MW Power Rankings for next year (long)

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » June 27th, 2020, 7:17 am

slcagg wrote: ↑
May 31st, 2020, 6:04 am
Tavian Percy from New Mexico to transfer, who never could crack the rotation. There roster was completely full and this opens a scholarship. There is a possibility JB White (see link below) may reclassify from 2021 to 2020 and sign this year. If so that is a heck of a freshman class with him, javonte Johnson and bayron Matos.

Looks like the plan is for him to enroll this year. Highest rated recruit in the conference. New Mexico has a heck of a freshman class imo.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.kob.co ... 40439.html

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » June 27th, 2020, 4:26 pm

I've put it out there, but I think New Mexico is the one who's going to surprise us all. Assuming Coach Weir can keep the players out of trouble off the court, I think they'll be a real challenger.

Post by **aggies22** » July 8th, 2020, 11:08 am

Derrick Alston has decided to return to Boise State. This will be big for them if the two P5 transfers from Arizona pan out.

Post by **AggiesForever** » July 8th, 2020, 12:07 pm

I honestly don't think USU will skip a beat. We'll have to replace one great player with a committee of good players, but its doable. Anthony will be solid and we've got a lot of good players to go with him. And when you have the best big man in the conference, combined with a lot of solid front court players, you can make some good things happen.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » July 8th, 2020, 12:23 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑
July 8th, 2020, 11:08 am
Derrick Alston has decided to return to Boise State. This will be big for them if the two P5 transfers from Arizona pan out.

Great for the conference.

I am very interested with Akot. He got a chance to play and played like 20 mins per game but averaged 3 pts per game before he transferred. I think he could be very good, but I don't know if it is a given.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » July 9th, 2020, 5:55 pm

aggies22 wrote: ↑
July 8th, 2020, 11:08 am
Derrick Alston has decided to return to Boise State. This will be big for them if the two P5 transfers from Arizona pan out.

One thing people forget is that Boise does lose Jessop plus a couple solid role players (Hobbs and their best big guy). Are they better probably but are the guys who couldn’t cut it at Arizona better than jessop?

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » July 9th, 2020, 10:14 pm

Big hit to Fresno.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » July 23rd, 2020, 7:05 am

Jeff Goodman has 1 mountain West In his top 50.

https://watchstadium.com/jeff-goodmans- ... 4-23-2020/

Post by **aggies22** » July 23rd, 2020, 8:17 am

slcagg wrote: ↑
July 23rd, 2020, 7:05 am
Jeff Goodman has 1 mountain West In his top 50.

https://watchstadium.com/jeff-goodmans- ... 4-23-2020/

Not a shock. On paper, they have a pretty talented team. On paper.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » August 2nd, 2020, 5:57 am

Churro Mitchell is back. Big deal for the conference to have queta, the kid in Boise and Mitchell back.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » August 23rd, 2020, 12:15 pm

Good news for New Mexico. If he can stay healthy he will be a very good player in this league.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » August 29th, 2020, 7:36 am

Not for this year. But I thought worth highlighting. Unlv can recruit well with their coach and unlike coaches they’ve had recently I think he will keep more of them in Vegas longer. Unlv is on the up and up in my opinion.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » September 6th, 2020, 1:00 pm

Rothstein mw prediction. Predicts us third. I’m impressed with his knowledge of the conference. One thing that stood out to me is the freshman impact players he listed.

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php ... n-preview/

IdaAg93 · Post by **IdaAg93** » September 6th, 2020, 11:08 pm

slcagg wrote: ↑
September 6th, 2020, 1:00 pm
Rothstein mw prediction. Predicts us third. I’m impressed with his knowledge of the conference. One thing that stood out to me is the freshman impact players he listed.

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php ... n-preview/

We have 2 of the "impact freshman" for the MW this year. Love me some of that!! Can't wait to see this team come February. Seems to be the sweet spot for Craig Smith's teams to gel and become their best.

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » September 7th, 2020, 11:06 am

I understand why people are putting Boise above us on paper, but I am pretty confident we will be better than Boise.

