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LAS VEGAS — Despite a rocky offseason, the BYU men's basketball team was picked to finish in a familiar place in the West Coast Conference this year.
The Cougars were selected third in the league in the annual West Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll, the league announced Thursday during its media day in Las Vegas. Yoeli Childs and TJ Haws were selected to the All-WCC preseason squad.
Gonzaga was picked to win the league, receiving seven first-place votes for 75 points int he poll. Saint Mary's (75 points, three first-place votes) was second, followed by BYU (65), Pepperdine (56) and Santa Clara (50) to round out the top five.
The Cougars finished tied for second with Saint Mary's a year ago wtih a 19-13 overall record and 11-5 mark in conference play in former coach Dave Rose's final season.
Since leaving the Mountain West and joining the West Coast Conference in 2011, BYU has never been picked to finish outside of the top three — and the Cougars have no finished outside of No. 2 or No. 3, either.
Until proven otherwise, the Zags run the league, being picked to win their eighth-straight regular-season title.
It's been a rocky start to head coach Mark Pope's first season with the Cougars. The former Utah Valley coach retooled the roster as he came in, bringing over Wolverine transfers Jake Toolson, Wyatt Lowell and Richard Harward and adding Arizona point guard Alex Barcello. Former BYU guard Nick Emery opted to retire from basketball rather than play out his final season of eligibility, and the Cougars were hit with significant recruiting sanctions stemming from an investigation into improper benefits received by Emery during his career.
Childs, last year's leading combined scorer and rebounder, opted to withdraw from the NBA draft to return for his senior season. But because he didn't fill out the appropriate paperwork and fulfill all obligations with the university's compliance department, the NCAA dinged him with a nine-game suspension that will be served at the start of the 2019-20 season.
"I think he’s handled this situation extremely well. It’s unfortunate for him, but our team is going to have to figure out ways to win without him," Haws said. "It will be good for us, to figure out ways to believe in ourselves and win without h is presence.
"He brings it every day in practice, though, and I’m excited to see what he brings when he is back."
Zac Seljaas broke his foot during a preseason trip to Italy, and Haws had minor knee surgery in the offseason, though both are expected to return by the first week of the season and well before conference play begins in January.
But perhaps the biggest blow came during preseason workouts, when sophomore forward Gavin Baxter injured his shoulder. The Timpview High product was expected to be a staple for the Cougars, offensively and defensively — especially while Childs served his suspension — but the injury leaves BYU with just two scholarship forwards on the roster, Dalton Nixon and Kolby Lee.
"It looks like there’s a solid chance we won’t see him until a year from now," Pope said of Baxter. "He tore his labrum, and he’s still seeing some experts right now. So we’re going to have to have some guys step up.
"It’s going to be a front-line by committee, and we’ll get the job done."
BYU opens the regular season Nov. 5 against Cal State Fullerton, while WCC play tipss off Jan. 4 at home against Loyola Marymount.
On Tuesday, the BYU women's basketball team was picked to finish second in the conference by the narrowest of margins, just three points behind top-rated Gonzaga in a vote of all 10 league head coaches.
Pacific was voted third in the league with 61 points, the Tigers' highest projected finish since rejoining the conference in 2013-14. Saint Mary's (59 points) and Santa Clara (40) rounded out the top five, followed by LMU (39), Pepperdine (39), San Diego (27), San Francisco (18) and Portland (14).
There was a strong feeling amongst league coaches that BYU would have been picked to win the league title were it not for a preseason injury to guard Shaylee Gonzales. The sophomore-to-be tore her ACL over the summer and will redshirt the upcoming season.
"Best player in the league, potentially," USF coach Molly Goodenbour told WCCSports.com.
Gonzaga claimed the league's regular-season championship last year after a 29-5 overall record and 16-2 finish in WCC play. BYU was just behind them at 26-7, 15-3 in the WCC, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after winning the conference tournament title in Las Vegas.
The Cougars, who beat Gonzaga three times a year ago, garnered three first-place votes to the Zags' seven, while placing the most players on the All-WCC preseason team. Brenna Chase Drollinger, Sara Hamson and Paisley Johnson all received WCC preseason honors, while Gonzaga and Pacific each had two honorees, and LMU, Santa Clara and Saint Mary's received one all-preseason award winner.
It's the second-straight year that Drollinger and Hamson have received all-WCC preseason mentions, while Johnson was the most valuable player of last year's WCC tournament championship.
