Category: Boise State

Boise State Basketball: Derrick Alston Jr. To Return For His Senior Season

Boise State basketball should now be a contender with the return of Derrick Alston.

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Boise State Basketball: Derrick Alston Jr. To Return For His Senior Season

Alston’s return immediately places the Broncos in the Mountain West title conversation.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

The return of Derrick Alston Jr. is the piece Leon Rice needed to bring together one of his most talented rosters at Boise State

The Mountain West basketball landscape just got a little more visible for fans this morning, as Boise State guard and the conference’s returning leading scorer Derrick Alston Jr. has announced his attention to return for his senior season and help the Broncos contend for a conference championship.

“The opportunity to showcase my growth while working side-by-side with my teammates and coaches everyday to improve and to pursue a Mountain West Championship is an opportunity and life experience that I cannot pass up! Go Broncos!” Those were the words of arguably the best returning scorer in the conference, who indeed elevates Boise State directly into the conference title conversation.

Alston Jr. has gone from former walk-on at Boise State to 2nd team All-Mountain West and budding NBA prospect in just four years. He averaged 17.3 PPG 5.2 RPG & 3.1 APG in 32 appearances (30 starts) for the Broncos who finished 5th in a extremely competitive Mountain West in 2019-2020. He also became a member of the programs 1,000-point club this past season while finishing a top-10 finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.

Alston Jr. was one of the players who has seen their names climbing top-100 draft boards over the last couple of months, going from undrafted to a possible second round pick come draft night. But as a fringe prospect and after receiving some constructive feedback in the absence of in-person summer workouts, he knew what to do.

The Broncos made it all the way to the semifinals in last year’s conference tournament and now with their leader’s announced return have big dance aspirations to work towards over the summer. They lose several key players like the Mountain West’s all-time leading three point shooter, Justinian Jessup and double-double machine R.J. Williams. But welcome back fellow double-digit scorer Abu Kigab who will have a full season to make his mark on the program and one of the most anticipated group of transfers in Mountain West history.

For all of us that were awaiting this news and were happily surprised this Wednesday morning, it helps give us a clearer picture of what to expect in the conference next season. We can now continue writing our way-to-early previews and top returning players rankings as we now wait for just one more Mountain West player’s decision.

The remaining announcement we now await is that of San Diego State junior Matt Mitchell, who is the lone remaining draft declaration still up in the air at this point.

The early entry withdrawal date was announced last month, with August 17th being the last day prospects have to announce their return to school. It’s certainly been a long summer for coaching staffs across the country and we can only hope remaining declared prospects follow the lead of Alston Jr. in the coming weeks.

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2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #50, Boise State DT Scale Igiehon

The first spot on our countdown of the Mountain West’s best starts with an impact player in the trenches from Boise State.

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2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: #50, Boise State DT Scale Igiehon

The first spot on our countdown of the Mountain West’s best starts with an impact player in the trenches from Boise State.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

The Broncos’ big man in the middle is back for more.

Boise State’s defense is always pretty well represented on our annual list of the Mountain West’s top players and this year is no exception. Though the Broncos replace a lot of big names in 2020, one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) is back to anchor the defensive line.

Scale Igiehon has spent most of his first two years on the blue as a role player, but he has already played in 25 games and started five in his young career. In 2019, he had some of his biggest performances in Boise State’s toughest bouts, collecting six tackles in the Broncos’ win over Air Force and seven against Wyoming en route to 39 total tackles on the season.

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Now that David Moa and Sonatane Lui have moved on, Igiehon should take on a much more prominent role in 2020 and could create a lot of headaches for opposing running games all fall.

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Mountain West Football: The Top 50 Players Of 2020

Our annual countdown of the Mountain West Conference’s 50 best football players has returned.

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Mountain West Football: The Top 50 Players of 2020

Our annual countdown of the Mountain West Conference’s 50 best football players has returned.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Who will be #1? Stick around and find out.

There can be only fifty. College football fans, our countdown of the Mountain West Conference’s top players is finally back.

