WAC BASKETBALL PREVIEW
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jaycee Carroll, the preseason pick for conference player of the year, awaits the Rainbows when they begin WAC play Thursday at Utah State.
|
|
’Bows hope to improve in conference
STORY SUMMARY »
Throughout the early-season schedule, Hawaii basketball coach Bob Nash often referred to the Rainbow Warriors nonconference tests as preparation for the Western Athletic Conference season.
That prep time ends Thursday when the Rainbow Warriors open WAC play at Utah State.
After snapping a four-game losing streak with a win over Centenary on Sunday, the Rainbows celebrated new year's in northern Utah and will look to put some of their December struggles behind them when they roll into the league schedule.
"Coach Nash was talking about a fresh start," UH senior Jared Dillinger said. "I think (Sunday's win) is definitely going to help us when we start the WAC season."
The conference includes three first-year coaches and looks to be a wide-open race, with most of the teams working through some growing pains in November and December. Nevada has won the last four regular-season championships while New Mexico State captured the WAC tournament crown last March.
The Rainbows open against a Utah State team that has won its last five games, and is led by guard Jaycee Carroll, the league's top scorer at 21.3 points per game. Boise State has also emerged as a threat by going 9-3 in its nonconference schedule, capped by a win over nationally ranked BYU last weekend.
STAR-BULLETIN
FULL STORY »
With the new year comes a fresh start.
Having scuffled through a trying December, the Hawaii basketball team approaches 2008 as a chance to reset its focus on the Western Athletic Conference season.
"Everything goes back to zero," Hawaii coach Bob Nash said. "Then it's just a matter of what you do in conference. That's what we're looking at."
It's a theme likely to be repeated throughout the conference over the holiday.
All nine teams have gone through their growing pains in a nonconference season peppered with a few surprising losses and lopsided defeats to highly ranked opponents -- including Duke, North Carolina, Washington State and Texas -- in advance of the WAC season. But they all start even tomorrow when the WAC season officially opens.
"If you look at our conference, we've played some really good teams," Nash said. "We haven't played a lot of softies. We haven't done very well, but I think it sits well for our conference that we're willing to extend and play high-power teams and get our teams ready."
The Rainbow Warriors went 2-5 in December, dropping four straight before ending the calendar year with a win over Centenary on Sunday. The team departed Honolulu yesterday morning and begins its WAC schedule in one of the league's toughest venues, taking on Utah State in Logan on Thursday. The Rainbows conclude the road trip at San Jose State on Saturday.
"It's going to be tough, but I think our team is getting tougher each time out," Nash said of the road trip.
The conference actually begins play tomorrow with San Jose State visiting Boise State and New Mexico State traveling to Idaho.
Boise State, which has finished with a winning record in WAC play just once since joining the league, could be a contender after emerging as the most successful team in nonconference action with a 9-3 mark. The Broncos also picked up the conference's biggest win of the season to date, an upset of nationally ranked BYU last Saturday.
Utah State, the preseason favorite in the WAC's coaches poll, may be the hottest team entering the new year. The Aggies have won seven of their last eight, led by defending WAC scoring champion Jaycee Carroll.
After a 2-4 start, a retooled Nevada team reeled off five straight wins before suffering a 36-point loss at top-ranked North Carolina last week and begins defense of its regular-season title on Saturday by hosting Utah State.
Though New Mexico State enters the WAC under .500 and has endured several off-the-court scrapes, the Aggies have the talent to contend for the regular-season title and will again host the WAC tournament in March.
Following is a look at the WAC entering league play (listed alphabetically):
Boise State (9-3)
Coach: Greg Graham (sixth year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 8-8 (T-fifth)
Names to know: F Reggie Larry (6-6 senior), F Matt Nelson (6-9 senior)
Scouting the Broncos: Larry and Nelson form the WAC's most formidable frontcourt, and are keys to BSU's league-best 51.2 percent shooting. ... Larry leads the Broncos with 18.9 ppg and can score inside and out (12 3-pointers). Nelson averages 15.1 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds. ... The Broncos are the WAC's highest-scoring team at 81.8 ppg. ... Boise State had a five-game winning streak earlier this season and picked up its first win over a ranked opponent in three years last Saturday, knocking off No. 20 BYU 73-70.
Fresno State (7-6)
Coach: Steve Cleveland (third year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 10-6 (third), NIT
Names to know: G Kevin Bell (5-10, senior), G Eddie Miller (6-3, senior)
Scouting the Bulldogs: Bell seldom leaves the floor, averaging a league-high 36.8 minutes per game, and paces the Bulldogs at 17.5 points and six assists per game. ... As in Cleveland's first two years, Fresno State relies heavily on 3-point shooting. The Bulldogs led the league in attempts the last two years and have already made 114 in 314 attempts this season. ... Miller is the team's top 3-point shooter with 45 made.
