) (6.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F Chris Walton (graduation) (6.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.5 apg)

Key players returning:
Slaughter
Heath

News:
Slaughter declared for the NBA Draft, but did not hire an agent at press time. He’s not projected to be a first round pick, so there’s a good chance that he will be back.

Outlook:
Well, that depends. The Aztecs should have enough talent with Slaughter and Heath to win the conference outright – if Slaughter returns. Even if he does return, Aztec coach Steve Fisher has to get this team to play defense consistently. Allowing the other team to shoot .462 from the field won’t cut it. Still, this team should not finish in the bottom four of this conference next year.

7. Colorado State (11-17, 3-11)
MVP: C Matt Nelson (15.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Top scorer: Nelson (15.8 ppg)
Top rebounder: Nelson (5.9 rpg)
Top assist man: Micheal Morris (2.2 apg)

Starters leaving:
Nelson (graduation) (15.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F Matt Williams (graduation) (11.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.7 apg)

Key players returning:
F Jason Smith (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.7 apg)
G Sean Morris (8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.0 apg)
G Micheal Morris (7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.1 apg)

News:
6-10 sophomore Stephen Verwers, who was highly recruited out of Texas, will transfer to Hawaii. Also, assistant coach Pat Eberhart left the team to take over at Colorado State-Pueblo.

Outlook:
If they weren’t winning with Matt Nelson, they probably aren’t going to win without him. That won’t be good news for coach Dale Layer, who likely will be sitting on a very hot seat next season.

8. BYU (9-21, 3-11)
MVP: If I have to… G Mike Hall (13.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg)
Top scorer: Hall (13.9 ppg)
Top rebounder: F Keena Young (5.6 rpg)
Top assist man: Austin Ainge (4.1 apg)

Starters leaving:
Hall (graduation) (13.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F-C Jared Jensen (graduation) (8.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, .4 apg)

Key players returning:
Ainge (9.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.1 apg)
G Mike Rose (7.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.0 apg)
Young (7.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F Garner Meads (4.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.5 apg)

News:
Coach Steve Cleveland left the BYU job for Fresno State, with assistant coach Dave Rose moving up to take the top spot.

Outlook:
I don’t quite understand Cleveland’s move from a good job at BYU, where he’s had plenty of success, to Fresno State, which is just a scandal waiting to happen. Oh, well. BYU can’t be this bad next year, because they’re too talented and they were too young last year. A rise to the top of the league is unlikely, but general mediocrity is not.

And for next year’s addition, TCU:

TCU (21-14, 8-8 Conference USA)
MVP: G Corey Santee (14.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg)
Top scorer: Santee (14.3 ppg)
Top rebounder: F Chudi Chinweze (6.9 rpg)
Top assist man: Santee (3.6 apg)

Starters leaving:
Santee (graduation) (14.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg)
G Marcus Shropshire (graduation) (11.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.2 apg)
F Aaron Curtis (graduation) (7.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)

Key players returning:
G Nile Murry (12.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg)
Chinweze (11.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.1 apg)

Outlook:
The Horned Frogs could come in and win the Mountain West Conference in its first season after finishing in the middle of the pack of a superior Conference USA.

2005-06 All-MWC Preseason first team
F Marcus Slaughter, SDSU
G Nile Murry, TCU
F Nick Welch, Air Force
G Antoine Hood, Air Force
F Justin Williams, Wyoming

Mountain West Tournament Preview

Mountain West Conference Tournament Preview

by John Eisel

I don’t understand the reasoning behind the time schedule for the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, in terms of both exposure and ticket sales.

Wyoming will have the most fans buying tickets for the games, yet the conference has them playing at 2:30 p.m.? Considering the driving or flying time most of the Poke fans will have to go through, wouldn’t it make more sense to put the game at a time that they could actually attend, either the 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. game?

Also, the conference wants to market New Mexico and show NCAA selection committee members what a great team they are. Then why aren’t they on the 10 p.m. ESPN game with BYU? Instead, they get the ESPN regional game, which will be seen live by people in New Mexico and Utah.

Then with the ESPN game, they put Air Force-San Diego State instead of showcasing the best team in the conference, Utah. The Utes may be in, but they’re still fighting for a good seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. A better seed usually means an easier opponent and a better chance for the Utes to get out of the first round.

Besides, the Falcons’ Princeton-style motion offense doesn’t exactly make for thrilling television and the teams’ last meeting ended in a 20-point rout.

Or maybe its a shot at ESPN for shoddy coverage of the Big Monday games, who knows? But it certainly doesn’t make sense for the conference.

Now to the games.

If history has shown anything about the Mountain West Conference Tournament, its that the hottest team that needs to win the tournament is going to win. Colorado State two years ago. San Diego State three years ago.

First Round (Thursday)

Utah vs. Colorado State, Noon
The Rams will stay with the Utes for about a half before Utah pulls away for the 15-point win.

UNLV vs. Wyoming, 2:30 p.m.
For whatever reason, the Rebels always seem to put everything together for the MWC Tournament, well, at least until the championship game. UNLV by five.

New Mexico vs. Brigham Young, 7 p.m.
Lobos try to run it up as they look for style points from the NCAA Tournament committee. New Mexico by 15.

Air Force vs. San Diego State, 10 p.m.
The young Aztecs don’t have the discipline to stay with the Falcons. Air Force by eight.

Semifinals (Friday, March 11)

Utah vs. UNLV – 7 p.m. – I am sorely tempted to take UNLV, just because I haven’t picked an upset yet and UNLV always plays well in the tournament. But I’m going to fight temptation, just because it never seems like Andrew Bogut has a really bad night. Utes by five.

New Mexico vs. Air Force, 10 p.m. – Hey, here’s the ESPN showcase for the Lobos. And they’ll win, because Danny Granger is that good.

Championship (Saturday, March 12)

New Mexico vs. Utah
It’s impossible to go through this many games without an upset, so here it is. Because the Lobos need it a lot more than the Utes, New Mexico wins on a short jumper by Granger as time runs out as New Mexico secures the automatic bid.

NCAA Tournament
Sixth seed: Utah
12th seed: New Mexico

NIT
Air Force (19-12) goes somewhere, because its gym is too small.
UNLV (16-13) hosts a game, because they have a lot of paying customers for their games.

I have no idea about Wyoming (15-13). I think an NIT berth will come down to the UNLV-Wyoming game.

Staying home

San Diego State (10-18) is wondering what happened after the first two games of the conference season.
Colorado State (11-17) will just go out and recruit more seven-footers.
BYU (9-21) just wants a summer for all the young talent to gel and mature.

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Notebook

by John Eisel

Mountain West Conference Power Poll

1. Utah (22-3, 10-0 MWC)
It almost seems pointless continuing. It’s Utah and then everybody else. Hopefully they can actually win an NCAA Tournament game- they’d be only the third in conference history. That’s not good.

2. New Mexico (18-6, 5-4)
Since the Lobos’ preseason schedule was losses to Wake Forest and Oregon and a bunch of so-what wins, Danny Granger’s injury has limited the Lobos’ NCAA Tournament hopes to three days in Denver. Now they need to hope they can catch Wyoming or Air Force for the No. 3 seed in the tournament to avoid Utah in the semifinals.

3. Air Force (15-9, 6-3)
This has been a really good season for the Zoomies. Hopefully they’ll be able to win a few games in the NIT on the road, because there’s no way Clune Arena is going to host an NIT game. Maybe they’ll package an NIT deal with future MWC opponent TCU. That’d be cool.

4. Wyoming (14-9, 6-4)
If Ray Giacoletti and the Utes weren’t pounding everybody, Steve McClain would be the MWC coach of the year. The Cowboys will still have a first-team point guard in Jay Straight.

5. San Diego State (11-12, 4-5)
With Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath, the Aztecs have enough talent to win the conference tournament, if they get some lucky breaks and Steve Fisher can find some of the magic of 1989.

6. UNLV (11-11, 3-6)
At least the Rebels will have something to put on their highlight reel for the year after that miracle comeback against the Aztecs. It was a miracle, which is why the Rebels are still below the Aztecs in the power poll. The crazy thing is, this team still has the talent to win the conference tournament.

7. BYU (3-7, 9-16)
It’s been a lousy year for the Cougars, but after a tough game against the Cowboys, they still pulled themselves together against Colorado State to comeback after falling behind 9-0.

8. Colorado State (9-14, 1-9)
This just isn’t CSU’s year.
Matt Nelson, who otherwise hits more than 60 percent of his shots, goes four for 14 against BYU and the Rams lose by a point. Ouch. It doesn’t help they turn the ball over 4.8 more times than their oppponents a game. Those extra possessions would help a lot when you’re losing by eight points a game.

If the season ended today

NCAA Tournament: Utah’s sending postcards to conference members from Boise or Tucson.
NIT: New Mexico hosts games if or until they go to New York. The Pokes could host a team in the first round, while the Zoomies will only see the floor during practice time.

MWC honors

First team:
Andrew Bogut, C, Utah. That was pretty easy.
Danny Granger, F, New Mexico. Look at the Lobos with and without Granger.
Jay Straight, G, Wyoming. He’s first in the league in assists in conference play.
Marcus Slaughter, F, San Diego State. He’d get more notoriety if he wasn’t playing in San Diego State. The Aztecs just aren’t part of the immediate conciousness of the rest of the conference.
Odartey Blankson, F, UNLV. Despite the Rebels’ struggles this year, Blankson is still in the top six in point and rebounding.

Newcomer of the year:
Justin Williams, F, Wyoming. Best shot blocker in the conference, can also be counted on for 190 points and seven rebounds a game.

Coach of the year:
Ray Giacoletti, Utah. In his first year, the Utes are the most dominant team this conference has ever seen.

Player of the year:
Andrew Bogut, C, Utah. Even if he leaves after this year for the NBA, he’ll be thought of as one of the best players in MWC history.

How the rest of the season shakes out

February 19 (Saturday)
UTAH at AIR FORCE – Air Force’s home winning streak ends. Utah by 7.
BYU at NEW MEXICO – Lobos try to make up for their issue in Provo.
SAN DIEGO ST. at COLORADO ST. – The Rams have to win sometime.
UNLV at WYOMING – Both teams are playing well, so I’m going with the home team.

February 21 (Monday)
BYU at AIR FORCE – The Cougars are not refined enough to stay with the Falcons.
UNLV at COLORADO STATE – The Rebels will turn those Ram turnovers into dunks.
UTAH at NEW MEXICO – The Lobos will need everyone to show up to win this game.
SAN DIEGO STATE at WYOMING – This is a bad situation for the Aztecs.

February 26 (Saturday)
AIR FORCE at UNLV – For whatever reason, the Rebels have always been able to handle the Falcons. But not this year.
BYU at UTAH – Utah big.
WYOMING at COLORADO STATE – These game are always close, but this year, the Cowboys have found ways to win close games, the Rams have not.
NEW MEXICO at SAN DIEGO ST.- I think the Lobos have gotten over their road woes against the Rams.

