Oct. 14, 2014 LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball team has been selected 10th in the 2014-15 Mountain West Preseason Media Poll as released by the conference offices on Tuesday morning.
Defending 2013-14 champion San Diego State was a near unanimous pick to win the conference after garnering 34 of 35 first-place votes and 383 points. Boise State followed with one first-place vote and 275 points, picked just ahead of New Mexico and UNLV with 270 and 269 points, respectively.
Colorado State, Wyoming and Fresno State made up the middle of the group after being picked fifth, sixth and seventh with 258, 256 and 232 points, respectively. Nevada (126) and Air Force (102) were picked ahead of the Aggies (98) in eighth and ninth and San José State rounded out the poll in 11th with 41 points.
"With the inexperience of our team, it is understood why we are picked at the bottom of the Mountain West Conference," head coach Stew Morrill said. "Certainly, we hope to prove those predictions wrong and hopefully our players will use the poll as motivation on a daily basis."
Utah State will enter the 2014-15 season with an overhauled roster that includes only four players from a team that went 18-14 overall and 7-11 in the MW last season. The rest includes redshirt freshmen David Collete and Sam Orchard, recently returned from LDS missions, and 11 newcomers.
Utah State's 11 newcomers are made up of five junior college transfers, including senior forward Grayson Moore, junior wing Trace Cureton, junior guards Darius Perkins and Chris Smith, and sophomore forward Konner Frey. They are joined by junior forward Lew Evans, a transfer from Tulsa, and first-year players in sophomore center Bilal Begic, freshman guards John Bennett, Henry Bolton and Julion Pearre, and freshman center Elston Jones.
Both Grayson Moore and Evans will have to sit out the 2014-15 season as four-year transfers.
The Aggies will look to their four returners for leadership and experience led by sophomore wing Jalen Moore who averaged 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.3 blocks as a true freshman, as he shot 52.8 percent from the field (66-125), including 38.9 percent from three-point range (14-36) and 71.1 percent at the free throw line (32-45). Moore scored six or more points in 14 total games a year ago, including tallying double-figures in four contests. He also recorded at least five points and five rebounds in seven games on the season. Overall, Moore played in all 32 games a year ago and made five starts.
He will be joined by sophomore guard JoJo McGlaston who averaged 2.3 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game a year ago, sophomore guard Viko Noma'aea who averaged 1.4 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game, and senior forward Sean Harris who was granted a sixth-year of eligibility by the NCAA. Last season, Harris saw action in 10 games and averaged 0.6 points and 0.9 rebounds, while shooting 20.0 percent from the field (2-10) and 50.0 percent at the free throw line (2-4).
Utah State will host its annual Blue/White Scrimmage on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. with doors of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum opening at 6 p.m. The Aggies will then host a pair of exhibition games against Texas A&M-International on Oct. 31 and Arkansas-Fort Smith on Nov. 7 with both contests slated for 7 p.m. Those games will lead up to the season and home opener against Weber State on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
Utah State men's basketball season ticket renewals and new season tickets are now on sale. For more Aggie men's basketball ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie men's basketball program at @AggieHoops or Coach Morrill at @USUCoachMorrill. USU fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at @USUAthletics, on facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on instagram at @USUAthletics.
2014-15 PRESEASON MEDIA POLL AND ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Rk. Team (First-Place Votes) Pts.
1. San Diego State (34) 383
2. Boise State (1) 275
3. New Mexico 270
4. UNLV 269
5. Colorado State 258
6. Wyoming 256
7. Fresno State 232
8. Nevada 126
9. Air Force 102
10. Utah State 98
11. San José State 41
Preseason All-Mountain West
Anthony Drmic, Sr., G/F, Boise State
Daniel Bejarano, Sr., G, Colorado State
Winston Shepard, Jr., F, San Diego State
Dwayne Polee II, Sr., F, San Diego State
Larry Nance Jr., Sr., F, Wyoming
Preseason Player of the Year
Larry Nance Jr., Sr., F, Wyoming
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Angelo Chol, Jr., F, San Diego State
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Rashad Vaughn, Fr., G, UNLV
