OUTLOOK: For 2009-10, Western Athletic Conference basketball will not look all
that dissimilar from what the member schools put out on the hardwood last
season. Of the 10 players named to the All-WAC First and Second Teams at the
conclusion of the 2008-09 campaign, all but two are returning to their
respective teams and that is good news for a league that continues to fight
for national recognition. All of those top-notch performers will provide the
WAC with some credibility right off the bat, especially as 14 of the league's
top 15 scorers from a year ago make it back for another turn as well.
Although it was a close call, last season the Western Athletic Conference was
the only conference in the nation to have every member school register at
least 13 victories. Unfortunately, when it came to postseason play last year
or, more specifically, in the prestigious NCAA Tournament, Utah State was
quickly ushered out following a first-round loss to Marquette in Boise. Those
same Aggies head into this season sporting the second-longest home win streak
in the nation at 34 games, trailing only top-ranked Kansas which has posted 41
consecutive victories in Lawrence. USU should be able to add to that streak
early on, but hosting BYU and Saint Mary's in back-to-back meetings in early
December should give everyone a good idea what this version of the Aggies is
made of.
For a perennial favorite like Nevada, it too has a difficult non-conference
slate the first month of the season, particularly with three straight road
games versus VCU, North Carolina and Pacific. Both New Mexico State and Idaho
are bringing back significant performers from last year and either one of them
could make a play for the top spot in the league if everything falls just
right, but from there on it doesn't appear the second-half of the WAC will be
doing anything more than jockeying for position for the league tournament.
Again, there are quality players in almost every WAC locale, but in some
instances the talent is spread too thin and that should allow Utah State and
Nevada to work out which team should be on top come season's end.
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Utah State
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Utah State; 2. Nevada; 3. New Mexico State; 4.
Idaho; 5. Fresno State; 6. Louisiana Tech; 7. Boise State; 8. San Jose State;
9. Hawaii
TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:
UTAH STATE: Even though the Aggies have lost several key components the last
few years, head coach Stew Morrill has still found a way to cultivate a
winning atmosphere. What makes the 2009-10 version of the Aggies so incredibly
strong is the fact that there are four returning starters from a squad that
finished 30-5 overall in 2008-09 and was first in the WAC with 14 wins in 16
opportunities. Even though he'll only have two seasons with USU, senior guard
Jared Quayle made enough of an impact last season, following his transfer from
Western Wyoming C.C., to earn himself preseason all-conference honors heading
into the year. Second on the team in scoring last year with his 13.1 ppg,
Quayle started all but two of the team's 35 games and managed to do it all for
the Aggies. Not only did Quayle shoot 38.8 percent behind the three-point
line, he also delivered six rebounds per contest, handed out a team-high 131
assists and recorded a team-best 50 steals. Showing the same sort of well-
rounded play is Tai Wesley. As one of the top shooters in the nation at 59.2
percent from the floor, Wesley accounted for 12.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg, not to
mention 93 assists, 40 steals and a team-high 29 blocked shots. As if having
Quayle and Wesley were not enough, throw in Tyler Newbold and this squad has
the makings of a dominant force. Newbold, who led the team with his 60 three-
point baskets, was second in assists with 111 and contributed 9.0 ppg and 4.2
rpg.
NEVADA: Under head coach Mark Fox, at least during his first three seasons
with the program, the Wolf Pack was a force to be reckoned with. Not only did
the team feast on the rest of the WAC, it made some noise in the NCAA
Tournament as well. Given that the team posted a total of 25 losses the last
two campaigns, Fox was ready to find a new challenge and that took him to
Georgia. The opening for a new head coach in Reno meant it was time to elevate
David Carter to the top position after he served dutifully as an assistant for
the Pack for the last decade. Coach Carter has the luxury of retaining one of
the top players in the league for another season in Luke Babbitt, the 2009 WAC
Freshman of the Year. Babbitt came out on fire with his 16.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg,
both of which paced the Wolf Pack. Perhaps most remarkable about Babbitt is
that he is capable of not only drawing defenders to the perimeter with his
42,9 percent shooting beyond the arc, he also possesses a deft touch at the
free-throw line where he knocked down 152-of-176 (.864) opportunities. Junior
guard Armon Johnson was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2008 and then elevated
his game to being named All-WAC First Team last season. Averaging 13.5 ppg in
his first two seasons, Johnson can turn on the offense almost effortlessly.
