Mountain West Basketball: 2017-18 stars on each team in the conference

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 11: The Colorado State Rams mascot CAM the Ram performs during the team’s game against the Nevada Wolf Pack during the second half of the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas /

Colorado State Rams – Prentiss Nixon

The runner-ups from the regular season, Colorado State will be looking to rebuild after losing their top-two players. It might not be so bad if it didn’t involve the conference Player of the Year, but Gian Clavell is just too much for the Rams to lose.

His 20.4 ppg and 6.3 rebs will be a lot to replace. Add in the leading rebounder and double-double machine Emmanuel Omogbo leaving, and getting back to second place would be a borderline miracle.

The only double-digit contributor coming back is upcoming junior Prentiss Nixon, who has great potential in his own right. Despite being the clear #3 option, he managed to average 13.2 points per game. His coming-out moment happened against Kansas State, where he dropped 30.

Although what might be more impressive was how he increased his scoring to 18 per game in the conference tournament. The Rams are hoping that’s what he can do with an increased workload.
The Rams not only had the best scorer in the conference in Clavell but arguably the best defender in Omogbo.

It will be just about impossible to replace the production from both of them, but the closest to do it certainly is Nixon. Odds are the Rams will slide down the standings, but could very well climb back up soon.