Wednesday, September 3, 2008

ALL-WAC selections in 2008-2009?

Well, it's getting to be County Fair time and one booth we never pass by without checking in is that of the seer, he or she who predicts the future.

So we put a call in to the prophet who will be stationed at our local fair and asked what she saw coming down the pike for the upcoming WAC basketball season.

Now we didn't inquire about her college basketball bonafides and she stumbled a bit when we tested her about the three-point shooting distance this season but we pinned her down on what players she saw as most in contention for first and second team ALL - WAC honors in 2008-2009.

For reference, the 2007-08 WAC All Conference members were:

First Team - Reggie Larry, Kevin Bell, Marcelus Kemp, Justin Hawkins, Jaycee Carroll (every selection was a senior)

Second Team - Matt Nelson, Matt Gibson, Jordan Brooks, JaVale McGee, Gary Wilkinson (Nelson and Gibson were seniors, Brooks was dropped by the new coach in Moscow, McGee is in the NBA and Wilkinson is returning to Logan for his final season)

The Player of the Year was Aggie Jaycee Carroll.

Armon Johnson of Nevada was named the Freshman of the Year.


So here are the names we heard from the psychic:

Ike Okoye 6-9 230 junior Boise State
Anthony Thomas 6-0 205 junior Boise State

Sylvester Seay 6-9 220 junior Fresno State
Dwight O'Neil 6-3 190 senior Fresno State

Roderick Flemings 6-7 210 junior Hawaii
Bill Amis 6-9 220 junior Hawaii

Mac Hopson 6-2 195 junior Idaho
Marvin Jefferson 6-9 240 junior Idaho

Kyle Gibson 6-4 185 junior Louisiana Tech
Jamel White 6-3 180 junior Louisiana Tech
Magnum Rolle 6-10 220 junior Louisiana Tech

Armon Johnson 6-3 195 sophomore Nevada
Luke Babbitt 6-9 225 freshman Nevada
Brandon Fields 6-4 195 junior Nevada

Troy Gillenwater 6-8 230 freshman New Mexico State
Jonathan Gibson 6-2 180 junior New Mexico State

Justin Graham 6-4 195 sophomore San Jose State
Adrian Oliver 6-3 185 sophomore San Jose State
C.J. Webster 6-9 255 junior San Jose State

Gary Wilkinson 6-9 240 senior Utah State
Tai Wesley 6-7 240 sophomore Utah State
Tyler Newbold 6-4 180 sophomore Utah State


Keep in mind the Player of the Year always comes from a winning team but not necessarily the overall champion.

Luke Babbitt's name has already been inscribed on on the Freshman of the Year trophy -- we didn't bother consulting on that one. The freshman Babbitt will also be in the running for WAC Player of the Year.

In our next post, we will stick out our necks and 'predict' who will actually be the members of the ALL - WAC first and second teams in 2008-2009, something our clairvoyant refused to do. But we don't know if that was because there are limitations on her powers or because we declined to purchase a "Readings For The Rest Of Your Life" package deal for only $999. Maybe we'll consult another medium for that answer.

Let the squawking begin. But save enough for when you see the boiled down actual selections.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why didn't you add Jahmar Young. Jahmar Young is going to lead this New Mexico State Aggie team in scoring. Also, Wendell Mckines will avg a double-double this year.

Jason Groves said...

You may be right with gillenwater, but look for Jahmar Young to be pretty big this year.

Kevin McCarthy said...

No disrespect is meant to Young but Gibson shot better both overall and from three-point range and also was the better passer in 2007-2008.

Young will be part of my 'breakthrough possibilities' list coming out tomorrow but I have to keep him behind Gibson at this point as I believe Gibson will play a more important role for the Aggies than Young in 2008-2009. Both will be keys to the season but Gibson even more so.

I just hope Gibson is back in school. Are those rumors real or fantasy?

Kevin McCarthy said...

MdKines may very well put up a double-double and also play his way into ALL - WAC contention.

But his lack of ball skills and poor free throw shooting will detract from his luster.

Summary: Wendell's a fun kid to watch and will do something amazing a couple of times a game but Gillenwater displays more all-around potential. Of course, showing that on the court may take some time.