Alston has always struck me as a bit of a beta and not someone really capable of taking over a game, and it’s hard to integrate so many transfers and be good.

Rothstein did a nice job here though. You can tell he’s done some serious homework.

More than anything, I am just hoping there is a season.

nvspuds · Post by **nvspuds** » September 7th, 2020, 11:46 am

Like other pundits, Rothstein may be uncertain about your guards..

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » September 7th, 2020, 12:14 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 11:06 am
I understand why people are putting Boise above us on paper, but I am pretty confident we will be better than Boise. Alston has always struck me as a bit of a beta and not someone really capable of taking over a game, and it’s hard to integrate so many transfers and be good.

Rothstein did a nice job here though. You can tell he’s done some serious homework.

More than anything, I am just hoping there is a season.

I kind of agree on Alston. There transfers have been practicing with the team for a year like Marco. So I would expect them to hit the ground running.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » September 7th, 2020, 12:14 pm

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 11:46 am
Like other pundits, Rothstein may be uncertain about your guards..

And I think that is totally fair!

nvspuds · Post by **nvspuds** » September 7th, 2020, 1:22 pm

It is very hard to determine anything now so there is a lot of guessing going on. The bias to my thinking is that college basketball is a guard's game, particularly in mid major land..

You guys really took off when you got Quetta. He is the rare stud big man in a league that doesn't really see a lot of that.

That is a bonus for you and should keep you in the hunt in the MW.

But..And there is always a but.. You lost the most important player in the conference in Merrill. He was your emotional leader, your best player and also, quite important, your closer..

You also lost very solid role players in Porter and Brito. Those 3 players were crucial to the USU run over the last couple of years.

Maybe, you have a whole flock of great guards who will prove to be better than the guys you lost and ready to really be good right away. Maybe that isn't the case, though.

It is all just guessing now..

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » September 8th, 2020, 12:30 am

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 1:22 pm
It is very hard to determine anything now so there is a lot of guessing going on. The bias to my thinking is that college basketball is a guard's game, particularly in mid major land..

You guys really took off when you got Quetta. He is the rare stud big man in a league that doesn't really see a lot of that.

That is a bonus for you and should keep you in the hunt in the MW.

But..And there is always a but.. You lost the most important player in the conference in Merrill. He was your emotional leader, your best player and also, quite important, your closer..

You also lost very solid role players in Porter and Brito. Those 3 players were crucial to the USU run over the last couple of years.

Maybe, you have a whole flock of great guards who will prove to be better than the guys you lost and ready to really be good right away. Maybe that isn't the case, though.

It is all just guessing now..

This is true. Sam Merrill can be replaced in points scored. But as a distributor and, more importantly, the person who would take games into their hands and carry the team... we've lost a lot there. I have a lot of hope for our incoming guys, but experience is lacking.

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » September 8th, 2020, 2:02 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 12:30 am

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 1:22 pm
It is very hard to determine anything now so there is a lot of guessing going on. The bias to my thinking is that college basketball is a guard's game, particularly in mid major land..

You guys really took off when you got Quetta. He is the rare stud big man in a league that doesn't really see a lot of that.

That is a bonus for you and should keep you in the hunt in the MW.

But..And there is always a but.. You lost the most important player in the conference in Merrill. He was your emotional leader, your best player and also, quite important, your closer..

You also lost very solid role players in Porter and Brito. Those 3 players were crucial to the USU run over the last couple of years.

Maybe, you have a whole flock of great guards who will prove to be better than the guys you lost and ready to really be good right away. Maybe that isn't the case, though.

It is all just guessing now..
This is true. Sam Merrill can be replaced in points scored. But as a distributor and, more importantly, the person who would take games into their hands and carry the team... we've lost a lot there. I have a lot of hope for our incoming guys, but experience is lacking.

For sure. Will all depend on how the guards come together. We just need a recruiting hit or two out of Anthony, Vedischev, Shulga, Worster, and Ashworth. If two of those 5 guys are legitimate D1 starters, we will be really good. If three of the five are, I think we 3-peat this year.

