Despite offseason of activity, MWC basketball powers appear strong

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 | noon

The 2009-10 men's basketball season marked a coming-out party of sorts for the Mountain West Conference.

Three teams had stints in the Top 25 polls, while four of the nine league members made the NCAA tournament — the most in the MWC's 11-year history.

But following that run — the peak of which was a memorable semifinal round of the MWC Tournament on March 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center — has been a couple of months filled with offseason headlines.

Now, in mid-May, the deadline for underclassmen to decide whether to remain in the NBA Draft or return to school has passed. Most players deciding whether to transfer have made up their minds.

Here is a close look to see whose stock among the league's four powers has gone up, stayed the same or dropped some:

BYU

2009-10 record: 30-6 overall, 13-3 MWC

2010 postseason: Lost in NCAA tournament second round to Kansas State, 84-72

Since the season ended: The first matter of business was star guard Jimmer Fredette declaring early for the NBA Draft after introducing himself to the rest of the nation with his 37-point splash in a double-overtime victory over Florida — the Cougars' first NCAA tourney win since 1990.

Riding the wave of momentum, he chose to enter without signing with an agent, and announced roughly a week ago that he'd be back for his senior season. After averaging 22.1 points, 4.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds last season, he's likely the Mountain West's preseason Player of the Year.

The key roster additions for this season are a pair of Collinsworths.

Chris Collinsworth, who averaged 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds a game as a freshman in 2007-08, returns from a 2-year mission. His 6-foot-9 presence can only help a BYU team that was plagued by rebounding woes late in the season. His younger brother, Kyle, was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 134 prospect in the 2010 class.

At 6-6, the younger Collinsworth could be in line to eat up some of the minutes left vacant by Tyler Haws, who was the Cougars' third-leading scorer at 11.3 ppg as a freshman last season. Haws will be heading to the Philippines on a two-year mission. Don't expect to hear his name much until 2012-13.

The biggest loss, though, for BYU is the departure of Michael Loyd Jr.

The Palo Verde High grad announced his intent to transfer out of the blue a couple of weeks back, but according to a story last week in the Salt Lake Tribune, it appears that the speedy junior might have needed a change of scenery.

On the season, Loyd's 5.1 ppg were relatively modest, but he truly broke out late, as Dave Rose began wisely using the Vegas native's speed off the bench. In that victory over Florida, Loyd was as responsible for the result as anyone, scoring a career-high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Now, he'll be trying to build off of it elsewhere, which is a shame for BYU, which loses one of the MWC's top athletes.

Stock report: Steady. Another 30-win season wouldn't be out of the question, but the Cougars lose a potential game-changer with the loss of Loyd's speed. Without him and 3-point gunner Jonathan Tavernari — who graduated — coming off of the bench, BYU's perimeter depth might take a bit of time to develop.

New Mexico

2009-10 record: 30-5 overall, 14-2 MWC

2010 postseason: Lost in NCAA tournament second round to Washington, 82-64.

Since the season ended: As expected, MWC Player of the Year Darington Hobson declared for the NBA Draft after just one season in Albuquerque. And that's where he's decided to stay, as the versatile swingman could be a first-round pick come June. He recently signed with an agent, closing the books on his amateur career.

Head coach Steve Alford, armed with a fresh contract extension, has to not just replace Hobson's hefty averages — 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game — but also fill the void left by Roman Martinez's graduation. The 6-6 Martinez averaged 13.9 points a game last season, but was a valuable rebounder and the league's most dangerous 3-point gunner.

Of course, New Mexico will get a boost from UCLA transfer Drew Gordon, who will be eligible following the fall semester. Before leaving the Bruins mid-way through last season, he was averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.

The carousel within the Lobos program actually isn't quite finished turning.

The most recent twist came with a commitment last week from Tennessee transfer Emmanuel Negedu. Rivals.com's No. 40 recruit in the 2008 class, Negedu played sparingly for the Volunteers in 2008-09 and wasn't allowed to play in 2009-10 after suffering a cardiac arrest in September. However, he was cleared medically and cleared by the administration at New Mexico and is attempting to become eligible this season.

If Negedu can play, the combination of he and Gordon should help the Lobos compensate for the absence of Hobson, who, while super-productive, had a tendency to be a bit of a loose cannon in the heat of battle.