Hawaii (4-8)
Coach: Bob Nash (first year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 8-8 (T-fifth)
Names to know: G/F Bobby Nash (6-6, senior), G Matt Gibson (6-5, senior)
Scouting the Rainbow Warriors: Hawaii hasn't been at full strength for most of the season, leading to four different starting combinations, and will be without center Stephen Verwers for the rest of the year due to a broken leg. ... Nash has scored in double figures in 17 straight games dating back to last season and ranks sixth in the WAC in scoring with 16.2 ppg. ... Gibson has averaged 14.4 points in eight games since returning from a knee injury. ... Nash and Riley Luettgerodt (13.2 ppg) are the only players to start all 12 games.
Idaho (3-8)
Coach: George Pfeifer (second year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 1-15 (ninth)
Names to know: F Jordan Brooks (6-3, junior), F Michael Crowell (6-7, senior)
Scouting the Vandals: Brooks, one of nine newcomers on the roster, is the only player averaging double figures in scoring at 10.6 ppg. ... Crowell averaged 3.9 points last year and has increased his production to 9.1 this season with a team-high 19 3-pointers and 5.2 rebounds per game. ... Senior Darin Nagle's 17 blocked shots ranks him third and the team is second in the WAC in steals with 84.
Louisiana Tech (3-9)
Coach: Kerry Rupp (first year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 7-9 (seventh)
Names to know: G Kyle Gibson (6-4, sophomore)
Scouting the Bulldogs: LaTech is the lowest-scoring team in the conference at 56.2 ppg. The Bulldogs are shooting 38.5 percent from the field, while opponents shoot 46 percent. ... Gibson, who averaged 4.5 points last season, is the team leader in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). ... The Bulldogs were on the short end of a 46-3 run in a loss to Texas Tech on Dec. 5. ... LaTech is coming off a 73-63 win over McNeese State last Saturday.
Nevada (8-5)
Coach: Mark Fox (fourth year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 14-2 (first), NCAA
Names to know: G Marcelus Kemp (6-5, senior), F JaVale McGee (6-1, sophomore)
Scouting the Wolf Pack: Kemp is the Pack's lone returning starter and ranks second in the WAC at 19.1 ppg. ... Nevada has posted at least 25 wins each of the last four years, winning the regular-season title each time, but lost F Nick Fazekas and G Ramon Sessions to the NBA. ... The Pack had a five-game winning streak snapped in a 106-70 loss at top-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 27. ... Freshman G Armon Johnson scored 23 points against the Tar Heels and is averaging 10.8 ppg. ... McGee leads the conference in rebounding (8.6 rpg) and blocked shots (42).
New Mexico State (6-9)
Coach: Marvin Menzies (first year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 11-5 (second), WAC tournament champion, NCAA
Names to know: G/F Justin Hawkins (6-7, junior), G Fred Peete (6-4, senior)
Scouting the Aggies: NMSU captured its first WAC title last March and has played Duke, Texas, West Virginia and Louisville early this season. ... Hawkins leads the way at 18.5 ppg and has ample support from Peete (12.1 ppg), and G Jonathan Gibson (12.5 ppg). ... C Hatila Passos had been averaging 10.5 points and seven rebounds before being suspended for a violation of team rules on Dec. 21. ... Herb Pope, voted WAC preseason newcomer of the year, has not played due to an eligibility issue and a suspension following his arrest on a DUI charge last weekend.
San Jose State (6-5)
Coach: George Nessman (third year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 4-12 (eighth)
Names to know: G Justin Graham (6-4, freshman), G DaShawn Wright (6-4, junior)
Scouting the Spartans: SJSU's six Division I nonconference wins are the program's most since 1999. ... The Spartans won their last two games in overtime, rallying from 17 points down in the second half against both Portland State and South Dakota State. ... Graham leads four Spartans averaging double-figure scoring at 11.4 ppg. ... F Chris Oakes, a transfer from Pepperdine, has averaged 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in four games since becoming eligible.
Utah State (10-5)
Coach: Stew Morrill (10th year)
2006-07 WAC finish: 9-7 (fourth), WAC tourney finalist, NIT
Names to know: G Jaycee Carroll (6-2, senior), G Kris Clark (6-2 senior), F Gary Wilkinson (6-9, junior)
Scouting the Aggies: Utah State is tough to beat at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, going 51-16 at home under Morrill and winning 23 of the last 24. ... Carroll leads the WAC at 21.3 ppg and is USU's top rebounder with six boards per game. The WAC preseason Player of the Year is shooting 53 percent from the field and 95 percent from the free-throw line (55-for-58). He's broken the 30-point mark three times this season. ... Wilkinson (11.9 ppg) gives the Aggies balance inside. ... Clark is the WAC's top assist man with 6.13 per game.