My completely unscientific and poorly reasoned basketball predictions..

1. Nevada..I admit to a full on bias here but lots of smarter folks than moi are picking them too

2. Hawaii..A very tall, very talented team that lacked consistency last season due to a lot of new faces. I think they will be much improved this season...

3. La Tech... Paul Millsap and Daevon Haskins are really, really, really good..

4. Fresno State...My sleeper pick..Coleman is perhaps the only guard in the league who can completely take over a game...

5. Utah State..Great program , great coach..I just think that though they have a solid core returning, breaking in 6 or 7 new guys with no D1 experience while also adjusting to a new league, new players, new gyms and new refs is a tall task indeed. They will be a senior loaded monster next year though..

6. Boise..Another dark horse who could finish in the top 3 if things break their way..Lane and Karl are a load..The team can shoot and they can defend.

7. New Mexico State...Same adjustment issues facing USU..Might be that nasty team no one wants to play come tourney time.

8. San Jose State...Happy to see them get off the quick fix JC transfer bandwagon that they have used the last several seasons..Still a year or two away but all those freshman they signed yesterday will be the building blocks for a better future.

9. Idaho..Could finish much higher but they have a lot of new guys to plug in...They had a nice win over a very good USU team last year...They are comers..

I just think the WAC as a whole is tough top to bottom..Whoever wins this league will have certainly earned it.

I need to jump on this one NVSpuds, because you are about to get stormed by Aggie fans for that prediction!!!! Just let it slide off your back.

I'm not going to do that. USU coming in 5th is NOT out of the question at all...and the main reason for that you nicely pointed out. There are a couple other reasons, IMO, as well. That said, I am still thinking 3rd for us. Behind the PACK and LA TECH.

We have a lot of nice athletes on our team this year. But as pointed out....many are brand new to D1 ball. Much of this year's success of failure will depend on Stew's ability to "sell" his system. He demands team play. Set plays on offense. That requires patience and dicipline, two things many of our new players aren't used too. He demands defense. You can make a beautiful play on offense, just be on a roll, yet if you slack on defense, get beat on defense, you'll be yanked so fast you won't know what hit you. Again, something many of our new players aren't use too. Mind you, should this team buy into Stew system....look out!

Also, despite such great success in the Big West, we would regularly lose 3-5 games on the road...At least 2-3 of those loses would be to teams we had NO BUSINESS losing too. Will that improve in the WAC? Against better teams and in tougher arenas? I doubt it, not this year. So yes, I have many concerns about our WAC debut in baskeball.

That said, year in and year out, I think WAC fans will be happy to have USU in the league. And even in really down years, nobody is going to come to Logan and win very often. That will keep us in the race most year.

Best of luck to everyone. Let's all have a great OOC!!!!

As for my preseason predictions....I need to do some more research, then I will be back on here to give mine!

nvspuds Wrote:My completely unscientific and poorly reasoned basketball predictions..

1. Nevada..I admit to a full on bias here but lots of smarter folks than moi are picking them too

2. Hawaii..A very tall, very talented team that lacked consistency last season due to a lot of new faces. I think they will be much improved this season...

3. La Tech... Paul Millsap and Daevon Haskins are really, really, really good..

4. Fresno State...My sleeper pick..Coleman is perhaps the only guard in the league who can completely take over a game...

5. Utah State..Great program , great coach..I just think that though they have a solid core returning, breaking in 6 or 7 new guys with no D1 experience while also adjusting to a new league, new players, new gyms and new refs is a tall task indeed. They will be a senior loaded monster next year though..

6. Boise..Another dark horse who could finish in the top 3 if things break their way..Lane and Karl are a load..The team can shoot and they can defend.

7. New Mexico State...Same adjustment issues facing USU..Might be that nasty team no one wants to play come tourney time.

8. San Jose State...Happy to see them get off the quick fix JC transfer bandwagon that they have used the last several seasons..Still a year or two away but all those freshman they signed yesterday will be the building blocks for a better future.

9. Idaho..Could finish much higher but they have a lot of new guys to plug in...They had a nice win over a very good USU team last year...They are comers..

I just think the WAC as a whole is tough top to bottom..Whoever wins this league will have certainly earned it.