Our staff’s votes — which included a total of 123 different athletes, 33 of whom received at least one top-ten vote — were perhaps more diverse than they have ever been before.

We will update this page every day with a new athlete, so bookmark it or simply follow Mountain West Wire on Twitter and Facebook to stay on top of everything and tell us about your inevitable outrage. You can also keep an eye on the hashtag #MWwireTop50, as well.

And if you’re interested in seeing how this year’s list stacks up with our choices from the first two years here at Mountain West Wire, check out the 2018 countdown here and the 2019 edition here (unfortunately, our 2017 countdown has been cast into the digital ether and will require a complete reconstruction at a later date).

Finally, for the sake of transparency, here is the list of those writers on staff who voted: Brandon Blake (Nevada), Collin Clovis (Boise State), Josh Fredlund (Colorado State), Roger Holien (New Mexico), Logan Jones (Utah State), Matthew Kenerly (Fresno State), Jeremy Mauss (Utah), Sam McConkie (Utah State), Erwin Mendoza (San Diego State), Sean O’Toole (Air Force), Raja Prabhala (Boise State), Jesse Tachiquin (Wyoming)

Thank you for following along!

The Top 50

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: Honorable Mentions

Here is the list of Mountain West football players that got some love from our staff but did not make our top 50 in 2020.

2020 Mountain West Football Top 50 Players: Honorable Mentions

Here is the list of Mountain West football players that got some love from our staff but did not make our top 50 in 2020.

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

Who couldn’t quite make the cut this summer?

Before our countdown of Mountain West football’s top 50 players of 2020 gets underway, we kick things off with a nod to those athletes who didn’t quite receive enough support to make the cut in 2020.

See anyone you think should have made our top 50? Did we overlook your favorite player entirely? Join the discussion using the hashtag #MWwireTop50 on Twitter or leave us a comment on our Facebook page.

Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming

It’s a tall task having to step in and replace a pair of NFL Draft selections but Muma, who spent all of 2019 as the primary backup to both Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia, managed to rack up 51 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack despite starting just two games. If he’s anywhere near as productive as the Cowboys’ departed linebacker duo, he’ll be a cinch to make our list in 2021.

Shaq Bond, S, Utah State

After his 2018 campaign was cut short by injury, the Decatur, Illinois native played like one of the Mountain West’s best safeties last fall, collecting 83 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions. That ability to do a little bit of everything will come in handy as the seasoned veteran in a reloading secondary.

Kyle Stapley, C, New Mexico

The Lobos’ running game may not have reached the same dizzying heights of the mid-2010s last fall, but it still finished second in the Mountain West on a per-carry basis in 2019 and that could not have happened without the steady anchors along the offensive line. Stapley, in particular, has been a fixture for the last two seasons, leading all UNM offensive linemen in snaps played during that time and, according to New Mexico, allowed just six pressures last fall.

Carson Strong, QB, Nevada

It wasn’t without its growing pains, but Strong’s first season at the helm in Reno was an overall success. He made ten starts for the Wolf Pack and completed 63.4% of his passes for 2,335 yards and 11 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. His last five starts, in particular, generated a lot of excitement as he improved to 6.8 yards per attempt and threw just one INT on his last 200 throws.

Kevin Atkins, DT, Fresno State

Interior linemen don’t often get a lot of notice, but Atkins was one of just 15 Mountain West defenders to rack up at least five sacks in 2019 and he led the Bulldogs defensive line with 31 tackles. Many of the stars from the 2017-18 peak have departed at this point, but Atkins is in a prime position to be the next disruptive great.

Randal Grimes, WR, UNLV

Grimes’s arrival back in his hometown came pretty late last off-season, but Rebels fans were certainly glad that he decided to join their program rather than head to Minnesota after he led the team with 44 catches and seven touchdowns. Furthermore, among Mountain West receivers who caught at least 40 passes, Grimes ranked fourth by averaging 15.8 yards per catch.