February 28 (Monday)
AIR FORCE at SAN DIEGO STATE- Falcons will find a way to win this game.
NEW MEXICO at UNLV- With a national television audience at home, I think the Rebs pull it together to win.

March 5 (Saturday)
WYOMING at AIR FORCE – Zoomies take care of the Pokes to tie for second place.
UNLV at BYU – Rebels should win this game. SHOULD.
COLORADO STATE at NEW MEXICO – Lobos win in front of 15,000 fans.
SAN DIEGO STATE at UTAH – The Utes finish off the first perfect season in conference history.

Final regular season predictions:

1. Utah (26-3, 14-0 MWC)
2. Air Force (18-11, 10-4)
3. Wyoming (17-10, 9-5)
4. New Mexico (21-8, 8-6)
5. UNLV (15-12, 6-8)
6. San Diego State (11-17, 4-10)
7. BYU (3-11, 9-20)
8. Colorado State (10-17, 2-12)

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference 2003-04 Recap

by John Eisel

Mountain West Conference Power Poll
1. Utah (17-3, 5-0)
2. Air Force (12-7, 3-1)
3. San Diego State (9-8, 3-1)
4. UNLV (9-7, 2-2)
5. Wyoming (10-8, 2-3)
6. New Mexico (14-5, 1-3)
7. Colorado State (9-9, 1-4)
8. BYU (7-13, 1-4)

Every Mountain West Conference team is playing for March in the Pepsi Center, except for Utah.

What has happened to this league? In past years, three or four teams would still be teetering around the bubble if not having the NCAA Tournament ticket firmly in grasp. This year, quality wins are few and far between, awful losses are scattered about and each team has suffered a plague of close losses to good teams or blowout losses to great teams.

New Mexico could have been the Mountain West version of Syracuse. Play a lot of gimme home games before the conference season starts and then finish at the top of the conference, validating their record. Then Danny Granger got hurt. The Lobos could have survived a few games, at least if they could have stayed above .500 in conference, but then they lost by 15 to Brigham Young. I know David Chiotti was missing for a lot of the game, but the Lobos’ schedule was set up so they didn’t have any leeway in conference.

BYU is rebuilding. Still, they talent and should be better than 7-13 and 1-4 in conference.

San Diego State’s 3-1 conference record would have been great, if they hadn’t lost to every mid-minor southern California college available.

It’s fitting that UNLV’s name is made up of individual letters. This is a team of individuals, just like in past years. Many thought Lon Kruger was going to fix this. Maybe the coach needs a year to fix the atmosphere.

The defining moment of Wyoming’s season is when Steve Neal hurt his knee in practice and Jay Straight became the primary scorer again, instead of the point guard with an ability to score. Pendelum performances aren’t helping things.

So Colorado State has more 7-footers than most NBA teams. Where has it gotten them? Then again, this team should be used to playing for March. They’ve been doing it for the past three years.

Yes, Air Force is doing very well. However, last year’s team was buoyed by winning the regular season conference championship by two games and beating NCAA Tournament teams BYU and Utah when Selection Sunday came around. The only NCAA Tournament-caliber team in this conference is Utah, and the Falcons have only one more shot at them. Even if the Falcons were to win out, which I don’t think will happen, their resume still wouldn’t be up to par.

Which leaves Utah as the king of the hill.

This is definitely a great Utah team. Ray Giacoletti will win coach of the year. Andrew Bogut has sown up player of the year. Some may say that this is just like football, with Utah beating a bunch of mediocre teams, but the football Utes were one of the best teams in the nation, and I doubt anyone would like to make that case for these basketball Utes.

Coaches should start maneuvering for March 9 right now. Avoid the No. 8, 5 or 4 seeds at all cost. At least that way, they may avoid Utah until the conference tournament championship and hope for one great night.

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference Power Poll

by John Eisel

Wow, what an eventful week.

• UNM’s Danny Granger hurts his knee against Wyoming, got surgery, will be back.
• SDSU’s Wesley Stokes doesn’t take care of his grades, won’t be back.
• Colorado State’s Dwight Boatner leaves school. He’ll be back, just not with CSU.
• And then there are the games, where Utah pounded UNLV, New Mexico won again and St. Mary’s beat another Mountain West Conference team. They’re 4-0 against the MWC this year.

1. Utah (13-3) Last week: 2
Oceans are (mostly) blue, the Middle East is in conflict and Utah is at the top of their conference. What else is new?
Last week: Beat UNLV 70-52
What we liked: Hello, Bryant Markson, nice to meet you! A reserve guard his entire career, he scored 17 points against the Rebs on Big Monday.
What we didn’t like: Except for not pulling out early season wins against Washington nor Arizona, not much. The Utes are rolling right now.

2. New Mexico (14-2) Last time: 1
That strange noise you heard coming from New Mexico was a collective profanity when they heard Danny Granger had to go under the knife.
What we liked: They don’t have their best player, possibly the best player in the conference, in Danny Granger for the better part of a half and still win in a walk?
What we didn’t like: Granger. Knee. Surgery. All the talk coming out of Albuquerque is that he should be fine in about two weeks. Hrmmmm…

3. Air Force (10-6) Last time: 5
In years past, if the Falcons had shot 35.1% for a game, they would have lost by 35 points.
Last week: Beat Colorado State 58-53, lost at St. Mary’s (CA) 59-58
What we liked: Air Force can win ugly. And man, was that CSU-AFA an ugly game, especially from beyond the three-point circle. They combined to hit 4 of 37 3-pointers. Amazingly, a one-point loss to St. Mary’s this year doesn’t look that bad right now.
What we didn’t like: The Falcons can’t continue to shoot like that in conference play and win. With the way they normally rebound and with their offensive style, they have to make every shot count.

4. UNLV (7-6) Last time: 3
Hey, didn’t you used to be the preseason conference favorite?
Last week: Lost at Utah 70-52
What we liked: The Rebels were pretty competitive in every statistical category with the Utes, except…
What we didn’t like: The Rebels were outrebounded 43-18 by Utah. No, that’s not a misprint. The Utes actually had 25 more rebounds. Ute Marc Jackson’s four rebounds would have tied for the team lead.

5. Wyoming (7-6) Last time: 3
I just don’t know about this team.
Last week: Lost at New Mexico 89-75, beat IPFW 100-59
What we liked: Jay Straight is on one of his streaks where everything he shoots goes in and a lot of different players are contributing offensively. The only thing I’ll mention from the IPFW game is Steve Leven shooting well, netting 12 points. The Pokes need him to be their consistent shooting threat.
What we didn’t like: The Cowboys cannot allow anyone to shoot 51.7% from the floor. They are too streaky and too inconsistent offensively to let teams basically score at will.

6. Colorado State (8-6) Last time: 6
Let’s see if the Rams come together in this turbulent time, or implode.
Last week: Lost at Air Force 58-53
What we liked: Matt Nelson comes through with 21 points on nine of 10 shooting as Matt Williams is out with injury. My question is, if he made 90 percent of his shots, why he did he only take 10?
What we didn’t like: More questions: How can a team with so much size only out-rebound Air Force by four? And why do they keep shooting 3-pointers? And what is going on in that program when the starting point guard leaves after the first game of the conference season?

7. San Diego State (7-7, 1-0) Last time: 8
I wonder how long the coaching staff knew Wesley Stokes would be unavailable for the winter semester
Last week: Won at BYU 59-57
What we liked: The Aztecs limited the Cougars to 35 percent shooting from the field. In games they’ve lost this season, the Aztecs have allowed an average shooting percentage of 48 percent. In games they win, 32 percent. Oft-injured Chris Walton came up huge for a team that has plenty of talent, but lacking in experience.
What we didn’t like: They made 7 of 12 free throws. They make just over two-thirds of their free throws overall. Being a lousy free-throw shooting team may work against BYU, but it won’t later on down the road.

8. BYU (6-10) Last time: 7
Every team in the conference is now licking their chops to get a piece of the Cougars.
Last week: Lost to San Diego State 59-57, beat Montana State-Billings 110-70
What we liked: Garner Meads is back and healthy. The Cougars need as much help as they can get.
What we didn’t like: They lost a nine-point halftime lead at home to a now 7-7 San Diego State team. That’s plenty.

Coming up

New Mexico at Air Force, 4 p.m. Saturday. Danny Granger would have been really helpful in this game. None of the Falcons can match his athletic ability.
BYU at Colorado State, 1 p.m., Saturday. It’s amazing what the second game of the conference season can mean to a program under the right circumstances. Both teams are trying to stay afloat.
Utah at Wyoming 4 p.m., Saturday. No matter which Cowboy team shows up Saturday, I don’t think they’re going to wind up on the winning side of the scoreboard.
San Diego State at UNLV, 7:30 p.m., Saturday. Let’s see if the Rebels show why they were picked to win the conference title.
Utah at Colorado State, 6 p.m., Monday. This game could turn out really, really bad.
BYU at Wyoming, 10 p.m., Monday. 10,000 Cowboy fans will show up to watch a lousy BYU team. If the game wasn’t at 10 p.m., there’d be 12,000.

If the season ended today

NCAA Tournament: Utah and New Mexico would be hoping the line isn’t too long and they’d fit in to the Big Dance
NIT: Air Force would be on the road in the NIT because their gym is too small.
Sitting home: Everyone else would think to themselves, “Man, that was a short season.”

Mountain West Notebook

Mountain West Conference 2003-04 Recap

by John Eisel

Mountain West Conference Early Season Power Poll

1. New Mexico (10-1) Preseason Rank: 4

We find out what the Lobos are all about against the Demon Deacons.

What we liked: They’re beating the teams they’re supposed to beat, and soundly.
What we didn’t like: They were considerable favorites in all of their games, except at Oregon. Their strength of schedule is laughable.
Best win: 77-58 vs. Tennessee. Not a marquee win, but the Lobos haven’t played any marquee teams. It will help the RPI, as the Volunteers have played North Carolina and Texas.
Worst loss: 69-65 at Oregon. Easy choice. If the Lobos had pulled this off, they would have already been in the top 25.
Why fans should be excited: Your team is 10-1 with arguably the best player in the conference with Danny Granger.
Why they should be worried: The Lobos only play half their conference games at home, and despite the early season scores, the MWC teams will provide a much bigger challenge.

2. Utah (7-3) Preseason Rank: 2

The Utah fans haven’t seen scores like this since football season.

What we liked: Andrew Bogut is tearing everyone up, Marc Jackson looks like he hasn’t missed a beat and the Utes are still playing good defense.
What we didn’t like: The Utes are missing a marquee win. Beating either Washington or Arizona would have done it, but wins slipped by. With how weak the conference looks this year, a great win is more important than ever to get into the NCAA Tournament. The problem is that the only name teams left on their OOC schedule is Colorado and LSU, with neither getting a sniff of the Top 25.
Best win: They beat Stony Brook, High Point, Furman, Southern Utah and Northern Colorado. Take your pick.
Worst loss: 67-62 at Arizona. Losing by five points at the No. 15 team in the nation is good, but they missed a huge opportunity here.
Why fans should be excited: The Utes seem to have adapted well to Ray Giacoletti’s system, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t get better as the conference season comes around.
Why they should be worried: With the exception of that ambush up in Logan at the hands of the Aggies, Utah has looked good in every game. The only thing Ute fans should worry about is whether being at the top of the conference will be good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament.

