2023-24 College Basketball Conference Preview: West Coast Conference Fantasy Outlook

The West Coast Conference feels down with one of its big three gone, as BYU switched to the Big 12, leaving the league with only nine squads.  Gonzaga has been Gonzaga, as Mark Few once again has found great transfers to replenish his lineup, and they can all perform.  St. Mary's has been more reserved in its moves, yet still has maintained another quality team to tussle with the Zags.  The Lions of Loyola Marymount are moving up and looking to replace the Cougars as the next best team in conference.     

While a lot of talent has exited, it feels like a rebuilding mode throughout the conference, except for the two top tier teams.  The Zags reload, and the Gaels stay steady.  Graham Ike, Steele Venters and Ryan Nembhard add a lot of talent to Gonzaga, and Few knows how to get his players to function as a team.  

Top Players:

Overall:  Graham Ike, PF, Gonzaga

Ike has been a physical presence for the Wyoming Cowboys.  He now has to get back to his game after sitting out last year with an injury.  The previous season, Ike was very close to a double-double, averaging 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.  He's a huge force in the paint.  As long as he's healthy, he'll be one of the season's top overall players.  With Drew Timme actually gone, Ike will provide all that Timme did, maybe more.  

Others for consideration:  Mitchell Saxen, C, St. Mary's; Keli Leaupepe, F, Loyola-Marymount; Jevon Porter, F, Pepperdine; Tyler Robertson, F, Portland

Scoring:  Tyler Robertson, F, Portland

Believing Ike's point production may be a little lower on a balanced team, Tyler Robertson has an opportunity to produce even better numbers with Portland this season.  He averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the most balanced production in conference.  

Others for consideration:  Graham Ike, F, Gonzaga; Aidan Mahaney, G, St. Mary's; Keli Leaupepe, F, Loyola-Marymount 

Rebounding:  Mitchell Saxen, C, St. Mary's

Saxon is a solid scorer but is strong on the glass as well.  He led the conference in rebounding at 7.6 per game.  Saxon is a force on both ends of the court, being skilled in pulling down offensive boards as well.  

Others for consideration:  Jevon Porter, F/C, Pepperdine; Keli Leaupepe, F, Loyola-Marymount; Anton Watson, F, Gonzaga; Graham Ike, F/C, Gonzaga

Assists:  Ryan Nembhard, G, Gonzaga

The league's leading returning assist man by far is Robertson.  There are no actual point men returning who dished a lot of assists per game.  Nembhard has the ability, however, and he should be able to spread the wealth among the balanced Zag offense.  

Others for consideration:  Tyler Robertson, F, Portland; Augustas Marciulionis, PG, St. Mary's; Maurice Odum, PG, Pacific

Center:  Lars Thiemann, C. Loyola-Marymount

Thiemann is a 7-foot-1 transfer from California who averaged 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Golden Bears.  He is also a solid 260 pounds.  With his size, he should dominate the paint in and out of conference.  He'll be a major presence in the lane all season long.  

Others for consideration:  Mitchell Saxen, C, St. Mary's; Graham Ike, F/C, Gonzaga

Freshman:  Aaron McBride, G/F, Loyola-Marymount

McBride is an athletic swingman that is forged to lead this pack of Lions towards the top of the conference.  His inside/outside presence can make him all-conference his first season.

Others for consideration:  Jordan Ross, G, St. Mary's

Sleepers:

Donovan Williams, G, Pacific

Williams averaged 7.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last year.  He started out producing more, but his numbers took a slide as the season continued.  The ability to ramp up production is there, however, and the Tigers will need it as they retool this season.  

Chris Austin, G, Portland

Austin was forced to redshirt with an injury but had scored 14.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game the previous season.  If healthy, look for Austin to have a nice rebound campaign.  

Carlos Marshall, Jr., G, Santa Clara

Marshall is a transfer from Tennessee State that was forced out due to injury.  The Broncos are very depleted, and a healthy Marshall will give them a capable, steady player in their lineup.  He had scored ten points per game before the injury.  

Others to watch:  Juan Sebastian Gorosito, G, Portland; Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, F, Portland

Transfers:

Graham Ike, F/C, Gonzaga

See above for information

Ryan Nembhard, PG, Gonzaga

A true point guard that averaged over 12 points and four assists per game for Creighton.  He should be leading an even better offense now.

Steele Venters, G, Gonzaga

An excellent shooter who converted 40 percent from beyond the three point line.  He averaged over 15 points per game for Eastern Washington.  

Others for consideration:  Ethan Anderson, G, Pepperdine; Tyeree Bryan, G, Santa Clara

Top 10 Players:

1. Graham Ike - Gonzaga
2. Tyler Robertson - Portland
3. Keli Leaupepe - Loyola-Marymount
4. Jevon Porter - Pepperdine
5. Mitchell Saxen - St. Mary's
6. Ryan Nembhard - Gonzaga
7. Alex Ducas - St. Mary's
8. Lars Thiemann - Loyola-Marymount
9. Steele Venters - Gonzaga
10. Justin Wright - Loyola-Marymount

Projected Team Standings:

1. Gongaga
2. St. Mary's
3. Loyola-Marymount
4. Pacific
5. Portland
6. San Francisco
7. Santa Clara
8. Pepperdine
9. San Diego

Projected Starting Lineups:

Gonzaga

Anton Watson F

Graham Ike F/C

Ryan Nembhard PG

Steele Venters G/F

Marcus Adams, Jr. F

Loyola-Marymount

Keli Leaupepe F

Lars Thiemann C

Michael Graham F

Dominick Harris G

Justin Wright G

Pacific

Donovan Williams G

Maurice Odom G

Judson Martindale F

Nick Blake G/F

Cam Denson F

Pepperdine

Houston Mallette G

Jevon Porter F/C

Ethan Anderson PG

Boubacar Coulibaly F

Malik Moore G

Portland

Juan Sebastian Gorosito G

Tyler Robertson F

Chris Austin G

Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams F

Vukasin Masic G

San Diego

Sigu Sisoho Jawara G

Wayne McKinney II G

Deuce Turner G

PJ Hayes G

Santiago Trouet F

San Francisco

Isaiah Hawthorne F

Marcus Williams G

Josh Kunen F

Robby Beasley G

Ndewedo Newbury F

Santa Clara

Tyeree Bryan G

Carlos Marshall, Jr, G/F

Christoph Tilly C

Jalen Benjamin PG

Camaron Tongue F

Saint Mary's

Mitchell Saxen C

Aidan Mahaney G

Alex Ducas G/F

Augustas Marciulionis G

Joshua Jefferson F

Other College Basketball Resources

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