Matt Araiza, K, San Diego State

2019 saw a wealth of specialists emerge across the Mountain West, but the Aztecs’ redshirt freshman kicker made replacing John Baron II look easy. He now holds the program record with 22 field goals made in a single season and, among all FBS kickers, enters 2020 with the second-longest streak of games with at least one field goal made. All he needs now is a catchy nickname of his own…

The Complete List

Air Force — Milton Bugg III, Timothy Jackson, Lakota Wills

Boise State — Chase Cord, Jackson Cravens, Octavius Evans, Donte Harrington, Kekaniokoa Holomalia-Gonzalez, Robert Mahone, Ezekiel Noa, Markel Reed, Jack Sears, JL Skinner, Jake Stetz, CT Thomas, Demetri Washington

Colorado State — Rashad Ajayi, Ellison Hubbard, Dequan Jackson, Manny Jones, Logan Stewart, Barry Wesley

Fresno State — Kevin Atkins, Jordan Mims, Zane Pope, Syrus Tuitele

Hawaii — Khoury Bethley, Cortez Davis, Jonah Laulu, Penei Pavihi, Jeremiah Pritchard, Miles Reed

Nevada — Romeo Doubs, Berdale Robins, Carson Strong

New Mexico — Bryson Carroll, Tyson Dyer, Elijah Lilly, Donte Martin, Jerrick Reed II, Teton Saltes, Brandon Shook, Kyle Stapley, Tevaka Tuioti

San Diego State — Matt Araiza, Jesse Matthews, Caden McDonald, Kobe Smith, Zachary Thomas

San Jose State — Bailey Gaither, Cade Hall, Kyle Harmon, Kyle Hoppe, Tyler Nevens, Jack Snyder

UNLV — Noah Bean, Tyleek Collins, Julio Garcia, Randal Grimes

Utah State — Shaq Bond, Henry Colombi, Alfred Edwards, Nick Heninger, Kevin Meitzenheimer, Jordan Nathan, Justus Te’i, Carson Terrell

Wyoming — Keyon Blankenbaker, Logan Harris, Ravontae Holt, Mario Mora, Chad Muma, Rome Weber

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Athlon Names 2020 All-Mountain West Football Teams

Athlon Names 2020 All-Mountain West Football Team Boise State, Hawaii, San Diego State leads the way. Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire Athlon goes with four teams. While we are all anxiously waiting for the college football season to begin. …

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Athlon Names 2020 All-Mountain West Football Team

Boise State, Hawaii, San Diego State leads the way.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Athlon goes with four teams.

While we are all anxiously waiting for the college football season to begin. Athlon Sports has been putting out its all-league teams and they go deep by creating an All-Mountain West team that goes four deep, and it is spectacular.

We will discuss the first- and second-team here but go check out their entire list.

The quarterback position will have some debate because the first team goes to Boise State’s Hank Bachmeier and Air Force’s Donald Hammond III. The former is a more traditional quarterback while the Academy signal-callers run a lot with passing being mostly optional.

Both are really good but in different ways and ane example of that is if you were to swap the two, neither would be all that successful. This is not the say these are system quarterbacks but Air Force needs an athletic athlete who can run the ball and be elusive.

Running back is especially deep in the Mountain West and there is great talent on the second team with George Holani of Boise State and Air Force’s Kaden Remsburg.

Overall, there are five teams in double-figures throughout the four-team selection and Boise State leads the way with 17.

On these first two teams, it is the Broncos who lead the way with 11 followed by three other teams with six players each in Wyoming, Air Force, and San Diego State.

First-Team Offense  

QB       Hank Bachmeier, Boise State

RB       Xazavian Valladay, Wyoming

RB       Charles Williams, UNLV

AP       Khalil Shakir, Boise State

WR      Warren Jackson, Colorado State

WR      Tre Walker, San Jose State

TE       Trey McBride, Colorado State

C         Keegan Cryder, Wyoming

OL       Nolan Laufenberg, Air Force

OL       Parker Ferguson, Air Force

OL       Ilm Manning, Hawaii

OL       John Ojukwu, Boise State

First-Team Defense

DL       Dom Peterson, Nevada

DL       Cameron Thomas, San Diego State

DL       Scale Igiehon, Boise State

DL       Keshawn Banks, San Diego State

LB       Demonte Meeks, Air Force

LB       Justin Rice, Fresno State

LB       Riley Whimpey, Boise State

CB       Jalen Walker, Boise State

CB       Darren Hall, San Diego State

S         Kekaula Kaniho, Boise State

S         Tariq Thompson, San Diego State

First-Team Specialists    

K         Brandon Talton, Nevada

P         Ryan Stonehouse, Colorado State

KR       Savon Scarver, Utah State

PR       Avery Williams, Boise State

Second-Team Offense    

QB       Donald Hammond, Air Force

RB       George Holani, Boise State

RB       Kadin Remsburg, Air Force

AP       Ronnie Rivers, Fresno State

WR      Romeo Doubs, Nevada

WR      Jared Smart, Hawaii

TE       Marcus Williams, New Mexico

C         Kyle Stapley, New Mexico

OL       Syrus Tuitele, Fresno State

OL       Jackson Snyder, San Jose State

OL       Solo Vaipulu, Hawaii

OL       Logan Harris, Wyoming

OL       Julio Garcia, UNLV

Second-Team Defense   

DL       Jordan Jackson, Air Force

DL       Manny Jones, Colorado State

DL       Garrett Crall, Wyoming

DL       Solomon Byrd, Wyoming

LB       Jacobi Hearn, New Mexico

LB       Chad Muma, Wyoming

LB       Dequan Jackson, Colorado State

LB       Demetri Washington, Boise State

CB       Cortez Davis, Hawaii

CB       Avery Williams, Boise State

S         Dwayne Johnson, San Diego State

S         Shaq Bond, Utah State

Second-Team Specialists     

K         Matt Araiza, San Diego State

P         Tyson Dyer, New Mexico

KR       Elijah Lilly, New Mexico

PR       Dante Wright, Colorado State

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Boise State Cuts Baseball, Women’s Swim And Dive Teams

COVID-19 has struck again as Boise State needs to save money and to do that it is cutting a pair of sports.

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Boise State To Cut Baseball, Women’s Swim And Dive Teams

Broncos are needing to slash its budget

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Gotta feel bad for these athletes

COVID-19 has forced a lot of NCAA schools to shave its budgets ranging from coaches and higher-ups taking pay cuts to help fund its department due to losses. Cutting salaries is not enough and the next step is to cut sports.

There have been many leagues that have dropped sports to save money and the first school within the Mountain West to drop sports is Boise State.

The Broncos are dropping baseball and the women’s swimming and diving team. This is a huge blow for baseball which was brought back after a 40-year hiatus, yet they were only able to play just a partial season in 2020.

In the 14 games, the Broncos were 9-5 and had 3,300 fans on opening night of this year’s campaign.

All of these scholarships will be upheld, which is nice, but the majority of these students went to Boise State to participate in their sport.

What is also missing from this is that men’s wrestling was dropped to bring in baseball so it is a double-whammy for those prior athletes who still might be on campus finishing up their degree to know their replacement sport has also been cut.

“This is one of the hardest decisions athletic departments have to make, but it comes at a time when we are facing the most serious financial challenge we have ever seen,” Boise State AD Curt Apsey said in the release. “Times like these are difficult for many people and we appreciate everyone who has supported these programs over the years, including our coaches, current and former student-athletes, donors, and fans. We take all these measures seriously, knowing that the long-term stability of our department must remain a high priority.”

Cutting these sports will save the university about $3 million, and it is probably needed with COVID-19 causing budget issues for schools across the country.

The Idaho Statesman obtained the operating costs for the swimming and diving team through an open records request and the average cost over the past three years of that program was $907,736 over the past three years.

Baseball had to cost more due to more athletes on the baseball team compared to swimming and diving, more equipment, and the new baseball field. Based on the swimming costs, baseball is just north of a $2 million per year sport to fund.

 

Could Baseball Return?

Nearly every time a sport is cut, there says to be a group to be in the fold to help fund and bring back the sport, and that is what D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers is “hearing.”

