Tag: Matt Mitchell

2021 NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 100 prospects pre-early entry deadline

As the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season nears its close, the league’s next wave of talent is preparing to take the great leap to become pros.

As the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season nears its close, the league’s next wave of talent is preparing to take the great leap to become pros.

Players have until the end of this month, May 30, to apply for entry into the 2021 NBA draft. They will then have until July 19 to determine whether or not they plan to stay in this class or (unless they hired an agent who does not have NCAA certification) return to school.

This is obviously an incredibly difficult decision and as the majority of early entry candidates have made their intentions public, those who are testing the waters are already weighing their options.

Fortunately, the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee (UAC) exists to help answer some of those questions.

The advisory committee, which began in 1997, offers feedback to prospects on their potential draft stock. As many prospects are facing pivotal decisions about their future, this kind of intel is incredibly important.

Players like Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Baylor’s Jared Butler both went through this process last season, likely were not satisfied with the results and opted to return. Now, after tremendous efforts last season, both are projected first-rounders.

These decisions have tremendous financial implications for these individuals as well. For example, even if Kispert or Butler went with the last pick in the first round in 2020, they would have likely earned a contract worth around $5 million over three years. This year, even if they went outside of the lottery at at No. 15 overall, that would be around $8.5 million.

With that in mind, for the latest version of For The Win’s 2021 NBA draft big board, I’ve provided my evaluation for the top prospects expected to be in the pre-draft process. Players excluded from this exercise were likely because the reporting suggests that they are going back to school.

Note that these decisions were fully based on where I would have each player ranked, not a projection, although various conversations with scouts as well as other talent evaluators around the league have factored into my evaluation.

Source: SDSU’s Matt Mitchell has hired an agent, declared for 2021 NBA Draft

San Diego State wing Matt Mitchell has hired an agent and officially declared for the 2021 NBA draft, a source tells USA TODAY’s Rookie Wire.

San Diego State senior Matt Mitchell has hired an agent and officially declared for the 2021 NBA draft, USA TODAY SMG’s Rookie Wire has learned.

Mitchell, a lengthy 6-foot-6 senior with a plus wingspan, won the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year behind 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2020-21.

As a defender, he had the second-best steal percentage in the conference and he earned MWC First-Team All-Defense consideration. Mitchell was then honored as the MWC Tournament MVP and he helped his squad make an appearance in March Madness.

Mitchell, who could have returned to SDSU because the NCAA granted seniors an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, will be represented by Keith Kreiter of Edge Sports.

While seniors were previously automatically eligible for the NBA draft, this rule change made it so that players like Mitchell would have to petition the league to become draft-eligible in 2021. But by hiring an agent, Mitchell will forego that opportunity to instead turn pro.

When it was all said and done, Mitchell was one of the five best scorers in San Diego State State history. He connected on more than 1.0 three-pointer per game during each of the four seasons that he played at the program.

Overall, he has played well as an offensive creator, especially when dribbling off the pick during ball screen actions. The wing averaged 1.03 points per possession on dribble jumpers as a senior, per Synergy, which ranked in the 88th percentile among all D-I players.

But there are other measurements that point to a reliable shooting form as well, including his success at the charity stripe. During his junior campaign in 2019-20, when San Diego State finished with an outstanding 30-2 record, his free-throw percentage trailed only Sam Merrill and Justinian Jessup for the best in the conference. Both players were chosen in the 2020 NBA draft.

John Hollinger, previously of ESPN and then the front office for the Memphis Grizzlies, included Mitchell as one of his most undervalued prospects (via The Athletic):

“Between his age and mid-major profile, Mitchell almost certainly goes in the second round. But once there, I think he has a much better chance to stick as a role-playing wing than several other players who are currently rated much higher … especially if he can keep improving his body.”

He was a projected second-rounder in the latest mock draft from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. Mitchell projects as a likely candidate for draft consideration when teams are on the clock come July 29, 2021.

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2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Checking in after March Madness

Which future NBA players played the best during March Madness? Who has made the most significant improvements to their draft stock since our last update?

Which future NBA players played the best during March Madness? Which prospects made the most significant improvements to their draft stock?

In order to get a better sense of where all of the prospects stand right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Athletic, SB Nation and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

Since our previous update last month, these are the players who have improved their stock and are trending up on mock drafts: Davion Mitchell (Baylor), Josh Giddey (Adelaide), Chris Duarte (Oregon), Miles McBride (West Virginia), Aaron Henry (Michigan State), Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona), Kessler Edwards (Pepperdine), Trey Murphy (Virginia) and Neemias Queta (Utah State).

Some of the names that did not make the list last time but now appear among the Top 60 include Isaiah Todd (G League Ignite), Johnny Juzang (UCLA), Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), RaiQuan Gray (Florida State), Santi Aldama (Loyola Maryland and Austin Reaves (Oklahoma).

Below are the full rankings based on the latest mock drafts from top analysts and experts.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2021 NBA Draft Big Board 2.0: Top prospects playing in March Madness

This includes some names to watch in the men’s tourney.

March Madness is set to begin, which means for college basketball fans, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But it’s also one of the busiest times for scouts and executives around the NBA.

Last season, the men’s NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, which makes the stakes even higher for those involved in this year’s event. It will be a fascinating few weeks of basketball, all unfolding in Indiana, and the games are sure to further illuminate who may be most worth targeting in the 2021 NBA Draft.

But in addition to the spotlight of college basketball fully underway, we have now also seen the entirety of the 2021 G League season. That included the inaugural campaign for the Ignite, a pathway to the NBA for top talents who sought an alternative to the NCAA. Their exciting playoff run taught us more about prospects including Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga.

So with those results in mind, and with the college basketball postseason on the horizon, we have ranked the Top 100 prospects most likely set to make the jump to the NBA next season.

Our methodology for the rankings includes conversations with folks around the league, learning the general consensus surrounding a player, as well as a deep dive into stats and game film.

To put everything in perspective, we have also included everyone’s previous ranks from our last update, published on Jan. 22. This helps show whether a player is trending up or trending down and also helps illuminate how much can change in just two months of action.

As the madness begins during the men’s NCAA Tournament, follow along to see how these players are performing, as many will make a case to move up or down once the nets are cut on Apr. 5, 2021.

2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: How has the NCAA season changed rankings?

Now that the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball season is underway, we are getting a more clear picture of the top prospects in the upcoming class.

Now that the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball season is underway, we are getting a more clear picture of the top prospects in the upcoming class.

Former top recruits like Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs have made a great first impression and have confirmed why many already feel they are going to be solid future professionals in the NBA.

Of course, considering the unusual nature of the college basketball season, some players are struggling a bit more than others. The performance on the court will likely stray closer to the mean with a larger sample size as the year continues.

But to get a better sense of where everyone stands right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Athletic and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

We highlighted the prospects who have been the biggest risers since we published our last edition of this exercise.

College basketball standouts who have most drastically improved their draft stock through the early parts of the season include Keon Johnson (Tennessee), James Bouknight (UCONN), Jared Butler (Baylor), Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Day’Ron Sharpe (UNC), Aaron Henry (Michigan State), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois), Marcus Bagley (Arizona State), Moussa Cisse (Memphis), Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Jason Preston (Ohio) and Luka Garza (Iowa).

Below are the rankings based on the latest mock drafts from top analysts and experts:

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Five For ’21: Ranking The Mountain West’s Top Five Defenders

Five For ’21: Ranking The Mountain West’s Top Five Defenders Predicting the top five Mountain West defenders of the ’20-21 season Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Who are the top defenders in the MW? In the fourth installment of Mountain West …

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Five For ’21: Ranking The Mountain West’s Top Five Defenders

Predicting the top five Mountain West defenders of the ’20-21 season

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Who are the top defenders in the MW?

In the fourth installment of Mountain West Wire’s offseason series, Five for ’21, we stick with the defensive side of the ball as was started by my co-writer of this series Andrew Dieckhoff yesterday with the conference’s best shot blockers.

Just a reminder that the Five For ’21 series features our ranking of the top five Mountain West players in five different skill sets: passing, scoring, defending, rebounding, and shot blocking.

For the sake of avoiding redundancy, the top defenders list is focused more so on guards and wings than big men. With that in mind, any player that was selected to the shot blockers list is prevented from appearing on the top defenders list.

The Five For ’21 series schedule is below.

  • Monday: Passers
  • Tuesday: Scorers
  • Wednesday: Shot Blockers
  • Thursday: Defenders
  • Friday: Rebounders

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the conference’s best defenders.

5) Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming

’19-20: 100.9 DRtg, 1.1 DBPM, 1.2 SPG, 2.1 STL%, 3.5 FLS/40

I think it’s easy to say, Maldonado is an absolute baller as he finds his way onto our second Five for ’21 ranking of the week. Maldonado secured the number two spot on our best passers list while also challenging our methods as an honorable mention in our best scorers list.

It’s absolutely impressive of how much of a do-it-all kind of player Maldonado is and the mark he has made on the conference in just his first two seasons in Laramie. I think I can speak for anybody who thinks losing the 6-7 combo guard to transfer amid Wyoming’s coaching change back in spring would have been a disservice to the conference. He does it all but absolutely terrorizes smaller guards with his length and athleticism at the top of the key. As we often see him sitting and waiting for opportunities for breakaway steals that lead to layups, dunks or dish offs at the other end.

As with every other category Maldonado dominates in, there is room for efficiency improvement. But for a player who was asked to be the leading scorer, rebounder and floor general on multiple occasions last season, I think we can learn to not dwell too heavily on past numbers in Laramie. While we look onward to Maldonado’s potential next season with a new head coach and some reinforcements hoping to climb out of the conference’s cellar going forward.

4) Kendle Moore, Colorado State

’19-20: 104.9 DRtg, 1.7 DBPM, 1.3 SPG, 2.5 STL%, 2.6 FLS/40

Moore is an interesting defender, simply due to his stature at 5-10, 145 pounds. If there’s ever been a stereotype holding true in Moore’s defensive game, it is that of the speedy, smaller and pesky guard who get’s into your dribble just a little more effortlessly than bigger guards are able to.

If there is a metric to look at in direct relation to his pick-pocketing abilities it’s the fact that he only averages 2.6 fouls per forty minutes, where the rest of the league’s best defenders mentioned on this list find themselves averaging anywhere from 3.0-4.4. Where he loses out and finds himself a little lower on the list than others with similar metrics is his size and frame. He has a defensive rating of 104.9 which on the flip side is much higher than anyone else on this list as well as some of the honorable mentions considered for his number four spot.

Still, Moore has been a tremendous two-way talent in Fort Collins since following head coach Niko Medved to the Mountain West after committing to play for him back in high school at Drake. He is a part of a youthful but talented core of backcourt players who are building a foundation at Colorado State that only seems to get better every year.

3) Desmond Cambridge Jr., Nevada

’18-19: 94.0 DRtg, 0.7 DBPM, 1.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.9 STL %, 3.3 FLS/40

Cambridge Jr. is certainly a name to keep an eye this year as far as newcomers to the conference goes. The springy 6-4 shooting guard not only puts points in the scoring column, but was one of the best at preventing opponents from doing so during his last campaign in 2018-2019. Cambridge Jr. boasts impressive statistical averages from his two seasons in the Ivy League. Not only is he to be considered a tremendous defender averaging a steal a game, he also averaged an impressive 1.7 blocks per game during his sophomore season.