I am confident Anthony will be good. What will be most interesting to see this season is which of the other 4 steps up. If none of Vedischev, Shulga, Worster, and Ashworth pan out it could be a bit rough.

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » September 8th, 2020, 2:50 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 2:02 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 12:30 am

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 1:22 pm
It is very hard to determine anything now so there is a lot of guessing going on. The bias to my thinking is that college basketball is a guard's game, particularly in mid major land..

You guys really took off when you got Quetta. He is the rare stud big man in a league that doesn't really see a lot of that.

That is a bonus for you and should keep you in the hunt in the MW.

But..And there is always a but.. You lost the most important player in the conference in Merrill. He was your emotional leader, your best player and also, quite important, your closer..

You also lost very solid role players in Porter and Brito. Those 3 players were crucial to the USU run over the last couple of years.

Maybe, you have a whole flock of great guards who will prove to be better than the guys you lost and ready to really be good right away. Maybe that isn't the case, though.

It is all just guessing now..
This is true. Sam Merrill can be replaced in points scored. But as a distributor and, more importantly, the person who would take games into their hands and carry the team... we've lost a lot there. I have a lot of hope for our incoming guys, but experience is lacking.
For sure. Will all depend on how the guards come together. We just need a recruiting hit or two out of Anthony, Vedischev, Shulga, Worster, and Ashworth. If two of those 5 guys are legitimate D1 starters, we will be really good. If three of the five are, I think we 3-peat this year.

I am confident Anthony will be good. What will be most interesting is which of the other 4 steps up.

I've heard a lot that Marco is going to be good. I'm not convincing myself that he's going to be our lead scorer, but I'm hoping he pulls his weight and then some.

I'm thinking that Vedischev will be a big contributor, but that's mostly based of his FIBA performance, particularly against some excellent USA players. So... small sample size. Maybe he just got hot for a decent stretch (Linsanity, anyone?) and was punching above his weight.

I'm toning myself down, but the low-key hype about Ashworth has me very excited. Any word on how well he's been getting out of mission shape, and into D1 athletics shape?

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » September 8th, 2020, 2:58 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 2:50 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 2:02 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 12:30 am

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 1:22 pm
It is very hard to determine anything now so there is a lot of guessing going on. The bias to my thinking is that college basketball is a guard's game, particularly in mid major land..

You guys really took off when you got Quetta. He is the rare stud big man in a league that doesn't really see a lot of that.

That is a bonus for you and should keep you in the hunt in the MW.

But..And there is always a but.. You lost the most important player in the conference in Merrill. He was your emotional leader, your best player and also, quite important, your closer..

You also lost very solid role players in Porter and Brito. Those 3 players were crucial to the USU run over the last couple of years.

Maybe, you have a whole flock of great guards who will prove to be better than the guys you lost and ready to really be good right away. Maybe that isn't the case, though.

It is all just guessing now..
This is true. Sam Merrill can be replaced in points scored. But as a distributor and, more importantly, the person who would take games into their hands and carry the team... we've lost a lot there. I have a lot of hope for our incoming guys, but experience is lacking.
For sure. Will all depend on how the guards come together. We just need a recruiting hit or two out of Anthony, Vedischev, Shulga, Worster, and Ashworth. If two of those 5 guys are legitimate D1 starters, we will be really good. If three of the five are, I think we 3-peat this year.

I am confident Anthony will be good. What will be most interesting is which of the other 4 steps up.
I've heard a lot that Marco is going to be good. I'm not convincing myself that he's going to be our lead scorer, but I'm hoping he pulls his weight and then some.

I'm thinking that Vedischev will be a big contributor, but that's mostly based of his FIBA performance, particularly against some excellent USA players. So... small sample size. Maybe he just got hot for a decent stretch (Linsanity, anyone?) and was punching above his weight.

I'm toning myself down, but the low-key hype about Ashworth has me very excited. Any word on how well he's been getting out of mission shape, and into D1 athletics shape?

Yeah, I’m kind of expecting Vedischev and at least one of Ashworth or Worster to be ready to play.

In the post, I know Zapala is one of the guys tabbed as a newcomer of the year type, but with the embarrassment of both riches and depth that we have in the post, I would not be surprised if Zapala redshirts (barring injuries).

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » September 8th, 2020, 3:45 pm

Again, 22 had mentioned that Zapala will be "too good to redshirt". It has also been mentioned that he can play in the 4 as well. Now that the team is together and practicing, I'm sure we'll see development into how the team will proceed and what that looks like.

@aggies22, any update on Zapala's breadth? Is he practicing at the 4 in addition to the 5, or is he looking to play entirely as a Center? Is he interested in playing both positions?

Post by **aggies22** » September 8th, 2020, 4:19 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 3:45 pm
Again, 22 had mentioned that Zapala will be "too good to redshirt". It has also been mentioned that he can play in the 4 as well. Now that the team is together and practicing, I'm sure we'll see development into how the team will proceed and what that looks like.

@aggies22, any update on Zapala's breadth? Is he practicing at the 4 in addition to the 5, or is he looking to play entirely as a Center? Is he interested in playing both positions?

Right now only rat ball is taking place and it's hard to get a report out of those. He didn't get through quarantine quickly enough for the coaching staff to get a real good look at him before the summer strength and conditioning period ended a couple of weeks ago. I'll see what I can find out?

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » September 8th, 2020, 4:39 pm

RLA, ineptimus (Missouri football fan

), and 22. These are the type of conversations I love to get on and read. I’m excited about the foreign talent in this past class.

OrangeCountyAggie · Post by **OrangeCountyAggie** » September 8th, 2020, 5:15 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 2:02 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
September 8th, 2020, 12:30 am

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 1:22 pm
It is very hard to determine anything now so there is a lot of guessing going on. The bias to my thinking is that college basketball is a guard's game, particularly in mid major land..

You guys really took off when you got Quetta. He is the rare stud big man in a league that doesn't really see a lot of that.

That is a bonus for you and should keep you in the hunt in the MW.

But..And there is always a but.. You lost the most important player in the conference in Merrill. He was your emotional leader, your best player and also, quite important, your closer..

You also lost very solid role players in Porter and Brito. Those 3 players were crucial to the USU run over the last couple of years.

Maybe, you have a whole flock of great guards who will prove to be better than the guys you lost and ready to really be good right away. Maybe that isn't the case, though.

It is all just guessing now..
This is true. Sam Merrill can be replaced in points scored. But as a distributor and, more importantly, the person who would take games into their hands and carry the team... we've lost a lot there. I have a lot of hope for our incoming guys, but experience is lacking.
For sure. Will all depend on how the guards come together. We just need a recruiting hit or two out of Anthony, Vedischev, Shulga, Worster, and Ashworth. If two of those 5 guys are legitimate D1 starters, we will be really good. If three of the five are, I think we 3-peat this year.

I am confident Anthony will be good. What will be most interesting to see this season is which of the other 4 steps up. If none of Vedischev, Shulga, Worster, and Ashworth pan out it could be a bit rough.

Don't forget about McChesney (aka Kevin Durrant light).

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » September 8th, 2020, 10:03 pm

I don't watch much NBA and don't really follow stuff... while I knew KD's name, I didn't really know anything about him. I was recently watching some clips and had two immediate thoughts.
1. Man, this guy is amazing.
2. WTF are these lanky af proportions he's got going on?

Aggie in Boise · Post by **Aggie in Boise** » September 9th, 2020, 9:35 am

slcagg wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 12:14 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 11:06 am
I understand why people are putting Boise above us on paper, but I am pretty confident we will be better than Boise. Alston has always struck me as a bit of a beta and not someone really capable of taking over a game, and it’s hard to integrate so many transfers and be good.

Rothstein did a nice job here though. You can tell he’s done some serious homework.

More than anything, I am just hoping there is a season.
I kind of agree on Alston. There transfers have been practicing with the team for a year like Marco. So I would expect them to hit the ground running.

