It was a big week of hoops for the RMAC as the Men’s and Women’s conference tournaments were played out.

If I had to predict before the tournament, I would have had to say that Colorado School of Mines would have won the conference tournament.

• I think they have been the most consistent team in the conference this year and have shown up night in and night out.
• They have a lot of guys that contribute to winning by how hard they play, by being in the correct position defensively, and by playing with high IQ.
• They crash the offensive glass well, have size, can apply innovative pressure, and can go deep into the bench to keep everyone fresh.
• After playing them for several years, I have a feel for what they preach defensively, and their guys do their job consistently.
• They are willing to live with confident guys beating them and sit in the gaps when they need to be to stop dribble penetration.

It was a little surprising from the women’s side with UCCS winning their second women’s basketball conference tournament over Colorado Mesa on the road in Mesa’s home gym. Being the sixth seed going into the tournament, this was a great trio of games that secured them an automatic bid going into regional play.

As the season has wrapped up, I wanted to do a breakdown of the top players in the RMAC.  I am excluding CSU Pueblo guys and tried to keep it strictly from an outside view of other teams. Before I write about them, I want to congratulate Armon Muldrew and Deshaun Cooper on their basketball careers and all they have accomplished.

I think the top big men in the league are Brayden Carter (MSU Denver) and William Becker (UCCS). Both were very efficient from the floor throughout the year.

• Braden is at his best when he has the ball in the low post and his back to the basket. He likes to go to his left and works hard to seal other bigs, but other teams must help their post by choking or doubling.
• Becker is highly effective in moving without the ball and as a slasher. Most of his buckets come from screening, rolling, cutting, and relocating as his teammates drive. He can score out of the post, but I think he is extremely good at moving without the ball and crashing the offensive glass.

Three power forwards that impressed me were Caleb McGill (MSU Denver), Ty Allred (Colorado Mesa), and Riley Schroder (Colorado Mines).

• All three can pick and pop and shoot the ball from the 10 to 15-foot range, which makes them more versatile than Carter and Becker. McGill and Schroder are playing their last season of college basketball, and I think Allred will be a bright spot for Colorado Mesa and the RMAC for the next few years.

From a big guard standpoint, I wanted to pick out Majok Deng (Colorado Mines) and Cam Lowe (Black Hills State).

• Deng transferred to the Colorado Mines for his last two college basketball seasons. He has been the go-to guy when they need a basket or the shot clock is winding down.
• Lowe just finished up his first year at RMAC and, in my opinion, was the newcomer of the year. He shoots the ball at a high rate and can have a great career at Black Hills State.

Jude Tapia (Adams State) and Chase Mayo Harmon (Regis) are top guards.

• Jude is a crafty guard who led the RMAC in scoring this year with tremendous confidence, shooting the ball from anywhere on the court. Being a little bit shorter makes it more challenging for him to get downhill, but he has a quick shot that he can get off at any point.
• Harmon led his team in scoring and their guard play, which, I thought, made their team. The guards at Regis are very crafty with back cuts, rub screens, and dribble handoffs that allow them to get downhill and create 3 point shots for Harmon as well.

I look forward to seeing how the RMAC schools do in the regional tournament and hope one of them can make it to the “Elite 8” out of the South Central Region.