Here's to Nevada beating all those preseason predictions and making the elite 8. I do think that the WAC is much improved this year, there's even some optimism in Boise for the first time in a long time. I haven't seen a team this talented in several years and they get coach Graham's system. We'll be in the middle of the pack like you suggest, but we're going to get some quality wins this season and hopefully hold come court all season.

I do think you've got USU undervalued at 5, I might not argue if you had them at even 4. If they have an answer for Milsap, I put them in 2 or 3. Saw them play the NCAA's last year in Boise and that's a well coached team with talent.

Roughrider Wrote:

nvspuds Wrote:My completely unscientific and poorly reasoned basketball predictions..

1. Nevada..I admit to a full on bias here but lots of smarter folks than moi are picking them too

2. Hawaii..A very tall, very talented team that lacked consistency last season due to a lot of new faces. I think they will be much improved this season...

3. La Tech... Paul Millsap and Daevon Haskins are really, really, really good..

4. Fresno State...My sleeper pick..Coleman is perhaps the only guard in the league who can completely take over a game...

5. Utah State..Great program , great coach..I just think that though they have a solid core returning, breaking in 6 or 7 new guys with no D1 experience while also adjusting to a new league, new players, new gyms and new refs is a tall task indeed. They will be a senior loaded monster next year though..

6. Boise..Another dark horse who could finish in the top 3 if things break their way..Lane and Karl are a load..The team can shoot and they can defend.

7. New Mexico State...Same adjustment issues facing USU..Might be that nasty team no one wants to play come tourney time.

8. San Jose State...Happy to see them get off the quick fix JC transfer bandwagon that they have used the last several seasons..Still a year or two away but all those freshman they signed yesterday will be the building blocks for a better future.

9. Idaho..Could finish much higher but they have a lot of new guys to plug in...They had a nice win over a very good USU team last year...They are comers..

I just think the WAC as a whole is tough top to bottom..Whoever wins this league will have certainly earned it.

Here's to Nevada beating all those preseason predictions and making the elite 8. I do think that the WAC is much improved this year, there's even some optimism in Boise for the first time in a long time. I haven't seen a team this talented in several years and they get coach Graham's system. We'll be in the middle of the pack like you suggest, but we're going to get some quality wins this season and hopefully hold come court all season.

I do think you've got USU undervalued at 5, I might not argue if you had them at even 4. If they have an answer for Milsap, I put them in 2 or 3. Saw them play the NCAA's last year in Boise and that's a well coached team with talent.

Damn, is Milsap still at LaTech........................
I enjoy watching him pour in easy baskets against the Broncos last season.......NOT.
I still pick USU to finish in the top 2................
And since the Aggies are not using that 5th spot, I will plug the Broncos in there.....

It could be that BSU will finsih higher and stronger than pre-season guesses. I couldn't make the first game, but a friend that did says them played and moved better than he ever saw them before. This could turn out to be a very interesting year for WAC Basketball.

broncobob Wrote:Damn, is Milsap still at LaTech........................

Yessireebob,

Millsap is still here and...this year we've tried to add a solid supporting cast. Could be bad news for everybody else in the WAC. I'll reserve my predictions for after a few games have been played. Dawg fans are pumped about this year...could we get a tourny bid? I don't know...that freakin' fazekas is tough.

johnnylightnin Wrote:

broncobob Wrote:Damn, is Milsap still at LaTech........................

Yessireebob,

Millsap is still here and...this year we've tried to add a solid supporting cast. Could be bad news for everybody else in the WAC. I'll reserve my predictions for after a few games have been played. Dawg fans are pumped about this year...could we get a tourny bid? I don't know...that freakin' fazekas is tough.

This I know....the WAC WILL BE one hell of a basketball league for years to come!!! It's our time to shine!!! I just can't wait!!!!!!!!

Me too..WAC basketball is already good and getting better..USU and New Mexico State are always good..Adding them to the league is a huge plus..

I just wish Idaho was good at something.......where is that wink, wink emoticon????

broncobob Wrote:I just wish Idaho was good at something.......where is that wink, wink emoticon????

You mean this one?

Wow..A Wink Martindale reference..78..you are my posting hero today..

