Early Preview Of Mountain West Basketball

by Jeremy Mauss on Sep 6, 2010 10:42 AM PDT in Basketball

ESPN is doing a summer shoot around series and the Mountain West is up, and these previews are in-depth, so here is a sample of what they talked about.

There are plenty games to watch, but this one sticks out:

UNLV vs. Kansas St. (Kansas City), Dec. 21: The Rebs went into this game last year undefeated and ended up losing by 15 in Las Vegas after being unable to contain Jacob Pullen. It only gets tougher away from home, and what a win it would be for UNLV if Lon Kruger could beat his alma mater during a season when many expect the Wildcats to be Final Four contenders.

Then there is the best case worst case scenario from the ESPN basketball blog. Here is what they said about San Diego State in 2010-2011:

Best case: San Diego State might be this conference's best team. Considering the return of Jimmer Fredette and the talent available to Alford at UNM, that's saying something. Sophomore Kawhi Leonard is one of the best college basketball players you've never heard of, an irrepressible rebounder and top-notch defender who, with just a bit more offensive efficiency, might end up being the best player in the league. San Diego State returns basically everyone from last season's MWC-tournament winning team, including Malcolm Thomas, Billy White and D.J. Gay. The Aztecs had to fight to get into the NCAA tournament last season, but that shouldn't be a problem this time. Once they get there, they'll be looking to do a whole lot more than fight. That shouldn't be a problem, either.

Worst case: It's hard to fathom this team taking a step back, but the difference between NCAA tournament participant and NIT invitee can be razor-thin in the Mountain West. SDSU will have to fight off two very good teams at the top of its conference to assert its superiority. Failing that, the Aztecs might have to beat nonconference foes like Gonzaga and Saint Mary's (which, unfortunately, are not battles for the future of BYU's WCC-bound basketball team) and establish themselves as worthy of an at-large bid, even if the conference title goes wanting. Such is the life of a putative mid-major on the rise: You can't afford slip-ups, even if you're this good.

The article lists the top ten players and freshman to watch in 2010-2011, plus Doug Gottlieb brings his early projections:

1. San Diego State

2. BYU

3. New Mexico

4. UNLV

5. Colorado State

6. Wyoming

7. Utah

8. TCU

9. Air Force

So for you hoop junkies here is a little taste and check their whole article it is a good read.

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Comments

I know Alford has a lot of talent

But UNLV does too and with Hobson not returning, I see UNLV ahead of New Mexico. Hobson was the guy that would kill defenses and with him gone, the Lobos could have some trouble. UNLV returns their starters and gets a lot more size under the hoop with Redshirt Freshman Carlos Lopez coming in and Kansas transfer Quintrell Thomas as well. We should see an improved team in UNLV, a really good team in BYU, an astounding San Diego State squad and a New Mexico team at around the same level they were last year (That’s not bad at all considering they got all the way to No. 8 in the polls last season).

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UNLV is going all the way this year!

by rebelfan1 on Sep 6, 2010 8:55 PM PDT reply actions

I think UNM is underated ..

We’re not even in the projected pre-season top 25 polls!! Hobson was good but I honestly think Fredette was better. Hobson was very spotty and you never knew when he would show up. Martinez was also spotty. When he was on .. he was en fuego. But when he was cold, he was very cold. They will both be missed but I think we will be even stronger this year. What made UNM good was they had a lot of players who played well together and when one was down, someone else would step up. I see no reason why Alford’s group won’t have the same cohesivness this year as we did last year. We have a very strong nucleus returning (Gary, Hardeman, McDonald) along with two pretty darn good transfers (Negadu-Tennessee and Gordon-UCLA). We never really had an inside game last year but kudos have to go Hardeman and Brown (Brown isn’t returning). Dariese Gary is the only Senior on the team but because Alford went so deep into the bench last year we have plenty of experience from our Sophmores and Juniors. Dennis, Fenton and Adams were all contributors last year and will play important roles again this year.

by LoboJo on Sep 7, 2010 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions