Utah State men's basketball picked 2nd in preseason WAC polls

(LOGAN, Utah) ­ Utah State's men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference according to the league's coaches and media, while senior forward Gary Wilkinson was tabbed by the media as the WAC's Preseason Player of the Year, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Tai Wesley was also honored by the WAC as he was named to the coaches preseason second-team.

Nevada was picked to win the WAC title as it received 63 points in the coaches' poll, including seven first-place votes, followed by Utah State who garnered 57 points and two first-place votes. New Mexico State was third in the poll with 48 points, and San Jose State was fourth with 43 points.

In the media poll, Nevada received 20 first-place votes and had 255 points, while Utah State was second with 220 points and four first-place votes. New Mexico State, who received 201 points and two first-place votes was picked third, while Louisiana Tech (149) was picked fourth and Boise State (142) fifth.

"With us being picked second it really shows how much the conference lost from last year and all the unknowns of the teams around the league," said USU head coach Stew Morrill. "Despite all the players the WAC lost, I still think we have some high-caliber teams in this league and it is going to be a fun and unpredictable year."

Last season, Utah State won a share of its first-ever WAC regular season championship as it finished the year with a 12-4 league record, tying with Boise State, Nevada and New Mexico State. USU was picked to finish first in the WAC prior to the 2007-08 season by the coaches and second by the media.

Utah State returns three starters and six letterwinners from last year's team that finished with a 24-11 overall record and lost at Illinois State, 61-57, in the first round of the 2008 MasterCard National Invitation Tournament. Along with Wilkinson and Wesley, USU also returns sophomore guard Tyler Newbold to the starting lineup.

Wilkinson, who earned second-team all-WAC honors as a junior, becomes the second straight Utah State player to garner preseason Player of the Year honors from the conference, joining Jaycee Carroll from last year. In his first year at Utah State, Wilkinson averaged 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 58.4 percent from the field and 81.5 percent from the free throw line. Wilkinson finished the year ranking fourth in the WAC in field goal shooting, fifth in three throw shooting, eighth in rebounding and 13th in scoring.

Wesley started 24 games as a redshirt freshman last year for Utah State and averaged 9.9 points, 4.5 rebounds an 0.94 blocks per game to rank eighth in the WAC. He also ranked third in the conference in field goal shooting at 63.5 percent.

The coaches preseason all-conference first-team consisted of Jonathan Gibson (New Mexico State), Kyle Gibson (Louisiana Tech), C. J. Webster (San Jose State), Gary Wilkinson (Utah State), and Armon Johnson of Nevada who was selected by the coaches as the preseason Player of the Year.

The coaches second-team consisted of Luke Babbitt (Nevada), Brandon Field (Nevada), Anthony Thomas (Boise State), Tai Wesley (Utah State), and Jahmar Young (New Mexico State).

The media's preseason all-conference team included G. Gibson, K. Gibson, Johnson, Webster and Wilkinson who was selected as the league's preseason Player of the Year, while Nevada's Luke Babbitt was chosen as the WAC's Newcomer of the Year.

Utah State will begin practice on Friday, Oct. 17 and play its first exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 31 against Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

2008-09 WAC Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Nevada (7) 63
2. UTAH STATE (2) 57
3. New Mexico State 48
4. San Jose State 43
5. Boise State 30
6. Louisiana Tech 29
7. Hawai'i 25
8. Fresno State 20
9. Idaho 9

2008-09 WAC Preseason Media Poll
1. Nevada (20) 255
2. UTAH STATE (4) 220
3. New Mexico State (2) 201
4. Louisiana Tech 149
5. Boise State (3) 142
6. San Jose State (1) 132
7. Fresno State 114
8. Hawai¹i 103
9. Idaho 34

2008-09 Preseason Coaches All-WAC Teams

First-Team
Armon Johnson, So., G, Nevada ­ Preseason Player of the Year
Jonathan Gibson, Jr., G, New Mexico State
Kyle Gibson, Jr., G, Louisiana Tech
C.J. Webster, Jr., C, San Jose State
Gary Wilkinson, Sr., F, Utah State

Second-Team
Luke Babbitt, Fr., F, Nevada ­ Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Brandon Fields, Jr., G, Nevada
Anthony Thomas, Jr., G, Boise State
Tai Wesley, So, F, Utah State
Jahmar Young, So, G, New Mexico State

2008-09 Preseason Media All-WAC Team
First-Team
Gary Wilkinson, Sr., F, Utah State ­ Preseason Player of the Year
Jonathan Gibson, Jr., G, New Mexico State
Kyle Gibson, Jr., G, Louisiana Tech
Armon Johnson, So., G, Nevada
C.J. Webster, Jr., C, San Jose State

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