ESPN Men's Basketball

In 2002, New Mexico guard Senque Carey suffered a spinal cord injury during a game that left him paralyzed for nearly two weeks and the college basketball community wondering how he would recover.

As it turned out his promising playing career had been cut short, but a coaching career -- with assistant jobs at UNM, Portland State and Fresno State -- was yet to come.

Carey announced on Monday a new chapter in his career, resigning after five seasons at Fresno State to coach at a high school closer to home in the San Francisco Bay Area and also work for a mentoring organization.

"The opportunity to coach locally will allow me more time to meet the needs of my family," Carey said in a statement.

Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland praised not only Carey's skills in player development, but also as a recruiter. The team's recruiting coordinator, Carey helped bring in eventual NBA lottery pick Paul George and current sophomore Greg Smith, a 6-foot-10 center who could be the Bulldogs' next early entrant to the draft.

While Carey might be leaving the college game for now, he'll bring his ability to inspire to Menlo-Atherton High School and also the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement, where he hopes to direct high school, college and pro athletes toward reaching their goals.

Chances are they'll listen to the story of how Carey took a charge that changed his life and eventually got back up from it.

A San Jose State player has declared for the NBA draft and is expected to forgo his senior season, according to a team spokesman, and it's not Adrian Oliver.

Forward C.J. Webster, who averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds and at 6-foot-9, 255 pounds has been a load in the pant, is set to pursue a pro career. That he missed a game in February while his fiancee gave birth to a baby girl was apparently a factor in the decision.

Webster follows Nevada's Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, Fresno State's Paul George and New Mexico State's Jahmar Young as the WAC players who have decided to stay in the draft.

Fresno State forward Paul George is staying in the draft after hiring an agent, according to the Fresno Bee. It's no surprise given that when George tweeted his initial decision to declare, he indicated that ending his college career was a likely scenario.

But the final decision does mean that even before the deadline to test the waters has passed, all four players -- George, Nevada's Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, and New Mexico State's Jahmar Young (forcibly?) -- have hired or announced their intentions to hire agents.

And for the conference? That means a tremendous loss of talent that certainly won't help in getting the league two NCAA tournament bids once again.

Yes, steady-as-ever Utah State could dominate once again, but beat writer Tony Jones also sees a lack of star power:

There's (Troy) Gillenwater, San Jose's Adrian Oliver, Tai Wesley, and who else? The league was brimming with next level talent this past season. Not so much in the year to come.

Hours after Fresno State was bounced from the WAC tournament, sophomore forward Paul George let it be known on Twitter that he intends to declare for the NBA draft and is strongly considering leaving school.

"Testing the waters my tweets but I'm leanin towards leavin to the draft," George tweeted.


George, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a quarterfinal loss to Louisiana Tech, missed time due to a sprained ankle this year and a member of the all-WAC second team. He averaged 16.8 points and 7. 2 rebounds.

"I am excited to get in the weight room when we get back to Fresno and get to work on preparing for next year," George told reporters after the game.

It appears he might have been talking about the NBA.

Fresno State needed a pick-me-up after three straight losses, and got it with a nonconference win against Cal State Bakersfield.

That in itself doesn't sound thrilling, but consider what NBA draft prospect Paul George told Daniel Lyght of the Fresno Bee after the game.

George's numbers have been good since returning from a severely sprained ankle, but the star sophomore revealed that only right before the Bulldogs' 79-68 win has the ankle been pain-free.

And so he dunked, with enough authority that apparently that the rest of the WAC should be on alert during the conference tournament.

"It's good to finally be able to look at the rim, be able to get some air flowing through the hair, getting the crowd going," he said. "No more finger rolls or trying to look pretty, just throw it down."

Shortly after a stunning WAC-opening win against defending champion Utah State, New Mexico State forward Wendell McKines went on his blog and called out the team's fans for being "frontrunners" and failing to pack the house.

McKines eventually apologized for that and his arrest on a warrant for unpaid fines, but also wrote, "I really feel like something special is going to happen this year."

Lo and behold, attendance is up in Las Cruces as the Aggies have won seven of eight following McKines' online meltdown, are sitting only a game behind Utah State in the standings and could be the sleeper of the conference tournament.

The Aggies' high-powered offense features five players who average double figures, led by guard Jahmar Young (20.9 ppg). McKines (11.7 ppg) and forward Troy Gillenwater (15 ppg) both began the season academically ineligible, and their returns have sparked the team.

Louisiana Tech started 5-0 in conference play, but eventually fell back when New Mexico State completed the season sweep last week at home in front of 5,549 on an unlikely play -- Hernst Laroche's game-winning jumper with 1.1 seconds left.

That leaves perennial postseason team Utah State at the top and gives New Mexico State at least a shot to make itself heard down the stretch.

