Three basketball players from the Mountain West received invites to the 2025 NBA Combine this year, an event that begins today in Chicago and goes through next Sunday. It’s the most invites from the conference since 2020, which had an expanded pool of players participate in a virtual combine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colorado State wing Nique Clifford, San Diego State wing Myles Byrd and Nevada jumbo-guard Kobe Sanders will all showcase their skills for NBA scouts this week. Each of those three (plus a few other players who began their careers at Mountain West schools) have a range of possibilities for potential draft spot and prospects for how their careers may fare. We’ll take a look at each for all of the prospects covered here. The “Consensus Big Board” referenced for each player comes from rookiescale.com. It is, as the website explains (and in more detail), a compilation of media draft content that provides an overall view of where prospects are ranked by the whole of those who follow the NBA Draft process closely. Nique Clifford (Colorado State) Consensus Big Board Rank: 20th Draft Day Age: 23.4 Height: 6’5″ Weight: 199 Clifford will hear his name called from the podium

Utah State lost its starting center – the 6-foot-11 Aubin Gateretse – to graduation this offseason and needed to find some size to replace him. Former Utes forward Zach Keller, standing 6-foot-10, is a solid candidate to do the replacing. But a similarity in size is about all Keller shares with the man whose role he’ll try to fill as Keller will bring a much different skillset than the rim-running/rim-protecting Gateretse did. Jerrod Calhoun landed a stretch big with Keller who’s gone toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country across three seasons in the ACC and Big 12. Keller’s experience in some of the best conferences in the country is something Calhoun was quick to point out in the press release announcing Keller’s signing. But more important to this breakdown will be what skills he brings to the table, something else Calhoun touched on. “Zach’s skill set fits our style of play perfectly, as a player who can be impactful both inside and out,” Calhoun said. “We look forward to seeing Zach thrive in our system.” So let’s go through how that skill set fits the Aggies style and what to look out for with Keller’s game.

According to a report from CBS Sports college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein, Utah State men’s basketball will participate in an additional field of four teams in the 2025 Charleston Classic. Alongside the Aggies, it is reported that Boston College, Tulane and Davidson will be participating teams. The primary field of the Charleston Classic will feature teams from major conferences, reported to be West Virginia, Georgia, Clemson and Xavier. The Aggies would not compete against any of those four teams as part of this multi-team event (MTE). The four-team format seems to suggest it will be a two-game event for the Aggies, much like the NIT Season Tip-Off which USU participated in this past season. The Aggies played two games as part of a four-team tournament, beating St. Bonaventure in the first round and then North Texas in the championship game. Head coach Jerrod Calhoun has previously indicated a preference for MTEs where his team plays two games as opposed to ones where they would play three games in three days. Per Rothstein, which teams will match up against which in the opening round has not yet been determined and no timetable is set for an official announcement from the tournament