Mountain West preview

A team-by-team glance at the Mountain West Conference heading into the 2009-10 season.

(In CBSSports.com predicted order of finish)

1. Brigham Young

From one perspective, the 2009-10 season has already been a success for BYU coach Dave Rose, simply because he'll be standing on the sidelines coaching the Cougars.

Rose had a major health scare in the offseason, when it was discovered he had a form of pancreatic cancer. Rose underwent surgery to have the tumor removed and said he's in good health heading into the season. His next cancer scan is scheduled for late March.

"The doctors are extremely confident that we are right on top of the situation," Rose said. "They removed all of the disease, and it has not returned nor does it show any signs of returning right now."

Rose said he has "good energy and good strength" entering a season that is expected to be a strong one on the hardwood for the Cougars, who return four starters from a team that won 25 games last season.

BYU is the near-consensus selection to win the Mountain West Conference despite the loss of star Lee Cummard, a two-time first-team all-conference selection. Junior guard Jimmer Fredette and senior forward Jonathan Tavernari are the top one-two punch in the conference

Fredette, a returning first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection, ranked among the top five in the conference last season in four categories: scoring (fifth at 16.2 points per game), assists (third at 4.1), free-throw percentage (second at 84.7) and steals (second with 50).

Tavernari enters the campaign with 202 career 3-point baskets, just 11 shy of Mark Bigelow's school mark. Tavernari had 85 3-point baskets last season while averaging 15.7 points per game.

Junior guard Jackson Emery led the league in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.78) last season, compiling 100 assists against just 36 turnovers.

If the Cougars get better frontcourt production -- senior center Chris Miles had modest averages of 7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds last season while shooting 57 percent from the field, and sophomores Noah Hartstock and James Anderson showed promise -- as well as adequately replace Cummard, the program's fifth consecutive 20-win season should be easily attainable.

Sophomore Charles Abouo will get a long look to be the starter in Cummard's former spot.

Freshman G Tyler Haws is a top-notch shooter and expected to be a future go-to player after twice earning the title of Mr. Basketball in Utah during his high school career. Freshman F Brandon Davies should provide an immediate boost in the frontcourt, while junior F Logan Mangusson should be a more-than-adequate role player after being part of a junior-college national championship team last season at Salt Lake Community College.

2. UNLV

After underachieving a season ago, UNLV hopes to get back to the level of success it achieved the previous two seasons.

The 2008-09 preseason Mountain West Conference favorites finished fifth in the league and missed the NCAA tournament last year, and that didn't sit well with anybody. But it was especially hard to view for major-college transfers Derrick Jasper and Chace Stanback, who could only watch from the bench while sitting out because of NCAA transfer regulations.

Jasper (Kentucky) and Stanback (UCLA) are the two biggest reasons why the Rebels could rebound in a big way this season. Jasper, a junior point guard, is viewed as the top newcomer in the Mountain West and Stanback, a sophomore forward, isn't far behind.

Both players expect much better success from this year's version of the Rebels.

"Last year wasn't a great season," Stanback said. "We really hope to pick up from last year and get better and develop and have a better team."

The two players figure to combine with junior guard Tre'Von Willis to form one of the top trios in the league.

"I think we have a great team," Jasper said. "I think we could potentially do some great things."

If the newcomers mesh with the returners, the opportunity is there for a successful season because BYU is the only top-level team from last season that isn't reloading. The Rebels think it's very realistic that they can return to the form that saw them reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2007 and the second round in 2008.

3. San Diego State

This will be a much different San Diego State squad than the team that won a school-record 26 games last season. But most observers expect the Aztecs to be just as good despite the loss of four starting players.

The Aztecs narrowly missed the NCAA tournament last season and advanced to the NIT final four before losing, and it will depend on the newcomers as to whether San Diego State can go a step better and earn an NCAA invitation this time around.

Transfers Tyrone Shelley (Pepperdine) and Brian Carlwell (Illinois) become eligible after sitting out a season, and junior-college transfer Malcolm Thomas (who began his career at Pepperdine) and prep star Kawhi Leonard highlight the bevy of talent arriving that leaves coach Steve Fisher with a full cupboard despite the departures of starters Lorrenzo Wade, Kyle Spain, Richie Williams and Ryan Amoroso.

And Fisher expects that his squad will be good, too.

"We were picked second in the league," said Fisher, referring to the recent Mountain West Conference media-day balloting. "I like people believing we're going to be good. We lost more scoring than anyone else in the league, bar none, and still they're expecting us to be good."

How good depends on how well the newcomers mesh with holdovers like power forward Billy White, forward Tim Shelton and guard D.J. Gay.

White shot a conference-best 66.3 percent from the field last season, including an amazing 77.1 percent in conference games. He led the Aztecs with 26 blocked shots. Gay has the unenviable task of replacing Williams, a four-year starter who had an MWC-leading 77 steals last season. Gay's assists-to-turnover ratio (63 assists, 44 turnovers) will need to improve as the primary ballhandler.

It helps that the returning trio consists more of complimentary players than go-to types, and it will be no surprise if Shelley, Thomas and Leonard (in some type of order) are the Aztecs' top three scorers.

However it all shakes out, the Aztecs have enough talent to make a run at their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006.

4. Utah

Based on his first two seasons at Utah, we already know Jim Boylen can coach. But this is the season where he can really prove it.

Boylen led Utah's senior-laden group to a 24-10 record and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament last season. But three of the key players (including Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Luke Nevill) were players he inherited and nobody is forecasting the Utes to have a season anywhere as successful this year.

So it is Boylen's job to coach up the latest cast of newcomers -- which include three junior-college transfers and three high school players -- and have them mesh with holdovers Carlon Brown, Luka Drca and Kim Tillie.

If he's not successful, the Utes could quickly find that last season's success was a mirage and not a sign that the program was close to being back to its once lofty level of success.

Boylen has stated numerous times that returning Utah to national prominence is one of his goals. He definitely has changed the culture of a program that badly disintegrated during Ray Giacoletti's unsuccessful term.

But whether the Utes can reload without a drop-off from last season's 24-win total is a concern. The loss of key players like Nevill, guard Lawrence Borha and sharpshooting forward Shaun Green are big ones and only time will tell whether newcomers like junior-college transfers Jay Watkins and Matt Read can fill the void in the short term while Boylen builds a foundation of high school kids.

Carlon Brown (9.3 points per game) is Utah's leading returning scorer and could emerge as one of the top players in the Mountain West Conference. He already has achieved a level of fame for some in-your-face dunks, including one on Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, the first pick in the 2009 NBA draft.

It will take an even better coaching job than last year for Utah to come close to matching last season's achievements.

5. New Mexico

New Mexico has a lot of holes to patch up but also has two key cogs returning in coach Steve Alford's third campaign as coach.

Like many Mountain West Conference teams, the Lobos were hit hard by departures. Three players who scored in double figures last season -- Tony Danridge, Daniel Faris and Chad Toppert -- have moved on.

But two important returning players are back, and that has created optimism that the Lobos can be an upper-tier team in the Mountain West.

Senior forward Roman Martinez (10.6 points per game) is a gritty player who always seems to know where to be on the court. He'll have more responsibility and may be hard-pressed to reach that scoring average again this season.

Junior point guard Dairese Gary will run the offense again, and he played terrific over the second half of the last season. Gary (8.1 points per game) had 50 assists against just 18 turnovers over the final 12 games of the season.

The two players will need help for New Mexico to put together a third consecutive 20-win season. Sophomore guard Phillip McDonald (7.3 ppg) is one player capable of stepping up, and junior-college transfer Darington Hobson also should provide a boost.

The Lobos have no true replacement at center for the departed Faris, and sophomores A.J. Hardeman and Will Brown will compete for the starting job.

Overall, the Lobos are a young team with just one senior and two juniors in the program.

6. Wyoming

Life without Brandon Ewing is about to begin for the Wyoming Cowboys.

The departure of Ewing, a four-year standout who was the Mountain West Conference's leading scorer last season, signals a true turning of the page for the Cowboys. Wyoming's squad will be sophomore-loaded this season as coach Heath Schroyer's rebuilding project comes more into focus.