Roughrider Wrote:Here's to Nevada beating all those preseason predictions and making the elite 8.

Dang, that's going to be tough, because they keep raising the bar on us!

ESPN's Dan Shanoff tags Nevada as a <a href='http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hotnot/051109' target='_blank'>Non-obvious Final Four-worthy pick</a>. He also gives props to USU.

I'm glad to hear Cunningham's looking good. I gotta admit my expectations for Boise are fairly low, considering you lost Ellis and Blackburn.

Key Questions

1. IMO, Nevada has the talent to replace Pinkney's play, but can they replace his leadership and gel as a team? If not, there could be a whole lot of disappointed Pack fans.

2. How bad will USU miss Spencer Nelson?

3. Can Hawaii just be consistent and win most of the close ones, rather than losing almost all of them?

4. Is LaTech just too small inside to meet the growing expectations?

5. Can Fresno put the off-court stuff out of their minds? And overcome the fact that they'll have a smaller lineup than almost everyone they play?

6. Are most people seriously underestimating the talent Theus was able to put together late in the game? And will Ingraham get back in the lineup early enough to play a factor?

7. Is Cunningham for real? Or are Bronco fans suffering from misplaced optimism?

8. Is Richardson good enough that the Spartans cause more heartache than people expect?

9. Is Idaho flying under the radar? Or what?

Man, am I excited! We get to watch Nevada (hopefully) become bowl eligible, have a couple more , and then go watch the revenge match with Humboldt St!

C'mon, Bob, we're good at plenty of somethings. Just not the two sports that happen to make money or draw a ton of fans. Which is an issue.

We've already got one WAC championship, though, and look for Idaho's women's basketball team to push Louisiana Tech for a second.

I certainly don't think Idaho will be a WAC championship contender in men's basketball this year, but we aren't going to embarass the conference, either. Depth and talent at forward is still an issue, and it's really going to limit us this season, but guard play should be very strong, and I think the changes we made with the assistant coaching staff are going to pay huge dividends.

The Vandals hired Wyoming assistant Leroy Washington (former Stew Morrill assistant at Montana and an assistant at Oregon State) as a recruiting coordinator, and I get the impression from the Wyoming media reports this was a salary-based steal (not a polite way of McClain letting Washington go). Idaho also added Lewis and Clark State (NAIA) head coach George Pfeiffer, who threw up a gaudy record as the Warriors head coach, which included a few wins over Washington State. Both these guys are big upgrades in our coaching staff.

Idaho played our first exhibition game last night, and beat Carroll College (Montana) 73-63. The first half was tight, but Idaho pulled away in the second with 62 % shooting from the field. Some highlights:

- True freshman David Dubois (6'5 forward) scored 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in his first college game.

- True freshman Nebojsa Jakovljevic (6'1 guard) scored 14 points and had 5 rebounds in his first college game (although he played exhibition games against Marshall, SW Mo St and Duquesne as a club team player for Serbia).

- JC transfer Keoni Watson (5'10 point guard) scored 13 points in his first DI basketball game.

- The Vandals made 20 of 25 free throws, 80%. This was a major issue for Idaho last year, as we lost a handful of games on free throw shooting. Senior guard Tanoris Shepard and Nebojsa Jakovljevic were both 6-6.

- Idaho's total shooting percentage for the night was 52%, about 10% higher than last year's average. Hopefully we see an Idaho team that's a little more fluid on the offensive end of the court this season.

I have the same concerns about the leadership void left by Pinkney and Washington..Those guys were tough, hard nosed players..

clpack Wrote:

Roughrider Wrote:Here's to Nevada beating all those preseason predictions and making the elite 8.

Dang, that's going to be tough, because they keep raising the bar on us!

ESPN's Dan Shanoff tags Nevada as a <a href='http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hotnot/051109' target='_blank'>Non-obvious Final Four-worthy pick</a>. He also gives props to USU.

I'm glad to hear Cunningham's looking good. I gotta admit my expectations for Boise are fairly low, considering you lost Ellis and Blackburn.

Key Questions

1. IMO, Nevada has the talent to replace Pinkney's play, but can they replace his leadership and gel as a team? If not, there could be a whole lot of disappointed Pack fans.