The team leader by far with his 145 assists, more than twice as many as his
closest teammate, Johnson now needs to work on his three-point shooting (.278)
to balance out his game. One of three seniors for coach Carter this season,
Brandon Fields was the top scorer off the bench with his 9.4 ppg and just adds
to the overall arsenal in Reno.
NEW MEXICO STATE: Last season the Aggies were the top scoring program in the
WAC with their 76.3 ppg and yet that resulted in just 17 wins overall. Third-
year head coach Marvin Menzies now has to find a way to maintain the team's
open offense and converting that into victories. What made this team so
dangerous last year was that it not only played tough on the inside as usual,
it made good on a league-best 40 percent behind the three-point line, thanks
mostly to Jahmar Young and Jonathan Gibson as the pairing combined to hit a
total of 134 triples. Good news for the Aggies is that both junior guards are
ready for a repeat performance in 2009-10. Despite his sophomore status last
season, Young led the WAC in scoring with his 17.9 ppg, a huge jump from the
10.3 ppg he posted as a freshman. Young, one of the five returning starters
from a season ago, was second on the team with his 104 assists and was often
forcing the action on offense, earning him 170 opportunities at the free-throw
line where he was 82.4 percent accurate. Gibson (14.1 ppg) could stand to make
some better shot choices in clutch situations in order to boost his shooting
percentage, but as long as Troy Gillenwater and Wendell McKines are there to
clean up for him on the glass, maybe it isn't such a bad idea for him to keep
firing away. A physical player in his own right, Gillenwater (12.1 ppg)
started just eight games for New Mexico State last year. McKines (12.1 ppg,
10.0 rpg) handled much of the action in the paint for the Aggies. Hamidu
Rahman (6.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg) is a solid role player as well down low.
IDAHO: It took a decade, but the Vandals finally put all the pieces together
as they had their highest league finish since 1998-99, coming in third in the
WAC last year under the direction of first-year head coach Don Verlin. At
17-16 Idaho had its best record in more than a decade and did so with some
landmark victories over league opponents. Key to the team's success was the
emergence of former Washington State transfer Mac Hopson. In his first year of
action with the Moscow-based program, Hopson earned First Team All-WAC honors
and was also one of the top newcomers to the conference as well. A 43.0
percent shooter from three-point range, Hopson led the program with 16.4 ppg.
A well-rounded performer, Hopson was first on the team in both assists (194)
and steals (55) and had a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Now a
senior, guard Kashif Watson (10.3 ppg) played second fiddle to Hopson, but
should the Vandals want to improve upon their 65.9 ppg from a year ago, Watson
and many of his teammates will have to provide relief. With that in mind,
senior center Marvin Jefferson (9.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg) can't sit back and wait for
plays to develop, he has to be more assertive in the post in order to open up
the offense for his guards. Jefferson, a transfer from Modesto JC, has the
potential to log some significant numbers in the paint.
FRESNO STATE: Having two of the league's top 10 scorers back for another turn
this season is a huge advantage for the Bulldogs and head coach Steve
Cleveland, but even that will not assure the team of success. Senior forward
Sylvester Seay had many moments in which he shined last season, leading the
team in scoring with his 15.3 ppg as he earned all-conference recognition, but
that doesn't mean he doesn't have room for improvement. A combination
guard/forward, Paul George burst onto the scene for the Bulldogs and became
one of the nation's best freshmen scorers with his 14.3 ppg, beginning with a
bang as he started all 34 games for the squad. George is someone who can have
his hand in all facets of the game; rebounding (6.2 rpg), blocked shots (34)
and steals (59). Another of the returning starters for the Bulldogs is
Nedeljko Golubovic (7.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg), a Serbian product who has a boat load
of potential.