3. UNLV (4-4) Preseason Rank: 1

Everyone expected more out of the Rebels.

What we liked: The Rebels are competitive with the best teams in the country.
What we didn’t like: The Rebels are giving up 76 points a game.
Best win: 91-87 (OT) at Auburn. A good road win.
Worst loss: 64-54 to St. Mary’s (CA). The conference favorite cannot lose to St. Mary’s of California. Or St Mary’s of any other state.
Why fans should be excited: The Rebels have a ton of talent, but there are new faces and a new coach. Give it a little bit of time and see what happens when the Rebels gel.
Why they should be worried: Lots of expectations, lots of offense, not a lot of defense. The Rebels have heard this before, and it winds up sending them to the NIT.

4. Wyoming (5-3) Preseason Rank: 8

Everyone who picked the Pokes to finish last (including me) is looking foolish right now.

What we liked: Jay Straight isn’t doing everything and the Pokes are winning on the road.
What we didn’t like: Wyoming is getting hit with injuries again, with Steve Leven and Dion Sherrill both missing substantial time already. Well, better now than during the conference season.
Best win: 68-64 at Creighton. This will help the Cowboys down the road as the Jays were 8-1 going into the game.
Worst loss: 64-61 vs. Kansas State. Wyoming should have pulled this game out, but completely fell apart in the last two minutes of the game.
Why fans should be excited: The Cowboys will get back Leven from injury and hopefully Jarrod Boswell from academic purgatory to a team with no personnel deficiencies.
Why they should be worried: They’ll have a lot of close games in MWC play. They need to play more like the Cowboys against Creighton and not like the Cowboys against Kansas State. No one is sold the Pokes are over their erratic play from last year.

5. Air Force (6-3) Preseason Rank: 3

Remember when 6-4 was a great start for the Falcons? An NCAA Tournament appearance does wonders for expectations.

What we liked: Opponents are turning the ball over five more times a game than Air Force. When rebounding is just a good idea, getting as many possessions as possible is crucial.
What we didn’t like: The Falcons are next to last in assists in the league. If Air Force didn’t run a pass-first, unselfish offensive system, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Best win: 80-36 vs. Ole Miss. Decent win, but not going to raise any eyebrows.
Worst loss: 66-59 (OT) at Lamar. This is an awful loss on multiple levels.
Why fans should be excited: The Falcons had an awful loss last year and still made it to the NCAA Tournament. People will forget the Lamar loss in a hurry if they can pull the upset at Iowa Dec. 28.
Why they should be worried: The Mountain West Conference is not as good as last year. Winning the regular season conference outright will not get a team into the NCAA Tournament all by itself. The Falcons must beat some good out of conference teams if they want to go back to the Big Dance.

6. Colorado State (6-4) Preseason Rank: 5

The Rams should be better than this.

What we liked: The Rams top the league in blocked shots, 3-pt field goal shooting percentage, 3-pt shooting defense, field goal percentage defense and are second in scoring.
What we didn’t like: Take the stats with a grain of salt. Take out the Non Division-I schools, and the Rams are 3-5, with a win against Northern Colorado, which is making the transition to D-I this year. They’re also turning the ball over 3.33 more times a game than their opponents.
Best win: 72-62 against Drake. Drake is 2-4.
Worst loss: 79-76 (OT) against Auburn. The Rams had losses against bad teams, but this could have been a great win on the road against a good SEC team that had humiliated Colorado State last year.
Why fans should be excited: Matt Nelson appears relatively healthy, playing in eight of nine games and Matt Williams is making an early case to be on the All-MWC team at the end of the year.
Why they should be worried: The Rams haven’t shown they can win on the road or beat a decent team, let alone a good team.

7. BYU (2-8) Preseason Rank: 6

Let’s see if their horrid early-season schedule will damage the young team’s psyche.

What we liked: Mike Hall is in the top 15 in the league in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, 3-pointers made and of course, minutes played.
What we didn’t like: The Cougars are barely shooting .400. For baseball, that’s good, not basketball.
Best win: 90-77 vs. Boise State. It was either this or their blowout against Chaminade. Maybe I should have gone with the Chaminade win.
Worst loss: 64-61 to California. A comeback try falls short and their 18-game home winning streak ends. Ouch.
Why fans should be excited: I’m not sure if any other team in this conference would have done much better with BYU’s record. This team is young, talented and the pre-conference schedule will more than prepare the Cougars.
Why they should be worried: They’re 2-8. They don’t need any more to be worried about.

8. San Diego State (5-5) Preseason Rank: 7

The Aztecs are doing irreparable harm to the conference’s power rating.

What we liked: Marcus Slaughter. He’ll be fighting Utah’s Bogut for player of the year for the next two years.
What we didn’t like: They’re getting outrebounded. Only two other teams in the conference: BYU, which has played top-notch teams, and Air Force, which never rebounds. This problem will only grow into the conference season if things are not fixed.
Best win: 86-51 vs. UC San Diego
Worst loss: 72-80 (OT) vs. UC Santa Barbara. Way to start the season in front of the home crowd. In the return trip later in the year, the Aztecs won by 18.
Why fans should be excited: Chris Walton should be back soon after hurting his hip and Wesley Stokes may be coming back to the team, depending on how his fall grades turn out.
Why they should be worried: If the Aztecs are struggling against the entire UC system, I’m not sure if Walton and Stokes are going to help that much.

Games to watch

1. Wake Forest at New Mexico, Dec. 22 – This game could write the Lobos’ NCAA Tournament ticket in pencil and validate the conference for 2005.
2. UNLV at Texas, Jan. 2 – The Rebels’ losses this year can be forgiven if they pull off the huge upset.
3. Wyoming at Southern Illinois, Dec. 30 – A win over the Salukis would be make for a great pair along with the Pokes’ win over Creighton.
4. Air Force at Iowa, Dec. 28 – See UNLV at Texas.
5. LSU at Utah, Jan. 3 – The Tigers may not be in the Top 25 right now, but they’re still a name team.
6. Colorado State at Pepperdine, Jan. 3 – The Rams’ last chance to get a quality win and on the road before the conference season.
7. Washington State at Wyoming, Dec. 22 – The Cougars are there for the Cowboys’ taking.
8. San Diego State vs. Providence/at Iowa State – A win in either game helps to validate the Aztecs.

Mountain West Conference Preview

Mountain West Conference Preview

by John Eisel

When the results came out from the coaches and media preseason poll and the top three teams all have new coaches this season, things had to be taken with a grain of salt.

UNLV, Utah and reigning regular season champion Air Force all brought back too much talent from good teams last year to ignore. However, UNLV has always had talent and that hasn’t always translated that into conference championships. No one is sure what to make of Air Force after a history of lousy play followed by last year’s success. In Utah, the big man in the big sweaters is no longer hanging out on the sideline.

New Mexico and Colorado State brings nearly everyone back, and with some health and good luck could very easily rise to the top half of the conference.

No one doubts BYU’s talent, but it just needs time to grow after losing so many seniors from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.

Both San Diego State and Wyoming have suffered from people leaving the program and not taking care of schoolwork. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the talent to compete in the conference.

Before we get into 2004-05, let’s first go over some things to know about the conference.

1. Parity reigns. This isn’t necessarily a new lesson, but was simply reinforced with Air Force going from worst to first and then losing to the No. 8 seed, Colorado State, in the MWC Tournament. Every team had a winning record at home in conference, so unlike other conferences, there are no guaranteed wins.

2. Win the outright regular season title, go the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons had an awful out of conference schedule, lost in the first round of the conference tournament, but since they won the regular season title outright, they earned the at-large berth.

3. The key to winning the conference lies on the road. Everyone in the conference was at least 4-3 on their homecourt, even if by the slimmest of margins. The team that had the best road record in the conference finished in at least a tie for first every year except 1999-2000, the first year of the MWC.

First Team All-MWC
C Nick Welch, Jr., Air Force
F Odartey Blankson, Jr., UNLV
F Danny Granger, Sr., UNM
G Jay Straight, Sr., Wyo
F Andrew Bogut, So., Utah

Second team
C Matt Nelson, Sr., CSU
G Mike Hall, Sr., BYU
G Jerel Blassingame, Sr., UNLV
G Tim Keller, Sr., Air Force
F David Chiotti, Sr., UNM

Conference MVP

Odartey Blankson, UNLV

Defensive MVP

Mike Hall, BYU

Most Improved

Marcus Slaughter, SDSU

Newcomer of the Year

Justin Williams, Wyoming

Freshman of the Year

David Burgess, BYU

Most Underrated

David Chiotti, UNM

1. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

2003-04 record: 18-12, 7-7 MWC (4th place)

Projected starting five:
Romel Beck SG Sr. 14.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg

Odartey Blankson SF Sr. 17.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg
Jerel Blassingame PG Sr. 11.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 6.6 apg
Louis Amundson C Jr. 4.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Dustin Villepigue PF Jr. 6-9 235 (Dixie State College)

Charlie Spoonhour came in, cleaned up the program while keeping the talent intact and now hands the whistle off to Lon Kruger, former coach of the Atlanta Hawks, but perhaps more importantly, former coach at Florida and Illinois. Kruger said he’ll definitely keep the Runnin’ nickname accurate, so the Rebels may lead the league again in scoring.

Maybe Kruger can also push the Rebels over the edge.

UNLV has been the posterboy for heartbreak in the Mountain West Conference. Last year, they were a Nick Jacobson miracle shot away from the NCAA Tournament. The year before that, Matt Nelson and the Rams finished their improbable run against the Rebels in the Thomas and Mack. The year before that, they lost by three to San Diego State in the championship, also on their home court.

The Rebels were annoyingly erratic last year, one day losing to Northern Arizona at home, then two days later beating Auburn. Defense was more of a good idea than the rule, as they allowed 73.6 per game in conference play, the worst in the conference.

Perhaps age and new direction will cure that. The Rebels lost their big man, J.K. Edwards, and shooting guard, Demetrius Hunter, in addition to back-up forward James Peters. But Romel Beck will slide to shooting guard to go along with Jerel Blassingame, who may be the best point guard in the Mountain West Conference. Both of those players could be on one of the All-MWC top two teams at the end of the season.

The Rebels also brought in six recruits, thanks to the abolition of the 5/8 rule. Five are from the junior college ranks. Dustin Villepique and Joel Anthony help with the size loss of Edwards. Louis Amundson is expected to jump into the starting center position in place of Edwards, but he’s had troubles with injuries and infections, which may cause unexpected shuffling for the Rebels throughout the season. Wilbur Williams actually played at L.A. City College with Beck and Blassingame two years ago before coming to Vegas.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Dec. 1 at California
Dec. 4 at Nevada
Dec. 12 at Auburn
Dec. 18 vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 2 at Texas

A good schedule for a veteran team with aspirations of going to the NCAA Tournament. Name games against good programs that are spread out through the non-conference season with easier games (and a few blow-outs) in between.