He recorded a season high of 5 blocks against Stony Brook that year, nearly reaching that number again in two other outings against conference foe Harvard and LIU. If he had done that he would have had a similar game log to that of one of the Mountain West’s best shot blockers, seven-footer Neemias Queta, who recorded his own season high of five blocks on three occasions in 2019-2020.

The Wolf Pack’s latest import is going to be an exciting one for fans not only in Reno but around the conference to keep up with this season. Although Aztec fans may be acquainted with his game well enough, from back on December 29th, 2018 when the Brown Bears spent their holiday vacation securing a twenty-one point win inside Viejas Arena. Cambridge Jr. ended the night with 25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block against the Aztecs, I can imagine the defensive attention he will receive from the next player on our list when he returns this winter.

2) Matt Mitchell 1.06 SPG/0.34 BPG

’19-20: 89.5 DRtg, 3.5 DBPM, 1.1 SPG, 2.5 STL%, 4.4 FLS/40

Mitchell is a do it all kind of player for the Aztecs, but aside from rebounding and scoring, the 6-6 240 pound combo forward is also one of if not the team’s best returning defender. With great speed, length and a great frame Mitchell can take the task of guarding the other team’s best scorer regardless of what position they play.

Even though he recorded a high fouls per forty minutes average of 4.4, he was still able to log the second best defensive rating on this list at 89.5. A testament to his defensive hustle given right before he possibly get’s in foul trouble. We may find some of those impressive defensive numbers take a hit come next season with a larger scoring role. But keep in mind help is coming to San Diego in the form of 5-8 scoring machine Terrell Gomez.

Although Mitchell, who was the Aztec’s third leading scorer last season will surely be asked to do more with the departures of Malachi Flynn, Yanni Wetzell & K.J. Feagin. He should be up to the task to fill a similar role to that of conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Malachi Flynn next season given his multifaceted game. As Aztec fans are hoping for no decrease in momentum after last season’s top-five national finish coupled with impressive conference dominance.

But just like the next player on this list, senior departures will definitely hurt. So now it begs the question, who will help Matt Mitchell keep defense, one of San Diego State’s biggest weapons a threat next year?

1) Justin Bean, Utah State

’19-20: 86.6 DRtg, 3.5 DBPM, 1.5 SPG, 2.9 STL%, 3.0 FLS/40

If you read my top-five scorers list back on Tuesday, you might remember I said Bean would make several appearances on several different lists this week. He is also one of the bigger defenders on this list at 6-7 210 pounds, though his versatility is on full display night in and night out with the Aggies and labeling him as a combo forward isn’t too far off, especially defensively.

We often find the forward battling with opposing bigs in the paint, using his everlasting motor to keep up with physically bigger opponents. While also finding him extended out to the perimeter to help cover ball screens, while also locking down players who attempt to drive it to the basket only to set up a lurking Neemias Queta whose just a step or two away from sending that shot to the bleachers.

Bean’s also responsible for the best defensive rating on this list at 86.6 while keeping his fouls per forty minutes low at just 3.0/40 min. Though part of what makes Utah State such a dangerous team is how all players buy into creating defensive stops as a unit. So with two of the conferences best defenders and fellow Aggies Diogo Brito and Sam Merrill now gone, who steps up to help Bean maintain that defensive nightmare on the perimeter?

Also considered: Zane Martin, New Mexico; Marvin Coleman, UNLV; Makuach Maluach, New Mexico; Seneca Knight, San Jose State; Kwame Marble, Wyoming; Omari Moore, San Jose State; David Roddy, Colorado State;  Aguir Agau, San Diego State; Orlando Robinson, Fresno State

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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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Tracking top NCAA prospects who could still declare for 2020 NBA Draft

NCAA prospects have until April 26 to declare early entry for 2020 NBA Draft. There are several notable prospects who could join this class.

NCAA prospects have until next week to declare early entry for 2020 NBA Draft. There are several notable prospects who could join this class.

Two freshmen (Precious Achiuwa and Jahmi’us Ramsey) are widely projected as first-round prospects. Meanwhile, three sophomores (Isaiah Joe, Aaron Henry and Joel Ayayi) typically appear on mock drafts.

Others who are likely Top-100 prospects: Romeo Weems, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Filip Petrusev, Joe Wieskamp, Corey Kispert, Terrence Shannon Omer Yurtseven, Yves Pons, AJ Lawson, Charles Bassey, Anton Watson and Miles McBride.

Below is a list reviewing all of the key players in college basketball who have yet to make a public decision about their NBA futures, even if it is simply just to test the waters so long as they already applied to receive feedback from the Undergraduate Advisory Committee before April 16.

FRESHMEN

Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Precious Achiuwa, Memphis (Big)

Jahmi’us Ramsey, Texas Tech (Guard)

Romeo Weems, DePaul (Forward)

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Big)

Terrence Shannon, Texas Tech (Wing)

Anton Watson, Gonzaga (Forward)

N’Faly Dante, Oregon (Big)

DJ Jeffries, Memphis (Forward)

Lester Quinones, Memphis (Forward)

Spencer Jones, Stanford (Big)

Nah’shon Hyland, VCU (Guard)

James Bouknight, UCONN (Guard)

SOPHOMORES

Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Isaiah Joe, Arkansas (Guard)

Aaron Henry, Michigan (Wing)

Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga (Guard)

Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga (Big)

Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (Wing)

AJ Lawson, South Carolina (Guard)

Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky (Big)

Emmitt Williams, LSU (Forward)

Isaac Likekele, Oklahoma State (Guard)

Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton (Guard)

Will Richardson, Oregon (Guard)

Kessler Edwards, Pepperdine (Forward)

Quentin Grimes, Houston (Guard)

Aaron Wiggins, Maryland (Guard)

Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh (Guard)

Davion Mitchell, Baylor (Guard)

Marcus Bingham, Michigan State (Big)

JUNIORS

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (Wing)

Omer Yurtseven, Georgetown (Big)

Yves Pons, Tennessee (Wing)

Colbey Ross, Pepperdine (Guard)

Oscar da Silva, Stanford (Forward)

Nahziah Carter, Washington Wing)

Dru Smith, Missouri (Guard)

Matt Mitchell, San Diego State (Forward)

Mark Vital, Baylor (Forward)

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Mountain West Wire’s Player of The Year Watch List: Week Thirteen

Who is in the running for Player of the Year? Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Thirteen Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire The streak continues and Flynn garners first place for the second straight week. The …

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Who is in the running for Player of the Year?

Take A Look At the Best Performances Around the Mountain West In Week Thirteen

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

The streak continues and Flynn garners first place for the second straight week. 

The staff at the Mountain West Wire wanted to do something a little different this year. We are going to keep track of the top performers from teams around the Mountain West throughout the year and vote on who had the best performances that week. 

How it works description now at the bottom of the article

The order for the thirteenth week is as follows:

1. Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (5 Points)

27 Points, 6 Rebounds and 3 Assists against San Jose State

24 Points, 6 Rebounds and 2 Steals against Nevada

Alston Jr. returns to the top of our top-five this week, earning his second first-place finish of the season and making his 5th appearance in our weekly rankings so far. This week’s honor gives him 19 points in total, which has him in second place overall behind Malachi Flynn with 27 points total, and just ahead of Jalen Harris with 18 points total.

By all means, Alston Jr. has had an all-MWC caliber season thus far, leading the conference in scoring until just this past week when a couple of thirty-point performances gave Jalen Harris the lead heading into February. Boise State is also tied for second place with Colorado State and is riding a four-game winning streak, beating teams by an average of 19.9 PPG in that span. Alston Jr. is leading a team that is showing a real spark going into February, and besides leading the team in scoring also leads the team in assists with 3.2 a game.

