The 2008-09 season was not great for the WAC. The nine teams of the conference were consistently overshadowed by the talent in their sister conference, the Mountain West, and no team did any damage in the postseason tournaments (Utah State was beaten by Marquette in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and Nevada and Boise State were knocked out of the first round in the CBI). However, the 2009-2010 season looks much more promising and the WAC-MWC seesaw seems to have swung heavily in the WAC’s direction. The conference is filled with fantasy talent, including players such as Hawaii F Roderick Flemings, Utah State G Jared Quayle, and my nominee for WAC Player of the Year, Nevada F Luke Babbitt.
Boise State Broncos While the Boise State football team has become the darling of the non-BCS world with their crazy blue field, the basketball team has not brought much attention to itself. The Broncos did appear in the 2008 NCAA tournament, their first such appearance since 1994, but last year fell back to the pack. G Anthony Thomas is one of the better solid point guards in the conference and provided 9.5 ppg and 4.7 apg. The team also has a pair of returning double-digit scorers in SG Paul Noonan (10.0 ppg) and C Kurt Cunningham (10.2 ppg). Cunningham is a fifth year senior who scored a season high 25 points in the Broncos loss to Stanford in the CBI. F Ike Okoye, a transfer from Wyoming, showed flashes of brilliance and scored 14 points or more eight times. He was also an impact shot blocker with 1.9 bpg, but he was inconsistent and averaged just 8.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Freshman PF Sam Hicks is highly regarded and should help Cunningham and Okoye on the boards.
Fresno State Rams Some team had to finish in the basement of the WAC and unfortunately for the Rams, it was them. Things did not come together well for Fresno State, but they did have some fantasy relevant players, two of whom will be back. The team has a sweet frontcourt of SF Paul George and PF Sylvester Seay. As a freshman, George opened the season with strength – five double-doubles prior to Jan. 4 – before fading some down the stretch. The 6-foot-7 lanky small forward is a jack-of-all-trades offensive player, but will need to pace himself better in his sophomore season. Seay is a 6-9 forward, who also features a nice inside-outside game. He provided 15.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.0 spg, 1.7 bpg, and 1.5 3pg. Seay was particularly good in WAC conference play in which he scored 20+ points in eight times, including five straight games in February. Sophomore G Bryce Cartwright will likely run the offense. He is not much of a scorer but had three games of eight assists last year.
Hawaii Rainbows The Rainbows are all about F Roderick Flemings. In his first season in Hawaii, the former juco transfer scored 16.6 ppg and grabbed 5.8 rpg. The 6-foot-7 forward scored twenty or more points nine times, including a 37-point outburst against Eastern Washington on Dec. 14. Flemings came back to Hawaii for one more season to show pro scouts what he could do. Former-Providence Friar Dwain Williams should be the team’s point guard. Williams averaged 11.0 ppg as a sophomore at Providence. F Bill Amis is a steady but unspectacular forward. He averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg to go along with 1.1 spg and 1.4 bpg. If you want to take a deep flyer, you can look at 6-foot-10 Ji Xiang who did not play much in his freshman season.
Idaho Vandals Like Hawaii, Idaho has a stud in their own right in PG Mac Hopson. The former Washington State Cougar provided fantasy gold from the get-go last year and should be ready to provide some highlights in his senior season. Hopson, a 6-foot-2 point guard, averaged 16.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 5.9 apg. He scored in double-figures in all but one game and hit 25 points twice (against Eastern Washington and Louisiana Tech). Hopson also hit 43% of his threes for 1.3 3pg. Hopson will be paired in the backcourt again with G Kashif Watson, the brother of Golden State Warrior C.J. Watson provided 10.3 ppg, but faded badly in the WAC conference schedule. The Vandals don’t have much in the frontcourt, but senior C Marvin Jefferson (9.1 ppg, 1.8 bpg) or freshman C Corey Stern from Seattle could step up.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs If returning upperclassmen guarantee success (and I am not saying they do), the Bulldogs should be ready to step up this year. The team has a boatload of returning talent, led by G Kyle Gibson, a sweet shooting guard. The 6-foot-5 gunslinger led the Bulldogs in scoring for the second consecutive year with 16.1 ppg. He closed the season on an uptick with 20-point games in seven of his last nine appearances. Gibson hit 18 threes in his last four games. G Jamel Guyton, who scored 11.5 ppg and 2.0 3pg, will once again complement Gibson in the backcourt. Louisiana Tech will once again have the services of former-LSU player Magnum Rolle. The 6-11 native of the Bahamas seemed to put things together last year. He had five double-doubles and averaged 12.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 1.7 bpg.
