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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL
- Utah State
- San Diego State
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Boise State
- Fresno State
- UNLV
- Air Force
- Colorado State
- Wyoming
- San Jose State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MWC PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Sam Merrill – Utah State, SR G
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – K.J. Hymes – Nevada, FR F
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Malachi Flynn Jr – San Diego State, GR G
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
Sam Merrill – Utah State, SR G
Derrick Alston – Boise State, JR G
Lavelle Scottie – Air Force, SR F
Nico Carvacho – Colorado State, SR F/C
Neemias Queta – Utah State, SO C
NOTES FROM DAVID. Nevada has been the flag-bearer of this conference for the past few years, and outside of them the league hasn’t been as strong as what we’ve seen in the past. It’s rare that we see more than one or two teams inside the bubble, and Sweet Sixteens are no longer commonplace. As for Nevada, they have undergone a huge setback with all their starters from a year ago being gone, as well as their head coach. Steve Alford, who’s had some pretty good runs in his career (I mean that sincerely and not as a backhanded compliment) takes over, but he has his work cut out for him. I think he can be successful over time, but it may take a year or two to get things rolling again.
Everyone is excited about Utah State this year, and understandably so. Four starters are back from a team that won 28 games and ended up safely making the NCAA Tournament. This is a well-balanced team with good guard play as well as a solid frontcourt, and that should also get some help from its bench. If anyone from this league is going to make a splash on the national scene this year, it’ll be Utah State. Of course, for those that have been fans of the sport, and fans of superfans of the sport, we all miss the days of Wild Bill! Is he still out there!!?? Will he come back!!??
San Diego State is a team that the media seems to like. They only return two starters from a team that failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Having said that, they do have some strong transfers coming in who should contribute in a big way.
New Mexico finished with a losing record last year, and hasn’t won 20 games in quite some time. Three starters are back, and the media has picked them to finish third, so maybe things can turn around this year. My impressions are that things aren’t entirely hopeless, but there isn’t anything that jumps out at me as being really exciting either.
Leon Rice has done well at Boise State for most of the years he’s been there. Prior to last season he’d made two NCAA Tournaments, and won 20+ games for six years in a row. But last year, they finished with a losing record. One can’t help but think it’s just an anomaly, and with three starters back they should show some improvement. I do think they have some talent, especially at the guard position, and should be back to what we’re used to seeing.
Head Coach Justin Hutson had a good year in his first year at Fresno State last year with 23 wins and a third-place finish. He’s only got two returning starters, though, so they’ll need to rely on some of their transfers to contribute.
UNLV also has a new coach in T.J. Otzelberger, who got his start in the D-3 ranks. This program is a long way from where it used to be, and one can’t help but feel it’s a long way from where it should be. Just two players are back from this year’s team, and I can’t help but feel they aren’t going to end up anywhere near the NCAA Tournament.
It’s hard to win at Air Force, but we at HoopsHD love them anyway because we at HoopsHD LOVE the Front Range! They’ve got a very solid player in Lavelle Scottie, and all five starters are back from last year so just having that kind of experience should result in an improvement.
Colorado State also has four starters back from a team that went a not-great-but-not-awful 7-11 in conference play last year. I don’t see them ending up anywhere near the NCAA Tournament, but we at HoopsHD love them anyway because we at HoopsHD LOVE the Front Range!!
Wyoming had a very rough year last year, and could be in store for another one this year, but we at HoopsHD love them anyway because we at HoopsHD LOVE the Front Range!!
San Jose State has traditionally been the worst team in the conference, and that could likely be the case again this year. The Spartans have made one major improvement coming into the year. They no longer have this monstrosity on the court. It truly was an assault on the retinas!