The Bronco’s future slate of games is tough, with a good mixture of teams from the top and bottom half of the conference standings. They face Utah State (Feb. 8th) at Logan, San Diego State (Feb. 16th) at home and UNLV to finish the regular season (Feb. 26th) in Las Vegas.

The rest of their schedule looks very winnable, especially given how they have played as of late. Plus factor in previous wins against the Aggies and Runnin’ Rebels, and the Broncos should be very confident with the conference tournament in mind.

The only thing that should be keeping Bronco fans up at night is the no. 4 ranked Aztecs, a win against San Diego State at home would go a long way for this team and continuously strong play from their leader will be in demand to make that happen.

2. Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (4 Points):

31 Points, 5 Rebounds and 7 Assists against Colorado State

30 Points, 6 Rebounds and 2 Assists against Boise State

3. Nico Carvacho, senior center Colorado State (3 Points):

16 Points, 15 Rebounds and 3 Assists against Nevada

16 Points, 11 Rebounds and 1 Block against UNLV

4. Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (2 Points):

12 Points, 6 Rebounds and 4 Assists against Nevada

21 Points, 5 Assists and 5 Rebounds against UNLV

5. Matt Mitchell, junior forward San Diego State (1 Point):

28 Points, 4 Rebounds and 1 Steal against Utah State

12 Points, 5 Assists and 1 Block against New Mexico

Past Weeks:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3| Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9| Week 10|Week 11| Week 12

Current Overall Point Totals:

Malachi Flynn, junior guard San Diego State (27 Points)

Derrick Alston Jr, junior guard BSU (19 Points)

Jalen Harris, junior guard Nevada (18 Points)

JaQuan Lyle, senior guard UNM (15 Points)

Sam Merrill, senior guard USU (15 Points)

Nico Carvacho, senior center CSU (10 Points)

Bryce Hamilton, sophomore guard UNLV (9 Points)

Jazz Johnson, senior guard Nevada (9 Points)

Hunter Maldonado, sophomore guard Wyoming (7 Points)

Isaiah Stevens, freshman guard Colorado State (6 Points)

Alphonso Anderson, junior guard USU (5 Points)

Carlton Bragg Jr., senior forward New Mexico (5 Points)

Lindsey Drew, senior guard Nevada (5 Points)

Justinian Jessup, senior guard Boise State (5 Points)

Seneca Knight, sophomore guard San Jose State (5 Points)

Justin Bean, sophomore forward USU (4 Points)

Marvin Coleman, sophomore guard UNLV (4 Points)

Amauri Hardy, junior guard UNLV (4 Points)

Orlando Robinson, freshman forward Fresno State (4 Points)

David Roddy, freshman guard Colorado State (4 Points)

Roderick “RJ” Williams, senior forward Boise State (3 Points)

Corey Manigault, senior forward New Mexico (2 Points)

Jordan Schakel, junior guard SDSU (2 Points)

Donnie Tillman, junior forward UNLV (2 Points)

Abu Kigab, junior forward Boise State (1 Point)

Zane Martin, junior guard UNM (1 Point)

Matt Mitchell, junior forward San Diego State (1 Point)

Ryan Swan, senior center Air Force (1 Point)

Yanni Wetzell, senior forward San Diego State (1 Point)

How It Works: 

Each person will award 15 points in total to five players and should award it as so:

1st place (Player of the week): 5 pts

2nd place: 4 pts

3rd place: 3 pts

4th place: 2 pts

5th place: 1 pt

The player with the most points total will be our player of the week and we will keep track of the point totals every week so that the player who has the most at the end of the year will receive the Mountain West Wire Player of the Year award. Just copy the players below and type your names above it like we do for the pick them docs we get and award your points. 

Now some guys made the list and others didn’t. A big thing to think about was consistency throughout the week. Something that hurt some guys was having a decent game one day and a bad one the other day. Guys who made the list had a great game one day and a good one on other days, or good games both days.

This column will come out on Sunday nights or Monday mornings depending on how late some games finish on Sundays. 

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