The strange part of Negedu's commitment involves who could be headed out. With his arrival, the Lobos now have 14 scholarship players, and only 13 are allowed per NCAA rules. Some early speculation was brought up last week in the Albuquerque Journal.

Stock report: Down a bit. The talent level is still very good. Senior Dairese Gary is the league's best pure point guard, while Phillip McDonald and A.J. Hardeman also should continue to grow as juniors. But depth still will be the issue, and the lack of it didn't help down the stretch run last season. Like BYU, New Mexico will have to develop it in a hurry. At the end of the day, the loss of Hobson is very significant. He single-handedly took the program to another level. That can't be underestimated. Plus, in the eyes of the rest of the country, the Lobos will have to do some damage control early in the season to make up for a poor showing in the NCAA tournament after earning a 3-seed that many outside of the league thought was too generous.

San Diego State

2009-10 record: 25-9 overall, 11-5 MWC

2010 postseason: Lost in NCAA tournament first round to Tennessee, 62-59

Since the season ended: The Aztecs, out of these four, have had the quietest offseason.

SDSU's top five scorers will be back this fall, including rising sophomore Kawhi Leonard, who very well could head to the pro ranks next year. He was a double-double machine as a freshman and is the best the conference has to offer when it comes to combining natural athleticism and pure talent.

It won't affect the Aztecs one way or the other next season, but Steve Fisher and his staff landed a nice transfer in former Washington State guard Xavier Thames, who will be eligible in 2011-12.

Most important, though, is that SDSU again will have quite possibly the most potent frontcourt on the West Coast with Leonard and seniors Billy White and Malcolm Thomas.

Quiet wasn't necessarily a bad thing for the Aztecs.

Stock report: Up slightly. The Aztecs' late-season momentum from 2009-10 should keep building heading into next season. Combine all five starters returning with the eligibility of Santa Clara transfer James Rahon, who averaged 11.3 points and shot 40.7 percent from the 3-point range in 2008-09, and there's no reason to believe that San Diego State won't be back in the NCAA tourney next year. They also are likely to contend for the MWC regular-season title.

UNLV

2009-10 record: 25-9 overall, 11-5 MWC

2010 postseason: Lost in NCAA tournament first round to Northern Iowa, 69-66

Since the season ended: The Rebels lost only two rotation players to graduation in forward Darris Santee and guard Steve Jones. And with that, the Rebels were tapped early on as an early mid-major favorite heading into next season by several national media outlets.

The unexpected bump this offseason came when veteran forward Matt Shaw was suspended for a year after failing an NCAA-administered drug test at the NCAA tournament in Oklahoma City. Given that senior-to-be Shaw already used his redshirt in 2008-09 while recovering from a knee injury, his UNLV career is done.

Shaw was UNLV's most accurate 3-point shooter last season, and his ability from long range combined with his large 6-foot-8 frame allowed him to spread out opposing defenses.

But with next season's additions of Kansas transfer Quintrell Thomas and redshirt freshman Carlos Lopez on the interior, the Rebels should be able to move forward without skipping a beat.

The Rebels' offseason, though, is highlighted by quirky recruiting stories.

First, Findlay Prep guard Cory Joseph, who many believed was close to being UNLV's first McDonald's All-American in the Lon Kruger Era, committed to Texas.

After that fell through, Kruger and his staff turned their attention to Bishop Gorman's Johnathan Loyd to fill the point-guard spot in their recruiting class. That didn't turn out as planned, either, as Loyd headed to Oregon to play for Kruger's good pal, Dana Altman.

UNLV also was rumored to be close to drawing a commitment from Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year Dwayne Polee Jr., who took an official visit to campus in November. But as his stock rose late in his prep career, other programs turned up the heat on him and he was all over the map, ultimately heading to St. John's with first-year coach Steve Lavin.

The Rebels did score some points by landing UCLA transfer Mike Moser, who is in the mold of Chace Stanback and should fit in nicely come 2011-12. As for the team's vacant scholarship, it likely will roll over into the 2011 class, which is when UNLV will need to land a nice crop of talent. Any commitment they got from a high school senior in the 2010 crop would have essentially been a nice bonus to add on to a stacked, experienced roster.

Stock report: Steady. Despite missing on Loyd, Joseph and Polee, the Rebels still will be widely considered a preseason Top 25 club. They'll also likely be the preseason favorite in the Mountain West.