WAC gears for new look

This is the last two weeks of the Western Athletic Conference in its present form.

At the end of the season, Tulsa, UTEP, Rice and SMU are leaving for Conference USA. That group will be replaced by Idaho, Utah State and New Mexico State. Save for Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State, it will be much easier on travel for the remaining WAC members.

The quartet of schools will be missed, according to Nevada coach Mark Fox.

"One thing I will miss more than anything is the good people at the schools," Fox said. "Doc Sadler (UTEP), Willis Wilson (Rice) and Pooh Williamson (Tulsa) I consider friends. I don't know coach (Jimmy) Tubbs well, but he is a quality guy

Other coaches commented on the competitiveness of the conference, and how each game was a war. There were no easy nights in the WAC. Blowouts were few and far between.

"What I will miss most is the competitiveness," Rice coach Willis Wilson said. "There was nothing but great basketball games, great coaches and great players. That message hasn't gotten out like it should. People don't know who is in the WAC.

"Last year Nevada and UTEP made the tournament along with three teams that made the NIT. We took some steps in that direction."

UTEP's Sadler intimated that he would have preferred to stay in the WAC rather than make the move to Conference USA.

"The WAC, to me, is such a great league," he said. "It's fun to coach in it because the coaches are good. The players are good. The WAC always has players that go on to the NBA."

Travel has always been an issue in the WAC. The departure of the Texas and Oklahoma schools will make it slightly easier, especially on Hawai'i. There is still Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State, but conference officials have said they are working toward a schedule that would have a team playing both of those schools on the same road trip whenever possible.

"Absolutely nothing," Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace said when asked what he would miss about the departing teams. "They (other teams) are saying the same thing.

"We'll have better arenas to play in. We won't have to play in that cracker box (gym) at Rice."

Fox said that although Louisiana Tech would still be in the league, not having the Texas or Oklahoma schools would eliminate three big trips per year.

ADVANTAGE NEVADA

Nevada obviously has an advantage with the next two WAC tournaments being scheduled for Lawlor Events Center.

"I'm sure we'll bid on it again," Fox said. "Whether or not we're awarded the bid I don't know. It depends on the attendance. It's always been at a conference school."

A reporter asked Fox about the feasibility of playing in Salt Lake City. Fox said he didn't know how far Logan (where Utah State is located) was from Salt Lake and whether their fans would support the event.

Wallace said it would be a bad idea.

"I don't think it (the idea) will go," he said. "We played at the Delta Center when BYU and Utah were in the WAC. We didn't draw many fans at all, and BYU was in the finals. Attendance wasn't like it was on campus. Nevada is a good site. Let them have it."

BIG GAME FOR HARRIS

Rice senior Michael Harris has been named the WAC Player of the Week for the second time this year and the fifth time in his career.

Harris opened with 30 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Fresno State. On Friday, he scored 15 points and pulled down 18 rebounds against San Jose State, and followed that up Sunday with a 30-point, 24-rebound effort against Hawai'i.

In that Hawai'i game, Harris became the Owls' all-time leading scorer (1,910 points) and rebounder (1,057).

"The numbers he puts up speak for themselves," Wilson said. "I'm not surprised. I'm more surprised when he misses a shot or a rebound that he dosn't come up with. He has a passion for rebounding. He takes a lot of pride in it."

Boise State's Jermaine Blackburn, Nevada's Nick Fazekas, Louisiana Tech's Paul Millsap, SMU's Patrick Simpson and UTEP's Fili Rivera were the other nominations.

OTHER BIG EFFORTS

Harris' monster game wasn't the only big news coming out of the WAC.

Louisiana Tech's Paul Millsap scored 29 points and pulled down a career-high 25 rebounds in a loss at Boise State. The 25 rebounds is the most by any player in the nation.

UTEP's Fili Rivera had 18 assists in a win over Louisiana Tech last week, which equalled the best mark in the country this year.

TOURNAMENT TICKETS

Tickets for the upcoming WAC basketball tournament March 8-12 are currently on sale. You can purchase single-session tickets at Lawlor Events Center, by calling (800) 225-2277 or going to www.tickets.com. When you go to the www.com web-site, look for Lawlor Events Center.

Men's individual session tickets (two games) are $26 for adult center reserved and $19 for adult upper end zone. All women's sessions, including the championship game, can be purchased for $7. A special championship package, men and women, can be purchased for $26.

Play-in games (7th through 10th place) are scheduled for Tuesday. The women will play at noon and 2:30 p.m., and the men will play at 6 and 8:30 p.m.

n Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadappeal.com or by calling 881-1281