Sept. 26, 2006
SAN DIEGO - In its yearly preseason college basketball publication, Athlon Sports has chosen San Diego State men's basketball as its winner of the 2006-07 Mountain West Conference crown. In addition to winning the conference title, Athlon has also tabbed senior guard Brandon Heath as a third-team All-American, a first-team all-MWC selection, the MWC player of the year and the nation's top shooter.
Besides Heath, sophomore transfer Lorrenzo Wade is among 25 others listed as Top Transfers by Athlon. Wade, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, came to Montezuma Mesa last year after playing his freshman season at Louisville when it advanced to the 2005 Final Four. Wade will be eligible at the start of the 2006-07 season.
The publication has also predicted SDSU to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament and into the round of 32 in 2007.
The preseason accolades come on the heels of ESPN's Dick Vitale picking the Aztecs as his No. 30 team in the country and Andy Katz ranking SDSU No. 38 and a team people could see in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Earlier this summer their colleague, Jay Bilas, tabbed Heath as one of 18 players on his High Honorable Mention All-American squad.
The Aztecs return four starters off a team that finished at 24-9, won the Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament titles and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Included in the group of returning starters is 2006 MWC Player of the Year and Associated Press honorable mention All-American Brandon Heath, second team all-conference member Mohamed Abukar and letterwinners Kyle Spain and Richie Williams.