It will take about $2 million to get the team back but there is also the issue of Title IX that the school needs to go by. Even if there is enough money for baseball, Boise State would need to match the athlete count for a women’s sport. Maybe if baseball has enough money, then the Broncos could come up with the near-million dollars for women’s swimming and diving or other female sports.

The odds of bringing back a cut program is slim but not impossible and this will be tough to do.

As of Thursday, there are already eight Boise State baseball players in the transfer portal.

 

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Daily Hike: Top 10 Mountain West Hoops Coaches Since 2000

Get caught up on the news you may have missed from the Mountain West.

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Daily Hike: Top 10 Mountain West Hoops Coaches Since 2000

Catch up on the latest Mountain West news you may have missed.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Ten best from this century.

Who are the best Mountain West coaches since 2000? [Busting Brackets]

Over the past 20 years, the Mountain West has had a lot of good college basketball coaches and Busting Brackets rank those best coaches. We won’t give away the list but two of the most surprising rankings are former Utah head coach Rick Majerus at No. 8 and Rodney Terry came in at No. 10 after a seven-year run at Fresno State.

NCAA president Mark Emmert is optimistic about college football and hoops could be starting early. [Salt Lake Tribune]

“I certainly think, sitting here today, there will be football in the fall,” Emmert said. “I think it will be different in many respects, whether it be the audiences in attendance or not in attendance, whether it’s the nature of the schedule, whether it’s the length of the season, all of those things will be different. Certainly, the protocol in the way the games are played and the healthcare surrounding that has got to be different.”

Could top-end basketball talent start heading to HBCU? [ESPN]

“All it takes is one person to change history,” Carmelo Anthony said. “I think it’s a better chance of this new generation, this next generation, to go to a HBCU and be accepted and bring something different to a HBCU, as opposed to what was happening in 2002.”

Wyoming doing great in COVID testing [Twitter]

Wear your dang mask. [Twitter]

It is time to move college football to the spring [MW Wire]

With positive tests across the country increasing and college football less than two months away, perhaps we need to push the season back and possibly to the winter/spring. This would allow more time to figure out how to prepare for football, have fans, and maybe there is a vaccine that will allow fans and a safer game.

NCAA still wary of Name, Image, and Likeness [Sports Illustrated]

U.S. Congress is getting involved in NIL for NCAA athletes but a questionnaire sent out detailed that those in charge feel it will negatively impact the student-athletes. Sure, ok… but here is a snippet below.

“Less than half of surveyed NCAA leaders support the modernization of rules governing name, image and likeness (NIL), and more than 80% believe that NIL rules will have a negative impact on amateurism.”

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2020-21 Mountain West Basketball Non-Conference Schedule Tracker

Stay up to date with the Mountain West basketball non-conference schedule.

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2020-21 Mountain West Basketball Non-Conference Schedule Tracker

Schedules are taking shape for Mountain West hoops.

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire

Non-conference games.

The Mountain West non-conference basketball schedule is taking shape and we will update when more games are announced. We are getting a lot of help from the invaluable help from @D1Docket on Twitter who rounds up a lot of these schedules.

This list will be updated when more games are confirmed.

Air Force

  • Nov. 19-21 Puerto Rico Event. Teams involved are Florida Atlantic, Hofstra, and Southern Illinois
  • Dec. 5 at St. Joseph’s

Boise State

  • vs. Tulsa (TBD)
  • at BYU (TBD)
  • Santa Clara (TBD)
  • at Cal State Northridge (TBD)
  • Nov. 26 – 29: Orlando Invitational (Press Release)
  • Dec. 5 at Rhode Island

Colorado State

  • MGM Main Event: Nov. 20 vs. Louisville
  • MGM Main Event: Nov. 22 vs. Arkansas or San Francisco
  • Dec. 5 vs. Richmond

Fresno State

  • at San Francisco (TBD)
  • vs. Cal State Northridge (TBD)
  • Nov. 20 vs. San Diego
  • Dec. 5 vs. George Mason
  • Dec. 12 vs. Cal Poly

