October 17th 2024.
The Mountain West conference made some exciting announcements on Thursday that have basketball fans buzzing. They revealed the preseason all-conference teams and predicted the order of finish for the upcoming season. It's a highly anticipated event every year, and this year was no different.
Among the 10 players voted onto the all-conference team was Colorado State's very own Nique Clifford, a fifth-year guard who has been making waves in the basketball world. Clifford is a local talent, having played for The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs before joining the Rams. Last season, he proved himself to be a valuable asset to the team, averaging 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 36 starts.
Unfortunately, CSU was predicted to finish seventh out of the 11 teams in the conference this season, which is the same spot they ended up in last year. On the other hand, Air Force was expected to finish at the bottom of the league, despite not having any players selected for the all-Mountain West preseason team. Meanwhile, Wyoming was also projected to be towards the bottom, with no all-conference selections of their own.
In other news, there have been some major changes in the realignment dynamics for the conference, with the addition of Gonzaga to the Pac-12. But let's get back to the preseason predictions. Boise State was the clear favorite, receiving 19 out of 26 first-place votes. They were followed by New Mexico, Nevada, and San Diego State, making for a strong top four.
Boise State senior forward Tyson Degenhart was named the preseason player of the year, while San Diego State's Pharoah Compton was awarded the title of preseason freshman of the year. And for the newcomer of the year, the honor went to Nevada's fifth-year guard Kobe Sanders, who had an impressive average of 19.6 points for Cal Poly last season.
Let's take a look at the full all-Mountain West preseason team, which includes some of the most talented players in the conference:
- Albaro Cardenas, G, Boise State
- Tyson Degenhart, F, Boise State
- O'Mar Stanley, F, Boise State
- Nique Clifford, G, Colorado State
- Nick Davidson, F, Nevada
- Donovan Dent, G, New Mexico
- Nelly Junior Joseph, C, New Mexico
- Reese Waters, G, San Diego State
- Dedan Thomas Jr., G, UNLV
- Ian Martinez, G, Utah State
And last but not least, here is the predicted order of finish for the conference, as voted by the coaches and media:
1. Boise State - 276
2. New Mexico - 233
3. Nevada - 219
4. San Diego State - 213
5. UNLV - 178
6. Utah State - 169
7. Colorado State - 160
8. San José State - 88
9. Wyoming - 67
10. Fresno State - 62
11. Air Force - 51
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