2. How bad will USU miss Spencer Nelson?

3. Can Hawaii just be consistent and win most of the close ones, rather than losing almost all of them?

4. Is LaTech just too small inside to meet the growing expectations?

5. Can Fresno put the off-court stuff out of their minds? And overcome the fact that they'll have a smaller lineup than almost everyone they play?

6. Are most people seriously underestimating the talent Theus was able to put together late in the game? And will Ingraham get back in the lineup early enough to play a factor?

7. Is Cunningham for real? Or are Bronco fans suffering from misplaced optimism?

8. Is Richardson good enough that the Spartans cause more heartache than people expect?

9. Is Idaho flying under the radar? Or what?

Man, am I excited! We get to watch Nevada (hopefully) become bowl eligible, have a couple more , and then go watch the revenge match with Humboldt St!

My optimism for the Broncos doesn't rest with the true freshman. He's not good enough to come in and carry us in the WAC, at least not this year. What he does is eliminate the hole on our offense and defense that's been there forever at the post. Our offense has to go 4 on 5 more often than not. Kid's got big time skills and size, but he's 18.

But the optimism is with the skill and motors on 3 new wings; one redshirt and 2 transfers. All three can run and score and that fits coach Graham's game to a tee.

And we can talk about it now, but Blackburn was a cancer. Talented as anyone in the WAC but he ruined our team chemistry from the 23 win season. He was a league leading scorer in Australia's top pro league but was released because of this. We will miss Ellis, but we'll be a better team without Blackburn.

I'm really happy that the WAC is getting better in Basketball, it's a very tough league.

Here's my guesses:
Nevada 13-3 (losses coming @Utah St, La Tech in Reno, and @Hawaii)
Utah St 12-4 (losses coming @Nevada, @La Tech, @Hawaii and @NMSU)
Hawaii 10-6
La Tech 9-7
NMSU 8-8
Fresno St 7-9
Boise St 6-10
SJSU 5-11
Idaho 2-14 (wins coming against SJSU in Moscow and against Fresno St in Moscow)

Utah St and Nevada will both be dancing and both be in the top 25 by year's end.

nvspuds Wrote:5. Utah State..Great program , great coach..I just think that though they have a solid core returning, breaking in 6 or 7 new guys with no D1 experience while also adjusting to a new league, new players, new gyms and new refs is a tall task indeed. They will be a senior loaded monster next year though..

While all of these are just predictions, I do have to disagree with one point. you make. We do have a lot of new players, but most are bench players. 4 of the 5 starters from last year return and we return 5 guys that had significant playing time last year, and usually only 8-9 play so it isn't as big deal as some preseason mags say IMHO. Some of the new players will redshirt so most of the playmakers (except notably Spencer Nelson) return. Plus our coach has blended JC talent into our team quite well since his arrival, and this group is the best class we have ever had under him. The team has more talent than last year (although it does have to come together as a team.) Will it continue in a new league, who knows?

But that is a smaller worry to me than the new league, bigger crowds, and the unfamiliar oppenents are much more worrisome than that. Having said that, there were a few very nice venues in the Big West (Pacific and Irvine drew fairly well and UCSB also had a nice venue) and we always play BYU, Utah, and Weber State which also have good crowds. Granted WAC crowds are bigger, but not every Big West and preseason foe we had were bad crowds (like Cal Poly or UC-Riverside.) Just my .02. We also have beaten a lot of MWC/WCC/WAC/Pac-10/Big 10 teams over the past 6 years so I do think the team has played at a level higher than the Big West. But that is in the past and we have to play night in and night out in a tougher league.

If I had to pick (without bias)

Nevada (I'm not sure they have it locked up though because there are other teams that will push)
T-2 Hawaii (Good at home, has a tougher time on road)
T-2 USU (Tough to say in new league, but could finish anywhere from 1st to 6th)
La Tech (Lots of travel, but Milsap is tough)
Boise (Sleeper team that recovers from last year.)
Fresno (Lots of distractions and new coach as well as sanctions put them down.)
NMSU (Still a year away and a rookie coach.)
Idaho (They were 14-16 2 years ago and have a good homecourt advantage with lots of travel.)
SJSU (Complete rebuilding mode.)

