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BYU was picked second to perennial West Coast Conference power Gonzaga in preseason coaches' balloting unveiled Monday at the league's annual Basketball Tipoff/Media Day event in Los Angeles. BYU guards Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth were also named to the preseason All-WCC squad.
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Gonzaga received nine of ten first-place votes in order-of-finish polling, with BYU receiving the other top-spot nod. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams or own players.
WCC Coaches Preseason Poll - Order of Finish
| Place | Team | First-Place Votes | Vote Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Gonzaga | 9 | 81 |
| <b>2.</b> | <b>BYU</b> | <b>1</b> | <b>69</b> |
| 3. | Saint Mary's | 62 | |
| 4. | San Francisco | 59 | |
| 5. | San Diego | 47 | |
| 6. | Portland | 45 | |
| 7. | Pepperdine | 29 | |
| 7. | Santa Clara | 29 | |
| 9. | Loyola Marymount | 19 | |
| 10. | Pacific | 10 |
The first five selections mirror the top five picks in the preseason poll from last year, when Gonzaga ended up winning the league's regular-season crown by two games over BYU and San Francisco, which tied for second place, with St. Mary's finishing fourth and Pepperdine fifth. San Diego and Portland tied for sixth last season, while Pacific and Santa Clara deadlocked in eighth place and Loyola Marymount finished last.
"I know from the top, (the WCC) is really good," said BYU head coach Dave Rose during Monday's media availability at the Time Warner Sportsnet studios near LAX.
"Gonzaga is as good as any team in any league that we've ever been in, trying to compete with. This year is one of their best teams, and (head coach) Mark (Few) will even tell you that it might be the most talented team that he has had.
"If this is his most talented team, than we all have a real challenge. The rest of the league is what really impresses me. From our first year (in the league) to now, I think every team, without a question, is improved."
BYU's second-place league finish in 2013-14 represented a high-water mark for Rose's program as a WCC member; its appearance in the conference tournament title game was Rose's first since the Cougars joined the WCC for the 2011-12 season. Gonzaga's win over BYU in the tourney title tilt gave the Zags their 13th tournament championship, and 11th in the last 15 seasons. Gonzaga has also won 13 of the last 15 regular-season WCC crowns.
"Having a team like Gonzaga, who's in the national polls and in the national scene every year, it brings great credibility to your league," Rose said Monday. "It also really motivates the coaching staff to put a group together that can compete and beat them in a conference race. Your players know every day what they're preparing for.
"You always practice to beat the best, and when one of the best is in your league, that's a great motivator. The urgency is there."
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Reigning WCC Player of the Year Tyler Haws was one of two Cougars named to the preseason all-conference team on Monday; teammate Kyle Collinsworth also made the squad. BYU and Gonzaga (Kevin Pangos and Przemek Karnowski) were the only schools with multiple representatives on the ten-player squad.
Haws is on pace to break Jimmer Fredette's BYU career scoring record with a strong senior season, and Rose recognizes how exemplary Haws' time in Provo has been.
"It was in the middle of Jimmer's senior year," Rose says, "when I kind of sat back and said (to my assistant coaches), 'guys, you need to really just appreciate what is happening here, because this is a really special guy, and we get to be around him and watch him every day.'"
I'm at about that same spot with Ty. This is a special guy, not only with what he brings to our team with wins and losses, but what he brings to our program for other guys to see. It's just really special."
Of the looming career-scoring milestone, Haws said "it would be a great honor" to break the record set by Fredette, who left BYU with 2,599 points. Haws has 1,944 points entering his senior season.
"I played with Jimmer; he's such a great guy and an amazing scorer, and he's someone I learned a lot from," said Haws. "But you can't chase that stuff, you just have to let it happen. If our team wins and does well, I think it will take care of itself."
2014-15 Preseason All-WCC Team
| Player | School | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jared Brownridge | Santa Clara | So. | G |
| <b>Kyle Collinsworth</b> | <b>BYU</b> | <b>Jr.</b> | <b>G</b> |
| Stacy Davis | Pepperdine | Jr. | F |
| Johnny Dee | San Diego | Sr. | G |
| <b>Tyler Haws</b> | <b>BYU</b> | <b>Sr.</b> | <b>G</b> |
| Przemek Karnowski | Gonzaga | Jr. | C |
| Kevin Pangos | Gonzaga | Sr. | G |
| Kruize Pinkins | San Francisco | Sr. | F |
| Thomas van der Mars | Portland | Sr. | C |
| Brad Waldow | Saint Mary's | Sr. | C |
You can hear one-on-one interviews from Monday's event in "Cougar Cuts," above left. I spoke with Rose and Haws, WCC Commissioner Lynn Holzman, and seven other WCC head coaches (LMU's Mike Dunlap and USF's Rex Walters managed to depart before I could catch up with them).
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BYU's exhibition slate of games opens on Wednesday night with the intra-squad Cougar Tipoff; admission is free for the Marriott Center scrimmage, which tips at 7:00 p.m.
The Cougars' first official exhibition takes place on Saturday, when the Colorado School of Mines visits the Marriott Center. Tipoff will be at 7:00 p.m.
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