Mountain West Basketball Countdown: #6 - Jalen Moore

The sixth overall player in the 2016 MW countdown is Utah State forward Jalen Moore.

Moore, a senior from North Logan, Utah, has been one of the better players in the conference the past two seasons, and expects to fight for MW POY this year.

Moore averaged 15.2 points a night in consecutive seasons, and also recorded over six rebounds per game in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He was named to the preseason All-Mountain West first team in October.

The 6-8, 215-pounder is exceptional on offense but not so much on the defensive end. His strongest defensive season by box plus/minus measures was +0.7 in his sophomore season. If he can play a larger part in improving an Aggie defense that ranked 233rd in the country last season in efficiency, you’re looking at a potential MW player of the year.

With a formidable backcourt that includes Shane Rector, Julion Pearre and talented freshman Koby McEwen, there’s no reason to believe why Moore and Utah State can’t compete for a top 3 finish in the conference.

Running Order:

• 6: Jalen Moore, Utah State
• 7: Emmanuel Omogbo, Colorado State
• 8: Marcus Marshall, Nevada
• 9: Jeremy Hemsley, San Diego State
• 10: Nick Duncan, Boise State
• 11: Jason McManamen, Wyoming
• 12: Hayden Graham, Air Force
• 13: Malik Pope, San Diego State
• 14: D.J. Fenner, Nevada
• 15: Brandon Clarke, San Jose State
• 16: Karachi Edo, Fresno State
• 17: Lindsey Drew, Nevada
• 18: Cullen Russo, Fresno State
• 19: Zylan Cheatham, San Diego State
• 20: Trevor Lyons, Air Force
• 21: Chandler Hutchison, Boise State
• 22: Alan Herndon, Wyoming
• 23: Paris Austin, Boise State
• 24: Shane Rector, Utah State
• 25: Koby McEwen, Utah State