Top Players


Paul George, G/F, Fresno State, So. -- How good he George? After missing four games with a severely sprained ankle, he dropped 30 on New Mexico State in his first game back last week.

Luke Babbitt, F, Nevada, So. -- The 6-foot-9 lefty leads the WAC with 9.6 rebounds per game and can score from all over the court, averaging 21.6 points per game.

Armon Johnson, G, Nevada, Jr. -- Johnson is the reigning WAC player of the week after scoring 23, including the game-winning bucket against Idaho, and leads the conference in assists.

Who's Hot

Adrian Oliver, G, San Jose State, Jr. -- The transfer from Washington poured in 28 points on Saturday against Utah State, the most by an Aggies opponent this season.

Mac Hopson, G, Idaho, Sr. -- In the three games since being suspended for a curfew violation, he's scored in double figures and had 20 in Saturday's win at Fresno State.

Magnum Rolle, C/F, Louisiana Tech, Sr. -- The 6-foot-11 transfer from LSU by way of the Bahamas has been especially dominant on the offensive glass.

Who's not

Hawaii -- Second-leading scorer Dwain Williams has been suspended indefinitely, and fourth-leading scorer Jeremy Lay is set to undergo season-ending hernia surgery, as the Warriors have lost seven straight.

Boise State -- The Broncos haven't won this month, but hope they can have better luck with upcoming nonconference opponents Cal State Bakersfield and UC Davis.

Idaho -- The Vandals' one-point loss to Nevada last week left coach Don Verlin declaring his team was no "doormat," complaining about the officiating and earning a reprimand from WAC conference commissioner Karl Benson.

Key games to watch

Feb. 20 -- Louisiana Tech at Northeastern: Utah State lost in Boston in November, so it'll be interesting to see if the Bulldogs can steal a BracketBuster win there.

Feb. 25 -- Nevada at San Jose State: Oliver and Babbitt, the conference's top two scorers, square off in what could be a high-scoring affair three nights after Oliver goes up against Seattle's Charles Garcia.

March 6 -- New Mexico State at Utah State: This could be the deciding game for the regular-season championship, but Utah State is riding a 21-game conference winning streak at the Spectrum.

Five things to know from Thursday's action:

1. Tasmin Mitchell continued his torrid stretch with 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting in LSU’s 63-60 squeaker over Nicholls State. This marked the fourth straight game that Mitchell has scored 24 or more points. In the month of December, he’s averaging 25.3 ppg and 10.5 rpg. Only Morgan State’s Reggie Holmes (28.0 ppg) has a higher scoring average this month. By the way, Mitchell also played the full 40 minutes without committing a turnover.

2. For a year and a half, Denzel Bowles toiled on the bench for Texas A&M. Last December, the Virginia native transferred closer to home and picked James Madison. Suiting up for the Dukes for just the second time on Thursday, Bowles scored more in that one game (37) than he did in 17 career games for the Aggies (29). He finished with 37 points (17-of-25 FG) and added 15 rebounds in the Dukes’ win at Gardner-Webb. His point total is the eighth-best in school history and no JMU player has scored more in a game since 1993. Bowles is the first D-I player with 35+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game this season.

3. Watch out, ACC fans. Something in Solomon Alabi has clicked. He entered the month having never scored more than 17 points in a game. After Thursday, he has gone over 20 points in three of the last four games. On Thursday, Alabi tied a career-high with 22 points in Florida State’s 76-72 win over Auburn. He entered the month averaging 9.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg. In the four games since the start of December, he’s averaging 19.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg, while shooting 71.8 percent from the field. The 7-foot-1 Nigerian is also shooting 85.4 percent from the free throw stripe, good enough for fifth in the ACC.

4. Brandon Fields knocked down the game-winning trey in Nevada’s 73-70 win over Eastern Washington, but the game was yet another showcase for sophomore Luke Babbitt. He finished with a season-high 29 points, falling just a point shy of his career-high. Babbitt (19.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg) is one of only seven D-I players averaging at least 19 points and 10 rebounds. Of his 43 collegiate games, he has scored in double figures in 40 of them. With 747 career points, no active sophomore has more points than Babbitt.

5. Paul George does more for Fresno State than Paul and George did for the Beatles. Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but the Bulldogs sophomore fills up the stat sheet on a nightly basis. In Thursday’s 68-57 win over UC Davis, George finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and a block. He even added 8 turnovers and 4 personal fouls. No zeros in the box score for this guy. George leads Fresno State in scoring, rebounding, steals, turnovers, personal fouls, minutes, 3-point field goals, free throws and free throw percentage. He’s currently on pace to be the first player to average 8-plus rebounds, 3-plus assists, and 3-plus steals since Charlotte’s Eddie Basden in 2004-05.