Fresno State Athletics
WAC Basketball Media Day Wrap-up
10/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 12, 2005
RENO, Nev.- The Western Athletic Conference announced its men's and women's basketball preseason polls and all-WAC teams on Wednesday morning at the conference's annual media day, with Fresno State well-represented on both sides.
The Fresno State men's basketball team, under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Cleveland, was picked to finish third by the media and fifth by the coaches. The Bulldogs finished 16-14 overall last year and 9-9 in the WAC, good for fourth place in the conference despite being tabbed to finish ninth in the league's preseason polls.
In addition, junior guard Ja'Vance Coleman was voted preseason All-WAC as a first-team selection in both the media and coaches' poll. Coleman, named to last year's All-WAC Newcomer team, led the `Dogs in scoring (16.9 ppg) in his first collegiate season.
On the men's side, Nevada was the overwhelming choice to win the conference in both polls. Utah State (161 points) finished second among the media, followed by Fresno State (139), Hawai'i (136) and Louisiana Tech (132) to round out the top five. Hawai'i and Utah State tied for second with 50 points in the coaches' poll, followed by Louisiana Tech (45) in fourth and Fresno State (38) in fifth.
The women's team was picked to finish second overall in both the coaches and media polls, garnering one first-place vote in the latter. Fresno State finished 20-11 overall in 2004-05 and 10-8 in the WAC, ranking fourth in the conference. The Bulldogs advanced to the postseason WNIT for the second time in three seasons and produced a six-game improvement in the win column from the previous year.
The Bulldogs placed seniors Amy Parrish and Mirenda Swearengin on the preseason All-WAC team as both earned second-team honors. Parrish, a first-team All-WAC selection one year ago, led the Bulldogs in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg) with four double-doubles. Swearengin ranked third on the club in scoring (10.5 ppg), led the team in assists (4.1 per game) and three-pointers (41) and was a WAC All-Tournament team s selection.
Louisiana Tech, the four-time defending regular-season champions, was the consensus choice to win the WAC in both polls. In the coaches' poll, Fresno State (54 points) was second and earned a first-place vote, followed by San Jose State (49), Idaho (44) and Hawai'i (39). In the media poll, Fresno State (74) checked in second, Idaho (62) was third, San Jose State (59) fourth and Hawai'i (50) fifth.
The WAC has a new-look this year, with newcomers Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State joining the conference.
The Fresno State men open their season at Cal Poly on Nov. 23 while the women debut at UC Irvine on Nov. 18.
2005-06 Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches PollRANKING Team (1st place votes)...Points1. Nevada (8)...642. Hawai'i (1)...50 Utah State...504. Louisiana Tech...455. Fresno State...386. Boise State...307. San Jose State...188. New Mexico State...179. Idaho...122005-06 Preseason All-WAC Coaches' Men's Teams
2005-06 Preseason Men's Basketball Media PollRANKING Team (1st place votes)...Points1. Nevada (22)...1982. Utah State...1613. Fresno State...1394. Hawai'i...1365. Louisiana Tech...1326. Boise State...877. New Mexico State...618. Idaho...409. San Jose State...36
2005-06 Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches PollRANKING Team (1st place votes)...Points1. Louisiana Tech (6)...622. Fresno State (1)...543. San Jose State (1)...494. Idaho...445. Hawai'i...396. Nevada...257. Boise State...20 New Mexico State...209. Utah State...11
2005-06 Preseason Women's Basketball Media PollRANKING Team (1st place votes)...Points1. Louisiana Tech (10)...902. Fresno State...743. Idaho...624. San Jose State...595. Hawai'i...506. Nevada...347. Utah State...338. Boise State...269. New Mexico State...22
First Team
- Nick Fazekas, Jr. F, Nevada (WAC Player of the Year)
- Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech
- Ja'Vance Coleman, Jr., G, Fresno State
- Julian Sensley, Sr., F, Hawai'i
- Jaycee Carroll, So., G, Utah State
Second Team
- Matt Gibson, Jr., G, Hawai'i
- Coby Karl, Jr., G, Boise State
- Nate Harris, Sr., F, Utah State
- Ramon Sessions, So., G, Nevada
- Alex Elam, Sr., G/F, San Jose State
2005-06 Preseason All-WAC Media Men's Team
- Nick Fazekas, Jr. F, Nevada (WAC Player of the Year)
- Paul Millsap, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech
- Ja'Vance Coleman, Jr., G, Fresno State
- Ramon Sessions, So., G, Nevada
- Jaycee Carroll, So., G, Utah State
- Jerome Richardson, Jr., G, Louisiana Tech (WAC Newcomer of the Year)
2005-06 Preseason All-WAC Coaches' Women's Teams
First Team
- Lamisha Augustine, Sr., F, San Jose State
- Emily Faurholt, So., G, Idaho
- Amber Jackson, So., F, San Jose State
- Shan Moore, Jr., G, Louisiana Tech
- Tasha Williams, Sr., G, Louisiana Tech (WAC Player of the Year)
Second Team
- Tamika Kursh, Jr., F, Louisiana Tech
- Leilani Mitchell, Jr., G, Idaho
- Amy Parrish, Sr., F, Fresno State
- Amy Sanders, Sr., G/F, Hawai'i
- Mirenda Swearengin, Sr., G, Fresno State
2005-06 Preseason All-WAC Media Women's Team
- Lamisha Augustine, Sr., F, San Jose State
- Emily Faurholt, So., G, Idaho
- Amber Jackson, So., F, San Jose State
- Amy Parrish, Sr., F, Fresno State
- Tasha Williams, Sr., G, Louisiana Tech (WAC Player of the Year)
