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Head of the Class: 1st Edition
Mountain West Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors
Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire
The Mountain West conferences best players according to class.
The month of November is behind us and the Mountain West has looked good out of the gate. Utah State is still ranked in the top twenty after their first loss to Jordan Ford and Saint Mary’s and San Diego State is on the cusp of a top-25 ranking after receiving votes in both polls this week.
The conference as a whole is different this year and teams have lost players due transfer, graduation and professional options. They have also brought players in during that time as well. Regardless of whether players are new to the conference or not much of the success teams are having can be attributed to the individual performances of certain players thus far.
We have started our new column the Mountain West Wire’s Player of the Year Watch list, which is meant to highlight five players a week based on their performances and one in particular is awarded out player of the week. This has been a fun article to put together but the conference as a whole has had talented players emerge and they have had great performances all month long. The point of this article will be to update our readers on some players and performances that may have been missed.
First Off,
The Freshmen
5. Zane Meeks, Nevada
Season Stats: 4.6 PPG 3.8 RPG 0.4 APG (8 GMS)
Best Performance: 11 Points, 4 Rebounds on 5-8 made FGs against Valparaiso 11/24
Nevada has struggled a bit on the way to that 5-3 record they have currently with losses to USC, Davidson and Utah. The core of Nevada’s team is made up of transfers and Lindsey Drew but Meeks who committed to at the time newly dubbed head coach Steve Alford last spring has made an impact on a very shallow Wolf Pack frontcourt while showing potential.
4. David Roddy, Colorado State
Season Stats: 8.9 PPG 4.6 RPG 1.0 APG
Best Performance: 14 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Blocks and 1 Steal against Arkansas St. 11/20
Roddy is a 6-5 250 GUARD who can shoot the ball from deep. Roddy chose basketball over football before committing to CSU last year and has made an impact as a true freshman on a 6-3 Rams squad. The future is bright with Roddy and Stevens in Fort Collins, don’t worry Nico Carvacho the Rams are in good hands.
3. Orlando Robinson, Fresno State
Season Stats: 10.5 PPG 6.3 RPG 0.7 SPG (6 GMS)
Best Performance: 16 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists and 2 Steals against Cal-St. San Bernadino 11/17
Robinson had high major offers back in high school and has shown why while being impactful on a Fresno State team that is loaded with bigs. He and Nate Grimes need to figure something else out though if they want to live up to preseason expectations.
2. Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Season Stats: 12.3 PPG 3.4 RPG 3.6 APG (9 GMS)
Best Performance: 21 Points, 5 Rebounds and 5 Assists against Loyola Marymount 11/16
Colorado State is 6-3 so far and a combination of youth and senior leaders is a big reason why. Stevens has had some great performances so far and looks like a solid leader on the team as just a freshman.
1. Jarred Hyder, Fresno State
Season Stats: 15.6 PPG 3.8 RPG 2.4 APG (5 GMS)
Best Performance: 26 Points, 3 Assists and 2 Steals against Winthrop 11/10
Hyder has been a bright spot for Bulldog fans who were looking for a bit more from their veteran guards. He is leading the team in scoring and is a big reason Fresno State has two wins so far this season.
UP NEXT: SOPHOMORES
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