UNLV’s Tre’von Willis drives in against Bryce Cartwright at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., on Dec. 3, 2008.
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009 | 1:33 p.m.
The Mountain West Conference on Tuesday released its 2009-10 preseason media men's basketball poll and all-conference selections.
UNLV, which was picked first in last year's preseason prognostications, didn't receive any first place votes from the 24 media ballots, and comes in third behind BYU and San Diego State.
It may be a favorable position for the Rebels, who will fly under the radar to start the season with plenty of fresh faces on their roster.
BYU received 23 of the 24 first place votes after finishing tied for first in the Mountain West at 12-4 last season with Utah and New Mexico.
The other first place vote went to San Diego State, who made it to the NIT semifinals last spring.
Following UNLV, in order, is Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, TCU, Colorado State and Air Force.
BYU landed two on the preseason all-conference team, with junior guard Jimmer Fredette and senior forward/Bishop Gorman grad Jonathan Tavernari garnering mention. Rounding out the five-man squad is SDSU junior forward/Green Valley grad Billy White, TCU senior forward Zvonko Buljan and UNLV junior guard Tre'Von Willis.
Fredette was named the preseason Player of the Year, while UNLV junior guard Derrick Jasper was voted the league's preseason Newcomer of the Year.
Fredette averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game last year for the Cougars, who lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Texas A&M.
Jasper will be playing his first games this fall since the 2008 NCAA Tournament, when his two-year run at Kentucky came to a close. He sat out last year per NCAA transfer rules, using the time to allow his left knee to fully heal from microfracture surgery.
The preseason Freshman of the Year is SDSU forward Kawhi Leonard — a Riverside, Calif., product who Rivals.com ranked as the No. 48 prospect in the nation in last year's senior class.
UNLV's season kicks off on Friday, Oct. 16, with FirstLook 2009 at the Thomas & Mack Center — an event that is free to the public. The Rebels' first exhibition game is on Nov. 10 at home against Washburn.
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