By MIKE HABURA
SDSU, Boise St. Picked as Early Conference Favorites
Mountain West Conference 2015-16 Preseason Power Rankings
- SDSU – Steve Fischer returns with an athletic group that will dominate the conference on the defensive side of the ball and win the regular season title.
- Boise St. – The Broncos look to defend their regular season conference title behind Mountain West Player of the Year candidate James Webb.
- UNLV – The underachieving Rebels will start the season with high hopes. They boast one of the nation’s top recruiting classes led by hometown seven foot center Stephen Zimmerman.
- Utah State – First year head coach Tim Duryea inherits a Utah State squad that is ready to win. Led by all around talent Jalen Moore, the Aggies return all five starters from last year’s lineup.
- Fresno St. – Senior Marvelle Harris leads an experienced Fresno team that is primed for a breakout season.
- Colorado St. – The Rams lose their top three scorers from a successful 2014-15 campaign that left them just short of an NCAA tournament appearance.
- New Mexico – After a disappointing sub .500 season the Lobos will struggle to regain their historical prominence in the Mountain West.
- Air Force – The Falcons are returning four starters with double-digit minutes per game played last year, but defensive struggles will land them in the bottom half of the league.
- Nevada – In his first year at Nevada, head coach Eric Mussleman brings experience that will benefit a youthful Nevada team.
- Wyoming – The Cowboys will return one starter from the previous year’s group that brought home the conference tournament title.
- San Jose St. – An offseason transfer of leading scorer Rashad Muhammad hurts this team which struggles to bring in talented athletes.
Mountain West All-Conference Team
James Webb, Boise St. – The conference’s 2014-2015 Newcomer of the Year is primed to have a dominant season for the Broncos. He has proven his ability to control the defensive side of the ball and has impressive capability from beyond the arch.
Winston Shepard, SDSU – Shepard averaged double digits in scoring and led the Aztecs to deep runs in the Mountain West and NCAA tournaments.
Jalen Moore, Utah State – The 6’9” Junior led the Aggies in scoring and rebounding last season and ranked in the top ten in the conference in both categories.
Marvelle, Harris, Fresno St. – Harris is the lead returning scorer in the conference. He averaged 16.4 points per game in an impressive 2014-15 season.
Anthony Drmic, Boise State – Drmic returns to the court after receiving a medical redshirt for 2014-15 season. The former conference Freshman of the Year has the ability to score and rebound the ball.
Player of the Year – James Webb, Boise State
Freshman of the Year – Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV
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