Best case scenario: Everything comes together under Lon Kruger and the Rebels return back to national prominence. Kruger’s been through the wars and guides UNLV to wins in games they would have lost last year.

Worst case scenario: The Rebels can’t break through and win those close games on the road or against name teams that look good come NCAA Tournament time. Amundson or the JuCo transfers don’t replace the loss of Edwards in the middle and the Rebels go to the NIT again.

2. Utah Utes

2003-04 record: 24-9, 9-5 MWC (3rd place)

Projected starting five:
Andrew Bogut C So. 12.5 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.2 apg
Richard Chaney SF Jr. 9.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.0 apg
Tim Drisdom PG Jr. 6.1 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.7 rpg
Justin Hawkins PF So. 5.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Marc Jackson SG Sr. 9.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.8 apg

The one constant throughout the Mountain West Conference’s brief history is Utah. Before the season starts, always pencil the Utes to finish in at least the top three in the conference.

Now that constant has changed. The Utes had gone games, months even entire seasons without Rick Majerus, but stepping in was always an assistant coach, like last year with Kerry Rupp.

But Majerus is officially done and in comes Ray Giacoletti, who led Eastern Washington to the NCAA Tournament last year after a few years of near misses in the Big Sky Conference.

Like Majerus, Giacoletti preaches defense. But unlike Majerus, Giacoletti wants to play up-tempo on offense, so perhaps 60-point games won’t be the norm in Salt Lake City anymore.

At least the old faces are back. Giacoletti went to Australia to convince Andrew Bogut to return to Salt Lake City. While he was at it, he also picked up another Aussie, 7-0 center Luke Neville.

One person he didn’t have to convince to come back was guard Marc Jackson. Jackson sat out last year after being the spark plug in the Utes’ run to the NCAA Tournament in 2003. A few days after Giacoletti was named coach, Jackson was back on the team. He appears to be the logical choice to replace Nick Jacobson at shooting guard, but how much will the year off affect him?

Tim Drisdom has started at the point since he stepped on campus. Richard Chaney at small forward played his best basketball of the year when the Utes needed it most, in the MWC Tournament. Both are back for their junior years.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Great Alaska Shootout
Nov. 25 vs. Washington
Nov. 26 vs. Oklahoma/High Point
Nov. 27 T.B.D.
Dec. 4 at Utah State
Dec. 11 at Arizona
Jan. 3 vs. LSU

The Utes can show how good they are early. Washington, Oklahoma, Utah State and LSU could very easily all make the NCAA Tournament. Win a couple and the Utes likely won’t have to sweat too much on Selection Sunday. Win more than a couple, and the Utes could be headed back to the Top 25.

Best case scenario: The transition to Giacoletti is smooth. Bogut becomes the dominant inside presence everyone envisioned. Jackson doesn’t seem to miss a beat from two years ago when some thought he was the most valuable player in the league. The Utes make their 10th NCAA Tournament in 11 years with a conference championship.

Worst case scenario: That transition isn’t smooth. No one steps up to replace Jacobson’s outside shooting presence and Jackson plays like he’s been away from the game for a year. Utes settle for the NIT.

3. Air Force Falcons

2003-04 record: 22-7, 12-2 MWC (1st place)

Projected starting five:
Tim Keller G Sr. 11.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.1 apg
Nick Welch C Jr. 11.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg
Antoine Hood G Jr. 10.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 apg
*Jacob Burtschi F So. 3.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Matt McCraw G So. 3.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg.
*Dan Nwaele was suspended Oct. 21 for violating unspecified team rules and his return is unknown. Who knows yet if this puts Nwaele in Chris Mooney’s doghouse when he comes back.

Repeat after me: Air Force Falcons, Mountain West Conference basketball power.

Difficult to totally take in at first, isn’t it? Sort of like New York Yankees, playoff chokers, or Boston Red Sox, the best team in the American League.

In past years, Air Force always provided a good test, but the Falcons always shot themselves in the foot with a turnover or couldn’t come through with a key shot down the stretch.

Last year, those shots went down, either from A.J. Kuhle, Tim Keller or Nick Welch and it was the opponents who made the turnover. Well, that was when they weren’t winning by more than 10 points, giving plenty of time for Welch to talk to guard Antoine Hood about the next day’s military history exam.

The Falcons won the conference by two games, which had never happened in Mountain West Conference history. That was enough to get them in the NCAA Tournament despite a woeful out of conference schedule and a first round loss to Colorado State in the conference tournament.

The meticulous, relentless Princeton offense, which will dull opposing players to sleep, just before a Falcon gets a backdoor pass across the baseline for an easy lay-up, is the key. The Falcons aren’t blessed with athletes or size like the rest of the league. They won last year with great shooting, mental toughness and something Air Force has never had on the basketball court, confidence.

However, success made the Falcons a target. Princeton came calling for its son, Joe Scott, and the head coach made his way back to New Jersey. However, everyone else decided to stay in Colorado Springs. In Scott’s place steps in assistant coach Chris Mooney, who had been with Scott for the past four years. Before the academy, Mooney was head coach at Beaver College for two years.

The Falcons also lost seniors Kuhle and Joel Gerlach, who each averaged 8 points a game. That doesn’t sound a lot, until you factor in Air Force only averaged 60 points a game last year. That still leaves 33 points in the starting lineup in Hood, Keller and MWC co-player of the year Welch, who should be at 100 percent for practice after offseason knee surgery.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Dec. 11 at Georgia Tech
Dec. 28 at Iowa

Remember last year, when lots of experts questioned whether the Falcons deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament because of their weak strength of schedule? It’s better this year, but it’s not good enough to quell complaints down the line if Air Force repeats its success of a year ago. Playing Colorado College and Northern Colorado might mean bigger crowds, but lower RPI numbers.

Best-case scenario: The Falcons make the smooth transition from Scott to Mooney, replicate their play from a year ago and battle for another MWC title.

Worst-case scenario: Scott took last year’s magic with him and Air Force reverts back to their pre-2003-04 state, where they play just well enough to lose the game.

4. New Mexico Lobos

2003-04 record: 14-14, 5-9 MWC (T-5th place)

Projected starting five:
David Chiotti F Jr. 12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Troy DeVries SG Sr. 10.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Danny Granger F Sr. 19.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg
Alfred Neale F Sr. 8.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Kris Collins PG (Iowa Western CC)

The nightmare Lobo fans have had to endure the past few seasons appears to be over in 2004-05.

With the exception of Javin Tindall, New Mexico brings everyone of note back, including Danny Granger, who scored on everyone and everything from the forward spot. David Chiotti held the ship afloat at the beginning of last season, before Granger and guard Troy DeVries were eligible to play after transferring and the Lobos became formidable again, especially at home. With the inclusion of returning forward Alfred Neale, everybody coming back can score. Guard Mark Walters should also be back to 100 percent after being limited last year while trying to come back from ACL surgery. Into to likely take over the point guard spot is JuCo transfer Kris Collins, whom coach Ritchie McKay called a more pure point guard than Tindall was.

After a 14-14 season, qualifying for the NIT is inexcusable with their almost exclusively home-based out of conference schedule and an NCAA berth is never out of the question in an unpredictable MWC.

However, they have to win on the road and play some defense. The Lobos played outside of the Pit 10 times and lost every single game, with a few close calls. Overall opponents made just more than 44 percent of their shots against the Lobos, but that number skyrocketed to nearly 49 percent against MWC opponents. When the Lobos outshot or tied in shooting percentage with their opponents last year, they went 12-0. When they were outshot, they were 1-14.

They also don’t have a true center, Chiotti and Granger both pulled down their share of rebounds, but Chiotti’s 6-9 and Granger 6-8. Sophomore Kellen Walter is 6-10, but only weighs 220 pounds.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 22 at Oregon
Dec. 18 vs. Tennessee
Dec. 22 vs. Wake Forest

The Lobos are buying into the Jim Boeheim-Syracuse model of scheduling, where they almost never leave home, play a lot of gimme games and have a few marquee games. When more than 14,000 people show up to every game, you can do that, although NCAA Tournament Selection committees like teams that can win on the road. That Wake Forest-New Mexico game could decide whether the Lobos get an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.

Best case scenario: Granger dominates and becomes an All-American, while Collins steps in to play the point. The Pit becomes a place where teams go to lose and the Lobos stay competitive again with Wake Forest. They pull off enough road wins to sneak them into the Big Dance.

Worst case scenario: Teams exploit their lack of a big man. The Lobos can’t pull off any marquee wins in or out of conference and have to go to the NIT.

5. Colorado State Rams

2003-04 record: 13-16, 4-10 MWC (T-7th place)

Projected starting five:
Micheal Morris PG Jr. 7.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.2 apg
Matt Nelson C Sr. 15.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Matt Williams F Sr. 10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg
*-Phillip Thomasson F So. 3.2 ppg 1.6 rpg 0.7 apg
Dwight Boatner SG So. 5.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.5 apg
*-Freddy Robinson tore his Achilles tendon in the preseason and his return is unknown.

So, how’s Matt Nelson? This could be the most important question in the Mountain West Conference.

After winning the MWC basketball tournament in 2003 in underdog fashion behind center Nelson, the Rams were picked to finish third in the conference last year.

When Nelson is at 100 percent, he’s probably the most dominating player in the league as seen in 2003, when he nearly single-handedly carried the Rams to the Mountain West Conference tournament championship. When he’s not on the court, the Rams struggle mightily.

What people didn’t count us were the constantly injured Nelson staying injured and the Rams missing veterans Andy Birley and Brian Greene. The Rams turned the ball over a lot, which led to giving up 73.3 points a game in conference play, less than a point behind run-and-gun UNLV for last in the conference, but they only allowed MWC opponents to shoot 43 percent from the floor, second best in the conference. Still, they were three points away from finishing 1-11 in conference, if not for three overtime wins.

But, the Rams aren’t just Nelson and 11 guys running around.

Senior Matt Williams averaged over 10 points and almost six rebounds a game, while junior guard Michael Morris at 6-3 was equally good at rebounding, shooting, assisting and blocking shots. Sophomore Dwight Boatner came on at the end of last season, when Colorado State was playing their best basketball of the season, leading the Rams to their upset victory over Air Force in the first round of the MWC Tournament.

However, as if the Rams needed more injury troubles, junior Freddy Robinson partially tore his Achilles tendon in preparation for an August tour in Mexico and his return this season is in doubt.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 30 at Auburn
Dec. 11 at Purdue
Dec. 18 at Colorado

The Rams have to win the outright conference title or conference tournament, or they’re not going to the NCAA Tournament. Games against Regis University, Northern Colorado or IUPUI don’t look good in the eyes of the selection staff. (FYI, Regis University is a Div. II Catholic School in Denver.) Purdue is going through a transitional phase, the Buffs lost their best players and were a marginal Big 12 team and Auburn beat them by 30 last year in Alabama.

