Thoughts on the WAC Coach of the Year award

Okay, there's another week to go in the regular season plus then the tournament but who is on top as the leading candidate for WAC Coach of the Year?

But first, PTW asks does it have to be awarded to whichever coach wins league?

Such a guideline seems silly as something automatic.

So let's bore down into who achieved the most with the talent he had available in 2011-12.

Here are the current standings:

Nevada 11-1   
New Mexico State 9-3          
Idaho 7-5     
Hawai'i 6-6   
Utah State 6-6
Louisiana Tech 5-7    
Fresno State 3-9      
San Jose State 1-11

David Carter of Nevada has obviously done well, with a load of talent in the starting five, but also give him credit because there really hasn't been all that much help off the bench in Reno this season.

New Mexico State's Marvin Menzies survived the mid-season loss of a backcourt starter (in reality, a less is more situation), at a position in which the Aggies were short on to begin with and NMSU didn't miss a beat. also, the bunch in Las Cruces basically did it this go-around minus an outside marksmen and that is a notable achievement.

Especially if Idaho wins its next two games, Don Verlin absolutely deserves consideration because the Vandal roster isn't exactly filled with outstanding basketball talents demonstrating athletic prowess. It looks like a second consecutive season of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts for Idaho and that's the ultimate compliment. What's also interesting is that both the WAC coaches and the WAC media prognosticated a fifth place landing for UI.

Two other coaches, albeit with losing league records, are also worthy of some degree of consideration.

Mike White and his crew at Louisiana Tech have simply overachieved -- not a knock, just an observation. White looked at his roster and designed a style of play that kept the Bulldogs in most games despite lacking a 30+ minutes-a-game starting caliber big. Incidentally, both the WAC coaches and media pre-season polls had LT coming in last.

Fresno's Rodney Terry is coaching Lilliputian Tech this season with his bigs checking in at around 6-foot-7. Plus, he's in possession of just a single player who can create offensively. The collective Bulldog effort on defense, especially of late, has been remarkable and what is keeping FSU in games.

So at this point, who is your choice?