Editor’s Preseason Predictions: WCC Individual Awards

Jan 19 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs coach Mark Few reacts on the sidelines against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler defeats Gonzaga 64-63. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

COACH OF THE YEAR

MARK FEW – GONZAGA: There are gonna be some breakout teams this year in what looks to be a very deep conference. San Francisco should continue to improve. Saint Mary’s should bounce back to an extent. Pepperdine, San Diego, Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, and Portland all boast a lot of talent and any one of them could have a breakout year. BYU will again be a contender. It’s an extremely deep conference, meaning any coach could emerge worthy of this honor.

However, Gonzaga appears to rule the roost once again in the WCC with a stacked roster of elite returning players and high-profile transfers. They should spend the whole season nationally ranked and probably a lot of it in the top ten. They are easily the favorite to win the WCC Championship again and make an NCAA Tournament run. Other schools will do well, but this honor will have to go to Few after he guides the Bulldogs to another banner year.

Other coaches who could have big years and compete for the award are Rex Walters, Marty Wilson, and and Dave Rose. Walters won the award last year for leading the Dons to a breakout year, and they could be competitive again and officially take hold of a spot among the top teams in the conference. Wilson has developed an amazing core of young talent, and they could be the next breakout team and have a big year. Rose has done a good job of building around Tyler Haws, and even with a lot of roster changes BYU could have a good year and compete for the WCC Championship.

Jan 4, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Tyler Haws (3) chases down a loose ball against the San Diego Toreros during the second half at Marriott Center. Brigham Young Cougars won the game 87-53. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

TYLER HAWS – BYU: I am very tempted to pick someone else just so this doesn’t go to Haws again, and there are a lot of candidates who could have very good years. But Haws plays on another level when he’s putting up big point totals, and nobody in the WCC could stop him last year. If he’s hot all year, he could challenge for the nationals scoring title. When you’re putting up nationally great numbers like that it’s hard not to be the best player in your conference. If he is putting up amazing point totals again, you have to give him POTY honors again as well.

Players in the conversation should include Brad Waldow, Stacy Davis, and Jared Brownridge. Waldow is the arguably the best center in the league and has the potential to average a double-double in his senior season with a good supporting cast around him. Davis should take another big step forward as a junior, and with the development of the young players around him he too has double-double potential for a team on the rise. He’s the best forward in the WCC and I should be a top contender for POTY honors in 2015-16 when he’s a senior. Brownridge could be the next great scoring guard in the WCC and should be near the top of the WCC again in points per game. He will be just a sophomore, and he too could be a top contender for POTY in 2015-16.

Feb 27, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Kyle Wiltjer (33) during the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 85-55. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

KYLE WILTJER – GONZAGA: We have been hyping Wiltjer a lot in various articles around West Coast Convo recently, but it’s because he is one of the most highly regarded recruits to ever come to the WCC. For all the success of programs like Gonzaga and BYU, the conference still doesn’t regularly attract the highest tier of high school talent. But the Bulldogs are taking advantage of changing circumstances to bring in a former five star recruit as a transfer from Kentucky. When you’re a former five star recruit who got offered a scholarship to Kentucky, you have one of the best pedigrees as a recruit of anyone to ever play for a WCC school.

Wiltjer is a native of Oregon, and Gonzaga was in on him out of high school but couldn’t compete with the elite programs vying for Wiltjer’s services. He had a good career at Kentucky including being named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year in 2012-13 season, but he found playing time hard to find at a program stacked with top recruits. Multiple Northwest schools tried to lure him back there as a transfer, and he settled on Gonzaga. This will be his first year of eligibility after sitting out last year due to transfer rules, which should make him eligible for the Newcomer of the Year as a first year player in the WCC.

At Gonzaga he will be a feature piece who will help overcome the loss of Sam Dower to graduation. Dower is one of the only major losses the Bulldogs are dealing with from last year’s WCC Championship winning roster. I expect his scoring numbers to easily balloon into the double digits as a starter in the WCC, and he should see his rebound increase to solid levels as well. He could lead all newcomers including freshmen and transfers in both categories, which would easily make him Newcomer of the Year. Finding chances on a stacked roster may be tough, but he fits well into where the Bulldogs need help. So I think they use him quite a bit.

Others in contention for the award should include Aaron Bright, Joe Coleman, and Bryon Wesley. Bright and Coleman have a lot of potential and will be core players for Saint Mary’s right away. Bright could be one of the assists leaders in the WCC while putting up double digit points per game. Bryon Wesley will get a lot of points even on a stacked Gonzaga roster, and he and Wiltjer could go back and forth for the title of best transfer the Bulldogs picked up this year.

It’s a stacked year for the WCC with transfers, so a freshman picking up this award like Jared Brownridge of Santa Clara did last year is slim. The best recruits in the WCC are on Gonzaga, and they’re buried on the depth chart behind the high-profile transfers and returning players. If you want to find any freshman with a shot, I like A.J. John of Pepperdine. He looks like a prototypical forward who can get points and rebounds. And he should be near the top of categories among incoming freshmen. With an excellent young supporting cast around him, he could have a very good year the same way the Waves allowed Jeremy Major to hit the ground running as a freshman last season.

Mar 21, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs center Przemek Karnowski (24) drives against Oklahoma State Cowboys forward/center Kamari Murphy (21) in the second half of a men

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

PRZEMEK KARNOWSKI – GONZAGA: Karnowski is big, intimidating presence down low and it showed last year. He finished third in the WCC in blocked shots per game and fifth in defensive rebounds. Those block numbers are right there with Brendan Lane’s last year when Lane won this award, and Karnowski actually out-rebounded him on the defensive glass. With so many teams boasting good frontcourts this year, there will be a lot of action inside for Karnowski. With his ability to outsize and dominate other players, he should be gobbling up rebounds and rejecting shots all year. I expect him to finish near the top of the WCC again in both categories and cruise to winning this award.

Other contenders include Jito Kok, Brad Waldow, and Chris Anderson. Kok and Waldow should again be solid blockers, but they need to pick up their rebounding ability especially on the defensive end. They just aren’t quite as aggressive and intimidating as Karnowski. Anderson led the WCC in steals per game last year, and his ability to time swiping the ball away is impeccable. But he doesn’t do much else besides assists and points due to his size, and those don’t factor into a defensive award.

Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow to the WCC Tip-Off Event to see coverage of preseason predictions and the All-WCC Teams on TheW.tv. And check out West Coast Convo for our own conference outlook and later in the week analysis from the Tip-Off event.