Best case scenario: Nelson gets over his ailments (or at least enough to play in the conference season) and the Rams gain confidence on a timid out of conference schedule. If they take swing games against Denver and at Pepperdine, they should be at least 9-3 heading into conference play. If Nelson is healthy, he can carry the team to near the top of the league. An at-large NCAA berth is unlikely with their schedule, an NIT berth is not.

Worst case scenario: Nelson can’t get healthy, the Rams miss Robinson terribly and they keep turning over the ball. They stick near the bottom of the Mountain West Conference.

6. Brigham Young Cougars

2003-04 record: 21-9, 10-4 MWC (2nd place)

Projected starting five:
Mike Hall SG Sr. 12.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 spg
Jared Jensen C Sr. 3.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg
Garner Meads PF So. 4.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Keena Young SF 6-6 200 So. TR Beaumont, Texas (South Plains College)
*Terry Nashif PG 1.1 ppg 1.0 rpg 1.1 apg
*-Nashif will battle with sophomore Austin Ainge and JuCo transfer Josh Reisman for the starting point guard position.

Brigham Young did what it had to do last year with a stake-full of senior talent and made the NCAA Tournament.

But “Captain A” Rafael Araujo is now in Toronto. That’s the big loss. But not to be overlooked is the departure of underrated point guard Luiz Lemes and shooter Mark Bigelow and bench guard Kevin Woodberry. The four combined for 45.5 points of the Cougars’ 73.3 points per game last year.

Offense was not a problem for the Cougars, who averaged over 73 points a game and made over 48.6 percent from the field.

Now, people need to step up. Mike Hall showed last year he can get the job done on defense and offense, averaging just under 13 points a game. No one expects Jared Jenson to replace Araujo, but he’s now BYU’s most experienced big man. Former McDonald’s All American Garner Meads should improve from his freshman year, when he started 13 of the team’s 14 conference games. However, he had hernia surgery over the offseason and hasn’t been 100 percent in off-season workouts.

The other two positions appear to be preseason battles. Senior Terry Nashif, sophomore Austin Ainge (yes, he’s Danny’s son) and JuCo transfer Josh Reisman are all in contention for the starting point guard spot. Nashif has the experience, Ainge has the talent and Reisman probably wouldn’t have come to BYU if he didn’t think he had a shot. He started his college career at Gonzaga. Small forward appears to be going to another JuCo transfer, Keena Young. The Cougars also, unexpectedly, get Mike Rose back. The best three-point shooter by average last year in the conference last year, Rose was supposed to go on a two-year mission, but he didn’t.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Maui Classic
Nov. 22 vs. North Carolina (ESPN2)
Nov. 23 vs. Stanford or Tennessee
Nov. 24 vs. Texas, Louisville, Iowa or Chaminade
Nov. 27 vs. California
Dec. 1 at Utah State
Dec. 18 vs. Utah State
Dec. 21 vs. North Carolina State

Coach Steve Cleveland will throw his young team into the fire early with this schedule with the Maui Classic. Even if the Cougars can only manage a single win in Maui, their strength of schedule is set for the entire year with their strong opponents. However, they’ll need a few wins in that strong schedule if they need an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament again.

Best case scenario: Someone steps up to replace Lemes and Meads develops into an All-MWC caliber player. The Cougars steal a few of their marquee out of conference games and can ride that mentally into MWC play. Those wins would definitely look good on the resume come NCAA Tournament time.

Worst case scenario: It’s a full rebuilding year in Provo. Araujo’s presence is too much too lose. The Cougars can’t replace all the offensive firepower they lost and get walloped in pre-MWC play, only to face a bunch of veteran teams in the MWC.

7. San Diego State Aztecs

2003-04 record: 14-16, 5-9 MWC (T-5th place)

Projected starting five:
Brandon Heath G So. 13.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Marcus Slaughter F So. 7.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg
Wesley Stokes G Sr. 12.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.8 apg*
Chris Walton F Sr. 8.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Mohammed Camara C- junior college transfer
*- Stokes is ineligible the fall semester and possibly beyond if he doesn’t get his grades up. In the meantime, junior John Sharper and incoming freshman Matt Thomas will battle for the starting nod.

San Diego State was going to bring back four starters, including two All-MWC performers in sophomore Brandon Heath and senior Wesley Stokes. They bring in Mohammed Camara, one of the highest-rate JuCo centers in the country with a body at 6-11 and 260 to go up with any center in the conference.

Then the grades came in. Stokes won’t be allowed to play until at least January.

Still, that leaves the Aztecs with three starters coming back. Marcus Slaughter should develop into at least a double-double player and steadily improved as the season went on, and Heath could easily average 17 points a game if he just became more consistent from the field. These two could be all-conference players by the time they hit their junior and senior years. Chris Walton provides the steadying senior leadership. Travis Hanour, a transfer a few years ago from Arizona, is still hobbled by knee problems and his availability for this season is up in the air.

Aztec coach Steve Fisher has taken a team bringing back three starters to the postseason, either NIT or NCAA Tournament, all eight times it’s happened through his career.

To make it nine for nine, they’ll have to shoot better. The Aztecs were the worst shooting team in the conference. They shot .427 from the field in all games, and that dropped down to .412 in all games. Their only solace was they had 64 more shots from the field because they hit the offensive boards so well with Aerick Sanders. However, he graduated.

The Aztecs also suffered from the free throw line. Overall, they made 70 percent, which though overall was seventh in the conference, isn’t that far away from fourth and fifth. However, in conference play, it dropped to just under 67 percent. Even worse, they also attempted the fewest amount of free throws in the conference. That makes a huge difference in those close the games. In conference play, the Aztecs went 1-4 in games decided by four or less or went into overtime.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Dec. 7 at Washington
Dec. 11 vs. California
Dec. 28 at Iowa State
Dec. 31 vs. Providence

Every year the Aztecs have a win that makes the rest of the conference take note, and then a loss where it leaves everyone scratching their heads asking how the Aztecs lost that game. Last year they crushed Ohio State 83-61 (although the Buckeyes finished 9th in the Big Ten, nobody knew that at the time, and it’s still a Big Ten school) and then later on lost to both Troy State and at Saint Mary’s. This year’s schedule has the traditional pack of California schools along with some good team for the Aztecs to prove its merit against. Washington and Providence are both likely NCAA Tournament bound.

Best case scenario: Heath and Slaughter continue to improve while Camara becomes the inside-presence the team sorely needs. Stokes gets his grades in order and comes back re-focused on basketball. The Aztecs figure out how to win on the road and head off to the NIT.

Worst case scenario: They still can’t shoot the ball, and nobody does a sufficient job of replacing Stokes, who never comes back to the team.

8. Wyoming Cowboys

2003-04 record: 11-17, 4-10 MWC (T-7th place)

Projected starting five:
Alex Dunn F/C Sr. 8.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Jay Straight PG Sr. 15.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.8 apg
Steve Leven G 6-5 205 RSo. RS (Texas)
Justin Williams F/C 6-10 225 Jr. JC (Colby CC)
Dion Sherrell G 6-4 210 Sr. 6.5 ppg 2.4 rpg

Wyoming’s 2003-04 season can be described in two games. Nov. 29 the Pokes punished Middle Tennessee State 84-63 in Laramie, shooting 50 percent from the field. Jan. 8, seven weeks later, Wyoming returned the trip and lost 76-63, shooting less than 33 percent.

The Cowboys performed erratically from game to game, half to half. At times they looked like world-beaters and at others like the worst team in the conference, which is where they wound up in the standings.

Steve McClain won his first four seasons in Laramie because his Cowboys won on the road and out-rebounded the other guys. They didn’t win once on the road last year and either had the same number or less rebounds in nine of 14 conference games.

For the second year in a row, fans will need to pay close attention to the media guide when Wyoming takes the court in the Arena-Auditorium.

Attrition from the program and an influx of transfers meant seven letter-winners left the team last year, including starters in guard David Adams, forward Joe Ries and primary bench players David Rottinghaus and freshman Mikel Watson. Watson was supposed to be the heir-apparent for Jay Straight, but felt out of favor with coach Steve McClain for whatever reason and left the team. Redshirt freshman center Jarrod Boswell didn’t take care of work in the classroom. Neither did supposed incoming freshman Steve Neal, who will go JuCo before hopefully qualifying to enter UW.

One familiar face for Wyoming fans is Straight, who’ll be the starting point guard for his fourth straight year. Straight, who was the point guard his first two years, played shooting guard at times last year just because he was the only consistent scoring threat for Wyoming.

Also back is Alex Dunn, the huge 7-0 center whose thumb should be finally healthy and shooting guard Dion Sherrell. Both need to become more consistent.

Coming in to help is transfer Steve Leven, who went from Auburn to Texas to Laramie and sat out last season. Also coming in is marquee junior college transfer Justin Williams, who will likely join Dunn up front and should be a needed defensive presence.

Schedule
Key out of conference games:
Nov. 22 vs. Princeton
Nov. 30 at Arizona
Dec. 7 at Dayton
Dec. 18 at Creighton
Dec. 30 at Southern Illinois

Consider this the challenging NCAA schedule on a budget. Except for the trip to Tucson, the Cowboys’ schedule is filled with good mid-major teams that translate into good RPI numbers at the end of the year, if Wyoming wins on the road. That’s a big if after last season.

Best case scenario: Straight gets some help so he doesn’t think he has to do everything himself. The Cowboys consistently put the ball in the hoop. The Arena-Auditorium becomes the Dome of Doom again and Wyoming re-joins the top half of the Mountain West Conference.

Worst case scenario: Too many new faces, too little chemistry. Everyone tries to do their own thing, and the team never comes together, finishing in last place in the conference.

So how’s it all going to turn out?

I’d be surprised if Utah or UNLV finish out of the top four just because they have too much talent and I’d be surprised if BYU or San Diego State wins the regular season conference championship because they’re so young. I want to see the Falcons win for two straight years, especially with a new coach, before I’m totally sold. Colorado State’s fate likely hinges on Matt Nelson’s health, but not as much as the past two years. I don’t know who’s going to stop Danny Granger and the Pit is starting to become the Pit again. And Wyoming is only one year removed from being one of the best teams in the conference, and Jay Straight has been around long enough and is cocky enough to believe the Cowboys can get there again this season.

After that it becomes a matter of health, harmony, heart, luck and how perilous the road becomes.

Mountain West Offseason News

Mountain West Conference 2004 Offseason News Recap

by John Eisel

Late Night with the MWC: The Mountain West Conference announced they were unable to leave their ESPN “Big Monday” contractual obligation, keeping the conference showcase late at night (midnight-2 AM Eastern). The conference, which wanted to explore a Wednesday or Thursday televised conference game of the week, cited coaches complaints in trying to make a switch. MWC coaches have been critical of the game time because it led to sleepy players going to early Tuesday classes, and fans not leaving some arenas until after midnight. The league’s seven-year, $48 million deal with the sports cable network runs through 2006.

