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Posted on October 23, 2022
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When college football reaches the halfway point, it means college basketball season is not far behind.
Beginning this season, three of our writers will be covering the Pac-12, the Mountain West, and the WCC conferences, and I’ll be providing an overview of our footprint in the West along with some national coverage.
We start with my All-SuperWest teams comprised of selections from the top players in the three hoops conferences we cover.
First Team All-SuperWest
Drew Timme | Gonzaga | Senior Forward
Last season Timme averaged 18.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in helping lead the Bulldogs to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
With Chet Holmgren off to the NBA, Timme will be the unquestioned main man for the Zags.
Timme was the WCC Player of the Year last season, and this year he could be in the running for the National Player of the Year honors.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. | UCLA | Senior Guard-Forward
Jaquez is one of two returning starters for the Bruins this season and he should see a statistical jump in his numbers during his senior campaign.
Last year he averaged 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists for Mick Cronin’s crew.
Jaquez is healthy and ready to lead a Bruin team that should find itself among the Top 15 or Top 20 for the entirety of the season.
Tyger Campbell | UCLA | Senior Guard
Campbell ended the season on a tear for the Bruins with 15.6 points per game and 5.0 assists in UCLA’s run to the Sweet 16.
Including the final two games of the Pac-12 Tournament the UCLA guard scored at least 14 points in each of his final five games of the season.
Julian Strawther | Gonzaga | Junior Guard
Strawther had a breakout season for Gonzaga last year.
The guard shot 36.5 percent on three-pointers last season as his scoring average jumped to 11.8 points per game in his sophomore season after producing only 3.4 per outing as a freshman.
Strawther added 5.4 rebounds per game in 2021-22.
Graham Ike | Wyoming | Junior Forward
Ike nearly averaged 20 and 10 for the Cowboys last year, finishing the season with 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while leading Wyoming to the NCAA Tournament last spring.
The preseason MWC Player of the Year should lead a solid Cowboy team back to the tournament and give San Diego State a run in the race for the conference title.
Second Team All-SuperWest
Matt Bradley | San Diego State | Senior Guard
Bradley was the MWC newcomer of the year last season after transferring from Cal.
The senior can light up the scoresheet. His 542 points for the Aztecs last season was the 15th-highest-scoring season in school history.
Hunter Maldonado | Wyoming | Senior Guard
Maldonado’s 207 assists last season were the most by a player in a single season in Wyoming history.
He ended the season scoring 18.5 points per game along with 6.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per outing.
He became the third Wyoming player ever to register a triple-double when he accomplished it against San Diego State in February.
Azuolas Tubelis | Arizona | Junior Forward
Tubelis will be asked to do a little more for Tommy Lloyd’s program this season with the departures of NBA talent the Wildcats had last year.
The junior forward averaged 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Wildcats in the 2021-22 season as the Lithuanian native shot 54.0 percent from the floor.
Drew Peterson | USC | Senior Guard
Peterson earned All-Pac-12 recognition last season after leading the Trojans in assists and being their third-best scoring and rebounder.
The lengthy guard shot 41.2 percent for USC on three-pointers last season while connecting on 46.7 percent from the floor while playing 33 minutes per contest.
Harrison Ingram | Stanford | Sophomore Forward
Ingram was the 2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and is just the second winner of that award in the last decade to return for his sophomore season.
He started 30 of 32 games as a newcomer to college and should be poised for a breakout year as a sophomore.
Third Team All-SuperWest
Rasir Bolton | Gonzaga | Senior Guard
Averaged 11.2 points per game in his first season with the Zags after beginning his career at Iowa State.
Pelle Larsson | Arizona | Junior Guard
The reigning Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year. He shot 47.8 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from the 3-point line for the Wildcats last season.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. | New Mexico | Junior Guard
Led New Mexico in scoring at 18.2 points per game in 2021-22.
Mashburn was one of two Mountain West players to score in double figures in every conference game in 2021-22 as he followed Richard Pitino from Minnesota.
Kel’El Ware | Oregon | Freshman Center
Ware is not the only highly touted freshman on the west coast, but he may also produce the best numbers.
He has the strength, size, and scoring prowess to be a double-double machine for the Ducks and a legitimate rim protector on the defensive side of the ball.
Will Richardson | Oregon | Senior Guard
Averaged a career-best 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 45.4 percent from the floor last season.
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