WAC men's basketball elevates its game

The Western Athletic Conference is better than it was last year, according to University of Nevada first-year men's head coach Mark Fox and other coaches.

"I think the WAC is definitely a better league," Fox said on the weekly WAC teleconference. "I feel like a lot of the teams are better (than last year). I don't think we are.

"Rice and UTEP returned a lot of their team from a year ago. Fresno State is better. I feel SMU is better and Louisiana Tech is better. Top to bottom we're a better league."

Fox believes that will pay dividends when it comes to the post-season.

Phil Johnson, whose San Jose State team lost to Nevada last Thursday night, agreed with Fox.

"That's saying a lot with what the league was able to do last year," Johnson said, referring to five teams making the post-season and Nevada's two NCAA wins. "We (the conference) have had some good wins, and losses that I didn't think should happen.

"For instance, look how tough UTEP played Maryland last year. Their team returns (almost) intact. Rice basically has its entire team back. Obviously, they're a year better. They played UConn tough (at UConn). Look right down the line. Hawai'i had an 8-0 start. Look at some of the teams they beat (Southern Illinois, USC). Hawai'i is awfully good. I know their players because we recruited some of them."

n All the coaches in the WAC agree that it's tough to win on the road because of the travel involved, and that plays a big part in how a team schedules.

Rice, considered by most the second-best team in the conference behind UTEP, played both UConn and Syracuse on the road, and Rice head coach Willis Wilson said that was by design.

"Absolutely," he said. "The close proximity of the two schools and the fact that Jason McKreith played high school ball in upstate New York all played into it. We owed a return game to UConn, and when I had the opportunity to play Syracuse, I made sure it was on a road swing. Those are two of the most challenging places to play.

"It gives us more experience to handle it (the crowds) when it counts."

Wilson played UConn and Syracuse because they are perennial NCAA teams, and he felt playing in very hostile environments would help down the road.

Louisiana Tech has been on the road for nine of its first 11 games.

"I don't know that it's a benefit (to play so many road games)," Bulldog coach Keith Richard said. "There are two trains of thought. The first is to play home games and build confidence, and then take your team on the road. The other is to play good opponents on the road and build from that.

"If I had my druthers, I'd rather play at home and build confidence that way."

Reading between the lines, Richard is saying that his team plays on the road because it needs to build up the coffers of the athletic department.

The Louisiana Tech football program did the same thing when it scheduled away games against Auburn, Miami and Tennessee this season.

• Boise State was dealt a severe blow when senior Jason Ellis underwent hernia surgery last week. The Broncos lost their opener 91-77 to UTEP.

Boise State coach Greg Graham said Ellis will miss anywhere from three to eight weeks.

"The operation is the same for everybody, but the recovery time is different for each individual," Graham said. "We've lost both of our returnees up front (Kenny Gainous is the other). We've had to play freshmen a lot more."

Ellis had put together back-to-back double-doubles last month, and had scored 20 or more points in three straight games, according to Graham. He is 34 rebounds shy of being the Broncos' all-time leader.

• Pooh Williamson, who took over as Tulsa's head coach when John Phillips suddenly resigned right before Christmas, is off to an 0-2 start.

"Obviously I want to do some things differently," Williamson said. "Christmas night was our first practice. We had three games in five days, so we didn't have a lot of time to practice.

"I want to be a little more aggressive offensively; try to do a few more things out of our secondary break. Defensively, I want to be a little more aggressive."

Williamson said the morale of the 2-8 Golden Hurricane has been "good, not great.

"They are working. There hasn't been a lack of effort. We've been in every game."

• Fresno State opened some eyes around the conference with its season-opening overtime win over Hawai'i last Wednesday, 79-78. The Bulldogs also knocked off San Jose State on Sunday.

The Bulldogs are 8-3 overall under coach Ray Lopes.

"We have seven freshmen and one sophomore, and they are all in the rotation," Lopes said. "I'm pleased where we are. We're a little better than I thought we would be.

"Our schedule has helped. We're getting better, and I just want (us) to continue to improve. As we go along, I want us to get more consistent with our play."

Ja'Vance Coleman led the way with 35 points in the two wins, and center Mustafa Al-Sayyad added 29 points.

• Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace may have only been half serious when he said the 15 1/2 hour bus trip from Fresno State to Nevada helped the team prepare better for Saturday's game against the Wolf Pack.

Wallace said the players got plenty of rest, played cards and watched four movies.

A member of the school's training camp originally had the idea of busing up to Nevada, which Wallace nixed. However, when the Fresno State game was switched to Wednesday night, Wallace decided busing up wasn't a bad idea. At one point, it took the charter bus two hours to go 3/4 of a mile.

And, to top things off, Hawai'i lost the game 58-55 and Wallace was a loser at the casino, too.

Wallace did say he wouldn't bus to Nevada again.

• Rice's Michael Harris was named the WAC men's basketball player of the week for his efforts against SMU and Louisiana Tech.

Against SMU, Harris scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out five assists in the 66-64 overtime win. He followed that up with 27 points and 14 rebounds in a 78-57 win over Louisiana Tech. It's the fourth time Harris has won POW honors.

The women's winner was Louisiana Tech's Tasha Crain, who celebrated her birthday last Saturday in grand fashion with a career-high 29 points in a 76-66 come-from-behind win in Ruston, Louisiana.

Crain and her Lady Techster teammates visit Nevada for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday. Nevada is off to an 0-2 start in conference after losing road games at Hawai'i and San Jose State.

Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281