Colorado State Basketball: Nico Carvacho will be Mountain West spoiler in 2019-20
The Mountain West is hoping to send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament once again. But could Nico Carvacho and Colorado State Basketball spoil the fun?
It hasn’t been the greatest couple last 14 months for Colorado State Basketball. The program went through a messy coaching change and losing their top three scorers from the team in the season prior via either graduation or transferring. There wasn’t much expectations/results for the Rams in 2018-19, going 12-20 (7-11). However, there were a pair of individual bright spots in guard J.D. Paige and big man Nico Carvacho.
Both players played well but it was Carvacho who performed as a historic level for Colorado State Basketball. The big man finished this past season averaging 16.1 ppg and 12.9 rpg on 59% shooting. It’s the rebounding numbers that stand out the most, leading not only the Mountain West but the entire country. He had 20+ rebounds in three different occasions this past season, including a 23-point, 22 rebound performance in a game against Long Beach State. In just three seasons, the Mountain West star already has numerous program records for the Rams, including having the all-time rebound mark – with one more season to go.
Carvacho is what you would call a “traditional” big man, operating primarily from the inside (just 21 total three-point attempts). He became much more of a focal point of the offense and ran away with it, reaching double figures in all but one of his final 25 games. The 6’11 center has become such a force down low that most teams have to put another body on him, both on defense and when it comes to on the boards.
With Carvacho set to return next season, he won’t be flying under the radar. That includes on Kevin Sweeney’s annual list of the top mid-major players by position. The NCAA Basketball expert and founder of “CBB Central” placed Carvacho No. 4 for centers, behind Yoeli Childs, Charles Bassey, and fellow Mountain West big man Neemias Queta of Utah State. Despite leading the country in rebounding this past season, the Rams center played on a team who not only finished tied for 7th in the league a year ago, but went a combined 0-4 against the teams who represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament in Utah State and Nevada.
It’ll be hard for Colorado State to get in the top half of the Mountain West next season. Carvacho is the only returning double-digit scorer with both Paige graduating and Anthony Masinton-Bonner electing to become a graduate transfer for Missouri State. There are a solid group of role players coming back, including rising sophomore starters Adam Thistlewood and Kendle Moore. But a couple of these guys will have to go from being a role player to All-Conference caliber in order for the Rams to take the leap.
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In the end though, it’ll be up to Carvacho to lead the way. And last season showed that he’s very much capable of doing so. And while teams such as the Nevada, New Mexico and Utah State are all expected to be at the top of the Mountain West next season, they each have to be careful of Colorado State on the schedule, as they’ll have a player who can singlehandedly carry them to an upset win. That can be all it takes to knock off a mid-major team from the bubble. Carvacho might not be part of a title contender in 2020 but he’ll have a lot to say in regards to overall implications of the conference.