Five for ’21: Ranking The Mountain West’s Top Five Passers
Predicting the top five Mountain West passers of the ’20-21 season
Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire
Who are the top passers in the MW?
As part of Mountain West Wire’s continued dedication to offseason basketball content, we welcome you to the first installment of the Five For ’21 series.
The Five For ’21 series features our ranking of the top five Mountain West players in five different skill sets: passing, scoring, defending, rebounding, and shot-blocking. Rankings aren’t position-specific, meaning a non-point guard can appear on the top passer list, a top scorer might not be a shooting guard, and so on.
We hope you enjoy the five-article series and engage in further conversation about where certain players should rank or appear on our Five For ’21 lists.
The Five For ’21 series schedule is below.
- Monday: Passers
- Tuesday: Scorers
- Wednesday: Shot Blockers
- Thursday: Defenders
- Friday: Rebounders
Without further adieu, we open up with a youngster looking to make an impact on one of the Mountain West’s highly anticipated teams next season.
5) RayJ Dennis, Boise State
1.8 APG, 1.90 AST/TOV, 18.3 AST Rate, 18.3 TOV Rate
Dennis is one of two sophomores on this list who played key roles on their squads in 2019-2020. While Dennis played more of a supportive role in his freshman season compared to the other youngster listed, he did so extremely efficiently in the time he was allotted.
His role for the Broncos last season was a bit limited at 17.4 MPG, but in that time he made the absolute most of his opportunities behind an experienced group of senior ball handlers with 1.8 APG and an assist to turnover ratio of 1.90:1. The upcoming season will definitely be a test for the young playmaker as even though the Broncos bring in a ton of talent via the transfer portal, the point guard position is one of the more shallow ones on the squad.
Dennis will definitely compete for the starting role with incoming transfer Marcus Shaver Jr., who was a bit more of a scorer than distributor at his previous stop but may have taken his sit-out year in Boise to add that attribute to his game.
4) A.J. Walker, Air Force
3.1 APG, 1.51 AST/TOV, 20.6 AST Rate, 17.1 TOV Rate
A.J. Walker’s decision to explore his options in the transfer portal in the midst of the Falcon’s coaching change back in March wasn’t too surprising. Guys transfer out of a program that is undergoing a coaching change all of the time, but how many opt to return? I’d love to know that number.
This will be Walker’s team next season and though he has impressive distribution numbers from last season, the Falcons lose four of their top five scorers to graduation going into 2020-2021. The junior guard will continue to get things done but may see his distribution numbers decrease a bit while his scoring averages and number of shots taken a game rise.
Walker certainly has the talent to take his game to the next level, spurning offers from TCU, Texas Tech and Tulsa this past spring to return to the Falcons. He just needs some help from guys like Mason Taylor and Christopher Joyce in the backcourt do to so.
3) Zane Martin, New Mexico
3.1 APG. 1.43 AST/TOV Ratio, 24.3 AST Rate, 17.4 TOV Rate
Zane Martin returns to Albuquerque as an expected leader among a relatively youthful and inexperienced group. Last season Martin was heralded as a big time scorer coming out of Towson back on the East Coast in the Colonial Athletic Association. But fans around the Mountain West found the 6-4 guard to be a little more multifaceted in his new role with the Lobos. He established himself as a scorer, distributor, and key defender for New Mexico down the stretch and will need to build on that success going forward.
Martin found himself thrust into the starting lineup and many times as the primary ball-handler where he performed well with what little time he had to make the adjustment following off the court issues with true point guard, J.J. Caldwell, and veteran guard JaQuan Lyle.
Martin will be counted on pretty heavily this coming season by his coaching staff and teammates to run the offense. And though he showed potential as a floor general last season, he needs to see a lot of improvement in that area with little reinforcements brought in over the offseason to help out.
2) Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming
4.0 APG, 1.31 AST/TOV Ratio, 30.1 AST Rate, 16.3 TOV Rate
Like A.J. Walker, Maldonado opted to return to his team after Wyoming’s coaching change back in March, and like the Falcons the Cowboys are going to be better off for it come opening night. Maldonado is a do it all kind of player, but what makes him particularly dangerous for opposing defenders is the fact that he is a 6-7 primary ball handler.
Wyoming didn’t necessarily have the most efficient offense last season, but Maldonado was responsible for nearly 30% of the Cowboys converted assists. So with majority of this Cowboy’s team returning along with some promising incoming recruits looking to fill some gaps on the floor we saw last season, Maldonado should excel once again. Although the change in coaching staff and playing style may ultimately benefit this do-it-all play maker. We may see a shift in production in 2020-2021 with sharpshooter Jake Hendricks gone and returning sophomores Kwame Marble II and Kenny Foster back to fill that void after great showings in the conference Tournament.
1) Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State 4.5 APG, 2.28 AST/TOV, 27.3 AST Rate, 16.3 TOV Rate
The reigning freshman of the year took the Mountain West by storm last season and led a talented but young Rams team to a top-half conference finish. His passing ability just becomes more impressive when you factor in his age and experience compare to other top assist men in the Mountain West last year. His 4.5 APG was good enough for third in the conference only behind Malachi Flynn with 5.1 APG and JaQuan Lyle with 4.6 APG. Both of those guys were entering college while Stevens himself was an underclassmen in high school.
His numbers simply speak to what caliber of player he is this early on in his career, and that is an extremely exciting thing for Rams fans.With majority of his offensive weapons back this season Stevens should continue to flourish in the backcourt alongside junior Kendle Moore. I think we are looking at the conference’s leading assist man in 2020-2021, but the hole in the Ram’s frontcourt needs to be filled if that’s going to happen. Having a guy like Nico Carvacho to dump it down to every night definitely makes your job a lot easier as a point guard.
Also considered: Trey Pulliam, San Diego State; Kendle Moore, Colorado State; Derrick Alston Jr., Boise State; Justin Bean, Utah State; Seneca Knight, San Jose State; Marvin Coleman, UNLV; Marcus Shaver Jr., Boise State; David Roddy, Colorado State; Omari Moore, San Jose State