Must See Mountain West TV: If you’re looking for Mountain West Conference basketball games, you’ll soon need to tune in to College Sports Television. Conference officials reached an agreement on a seven-year, $77 million contract that will put the conference’s games on CSTV beginning in 2006. Until then, conference sports can be seen on ESPN, which declined to match CSTV’s offer. ESPN officials sought a longer deal than Mountain West officials were willing to sign. CSTV has deals with DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner and Adelphia to broadcast the cable network’s around-the-clock coverage of collegiate athletics. With the switch, Mountain West games will appear in potentially 40 million fewer homes as CSTV has a reach of about 52 million homes while ESPN’s juggernaut spans to 90 million.

CSTV and the MWC will also collaborate on the first-ever College Conference Regional Sports Network, to be called Mountain West TV, launching in the fall of 2006. The Mountain West, who recently got out of a deal with ESPN as part of their Big Monday package, will incorporate all conference-related media, and will also feature MWC-sponsored educational programming. The deal was made in part by CSTV’s acquisition of Dave Checketts’ Sportswest Communications, based in Salt Lake City. Sportswest owns broadcast rights to six of the eight MWC member institutions. TCU joins the Mountain West effective July 1, 2005.

Air Force

Air Force lands a new coach: Just 24 hours after former head coach Joe Scott left for Princeton, the Air Force Academy promoted Chris Mooney to head coach of their men’s basketball team. Mooney, 31, has been in Colorado Springs for four seasons, the last two as an associate head coach. Prior to Air Force, he coached at Beaver College in Glenside, Pa., for two seasons. The Falcons won a school-record 22 games last season and won their first Mountain West regular season title. After losing in the conference tournament, the Falcons still played in their first NCAA tournament since 1962 and would lose to North Carolina in the first round. Mooney hired Kevin McGeehan from Springfield (Pa.) High School to be an assistant men’s basketball coach to fill out the staff.

Wounded Falcon: Air Force stormed the nation last season with a combination of painfully precise offense and oppressive defense. Nick Welch, the Falcons’ leading scorer and rebounder, was a crucial piece of that Mountain West-winning team, and he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to alleviate swelling and soreness. Doctors expect Welch to be ready for the team’s first practice Oct. 16, and the team cannot afford Welch to miss any significant time if the Falcons want to repeat as conference champions.

More television for Air Force: Kroenke Sports Enterprises’ regional sports network — and the Air Force Academy announced a multi-year telecast agreement to present live Air Force Falcons athletic events on Altitude.

Under the agreement, Altitude will televise annually a total of up to six men’s basketball and football games, as well as other intercollegiate athletic events. Altitude will also televise the Academy’s Wing Open Boxing Championships.

Altitude, a Denver-based cable sports channel, broadcasts the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and has a deal in place with the Big Sky Conference.

BYU

Cougars bring in JUCOs: Josh Reisman, a 6-1 combo guard from San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif., and Keena Young, a 6-6 guard/forward from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas will play for the Cougars this fall.

Reisman averaged 14.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a sophomore at San Jose City College during the 2003-04 season. Playing with an injured hand for much of the season, Reisman shot 43 percent from the floor, 33 percent from three point range, and 71 percent from the free throw line while helping the Jaguars to a 19-9 record. He posted season highs of 28 points, six rebounds and six assists playing primarily the shooting guard position.

Young averaged 9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a freshman at South Plains College in 2003-04. A good mid-range shooter, the 6-foot-6 swingman shot 47 percent from the floor.

The Raptors’ choice: The Toronto Raptors selected former BYU All-American center Rafael Araujo with the eighth overall pick in the first round of 2004 NBA Draft Thursday, making Araujo the third-highest BYU player ever selected in the annual draft and the sixth Cougar to be taken in the first round. The 6-foot-11 Araujo came to the United States four years ago from Sao Paulo, Brazil, spending his first two years at Arizona Western College.

Araujo started all 62 games at BYU for coach Steve Cleveland while helping the Cougars achieve back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. An all-conference player both years he played in the Mountain West Conference, Araujo led BYU and finished second in the MWC in rebounding during the past two seasons (10.1 and 8.9). He was 11th in nation in rebounds per game in 2004 and boasted the fourth-highest combined scoring and rebounding average nationally. He posted career highs of 32 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, five blocks and five steals as a Division I player under Cleveland’s tutelage at BYU.

Colorado State

Robinson Tears Achilles: Colorado State junior forward Freddy Robinson is out indefinitely after partially tearing his right Achilles tendon. Team medical officials stated that Robinson had successful surgery on the injury, but there is no timetable for his return, nor a forecast as to whether he can play this season. Robinson, who averaged 8.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest last season, was practicing during drills in preparation for the Rams’ five-game exhibition trip to Mexico.

Colorado State Hires Miller: The Colorado State Rams hired Owen Miller, a former associate coach at Texas-San Antonio, as an assistant coach. His responsibilities will include on-court coaching, recruiting and program organization and administration. He has coaching experience at Mississippi State, having served as an assistant for three seasons.

South of the Border ball: The Rams went at least 3-0 during an August trip to Mexico. The Rams crushed Universidad LaSalle 108-35, Universidad Anahuak 86-53 and edged professional team Pachuca 96-94.

New Mexico

Lobos leave the pack: Justin Benson, Lenny Miles, Mikal Monette and Collins Ferris all left the New Mexico program over the summer. Benson is going to play at Oklahoma Baptist, Ferris will concentrated on academics, Miles will play football at Colorado and Monette transferred to Eastern New Mexico. None of the players made significant contributions on the court last season.

Frosh gets in international play: Incoming freshman Bombale Osby played with the Score International All-Star Basketball team as they swept four Dominican Republic teams. Osby averaged 7 points, 12 rebounds and a block per game.

Lobos sign one of their own, JuCo point guard: Darren Prentice, a 6-0 guard from Alamogordo (N.M.) High School and Kris Collins, a 6-2 point guard from Iowa Western Community College, signed to play at New Mexico in the fall. Prentice had agreed to walk-on for the Lobos then receive a scholarship starting with the 2005 spring semester. However, with the elimination of the NCAA’s 5/8 rule, Prentice’s scholarship is now effective the fall of 2004. He was a first-team all-stater, averaging over 23 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

Collins is rated as one of the top-10 junior-college point guards by various recruiting analysts and will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Lobos. Last year Collins averaged 14.8 points and 3.8 assists per game as the starting point guard for Iowa Western.

San Diego State

Aztecs add guard, JUCO center: High School player Matt Thomas and JUCO center Mohammed Camara signed with SDSU over the summer.

Thomas, a 6-4 guard who attended Riverside’s Martin Luther King High, averaged 16.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 5.0 steals as a senior.

Camara, a 6-11, 260-pound center from Louisville, Ky., signed with the Aztecs. He attended Riverside Community College the last two years, averaging 9.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and connected on 51.0 percent of his field goal attempts in 2003-04.

Grant going back to NBA: Assistant coach Gary Grant has resigned his position to purse a similar role with an NBA franchise. Grant, a collegiate All-American and a 13-year NBA veteran, served as an assistant coach this past season with the Aztecs.

San Diego State turns back the clock: When Steve Fisher last had Mark Hughes on his team, the Michigan Wolverines won the 1989 national championship. Now, Fisher hopes Hughes can produce similar magic at San Diego State as an assistant coach. Hughes has assistant coaching experience under Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers when Rivers coached the Orlando Magic.

Stokes Won’t Start: San Diego State point guard Wesley Stokes is academically ineligible to play for the Aztecs when the season starts and cannot play until the fall semester ends Dec. 18. Until then, coach Steve Fisher hopes the former Missouri transfer will get his grades in order because Stokes averaged 12.1 points per game and dished out 175 assists last season. He was the second-most efficient point guard in the Mountain West Conference, and Stokes is the linchpin to the Aztecs’ success this season.

Aztec Struggles to Score in Class: San Diego State recruit Jabbar Young, a beastly center who weighs close to 300 pounds, is academically ineligible to attend the school and will return to San Bernardino College. The sophomore enrolled as an Aztec in 2003 after attending San Bernardino, but his grades forced him back to the college. If he raises his grades, San Diego State can recruit him again, and he would have two years of eligibility remaining.

UNLV

Kruger names his staff: Marvin Menzies, Steve Henson, Lew Hill and Mike Shepherd were hired as assistant coaches and director of basketball operations, respectively, for UNLV. Hill comes to UNLV from Texas A&M where he was an assistant coach from 1998-2003 and served as the program’s associate head coach last season.

In the spring of 1996, Shepherd followed Kruger to Illinois from Florida, where he served as an assistant coach. In 1999-2000, Shepherd joined the Tulsa women’s basketball program.

Henson comes to UNLV after spending one season as an assistant coach at the University of South Florida. He spent time as an assistant coach as well as an advance scout for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks from 2000-03 working under Kruger and then Terry Stotts.

Henson also worked for Kruger at Illinois as an assistant coach in 1999-2000.

Menzies comes to Las Vegas after spending one year as an assistant coach with the USC men’s basketball program. As the head recruiter at San Diego State, Menzies signed nationally ranked recruiting classes in 2001 (Top 25) and 2000 (Top 40). He signed the program’s first-ever McDonald’s All-American and also signed former Aztec Randy Holcomb, who was taken by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Rebels sign JUCO players: Dustin Villepigue, a 6-9 forward from Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, Joel Anthony, a 6-9 center from Pensacola Junior College, and Ricky Morgan, a 6-0 guard from Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich., all signed to play with the Rebels.

At Dixie this past season, Villepigue played in 25 games, started 20 and averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He led the Scenic West Athletic Conference in field goal percentage at 64.9 percent. Villepigue, from Simi Valley, Calif., attended Gonzaga before transferring to Dixie. He redshirted at Gonzaga during the 2001-02 season as a freshman and played in four games the following year (2002-03) for the Bulldogs. Anthony averaged 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3.5 blocks for Pensacola this past season.

At Schoolcraft this past season, Morgan averaged 8.9 points, 6.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game in leading the school to a 27-4 record, the league title and the Michigan state junior college championship.

Morgan, from Pontiac, Mich., attended Iowa State in 2001-02, playing for the Cyclones as a true freshman. At ISU, Morgan tallied a team-high 91 assists, tying for third on the ISU freshman assist chart. He played in 29 games, started eleven, and averaged 3.1 apg, 2.6 ppg and 1.9 rpg.

Rebels go 4-0 in Canada: The UNLV Rebels swept their four games in Canada in August. The Rebels beat the Burnuby Mountain All Stars 83-53, Fraser Valley 103-62, University of British Columbia 89-71 and Langara College 70-58.

