Women’s basketball
Six months after winning both the regular season and tournament conference titles, the Utah women’s basketball team was picked to finish third this season, behind San Diego State and TCU.
Head coach Elaine Elliott said she doesn’t have any reaction to the rankings and hasn’t discussed it with her team.
“There is just not much to be said about preseason ranking, whether you are first or last,” she said.
Elliot said that based on her team’s returning strengths and experience, the rankings are just about right.
San Diego State was the overwhelming favorite, with 25 first-place votes, followed by TCU with three. Both teams are returning the majority of their starters from last season.
“That is certainly indicative of returning strength,” Elliot said. “They lost nothing in experience and are bringing key people back. They are definitely the two favorites.”
Elliot said though the rankings might act as a motivation for the Utes early on, it is not something that will last throughout the season. She said defending their conference title will not be a major focus for the Utes this season.
“It will be part of the things that are on the table,” Elliot said. “But preparing the team and creating a program year in and year out is not about those kind of markers. Those things come if you do what you’re supposed to do, if you bring in good kids and work hard. We are certainly more interested in interior things that make a successful team, not exterior markers.”
Senior Kalee Whipple was chosen as part of the preseason All-MWC team, and incoming freshman Taryn Wicijowski was named a preseason freshman of the year.
Whipple averaged 17 points per game last season and is leading all MWC active players with 1,389 career points.
“Kalee has already proven that she is that caliber of player,” Elliot said. “This year could set up some good opportunities for her; this will be a defining time for Kalee.”
Wicijowski averaged more than eight points and rebounds per game as team captain for the Canada Junior National team at the FIBA World U19 Championship last summer, where Canada finished fourth.
“She is a well-experienced freshman, if there is such a thing,” Elliot said. “She will certainly be on the floor and her performance will be important.”
The Utes, who began practice last weekend, will kick off their season Nov. 6 in an exhibition game against Chadron State. Their first MWC game will be Jan. 9 against TCU.
Men’s basketball
Although they are not picked to win the conference, Utah will try to surprise everyone again.
The men’s basketball team has been picked to finish the 2009-2010 season fourth in the Mountain West Conference preseason media poll.
“Polls are polls, and we were picked to finish in the same spot last season,” said head coach Jim Boylen. “All I can do is prepare my team and get them ready to play every day. The rest will take care of itself.”
The media felt much the same about Utah last year and picked the Utes to finish in fourth place in the 2008-2009 preseason poll.
The Utes went 12-4 in conference, shared the regular season title and won the MWC Tournament last season. The large amount of turnover on Utah’s roster could be the cause of the low ranking.
Utah’s four senior leaders from last year averaged close to 50 points per game. MWC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Luke Nevill, Shaun Green, Lawrence Borha and Tyler Kepkay left big shoes to fill.
“It’s true, we have lost a lot of talent from last year’s squad, but I think we will surprise a lot of people this year,” Boylen said. “The conference is getting more competitive every year, but we have the talent to do big things.”
BYU has won or shared the MWC regular season title the past three years and received 23 of 24 first-place votes and 215 points overall.
San Diego State was the runner-up to the Utes in the 2009 MWC Tournament, and it received the only other first-place vote and 166 points to finish second in the poll. UNLV is predicted to finish third and was close behind the Aztecs with 161 points.
Utah totaled 143 points and finished just ahead of the New Mexico Lobos, who had 141 points.
“This is not going to be a rebuilding year; it’s a repeat year,” said redshirt freshman Jason Washburn. “We’ve been working so hard all summer, and we have formed a great team chemistry. All this practice time will put us back to where we were last year.”
Wyoming, TCU, Colorado State and Air Force round out the MWC.
“The MWC is so talented from top to bottom,” said senior forward Kim Tillie. “Every team comes to play, and they play hard. Nobody will ever roll over and die and will fight to the end. I just can’t wait to get the season started.”
One thing that is becoming a constant for the basketball team is the difficulty of the schedule. This season, the Utes will welcome Michigan and Oklahoma to the Huntsman Center. They will also play at LSU and face off against Illinois at the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament.
“I schedule the tough games so I know my team and know what we can do on the court,” Boylen said. “I need to know our strengths and weaknesses going into league play.”