As I say this is worthless until the games begin.

While all of these are just predictions, I do have to disagree with one point. you make. We do have a lot of new players, but most are bench players. 4 of the 5 starters from last year return and we return 5 guys that had significant playing time last year, and usually only 8-9 play so it isn't as big deal as some preseason mags say IMHO. Some of the new players will redshirt so most of the playmakers (except notably Spencer Nelson) return. Plus our coach has blended JC talent into our team quite well since his arrival, and this group is the best class we have ever had under him. The team has more talent than last year (although it does have to come together as a team.) Will it continue in a new league, who knows?


erdaggie..Excelent points..

Like I said my predictions are unscientific and poorly reasoned..I haven't seen USU play a game for 5 years so I am just guessing based upon the flimsiest of evidence.

I get most of my info on your team from your message board..

The consensus there seems to be that PaK and Huber are poor point guards and that you expect one of your JC's to replace them in the starting lineup. If that turns out to be the case you will have two new JC guys in the starting lineup as it appears Sessions will start at small forward.

Two other JC's, Spicer and Peterson are regularly cited by you guys as potential key contributers. Hammer as well.

Matheus is an important player for you and although he did emerge as a starter late in the season last year, he only averaged 15 minutes a game. Whether he is ready to give you 30 minutes a night is still a question..I suspect he will make the adjustment and do fine but if not, then JC new guy Spicer will get a lot of minutes. New guys Cobbley and Bendell have injury questions..

The only really sure things you have going in are Carroll and Hayes..Those guys are studs ..Elsewhere you appear to have a lot of new players that will be in your rotation. Your depth at guard will be experiencedwith Pak and Huber. Small forward looks like it will be manned by 3 JC transfers with no D1 experience. Your backup at the low post is also a guy with no D1 experience.

None of this means that you won't be a solid contender for the WAC title..I think any one of the top 6 teams in my silly little prediction thread can win the thing.

I just think that you have a tougher hurdle than usual because of the number of new guys to work in along with all the adjustments to a new league.

Vandal9570 Wrote:C'mon, Bob, we're good at plenty of somethings. Just not the two sports that happen to make money or draw a ton of fans. Which is an issue.

We've already got one WAC championship, though, and look for Idaho's women's basketball team to push Louisiana Tech for a second.

I certainly don't think Idaho will be a WAC championship contender in men's basketball this year, but we aren't going to embarass the conference, either. Depth and talent at forward is still an issue, and it's really going to limit us this season, but guard play should be very strong, and I think the changes we made with the assistant coaching staff are going to pay huge dividends.

The Vandals hired Wyoming assistant Leroy Washington (former Stew Morrill assistant at Montana and an assistant at Oregon State) as a recruiting coordinator, and I get the impression from the Wyoming media reports this was a salary-based steal (not a polite way of McClain letting Washington go). Idaho also added Lewis and Clark State (NAIA) head coach George Pfeiffer, who threw up a gaudy record as the Warriors head coach, which included a few wins over Washington State. Both these guys are big upgrades in our coaching staff.

Idaho played our first exhibition game last night, and beat Carroll College (Montana) 73-63. The first half was tight, but Idaho pulled away in the second with 62 % shooting from the field. Some highlights:

- True freshman David Dubois (6'5 forward) scored 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in his first college game.

- True freshman Nebojsa Jakovljevic (6'1 guard) scored 14 points and had 5 rebounds in his first college game (although he played exhibition games against Marshall, SW Mo St and Duquesne as a club team player for Serbia).

- JC transfer Keoni Watson (5'10 point guard) scored 13 points in his first DI basketball game.

- The Vandals made 20 of 25 free throws, 80%. This was a major issue for Idaho last year, as we lost a handful of games on free throw shooting. Senior guard Tanoris Shepard and Nebojsa Jakovljevic were both 6-6.

- Idaho's total shooting percentage for the night was 52%, about 10% higher than last year's average. Hopefully we see an Idaho team that's a little more fluid on the offensive end of the court this season.

Vandal9570....are you Herb??
I like fans that can joke about their sports programs....
Yes, the vandals have some strong olympic sports.....so they should win some more WAC championships.

I think the vandals need to add a womens gymnastics team....fun to watch.....