Utah

Utah loves Raymond: Utah hired Ray Giacoletti as its new head men’s basketball coach. iacoletti was head coach at Eastern Washington for the past four years.

Named the 2003-04 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, Giacoletti led Eastern Washington to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth this past season. The Eagles, finishing 17-13 overall and 11-3 in conference play, won 14 of their last 18 games-including 11 straight victories-to capture the Big Sky regular season and tournament titles.

Giacoletti, 41, went 69-50 in four seasons at Eastern Washington. His .707 winning percentage (41-17) in Big Sky Conference games ranks first among league schools. Giacoletti is 117-83 in seven years as a head coach. Before taking over at Eastern Washington, he was at North Dakota State for three years (1997-2000), directing the NCAA Division II program to a 48-33 record.

Giacolleti hired Randy Rahe, Marty Wilson and Mike Score as assistant coaches. Chris Jones became director of men’s basketball operations.

Tough Break for Rupp: Despite leading Utah to a Mountain West tournament championship and NCAA tournament berth after Rick Majerus resigned for health reasons, Kerry Rupp will not return to the Utes in any capacity next season. New coach Ray Giacoletti said he respects the job Rupp did in a tough situation but will not retain him as an assistant coach. Rupp later took a job with Indiana.

Jackson back for Utes: Marc Jackson, who left the Ute men’s basketball team last April, has announced his intent to return to the program for his senior season in 2004-05 after meeting with new head coach Ray Giacoletti.

Jackson, a 6-1 guard from Olympus High School, most recently played with the Utes in 2002-03 and earned second team all-Mountain West Conference honors. He averaged 9.3 points in 22 minutes per game while appearing in 29 contests. Jackson ranked second in the Mountain West Conference in three-point percentage (44.8), second in free throw percentage (84.2) and ninth in assists (2.76 apg). In Utah’s two NCAA Tournament games, Jackson scored 13 points in the first round win over Oregon and had 19 points versus Kentucky in the second round.

Utes get another from down under: Luke Nevill, a 7-0, 240-pound center from Perth, Australia, has signed a national letter of intent with the Utah men’s basketball program. The announcement came today from head coach Ray Giacoletti.

Nevill has been living in Marietta, Ga., this year as an exchange student. While playing for Kell High School, Nevill averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocked shots and 2.5 assists per game. He shot 70 percent from floor and 68 percent at the free throw line.

Bogut on Wooden list: Andrew Bogut, a 7-0 center/forward who will begin his sophomore year at the University of Utah this fall, has been named to the John R. Wooden Preseason All-American Team.

Bogut, along with the other Top 50 candidates named by the Wooden Award committee, will be considered for the Midseason Top 30 list and the national ballot for the John R. Wooden Player of the Year Award.

In his first season with the Utes, Bogut was named the 2003-04 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and second team all-conference. The Melbourne, Australia, native was Utah’s second-leading scorer (12.5 ppg), top rebounder (9.9 rpg) and best shot-blocker (44) last season.

Wyoming

Watson Leaves Wyoming: The circumstances appear fishy, but rising sophomore Mikel Watson is returning home to San Diego after a misunderstanding between him and the Wyoming coaching staff. Coach Steve McClain said that Watson failed to meet the standards he sets for the team. Neither would expound on the situation. Watson figured to be a major player in Wyoming’s attempt to compete in the ever-improving Mountain West conference. He averaged 5.9 points and 1.6 assists as a freshman.

Two out of three ain’t bad: James Ebert of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Kevin Lewis of Compton Community College in Compton, Calif.; and Steve Neal of Minneapolis all signed with Wyoming. However, Neal couldn’t make grades and is attending a junior college. He is expected to join the Cowboys next year.

James Ebert is a 6-2, 195-pound guard from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ebert was named a Second Team National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American in Division II. The native of Iowa City, Iowa, also earned First Team All-Region honors and was named the Region 11 Most Valuable Player. He averaged 17.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game during his sophomore season. An outstanding outside shooter, Ebert converted 40.9 percent of his three-point field goals, and hit 79.1 percent of his free throws.

Kevin Lewis is a 6′ 6″, 190-pound guard/forward from Compton Community College in Compton, Calif. Lewis averaged 14.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game his sophomore season at Compton, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range.

Neal is a 6-5, 180-pound guard out of Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, Minn. Neal was ranked among the Top 100 college prospects in the nation his senior season. To take his place, Wyoming signed freshman guard Abdullah Lawal of Plano, Texas.

TCU

TCU Coach Rewarded for Success: TCU coach Neil Dougherty will be around in Fort Worth, Texas, for several more years. The school has not released the terms of the deal, but officials hope that by the time his tenure comes to a close, TCU will be a powerhouse in the Conference USA. Last season, TCU won its first game against a Top-10 team and first conference tournament victory since 2000. Dougherty is 21-36 in two seasons at TCU, but last season’s improvement inspires hope for this program. The Horned Frogs will join the MWC in 2005.

Mountain West Conference Recap

Mountain West Conference 2003-04 Recap

by Keith Irizarry

Coming into this season, you would have had to have been Madam Cleo if you saw Air Force storming to the forefront of the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons won the regular season title with a 22-7 overall record and a 12-2 record in conference after being the MWC anchor last season. At 5-2, Air Force had the biggest game of the season coming up, at California. A 49-44 victory proved to some doubters that this normally dismal program might have a spark. Boy, would they. Air Force began conference play 5-0 and just kept trucking along after that. Their well-balanced attack of Nick Welch, Tim Keller, Antoine Hood, and A.J. Kuhle made them an almost unstoppable force. The most interesting fact about this quartet: none of them averaged more than 11.4 ppg. Now THAT is teamwork!

BYU and Utah were the usual suspects in the MWC. Both teams did their thing, dredging up some great wins: BYU over eventual Final Four team, Oklahoma State (76-71), Utah over top 25 staple this season, Utah State (56-45). BYU also had an impressive 8-game winning streak as they finished up the season. UNLV was the fourth team in the conference to put scares in opposing foes, jumping out to a 9-3 non-conference record. They had wins over two Pac-10 teams (USC, California) and an SEC team (Auburn). The season looked bright, and these four teams would not disappoint. Speaking of that aforementioned word, Colorado State proved that last season’s run to the tournament title was a fluke, with a lackluster season and Wyoming never really got on track.

The regular season was not without heartache, though, for Utah. Head Coach, Rick Majerus was forced to leave the team for medical reasons, and ended up resigning for good. The Utes rallied behind interim head coach, Kerry Rupp. As for bright lights in the west, BYU’s Rafael Araujo proved to be a more than potent 6-11 center, as he dominated inside the paint to the tune of 18.4 ppg and 10.1 rpg. He was a monster. Other players like: Odartey Blankson (a junior who dropped over 17 points a game), Danny Granger (another junior, who lead the conference in scoring), and Freshman of the Year, Andrew Bogut, made the Mountain West a conference hoop fans needed to pay attention to.

Conference Tournament Recap

Wow, all the hype that Air Force had with them after being lackluster since about 1996, came crumbling down in one fell swoop. The Falcons not only lost their opening tourney game, but they were manhandled by lowly Colorado State, 60-48. Was their place in the NCAA tournament in jeopardy? Once again the naysayers came calling but would be silenced. With Air Force now out of conference title and automatic bid contention, someone would need to punch that ticket.

The final four in the MWC was setup with No. 2 BYU taking on No. 3 Utah and No. 4 UNLV battling No. 8 Colorado State. The overall feeling was that the loser of the BYU/Utah tilt might find themselves on the outside of the dance and looking in. Nick Jacobson (Utah) had 19 points, dropping seven points in the last 4:27, and thus giving the Utes a 54-51 victory. The Rams gave UNLV a run for its money, but ultimately the Rebels would hold on, 80-73.

The final was as thrilling a game as the MWC saw all season. Back and forth the 2 teams would go. UNLV, led by Blankson’s heroics in the latter portions of the game and his 23 points, appeared poised for the upset. But, Nick Jacobson had different plans. With 1.8 seconds to go, he let a rainbow three pointer fly and it would drop. The Utes qualified for the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. UNLV would head to the NIT.

NIT and NCAA’s

Air Force received an 11-seed and drew the No. 6-seeded Tarheels of North Carolina. Talk about disparity in programs. For the Falcons, it was their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 42 years, whereas the Tarheels are perennial March Madness attendees. The game would stay close for a while, behind 17 and 15 respectively from Nick Welch and Antoine Hood. At the end of the first half, Air Force led 28-23. The Heels would prove to be too much, though, in the second half, outscoring the falcons 40-24 and notching a 63-52 win. No doubt this was one of the most surprising and rewarding seasons any team has had in quite some time. Kudos to head coach Joe Scott for his hard-work and dedication to this program.

Utah would be another MWC 11-seed. In a game that many of the supposed experts thought could be won by the Utes, they paired off against the Big East’s Boston College. B.C. played swarming defense on Nick Jacobson, holding him to just 8 points on 3 of 18 shooting from the field. Eagle sophomore, Craig Smith was too much of a presence for the Utes to stop, as he poured in 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Freshman, Andrew Bogut was the leading scorer for Utah, with 16 points, but had a crucial mistake at the end of the game, not noticing the shot clock was winding down, and thus ending the season for the Utes. You can’t say enough about the heart these kids and this program showed after losing their leader, head coach Rick Majerus. They could’ve folded, but rallied the troops and made a run to the NCAA Tourney.

Defending National Champions! Sounds like a daunting task; well that’s who the No. 12 seeded BYU Cougars would face-off against in the first round, and it was one heck of a game. The cougars shot nearly 50 percent from the field, had 4 double-digit scorers, and only allowed 6 Orangemen to even score (only 3 in double figures). On paper, it appears they played a nearly flawless game. Well, the word flawless goes to sophomore guard, Gerry McNamara of the Cuse. Mac rained in 43 points on 11-17 shooting, including 9 three-pointers. He was unstoppable. Araujo did his best to keep BYU alive, with his 24 points and 12 rebounds on the national stage. This was the fourth consecutive time that the Cougars fell in the first round. A valiant effort against the Orange did not go for naught. The nation was introduced to Rafael Araujo, a 6-11 beast who will get some major looks in the first round of the upcoming NBA draft.

UNLV took their game to Boise State and unfortunately forgot how to play basketball. Boise took it to the Runnin’ Rebels, 84-69. The Broncos shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, and held UNLV to a lowly 29 percent. UNLV would trail by as many as 26 points in the game, and despite a 17-3 run, would never really get close. Odartey Blankson had 26 points for the Rebs.