LOUISIANA TECH: Even though the Bulldogs finished three games under .500 last
season at 15-18 and were only 6-10 versus the rest of the WAC, the results
were still head and shoulders above a disappointing 2007-08 campaign in which
the squad had a total of just six victories. Working in favor of LaTech again
this season is the fact that the program has three quality returning starters,
all of whom are seniors and are anxious to go out with a bang in Ruston. Tops
on that list is guard Kyle Gibson who appeared in 32 games last season and was
the leading scorer for the Bulldogs in half of those, finishing out with a
16.1 ppg. A Second Team All-WAC performer, Gibson led the team with 76 three-
point baskets and shot almost as well from three-point range (.434) as he did
from the floor overall (.449). More than just a perimeter gunner, the guard
led the program with his 88 assists and also made more free throws (132-180)
than any of his teammates was able to attempt. Magnum Rolle (12.2 ppg) will
handle the action in the paint, where he was responsible for more than seven
rebounds per contest. A 53 percent shooter from the field, Rolle has a huge
presence with his 52 blocked shots as well. Jamel Guyton, a starter in 31 of
the 32 games for the Bulldogs, put up almost 12 points per outing as he scored
a career-high of 27 points twice. As someone who can heat up at the offensive
end of the floor, Guyton doesn't let up at the defensive end either, credited
with a team-best 47 steals. David Jackson (5.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg) started a handful
of games for the squad a year ago, but as the only other senior on the roster
for this season he could well see significant time as the Bulldogs wait for
some of their young players get up to speed.
BOISE STATE: Now entering his eighth season with the Broncos, head coach Greg
Graham has to be pleased with the fact that he has four players returning who
were starters in one form or another last season. Boise State has a pair of
senior frontcourt players in Kurt Cunningham and Ike Okoye that will need to
step up this year. Cunningham, who saw his scoring average jump from 2.6 ppg
in 2007-08 to 10.2 ppg a year ago, made the most of his time in the paint as
he shot a league-best 67.3 percent from the floor. Okoye, another 17-game
starter, was also someone who remained close to the rim with his 52.9 percent
effort from the field. The top returning rebounder for the Broncos with his
5.6 boards per outing, Okoye accounted for 60 of the team's 117 blocked shots
a year ago, which means BSU should have a solid interior presence once again.
While Cunningham and Okoye operate down low, the perimeter will be directed by
senior guard Anthony Thomas who set a single-season school record last year
with his 151 assists and was also named to the All-WAC Defensive Team as well.
Add junior guard Paul Noonan to the list of returning players who possesses
significant experience and the Broncos bring back their top two three-point
producers as Noonan and Thomas combined to make 101 of the team's 200 three-
point baskets.
SAN JOSE STATE: Getting the Spartans to a respectable place in the Western
Athletic Conference has been far from an easy job for head coach George
Nessman, yet he is back for his fifth season and is hoping the results
continue to be more favorable. Nessman stepped into the role at San Jose State
for the 2005-06 campaign and logged just six total victories and a mere two in
16 tries versus the rest of the WAC. Last season the Spartans put up six
conference wins in 16 attempts and had their best winning percentage under
Nessman with a 13-17 mark overall. The program brings back several players who
found themselves in the starting lineup at one point or another in 2008-09.
Although he appeared in just 18 games after getting a late start to the
season, junior guard Adrian Oliver exploded onto the scene and became one of
the most feared scorers in the WAC with his 17.1 ppg. Sharpshooter Robert
Owens (7.0 ppg) returns after converting a team-best 47-of-123 (.382) from
long range, but his overall accuracy (.392) was rather lacking. Justin Graham
(8.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) will have to live up to expectations after he paced the
program with 142 assists and a team-record 51 steals as a sophomore last
season.
HAWAII: Head coach Bob Nash has been a life-long Warrior, first as a player
himself and then an understudy with Riley Wallace who finally turned the
program over in 2007. The first two years have been a bit bumpy for coach Nash
and the Warriors as they have back-to-back losing campaigns to overcome as
they enter 2009-10. The good news for Hawaii is that the team has several
returning starters from a year ago, including both double-digit scorers in
Roderick Flemings and Bill Amis. Flemings, a senior guard who is a transfer
from Weatherford College, doesn't have much more time to prove himself in
Honolulu, but he made quite an impression last season as he made the All-WAC
Second Team and the league's all-newcomer squad after putting up a team-best
16.6 ppg. Flemings hit for double figures in all but two of his 30 games a
season ago and consistency will be the key again this year. If Flemings opts
to play more out on the perimeter, the area in the paint will see more and
more of Amis, who was responsible for 10.7 ppg and a team-best 6.4 rpg.
Forward Petras Balocka (8.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) missed a few games last year and
spent much of the time coming off the bench, but as one of six seniors on the
roster he will be asked to become more of a leader as the team works in
several newcomers to the system in Honolulu.
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