Nevada Wolfpack The Wolfpack have had a remarkable run of success over the last ten years under coaches Trent Johnson and Mark Fox. New coach David Carter has been an assistant coach throughout the years of victory and the program should not see much of a bump with his transition. Last year, I named F Luke Babbitt as the best chance to carry on the freshman player of the year tradition from Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley. That type of hyperbole always ends up with the braggart being disappointed, but Babbitt had a solid freshman season with 16.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg. He had five double-doubles and was only held to single-digits in scoring three times. Junior G Armon Johnson should also be a nice fantasy player. He was an inconsistent scorer as a sophomore – he scored 20+ ten times, but was held below ten nine times. In all, the 6-foot-3 Johnson averaged 15.5 ppg and 4.3 apg. G Brandon Fields saw his scoring average fall from 12.4 ppg as a sophomore to 9.1 ppg last year, but he could be a nice third option for the Wolfpack.
New Mexico State Aggies The Aggies under coach Marvin Menzies were built for fantasy college hoops. They play the great style of up-and-down basketball that ensures many possessions, which thereby produces many points and rebounds. The Aggies also have a lot of returning talent, including the league’s leading rebounder, F Walter McKines. The 6-foot-6 forward brought down 10.0 rpg as a sophomore and chipped in 12.1 ppg. McKines will be paired again with sophomore Troy Gillenwater, who averaged 12.1 ppg as a freshman. Gillenwater scored in double-digits in his first nine games before succumbing to freshman inconsistency. The Aggie backcourt boasts high-flying G Jahmar Young who led the team with 17.9 ppg. Young scored in the thirties twice, including 32 points in a Jan. 29 win over San Jose State. C Hamidu Rahman looks the part at 6-foot-11, 245 points, but he is an unfinished product. If you are mining for freshman, remember F B.J. West who is a 6-foot-8 banger from Louisiana.
San Jose State Spartans If he can stay on the court, G Adrian Oliver should be one of the best fantasy players in the conference. The 6-foot-3 guard missed 11 games due to knee injuries in three different stints, but the former Washington Husky was a big time scorer when he was available. He averaged 17.7 ppg and netted a season high 37 on Feb. 7 against Boise State. He is adept at hitting from the perimeter or forcing the issue and getting to the basket. F/C C.J. Webster provided inside balance for San Jose State. He averaged 12.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg and chipped in three double-doubles. PG Justin Graham held the keys to the attack and led the team with 4.7 apg. He did not shoot very much and settled for 8.3 ppg. Graham tried to score more in Oliver’s absences, but is more adept at passing.
Utah State Aggies Utah State won both the regular season championship and the WAC tournament. They will miss Gary Wilkinson, but they have plenty of returning talent. Foremost is senior G Jared Quayle. The 6-foot-1 guard from Perry, Utah was unafraid to venture into the land of the trees and mix it up. Quayle averaged 13.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.7 apg. He had three double-doubles and was a consistent producer in his first season in Logan. F Tai Wesley will lead the frontcourt in Wilkinson’s absence. Wesley provided 12.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg as a sophomore. Since the junior college route has been so fortuitous for the Aggies, another player to remember is 6-foot-9 F Nate Bendall. He originally signed with the Aggies in 2005-06, went on a LDS service mission, and played last year with Salt Lake Community College where he averaged 14.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg.