- (Sports Network) - OUTLOOK: With most of the marquee names from just a few years ago now gone, the Western Athletic Conference could easily have some surprises in store for the 2008-09 campaign, but it doesn't seem all that likely. Last year, the parity at the top of the WAC standings was staggering, to the point where four teams earned a share of the regular-season crown. Utah State, Nevada, New Mexico State and Boise State all put up 12-4 conference records, but in the end it was the Aggies of USU who were slotted as the top seed in the annual WAC Tournament in Las Cruces. While it is conceivable that perhaps this year's conference could be somewhat wide open, conventional wisdom would tell you that it is again a four-team race, with the experience of Nevada head coach Mark Fox providing the Reno-based squad a slight advantage. The knock against Utah State is that it has lost one of its top all-time players in Jaycee Carroll and since he's the one who always had the ball in his hands in clutch situations, maybe no one else on the roster is ready to assume that responsibility. NMSU tends to have top-flight athletes who are ready to wear down opponents and Boise State typically has a slow and steady hand at both ends of the floor. It would be safe to say that the remaining five teams in the conference, San Jose State, Hawaii, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech and Idaho will all hopefully catch a break here and there along the way, but not enough to give one of the defending regular-season champs a real run for their money. CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Nevada

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Nevada; 2. Utah State; 3. New Mexico State; 4. Boise State; 5. San Jose State; 6. Hawaii; 7. Fresno State; 8. Louisiana Tech; 9. Idaho

TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:

NEVADA: If being the five-time defending Western Athletic Conference champions isn't convincing enough to take the Wolf Pack seriously again in 2008-09, then who knows what is. Seven players who earned letters, including two starters, from a squad that ended up 21-12 are back in the fold. However, as far as experience is concerned, only four players on the current roster have ever started even a single game for the program, including Malik Cooke who has just one start to his credit. Armon Johnson and Brandon Fields will be the center pieces for the Nevada attack this season, with each of them have started 32 games in their respective careers. Now a sophomore Johnson, who was named the WAC Preseason Player of the Year by the league's coaches, was the 2008 WAC Freshman of the Year as he placed fourth on the team in scoring with 11.5 ppg and was also responsible for four rebounds per contest as well. Fields, who during the middle of October was cited for petty larceny in Reno along with teammates London Giles and Ahyaro Phillips, begins the new campaign on indefinite suspension until head coach Mark Fox deems otherwise. A couple of days before the end of October Fields was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, but did not have his suspension lifted, which is a credit to the program as it won't allow its top returning scorer to be above the team. A junior, Fields posted 12.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 2.4 apg in 2007-08. Now a senior, guard Lyndale Burleson should have a more expanded role this year, although he'd better find more focus at the free-throw line where he was a mere 35.7 percent successful in limited action. A native of Reno, freshman Luke Babbitt is already recognized as perhaps the top newcomer in the WAC, which means coach Fox isn't allowing the local talent in the Silver State to stray.

UTAH STATE: For the last couple of years, the world of Utah State basketball has revolved around the exploits of Jaycee Carroll, one of the top sharpshooters in the nation, but now the post-Carroll era begins for the Aggies and head coach Stew Morrill. For Morrill, he has to feel as though he's accomplished quite a bit during his time with the Aggies, at least the school thought so and recently signed him to a new contract that extends through the 2014-15 campaign. Last season, USU placed first in all of Division I in field goal shooting at 51.4 percent and was tops in the WAC (ninth nationally) with 40.1 percent accuracy beyond the arc, but much of that had to do with Carroll as he led the program to the postseason for the ninth straight year. It didn't hurt that the Aggies were also first in the country in free-throw shooting at 79.2 percent either. Of the three returning starters from a year ago, senior forward Gary Wilkinson brings the most in terms of scoring, having dropped in 13.3 ppg. Wilkinson was the second banana to Carroll, giving USU an inside presence that became more vital when the perimeter shots were not falling as they should. Wilkinson also cleared seven rebounds per contest to rank first on the unit, while Tai Wesley accounted for four and a half rebounds per game to go along with his 9.9 ppg. Fellow sophomore Tyler Newbold now gets a chance to show off his ability a bit more now that Carroll is not racing all about the floor. Newbold (5.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) is a bigger build than Carroll and will stick himself on the inside when needed. The graduation of Kris Clark means someone else will be running the show this season, and while Jaxon Myaer may be the popular pick after he redshirted a season ago, counting out Jared Quayle who transferred from Western Wyoming Community College would be premature.

NEW MEXICO STATE: Coming back for the second-highest scoring team in the WAC, the Aggies hinge their 2008-09 hopes on Jonathan Gibson and Jahmar Young. One of six players on last year's roster to post double-digit scoring, Gibson finished second on the team with his 12.2 ppg, thanks in large part to his 41.9 percent shooting from three-point range. Young, who appeared in 21 games and made a total of five starts, had some serious issues shooting the ball out on the perimeter, converting just 14-of-62 (.226), yet he still tallied 10.3 ppg for a team that accounted for 79.8 ppg and placed 17th in the nation in scoring. NMSU led the conference in scoring margin at plus-7.6 ppg, but one can only imagine how much different that would have been had the team not beaten opponents such as Hawaii, Chicago State and Lemoyne-Owen by an excess of 30 points apiece. Getting more freedom to occupy the paint for the Aggies this season will be Wendell McKines who, despite averaging a mere 18.7 minutes per game, was responsible for almost six rebounds per game. As one of seven freshmen dotting the New Mexico State roster, Boston native Troy Gillenwater has already shown a propensity for being an offensive threat and should supply head coach Marvin Menzies with a strong inside presence at 6-8. Certainly there will be some growing pains in Las Cruces this season, but that doesn't mean this group won't be able to gel and take some steps in the right direction.

BOISE STATE: The Broncos possessed one of the best frontcourt tandems in the WAC last season in Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson, the duo combining for more than 35 points and 16 rebounds per game, but this season Boise State will have to find players to fill those vacated spots. Not only are Larry and Nelson gone, so are Tyler Tiedeman and Matt Bauscher who were two of the other starters for the program. That said, Anthony Thomas will probably get more of the attention at the offensive end of the floor for the Broncos since he's the top returning scorer with his 8.5 ppg. The junior guard was more of a distributor than anything else in 2007-08, responsible for a team-best 141 assists, but he has to be prepared to expand his role as one of the older, more experienced performers on the team. Junior center Kurt Cunningham and sophomore forward Paul Noonan are the only other players on the current roster who started even a single game for the team a year ago, which means guys like Aaron Garner and Mark Sanchez will be looked at to make significant contributions to a team that led the WAC and placed 10th in the nation a year ago in scoring with 81.4 ppg under the direction of head coach Greg Graham. One of the aspects of the game that coach Graham will have to pay more attention to is his defense, one that was last in the WAC and was a distant 300th in the nation last year with 75.5 ppg allowed.

SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans are a prime example of a team that could finish anywhere from third to sixth in the WAC standings this year, depending on how the chips fall. The uncertainty of SJSU's chances lie in the fact that the team finished just 13-19 a year ago, yet return all five starters. The frontcourt appears to be quite stable for the Spartans as C.J. Webster and Chris Oakes eat up space in the paint. Webster, a preseason all-conference pick, is the top returning scorer for the program and has already displayed a knack for controlling the glass. Responsible for a team-best 11.3 ppg, Webster also cleared 6.8 rpg a season ago, while Oakes accounted for 10.3 ppg and a team-best 7.2 rpg as well. Between the two of them they attempted just a pair of three-point shots, which in their case was a good move, but the Spartans as a whole still need to work on that area of their attack. Altogether, San Jose State dropped in just 4.1 three-point baskets per game, which was not only last in the WAC, it also left the program 323rd in the nation. Were it not for Tim Pierce who sank 69-of-202 three-point attempts, one can only wonder just how bad it could have been out on the perimeter for the Spartans. However, because Pierce (11.2 ppg) focused so much of his energy on trying to give SJSU a deep threat, he ended up shooting a mere 36.5 percent from the floor overall. Justin Graham and DaShawn Wright are the other two returning starters for head coach George Nessman, having put up 10.7 and 10.1 ppg, respectively, a season ago.

HAWAII: Like a number of the other teams in the WAC this season, the Warriors are probably going to be less than spectacular due to the fact that the roster has been nearly flipped over and it will be impossible to figure out the players without a scorecard. Second-year head coach Bob Nash would love to have his son back on the floor these days, but that simply isn't the case with just five players coming back who have had any connection with Hawaii basketball previously. Junior Bill Amis is the closest thing the team has to a leader, after he started 20 of the 30 games in which he appeared. Amis, who led the team in field goal shooting at 55.7 percent and topped the list with 40 blocked shots, on his way to 8.5 ppg, played a physical game on the inside that resulted in 4.6 rpg, but also 102 personal fouls and five disqualifications. If this team has any hope of working beyond an 11-19 record from a year ago, Amis will have to use his muscle judiciously. Without a single senior on the roster, players like Kareem Nitito, Paul Campbell and Adhar Mayben will have to step up their efforts so that Hawaii doesn't fall to the bottom of the WAC and settle there. Nitito showed some flashes a year ago, playing decent defense, but he has to refrain from thinking he's a three-point threat after making a mere 3-of-16 shots out on the perimeter for a team that was second-to-last in the conference in made three-point baskets per game (5.7) and was last in the league in accuracy at a mere 33.2 percent. Campbell displayed potential in the rebounding department in limited exposure and he'll be called upon to have an even bigger influence in the paint this year since the team is youthful and placed 306th in the nation in rebounding margin a year ago with minus-5.0 per game

FRESNO STATE: Back for his fourth year at Fresno State, head coach Steve Cleveland might prefer to be hiding out in the city the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers call home after he gets a good look at what he has to deal with this season. The coach has lost the bulk of his scoring from a year ago when the Bulldogs were sixth in the WAC with their 68.8 ppg. FSU lived and died out on the perimeter in 2007-08 as they placed first in the conference and 39th in the nation with 8.3 three-point baskets per game, so where those points will come from this season is still a mystery. The lone returning starter for the Bulldogs is senior guard Dwight O'Neil who averaged 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists for a team that finished just 13-19 and was 2-11 on the road. O'Neil is listed as a returning starter for the Bulldogs almost out of desperation because while it is true that he was in the lineup in a dozen games, he appeared in a total of just 14 contests, shooting a mere 36 percent from the field and 53.3 percent at the charity stripe. The rest of the returning players are all sophomores, with Nedeljko Golubovic being the most experienced of the lot with his 4.7 ppg and 3.4 rpg. Down the list are Brandon Webster, Miles Green and Jordan Ambers who between them appeared in a total of 33 games and averaged a mere 2.8 combined points per outing. At 6-10, Webster will have to make a bigger impact in the middle because the team is already filled with guards who will be lingering out on the perimeter anyway. Junior center Sylvester Seay, a transfer from Arizona State, could give Webster some added support in the paint, but that remains to be seen.

LOUISIANA TECH: Last season, the Bulldogs were one of the worst basketball teams in the nation, winning a total of just three games before the second week of February. What's worse, those three victories came against weak opponents such as UL-Lafayette, Alcorn State and McNeese State, yet none were dominating efforts. Add to that the team's mere three conference wins over Idaho, Hawaii and San Jose State, three other struggling programs, and there was little to cheer about in Ruston. Unfortunately, little has changed for the Bulldogs this time around, aside from keeping Kyle Gibson from simply throwing his hands in the air and giving up on this team altogether. Last season, Gibson gave head coach Kerry Rupp a few reasons to smile as he started all 30 games and scored in double figures in all but four of those outings. The junior guard aims to improve upon his 16.5 points and five rebounds per game from a year ago, but that will all depend on his supporting cast and whether or not he'll have to be the only one to try and carry the squad once again. Senior James Loe and Adrian Rogers are really the only other players on the current roster with notable experience on the roster. Loe was inserted into the starting lineup nine times a year ago, eventually finishing with 5.4 points and two assists per game, while Rogers started 20 of his 25 games in 2007-08, but the result was just 3.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. If this team has any hope of staying out of last place in the WAC standings it needs Loe and Rogers, along with any mix of the new faces, to give them a push in the right direction.

IDAHO: Another disappointing season for the Vandals in 2007-08, they finished just 8-21 and were a miserable 2-14 on the road, led the squad to make a change at head coach. In steps Don Verlin who had spent the previous 15 years being the right-hand man to Stew Morrill, first at Colorado State and then Utah State for the last 11 campaigns. Verlin inherits a program that is destined to have trouble again this year, with only a handful of returning players who had any sort of impact on last season's outcome. The wild card in the group is Trevor Morris who started seven of the 16 games in which he appeared, but also missed 10 games with a foot injury. Morris is the sort of player who feels free letting the ball fly from the perimeter, tying the school record with 11 three-point attempts in a single game against Gonzaga. However, Morris made just 28.6 percent of his three-point tries on the season, so it doesn't sound too encouraging. Brandon Brown has to step up and be more of a leader this year after he contributed 5.1 ppg a year ago, but like Morris he thought he too was a three-point threat, but according to his 6-of-27 effort beyond the arc it just wasn't the case. Luis Augusto actually started 18 of 29 games for the program in 2007-08, but he was little more than a placeholder while Jordan Brooks and Michael Crowell took charge. Augusto's 2.6 ppg were forgettable, but his 44 turnovers against just eight assists, stood out like a sore thumb. Terrence Simmons (3.0 ppg) had a much better feel for the passing game with his 44 assists and 37 miscues, but it was his awful 36.7 percent (18-of-49) effort at the free-throw line that made him a liability.





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