MWC Wire Top 25 Basketball Countdown: #5 – Jalen McDaniels
San Diego State’s rising sophomore is 5th in the countdown
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MWC Wire Top 25 Countdown: #5 Jalen McDaniels
The No. 5 player in the MWC Wire Top 25 Basketball Countdown is San Diego State forward Jalen McDaniels.
McDaniels, a 6-9 forward out of Federal Way, Washington, enjoyed one of the most successful freshman seasons in Mountain West history in ’17-18. McDaniels averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and will look to carry the positive momentum into his sophomore campaign.
With Malik Pope and Trey Kell graduated, look for McDaniels’ role within the Aztecs offense to expand. The potential breakout sophomore has been listed on a number of top 100 national player lists throughout the preseason, as he continues to add to his NBA Draft resume. McDaniels is a legitimate Mountain West Player of the Year contender.
- 5) Jalen McDaniels, San Diego State
- 6) Justin James, Wyoming
- 7) Shakur Juiston, UNLV
- 8) Sam Merrill, Utah State
- 9) Lavelle Scottie, Air Force
- 10) Devin Watson, San Diego State
- 11) Justinian Jessup, Boise State
- 12) Nico Carvacho, Colorado State
- 13) Matt Mitchell, San Diego State
- 14) Jordan Brown, Nevada
- 15) JaQuan Lyle, New Mexico
- 16) Anthony Mathis, New Mexico
- 17) Braxton Huggins, Fresno State
- 18) Vance Jackson, New Mexico
- 19) Makuach Maluach, New Mexico
- 20) Deion James, Colorado State
- 21) Alex Hobbs, Boise State
- 22) Trey Porter, Nevada
- 23) Zach Haney, Boise State
- 24) Nate Grimes, Fresno State
- 25) Noah Robotham, UNLV
- Honorable mentions
Eli Boettger is the lead basketball writer at Mountain West Wire. He’s covered Mountain West basketball since 2015 and his work has been featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and other platforms. Boettger is a current USBWA member.
