Weber State University Athletics
Photo by: Robert Casey
Weber State men's basketball picked first in Big Sky preseason polls
10/18/2023 10:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats selected first in preseason coaches and media polls. Season begins November 7.
Weber State men's basketball enters the 2023-24 season with high expectations. The Wildcats have been picked first in the Big Sky Conference in both the coaches and media preseason polls, released Wednesday.
Weber State was a unanimous selection in the coaches poll, with nine first-place votes. Montana was picked second. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own school.
Eastern Washington was third, followed by Sacramento State, Portland State, and Idaho State.
In the media poll, Weber State was nearly unanimous, garnering 33 of the 35 first-place votes. Eastern Washington had two first-place votes and was picked second, followed by Montana, Montana State, Sacramento State, and Portland State.
This is the first time WSU has been picked to finish first in the Big Sky preseason polls since the 2016-17 season. The Wildcats have been picked first or second in 13 of the last 15 preseason polls.
"I've never put a lot of emphasis on preseason polls but I would rather people think good things about your program than bad things," said WSU head coach Eric Duft. "It's a testament to the returners that we have coming back and now it's on us to go out and play and improve on where we have been. We will have to be better than we were last year to win but we are excited for where we are and where we are going."
Duft returns for his second season as head coach and his 18th season on the Wildcat coaching staff. He led WSU to an 18-15 overall record last year and a third-place finish in the Big Sky at 12-6. The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Weber State returns all five starters from last year's team, led by junior Dillon Jones, who earned first-team All-Big Sky and all-district honors last year. Jones led the Wildcats in points, rebounds, assists, and steals last season and recorded 20 double-doubles. He led the country in defensive rebounds and finished fifth in overall rebounding at 10.9 per game.
Jones participated in the G League and NBA Draft combines this past summer before returning to Weber State for the season.
The Wildcats also return senior guard Steven Verplancken who earned third-team All-Big Sky honors last year. Also returning as starters are senior KJ Cunningham, junior Dyson Koehler, and junior Alex Tew.
Also returning are Handje Tamba and Louie Jordan who played last season and Chris Dockery who sat out the season as a red shirt.
WSU also added several new players to this year's team, including transfers Blaise Threatt and Arnaud Revaz. The 'Cats also added three international freshmen in Viljami Vartiainen from Finland and cousins Marko Sarenac and Nemanja Sarenac from Serbia.
After an exhibition game on November 2, the Wildcats open the 2023-24 season with a home game on November 7.
WSU season tickets are on sale now at WeberStateTickets.com.
Weber State was a unanimous selection in the coaches poll, with nine first-place votes. Montana was picked second. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own school.
Eastern Washington was third, followed by Sacramento State, Portland State, and Idaho State.
In the media poll, Weber State was nearly unanimous, garnering 33 of the 35 first-place votes. Eastern Washington had two first-place votes and was picked second, followed by Montana, Montana State, Sacramento State, and Portland State.
This is the first time WSU has been picked to finish first in the Big Sky preseason polls since the 2016-17 season. The Wildcats have been picked first or second in 13 of the last 15 preseason polls.
"I've never put a lot of emphasis on preseason polls but I would rather people think good things about your program than bad things," said WSU head coach Eric Duft. "It's a testament to the returners that we have coming back and now it's on us to go out and play and improve on where we have been. We will have to be better than we were last year to win but we are excited for where we are and where we are going."
Duft returns for his second season as head coach and his 18th season on the Wildcat coaching staff. He led WSU to an 18-15 overall record last year and a third-place finish in the Big Sky at 12-6. The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Weber State returns all five starters from last year's team, led by junior Dillon Jones, who earned first-team All-Big Sky and all-district honors last year. Jones led the Wildcats in points, rebounds, assists, and steals last season and recorded 20 double-doubles. He led the country in defensive rebounds and finished fifth in overall rebounding at 10.9 per game.
Jones participated in the G League and NBA Draft combines this past summer before returning to Weber State for the season.
The Wildcats also return senior guard Steven Verplancken who earned third-team All-Big Sky honors last year. Also returning as starters are senior KJ Cunningham, junior Dyson Koehler, and junior Alex Tew.
Also returning are Handje Tamba and Louie Jordan who played last season and Chris Dockery who sat out the season as a red shirt.
WSU also added several new players to this year's team, including transfers Blaise Threatt and Arnaud Revaz. The 'Cats also added three international freshmen in Viljami Vartiainen from Finland and cousins Marko Sarenac and Nemanja Sarenac from Serbia.
After an exhibition game on November 2, the Wildcats open the 2023-24 season with a home game on November 7.
WSU season tickets are on sale now at WeberStateTickets.com.
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