Hardware

MWC All-First Team
Danny Granger – Jr. Forward – New Mexico
Nick Jacobson - Sr. Guard – Utah
Odartey Blankson – Jr. Forward – UNLV
Rafael Araujo – Sr. Center – BYU
Nick Welch – So. Center – Air Force

Players of the Year
Rafael Araujo and Nick Welch

Coach of the Year
Joe Scott – Air Force

Freshman of the Year
Andrew Bogut – Utah

Team-by-team Recaps

Air Force Falcons (22-7, 12-2)

Team MVP: Nick Welch

Top Scorer: Nick Welch (11.4ppg)
Top Rebounder: Nick Welch (4.0 rpg)
Top Assists: A.J. Kuhle (3.1 apg)

Starters leaving:
A.J. Kuhle (graduating)
Joel Gerlah (graduating)

Key players returning:
Nick Welch (sophomore center, 11.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
Antoine Hood (sophomore guard, 10.4 ppg)
Tim Keller (junior guard, 11.0ppg)

The Falcons aren’t losing much, and they retain a very young nucleus. Don’t think that Joe Scott’s boys were a one-year wonder; they will be in contention for the league title once again.

BYU Cougars (21-9, 10-4)

Team MVP: Rafael Araujo

Top Scorer: Rafael Araujo (18.4 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Rafael Araujo (10.1 rpg)
Top Assists: Luiz Lemes (4.5 apg)

Starters Leaving:
Rafael Araujo (graduating)
Mark Bigelow (graduating)
Luiz Lemes (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Mike Hall (junior guard, 12.8 ppg)
Garner Meads (freshman forward, 4.2 ppg)

BYU was senior-laden team that was built to win last season, and they did a great job of that. Mike Hall and some of the returning guys that didn’t see much court time last season will need to grow up quickly this upcoming year. It could be a sharp drop-off early on, but knowing the Cougars coaching regime, this team should still finish towards the top of the MWC.

Utah Utes (24-9, 9-5)

Team MVP: Nick Jacobson

Top Scorer: Nick Jacobson (16.5 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Andrew Bogut (9.9 rpg)
Top Assists: Tim Drisdom (3.6 apg)

Starters Leaving:
Nick Jacobson (graduating)
Tim Frost (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Andrew Bogut (freshman forward, 12.5ppg, 9.9 rpg)
Tim Drisdom: (sophomore guard, 6.1 ppg, 3.6 apg)
Richard Chaney (sophomore guard/forward, 9.5 ppg)
Justin Hawkins (freshman forward, 5.3 ppg)
Marc Jackson (senior guard, left the team last year, and will return this season. Was a second team MWC performer in 2002/03)

Ray Giacoletti was hired as the new Head Coach, after the Utes chose not to bring back interim head coach, Kerry Rupp. Giacoletti the head coach at Eastern Washington University for the past four years was Named the 2003-04 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year and led E. Dub to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth this past season. Giacoletti named Randy Rahe, Marty Wilson, and Mike Score to his coaching staff. Utah, provided Giacoletti does not change much, will be the toast of the MWC next season. Returning some studs. My prediction is that Andrew Bogut will blow up next season and take home player of the year honors, while leading Utah to a conference title.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (18-13, 7-7)

Team MVP: Odartey Blankson

Top Scorer: Odartey Blankson (17.6 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Odartey Blankson (10.2 rpg)
Top Assists: Jerel Blassingame (6.6 apg)

Starters Leaving:
James Peters (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Odartey Blankson (junior forward, 17.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg)
Jerel Blassingame (junior guard, 11.2 ppg, 6.6 apg)
Romel Black (junior guard/forward, 14.2 ppg)

Lon Kruger was hired at the end of the season as the new head coach. Kruger, with NCAA and NBA experience has added Lew Hill and Mike Shepherd to the Runnin’ Rebel staff. If Odartey Blankson continues to grow as a player and Jerel Blassingame can continue to run the show, the Runnin’ Rebels will have a major chance to contend for the MWC title. I think Kruger will have great success with this program, immediately.

New Mexico Lobos (14-14, 5-9)

Team MVP: Danny Granger

Top Scorer: Danny Granger (19.5 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Danny Granger (9.0 rpg)
Top Assists: Javin Tindall (3.5 apg)

Starters Leaving:
Javin Tindall (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Danny Granger (junior forward, 19.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
Troy Devries (junior guard, 10.7 ppg)
David Chiotti (sophomore forward, 12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
Lenny Miles (freshman guard, 2.9 ppg)

The Lobos return the core of a team that went 5-9 in conference play, is that enough? Granger is for real, but after him, the other guys need to step up their game. Lenny Miles, after one full year, could turn out to be a little bit of a surprise this season. Watch out for him. New Mexico, once again, looks like a middle of the pack team.

San Diego State Aztecs (14-16, 5-9)

Team MVP: Aerick Sanders

Top Scorer: Aerick Sanders (16.1 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Aerick Sanders (9.0 rpg)
Top Assists: Wesley Stokes (5.8 apg)

Starters Leaving:
Aerick Sanders (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Chris Walton (junior forward, 8.7 ppg)
Marcus Slaughter (freshman forward, 7.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
Brandon Heath (freshman guard, 13.8 ppg)
Wesley Stokes (junior guard, 12.1 ppg, 5.8 apg)

Mohammed Camara, ranked as the 6th best forward in the nation from the Junior College ranks, will be with the Aztecs this upcoming season. The 6-11, 260 pound center from Louisville, averaged 9.6 ppg and 10.7 rpg for Riverside Community College the last two years. If you are looking for this upcoming season’s version of Air Force, it just may be San Diego State. No doubt, the loss of Sanders will be felt, but returning 4 starters, including a great playmaker in Wesley Stokes, will provide the Aztecs with the ability to win night in and night out. Camara will do his best to step in for Sanders, and JUCO transfers always seem to be more prepared than freshmen. Watch him become the newcomer of the MWC. A top 4 finish in the conference is extremely realistic.

Colorado State Rams (13-16, 4-10)

Team MVP: Matt Nelson

Top Scorer: Matt Nelson (15.6 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Matt Nelson (5.7 rpg)
Top Assists: Michael Morris (4.0 apg)

Starters Leaving:
Ronnie Clark (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Matt Willams (junior forward, 10.4 ppg)
Matt Nelson (junior center, 15.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Dwight Boatner (freshman guard, 5.8 ppg)
Jon Rakiecki (junior guard, 5.7 ppg)
Freddy Robinson (sophomore guard/forward, 8.9 ppg)

Matt Nelson has the capabilities of becoming this season’s Rafael Araujo. He stands 7-feet in height, and has good footwork on the blocks, but needs to get tougher, sounds familiar, huh? The Rams, the perennial conference tourney team, yet strugglers in the regular season, will be a middle of the pack team at best next season.

Wyoming Cowboys (11-17, 4-10)

Team MVP: Jay Straight

Top Scorer: Jay Straight (15.7 ppg)
Top Rebounder: Alex Dunn (5.6 rpg)
Top Assists: Jay Straight (3.8 apg)

Starters Leaving:
Joe Ries (graduating)

Key Players Returning:
Jay Straight (junior guard, 15.7 ppg, 3.8 apg)
Alex Dunn (junior forward/center, 5.6 rpg)
Dion Sherrell (junior forward, 6.5 ppg)
Mikel Watson (freshman guard, 5.9 ppg)

Was there a more disappointing team than Wyoming in the MWC? Well, next season might still be a rough go of it. Jay Straight is a solid college basketball player, but my thoughts are that this team may ride on Mikel Watson’s back. The freshman guard did not have staggering numbers, but came on strong at the end of the season (scored double digits in 6 out the last 8 games). If he can parlay that play into a solid sophomore season, maybe the Cowboys can move out of the MWC cellar.

Mountain West Finals Recap

Mountain West Conference Finals Recap
		Recap by Keith Irizarry (3) Utah 73, (4) UNLV 70 With 1.8 seconds left, Nick Jacobson did what all of his teammates knew he would: hit a game winning three-pointer. There was no doubt in their minds that he had it in him. Jacobson has been the team leader whenever something big was needed, and this was as big as it had come. Tied at 70 a piece, and the MWC automatic bid on the line, Utah ran a simple play: Nick, come get the ball, and shoot. Jacobson finished the game with 22 points. Freshman Andrew Bogut had 17 points and 13 rebounds, as the Utes were victorious, 73-70. For UNLV, their superstar, Odartey Blankson did all he could, when he nailed a three to tie the game at 70, giving him 23 points on the game. It proved to be one basket too little. This was the third consecutive loss for the Runnin’ Rebels in the MWC Championship Game. The game had its share of ups and downs for both teams. Utah was down by as many as 10 points early in the second half, but went on a crucial 16-4 run to make the game manageable. The teams would trade free throws, with Bogut knocking down a pair with just 35 seconds remaining, making the score 70-67. Blankson came back the other way and drained his 3rd three pointer in the final 5 minutes of play. Utah, with the win (third straight year in the NCAAA Tournament, and eight time in last 10 years), goes dancing, but the question is: will anyone else? It looks like the regular season champs, Air Force, will get an at-large bid. The even bigger question is what happens to BYU. Here’s their resume: winners of 10 of their last 11 games, a win over Oklahoma State (top 10 in all polls), made to the semifinals of the MWC tournament. Is that enough? Wait and see. As for the Rebels, they will more than likely be invited to the NIT.

Mountain West Semifinals Recap

Mountain West Conference Semifinals Recap
		Recap by Keith Irizarry Huff…Huff…Puff…and I’ll blow your house down. Sound familiar? Right, it should, because the MWC should have never been built out of hay. Coming into the conference tournament, it was believed that there were 2 “locks.” Oh yeah, don’t forget this conference is rated No. 7 amongst all other conferences. Well, Air Force goes and gets knocked off by lowly Colorado State and BYU can’t get by Utah. Put that together with some major upsets in some mid-major conferences, and the bids are going fast. Could the MWC regular season champ (Air Force) NOT make the Dance? Unfortunately, the Falcons may not soar. As for the Cougars of BYU, you’d have to believe they shot themselves in the foot. (3) Utah 54, (2) BYU 51 It was not a shocking upset (54-51 in favor of Utah), but enough to make the cougars meow like a crippled cat. Utah (23-8) rode the tails of some precise shooting in the second half to get one step closer to the big dance and fend off a run by BYU. Nick Jacobson had 19 points, including seven points in the last 4:27. He continues to be the stud for this Ute Squad. Tim Frost chipped in 10 points and freshman Andrew Bogut had an all-around game with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. BYU was lead by their big gun, Rafael Araujo (13 points and 8 rebounds). Mike Hall and Luiz Lemes both added 9 points a piece. The loss ends BYU’s 9-game winning streak and at 21-8, one would think that they are on the outside of March Madness and knocking on the door begging to be let in. (4) UNLV 80, (8) Colorado State 83 Ahh, the days of yesteryear. Remember when the Runnin’ Rebels were dominant? Remember when they knocked off Duke in the NCAA Final, then reeled off an undefeated season the next year, before getting beaten in the Final Four? Well, those days are over, but this UNLV team is making a late push for the NCAA tourney. It started last night. Colorado State, after upsetting Air Force in the quarters, they were unable to make it happen twice in a row. UNLV did their thing, and won this one, 80-73. The Runnin’ Rebels were led by Odartey Blankson’s 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jerel Blassingame, also had 19 points.