Nevada

  • at UT-Arlington (TBD)
  • Pacific (TBD)
  • Nov. 23-25 Cayman Islands Classic
  • Dec. 2 vs. Pacific
  • Dec. 6 vs. Dayton
  • Dec. 18 at Santa Clara
  • Dec. 21 at San Diego

New Mexico

  • vs. UTEP (TBD)
  • Abilene Christian (TBD)
  • @ Grandy Canyon (TBD)
  • Nov. 21 vs. New Mexico State
  • Nov. 26-27 Las Vegas Exempt Event
  • Dec. 2 St. Bonaventure
  • Dec. 5 at New Mexico State

San Diego State

San Jose State

  •  Nov. 12 vs. Cal Poly
  • Nov. 16 at Maryland
  • Nov. 18 at Duquesne
  • Nov. 21 vs. Cal Baptist
  • Nov. 25 vs. Hofstra
  • Dec. 21 vs. Santa Clara

UNLV

  • Nov. 23-25 Maui Invite
  • Nov. 28 Whittier College
  • Dec. 2 at VCU
  • Dec. 5 at Kansas State
  • Dec. 16 vs. Florida A&M
  • Dec. 20 vs. Omaha
  • Dec. 22 at SMU

Utah State

  • At Weber State (TBD)
  • vs. UC Irvine (TBD)
  • Nov. 18 – 21 Myrtle Beach Invitational
  • Dec. 1 at Davidson
  • Dec. 5 vs. BYU
  • Dec. 12 vs. Saint Mary’s
  • Dec. 15 vs. Dixie State
  • Dec. 21 vs. Mississippi State (at Panama City Beach, Florida)

Wyoming

  • South Dakota State (TBD)
  • Arkansas-Pine Bluff (TBD)
  • Dec. 5. vs. Duquesne
  • Dec. 12 at Utah Valley

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Mountain West Football: Kekaula Kaniho, Demonte Meeks Named To Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

The Boise State defensive back and Air Force linebacker are among 43 athletes on the off-season’s first watch list.

Kekaula Kaniho, Demonte Meeks Named To Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

The Boise State defensive back and Air Force linebacker are among 43 athletes on the off-season’s first watch list.

Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire

Where character and production matter equally.

College football watch list season began in earnest today with the reveal of athletes to follow for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is given annually to the defensive player who best exemplifies the award’s titular acronym: integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community, and tenacity. Two players from the Mountain West were among 43 recognized for their work on the field and in the classroom.

Boise State’s Kekaula Kaniho emerged last year as a valuable piece in a seasoned secondary, primarily by holding down the nickelback spot, but he was the only one in the unit to earn first-team all-conference honors after collecting 61 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, and seven passes defended. He’s also the only returning player in the Mountain West to have been named an Academic All-American in 2019, earning a 3.93 GPA while pursuing a degree in Health Sciences.

Air Force linebacker Demonte Meeks broke out for one of the conference’s stingiest front sevens in 2019, leading the Falcons with a team-high 98 tackles and nine tackles for loss while chipping in four sacks. A civil engineering major at the Academy, Meeks was named an academic All-Mountain West selection after earning a 3.32 GPA that fall.

Last year’s Lott IMPACT Trophy winner was Auburn’s Derrick Brown.

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Mountain West Basketball: NBA Draft Update

Mountain West Basketball: NBA Draft Update Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Let’s take a look at where some of our favorite MW stars stand going into June. As the world of sports seeks to get back to business as “normal” worldwide after …

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Mountain West Basketball: NBA Draft Update

 

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Let’s take a look at where some of our favorite MW stars stand going into June. 

As the world of sports seeks to get back to business as “normal” worldwide after coming to a sudden halt in late March, the NBA is tasked with rescheduling their current season, free agency, and all draft-related activities in the coming months.

The anticipated early entrant withdrawal date on Wednesday, June 3rd has been pushed back like many other draft related deadlines. There hasn’t been any mention of a new deadline, but the NCAA said it would be set once a more concrete pre-draft schedule was announced by the NCAA. 