The Cowboys feature just one senior and two juniors with junior forward Djibril Thiam (5.2 points, 5.1 rebounds last season) the lone contributor of the three. Most of the key players will be sophomores, led by forward Afam Muojeke, the third-leading returning scorer (13.8 points per game) in the Mountain West.

Muojeke will be one of four sophomores starting for the Pokes. Center Adam Waddell, who started 24 games last season, and transfers JayDee Luster (point guard) and Thomas Manzano (guard) join Muojeke as sophomores representing the core of the squad.

What's up for debate is how quickly the young Cowboys can start clicking. Since several other Mountain West teams are in the same predicament, there's always the chance of Wyoming emerging as a surprise team this season.

"We've got a good, young group," Schroyer said at the league's media-day festivities. "For the first time, we have the talent to truly compete in this league. Now we have to gain the experience."

7. TCU

Nobody was expecting Jim Christian to turn around TCU's basketball program overnight. There was simply too much work to be done.

But scratching out a 14-17 record in his first year as Horned Frogs coach was impressive, particularly with a roster full of holes.

The next chore is making TCU a middle-of-the-pack Mountain West team. Considering how tough the conference was a year ago, the 5-11 conference mark that included a victory over UNLV was a good first step.

Having one of the league's top all-around players is a great start and TCU figures to ride senior frontcourt star Zvonko Bulgan as far as it can. Bulgan averaged 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and played with a tenacity that wills teammates to a greater effort and Christian will be looking for even more leadership from Bulgan now that Kevin Langford's eligibility is up.

What Bulgan could really use is some help from the supporting cast.

Seniors Edvinas Ruzgas and Keion Mitchem are capable of contributing more, and sophomore Ronnie Moss needs to build on an impressive freshman campaign.

If those three players make a vast improvement and a newcomer or two becomes a key cog, perhaps TCU could finish in the middle of the pack sooner than expected.

But for now, the most important thing for Christian is building the program. The Horned Frogs have been down since joining the Mountain West and there is finally hope.

"The work ethic has completely changed," Christian said. "The belief has completely changed. When I got the job, I was the only guy in the room who thought we had a chance to win the championship. And now we have some other guys who want to compete and try to win a championship."

8. Colorado State

Colorado State has won just four conference games in coach Tim Miles' reign, and the Rams might not win too many more this season either.

The departure of star guard Marcus Walker hurts, but the real concern revolves around the health of Jesse Carr, the third-leading freshman scorer in the Mountain West last season.

Carr suffered through groin pain for much of last season, and it was discovered after the season that he has a pelvis injury that could sideline him for a portion of this season.

If the season arrives and Carr isn't close to ready, it's possible he'd miss the entire season -- something that would severely hurt the Rams' chances at being more competitive.

Without Carr, the Rams will be a shorthanded group that will often face mismatch issues. Juniors Andy Ogide and Andre McFarland will be asked to carry the team with hope that a newcomer can emerge as a solid third scoring option.

Ogide is the only returning Colorado State player to score in double figures last season. Ogide averaged 10.2 points per game. McFarland was the only player to appear in all 31 games last season despite the Rams using 15 different players over the season.

9. Air Force

Has it really been just a few short years since Air Force was one of the best teams in the Mountain West Conference?

The Falcons bottomed out worse than envisioned with an 0-16 conference mark last season, and not much is expected of Air Force this season.

Air Force lost its top three scorers -- Andrew Henke, Anwar Johnson and Matt Holland -- and replacements are in short supply.

Complimentary players Evan Washington (6.8 points per game) and Grant Parker (6.0) will be asked to become double-digit scoring options and players such as Sammy Schafer (2.8 ppg, 1.7 rebounds) and Taylor Stewart (2.9 ppg) will need to step up their play.

Parker was a surprisingly good 3-point shooter last season, knocking down 48 percent of his 3-point attempts, the third best single-season percentage in school history.

It figures to be another long season for Air Force even though the Mountain West features several teams in rebuilding mode.

But count on the Falcons being one of those teams found finishing near the bottom of the league, no matter how hard and smart they play.