Alston is most likely going to be playing the PG for BSU this year.

https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2020 ... nba-draft/

I've seen Alston at a local gym where he trains for basketball but I've never seen him work out with strength training equipment. It's unfortunate because the weakest part of his game is his physical strength. I'm betting that he ONLY works out (strength training) with the team when it's required. The dude is in serious need of a strength training and nutrition program.

IMO, when we play BSU Marco needs to guard Alston. Marco will easily manhandle Alston.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » September 9th, 2020, 9:56 am

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
September 9th, 2020, 9:35 am

slcagg wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 12:14 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 11:06 am
I understand why people are putting Boise above us on paper, but I am pretty confident we will be better than Boise. Alston has always struck me as a bit of a beta and not someone really capable of taking over a game, and it’s hard to integrate so many transfers and be good.

Rothstein did a nice job here though. You can tell he’s done some serious homework.

More than anything, I am just hoping there is a season.
I kind of agree on Alston. There transfers have been practicing with the team for a year like Marco. So I would expect them to hit the ground running.
Alston is most likely going to be playing the PG for BSU this year.

https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2020 ... nba-draft/

I've seen Alston at a local gym where he trains for basketball but I've never seen him work out with strength training equipment. It's unfortunate because the weakest part of his game is his physical strength. I'm betting that he ONLY works out (strength training) with the team when it's required. The dude is in serious need of a strength training and nutrition program.

IMO, when we play BSU Marco needs to guard Alston. Marco will easily manhandle Alston.

Reports on Marco defense this could very well end up happening.

nvspuds · Post by **nvspuds** » September 9th, 2020, 10:47 am

I would guess that Marcus Shaver will be the primary PG for Boise..I actually believe he is the most important addition to Boise this season.

nvspuds · Post by **nvspuds** » September 11th, 2020, 4:10 pm

Nevada just received some great news today..Wichita State, transfer Grant Sherfield has been granted a waiver and can play for the Pack this season.

He is a sophomore.

He had originally committed to UCLA when Alford was the coach..I think he will be the starting PG..He played quite a bit for WSU and it gives the Pack some much needed experience in the backcourt.

Post by **treesap32** » September 11th, 2020, 4:19 pm

Great news for the Pack. Seems like the NCAA is granting more and more of these waivers. Players just need to know what to put in their requests I guess. It used to be they only granted them if it was a very unusual circumstance like a player's mother getting cancer and him transferring to his hometown university. Doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » September 11th, 2020, 5:02 pm

nvspuds wrote: ↑
September 11th, 2020, 4:10 pm
Nevada just received some great news today..Wichita State, transfer Grant Sherfield has been granted a waiver and can play for the Pack this season.

He is a sophomore.

He had originally committed to UCLA when Alford was the coach..I think he will be the starting PG..He played quite a bit for WSU and it gives the Pack some much needed experience in the backcourt.

Big news. Great to hear. Hopefully we get some out of conference games this year as I think the conference will be quite strong.

Post by **aggies22** » September 11th, 2020, 5:08 pm

slcagg wrote: ↑
September 9th, 2020, 9:56 am

Aggie in Boise wrote: ↑
September 9th, 2020, 9:35 am

slcagg wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 12:14 pm

ineptimusprime wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 11:06 am
I understand why people are putting Boise above us on paper, but I am pretty confident we will be better than Boise. Alston has always struck me as a bit of a beta and not someone really capable of taking over a game, and it’s hard to integrate so many transfers and be good.

Rothstein did a nice job here though. You can tell he’s done some serious homework.

More than anything, I am just hoping there is a season.
I kind of agree on Alston. There transfers have been practicing with the team for a year like Marco. So I would expect them to hit the ground running.
Alston is most likely going to be playing the PG for BSU this year.

https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2020 ... nba-draft/

I've seen Alston at a local gym where he trains for basketball but I've never seen him work out with strength training equipment. It's unfortunate because the weakest part of his game is his physical strength. I'm betting that he ONLY works out (strength training) with the team when it's required. The dude is in serious need of a strength training and nutrition program.

IMO, when we play BSU Marco needs to guard Alston. Marco will easily manhandle Alston.
Reports on Marco defense this could very well end up happening.

Marco Anthony prides himself on being a physical defender.

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