The early entry withdrawal deadline was not the only date pushed back as the draft lottery, scheduled for May 19th and the scouting combine, scheduled to be held May 21st-24th were also moved further back.

The only date that has remained untouched is the draft itself, which is still scheduled for June 25th, but likely to change. But one thing is for sure, and that is that time is winding down

There is definitely an unknown or mystery element to this year’s draft process, players who may normally opt to stay in the draft due to certain unforeseen

ESPN-Updated Friday 5/29/2020

NBADraft.net-Updated Tuesday 6/2/2020

CBS Sports-Published 5/12/2020

The Athletic-Published on 5/5/2020 *Subscription is needed to view The Athletic’s content

Sports Illustrated Top 80 Rankings-Published on 5/6/2020

The Ringer’s 2020 NBA Draft Guide-Updated May 19th, 2020

Guys who could return next season

© Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports(2)

Derrick Alston Jr. |Junior Guard |  Boise State

Projection: Late second round to undrafted

CBS Sports: 65th

ESPN: 95th

NBA Draft.net: 57th (big board)/58th Mock draft

The Athletic: 57th

Sports Illustrated: not ranked

The Ringer: not ranked

Alston Jr. is a legacy draft prospect, as his father was drafted in the second round and 33rd overall in the 1994 draft out of Duquesne. His father’s NBA career was short lived (a little over two seasons), but played almost two decades overseas and has since made a career in couching in the NBA and NBA G-League as the current head coach of the Westchester Knicks.

Alston Jr. is an intriguing prospect as a 6-9 guard who can handle the ball and get his teammates involved when he drives the lane.

NCAA Basketball: New Mexico at San Diego State

Matt Mitchell |Junior Forward | San Diego State

Projection: Undrafted

CBS Sports: not ranked

ESPN: not ranked

NBA Draft.net: not ranked

The Athletic: 82nd

Sports Illustrated: not ranked

The Ringer: not ranked

Mitchell was a terrific player on what may have been one of the best Aztec teams in school history. He began the season coming off of the bench for the Aztec’s first 13 games before reentering the starting lineup and never leaving. His development over the course of the season elevated Mitchell to a spot on the conference’s first team at the end of the season.

After declaring for the draft in late April, he spoke with Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune revealing anything but eagerness to jump to the NBA.

“I was definitely going back and forth on the decision to put my name in,” Mitchell said. “But at the end of the day, I felt it was the best thing to do for myself and help myself in the future. All I’m looking to get out of this is to get feedback about what I need to get better at, what they’re looking for me to do better next season.

“And if they do open for workouts, under God’s graces, I would take workouts if asked. That’s all I’m looking to get out of it. I don’t think I’m looking to leave this year.”

Mitchell is extremely self-reflective and understands the current situation globally and how it limits exposure and potential in-person contact with NBA teams. He also understands

Decided to stay in the draft

NCAA Basketball: San Diego State at Fresno State

Malachi Flynn | Junior Guard | San Diego State

Projection: Early first round to mid-second round

CBS Sports: 45th

ESPN: 38th

NBA Draft.net: 39th (Big Board)/41st (Mock Draft)

The Athletic: 37th

Sports Illustrated: 29th

The Ringer: 36th

Flynn had

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Jalen Harris | Redshirt Junior Guard | Nevada

Projection: Late second round to undrafted

CBS Sports: 70th

ESPN: 86th

NBA Draft.net: not ranked

The Athletic: 80th

Sports Illustrated: 60th

The Ringer: not ranked

The Seniors

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Sam Merrill | Senior Guard | Utah State

Projection: Undrafted

CBS Sports: 98th

ESPN: 67th

NBA Draft.net: not ranked

The Athletic: 71st

Sports Illustrated: 57th

The Ringer: not ranked

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Justinian Jessup | Senior Guard | Boise State

Projection: Undrafted

CBS Sports: not ranked

ESPN: 92nd

NBA Draft.net: not ranked

The Athletic: not ranked

Sports Illustrated: not ranked

The Ringer: not ranked

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