Fresno State’s Deshon Taylor a preseason All-Mountain West pick; Bulldogs picked fifth
Fresno State guard Deshon Taylor was one of five players selected to the Mountain West preseason all-conference team on Tuesday at the conference’s Media Summit in Las Vegas, and the Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in a poll of media covering the league.
Taylor, a first-team all-conference selection last season, finished fifth in the Mountain West in scoring (17.7 ppg) in leading the Bulldogs to their third 20-win season in a row and the fourth in five seasons.
The 6-foot-2 senior also averaged 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game and was selected to the Mountain West all-defense team by conference coaches.
Nevada, the defending conference champion, received 18 of the 19 first-place votes cast and was picked to win the conference.
The Wolf Pack is coming off a 29-8 season that ended in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and has three players on the preseason all-conference team including preseason player of the year Caleb Martin, his twin brother Cody Martin and forward Jordan Caroline. Nevada also has the preseason freshman of the year, Jordan Brown.
San Diego State received the other first-place vote and was picked to finish second followed by New Mexico, Boise State, Fresno State, UNLV, Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah State, Air Force and San Jose State.
The last Mountain West team to be a unanimous pick to win the conference is Utah, in the 1999-2000 season.
Mountain West preseason poll
1, Nevada (18) 207 points
2, San Diego State (1) 188
3, New Mexico 153
4, Boise State 139
5, Fresno State 138
6, UNLV 122
7, Wyoming 88
8, Colorado State 80
9, Utah State 78
10, Air Force 42
11, San Jose State 19
Preseason all-conference team
F Jordan Caroline, Nevada
G/F Caleb Martin, Nevada
G Cody Martin, Nevada
G Deshon Taylor, Fresno State
G/F Justin James, Wyoming
Preseason player of the year
Caleb Martin, Nevada
Preseason newcomer of the year
Vance Jackson, New Mexico
Preseason freshman of the year
Jordan Brown, Nevada
This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 10:38 AM.