Our take on the WAC pre-season polls and teams

Here's the coaches poll again -- in this instance, we're going to ignore the media one since the coaches offering should be the much better informed one. [this will not exactly score us points with the media]

Men's Basketball Preseason Coach's Poll Announced

Coaches could not vote for their own team or players1.

Utah State
2. New Mexico State
3. Nevada
4. Fresno State
5. Boise State
6. Hawai'i
7. Louisiana Tech
8. San Jose State
9. Idaho

OUR TAKE: As we have mentioned previously, the battle for WAC supremacy should come down to Utah State and New Mexico State and we are leaning toward Coach Stew Morrill's squad because of the consistency of high-scoring Jaycee Carroll.

To go into each game knowing you will receive at least 20 points and good percentage shooting is a rock solid base from which to build upon and Morrill will also have a much bigger and brawnier team than last season. The Logan-ites will need junior college transfer Gary Wilkinson to adapt quickly and we believe the 6-8 240 paint player will do so, battling NMSU's Herb Pope for best newcomer in the WAC.

We're not so sure about Nevada in the three spot as a number of Wolf Pack players will need to step up and assist high-scoring Marcellus Kemp.

Fresno State has a load of talent but is very unproven upfront and it's just the opposite for Greg Graham and Boise State. Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry anchor the Bronco frontline but a Coby Karl replacement will need to appear in the backcourt.

Hawai'i has some talent but we're not sure if newcomer Bob Nash has the players he needs at this point to truly implement his philosophy of an up-tempo offense and pressure at the defensive end.

Louisiana Tech is somewhat of a darkhorse, with an influx of talented newcomers, but it's a group primarily made up of freshmen who have yet to play a minute of D-1 basketball. But Coach Kerry Rupp certainly deserves credit for immediately upgrading Tech's recruiting.

As for San Jose Sate, MIddle Tennessee Coach Kermit Davis said this recently in describing the Spartans: "San Jose State will be the most improved team in the WAC this year." SJSU will be in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in mid-November to take part in a four team tournament, hence the quote from Davis.

We dp concur with Davis. Yes, the SJSU youngsters are short on experience and that will be a factor at times this season but the Spartans have the most potential to make the biggest move of all the WAC teams.

Idaho is Idaho. Almost a brand new roster has come aboard, featuring some skilled talents, but Coach George Pfeiffer will need to blend unfamiliar faces and also hold on to his core players.

One ominous sign is that the Idaho basketball camps were canceled this summer -- demonstrating that the fan base in Idaho is taking a wait-and-see approach. To Pfeiffer's credit, the position he is in is an extremely difficult one and we're not sure if anyone could make Idaho competitive in the WAC.

Preseason All-WAC Teams

First-Team

Jaycee Carroll, Sr., G, Utah State

Justin Hawkins, Jr., G/F, New Mexico State

Marcelus Kemp, Sr., G, Nevada

Reggie Larry, Sr., F, Boise State

Fred Peete, Jr., G, New Mexico State

OUR TAKE: The inclusion here of Reggie Larry over teammate Matt Nelson is debatable. Nelson was steady last season with low double figure scoring and 8 or so rebounds a game while Larry was more up and down, spectacular but then disappearing.

Peete is a very solid defender and decent offensive player but we wouldn't vouch for him being a lock as a first-teamer in the WAC.

Second-Team

Kevin Bell, Sr., G, Fresno State

Hector Hernandez, Sr., F, Fresno State

Demarshay Johnson, Sr., F, Nevada

Bobby Nash, Sr., G, Hawai'i

Matt Nelson, Sr., F, Boise State

OUR TAKE: Kevin Bell is an excellent point, usually with a superb assist-to-turnover ration but he struggles with his shooting. He could be vulnerable to being picked off the second-team squad by an up-and-comer, possibly teammate Bryan Harvey who will be the recipient of many a pass from Bell.

Hernandez should enjoy a good season but it will be interesting to see if he has added to his offensive repertoire of outside shooting.

Johnson sat out last season due to academics. He's tops as a shotblocker, with rebounding his second-best skill. His offensive game two years ago was raw so it will be interesting to see if he has progressed.

Nash is a solid all-around player who will benefit from Hawaii pushing the ball more this season.

As we mentioned above, Nelson could land on the first team with a repeat of his junior year.

We will be shocked if Gary Wilkinson doesn't earn a second-team spot. A team [Utah State] that will by vying for the league championship should land more than one player on the honor roll.

Our estimation is that SJSU redshirt freshman Justin Graham and sophomore transfer Chris Oakes have the best SJSU shots at gaining WAC honors for the upcoming season.

Player of the Year: Jaycee Carroll, Utah State

OUR TAKE: If there is such a thing as a lock, it is Jaycee Carroll as the best player in the WAC. Look at what he accomplished minus a true inside threat on the Aggies last season. Case closed.