DENVER – The 2011-12 Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball media poll has tabbed Utah State as this year’s favorite. Utah State senior guard Brockeith Pane has been named the preseason Player of the Year. Hawai‘i freshman guard Shaquille Stokes was tabbed this year’s preseason Newcomer of the Year.
Utah State received 174 points and 13 first-place votes. Nevada was picked second with 162 points and five first place votes. New Mexico State garnered 150 points and three first place votes for third place followed by Hawai‘i with 126 points and three first place votes. Idaho was fifth with 89 points followed by San Jose State with 66 points. Fresno State was seventh with 59 points, followed by Louisiana Tech (38) in the eighth spot.
Pane receives the preseason media Player of the Year honors after finishing the 2010-11 season averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. He earned first team all-WAC honors and was named the WAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Stokes, this season’s media Newcomer of the Year, is a 2011 graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Stokes helped Lincoln to three-straight league titles and averaged 18.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as a senior.
The All-WAC team included Pane, Nevada sophomore guard Deonte Burton, Nevada senior forward Dario Hunt, Hawai‘i senior guard Zane Johnson and New Mexico State senior forward Wendell McKines.
The following is the complete 2011-12 WAC men’s basketball media poll with first-place votes in parentheses:
2011-12 Preseason Men’s Basketball Media Poll
Rank Teams (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Utah State (13) 174
2. Nevada (5) 162
3. New Mexico State (3) 150
4. Hawai‘i (3) 126
5. Idaho 89
6. San Jose State 66
7. Fresno State 59
8. Louisiana Tech 38
Preseason Media All-WAC Team
First Team
Deonte Burton, So., G, Nevada
Dario Hunt, Sr., F, Nevada
Zane Johnson, Sr., G, Hawai‘i
Wendell McKines, Sr., F, New Mexico State
Brockeith Pane, Sr., G, Utah State
Player of the Year: Brockeith Pane, Utah State
Newcomer of the Year: Shaquille Stokes, Fr., G, Hawai‘i