SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Herb Sendek walks across Santa Claras campus from his Leavey Center office to the iconic Mission church and stops for a moment at his favorite landmark. Its a special spot for a brief respite from the fundamentals-focused basketball preparation with his Broncos.While Sendek is busy rebuilding mens basketball at Santa Clara, Damon Stoudamire and Terry Porter have brought some serious NBA pedigree to coaching in the mid-major West Coast Conference trying to get their programs on track. Add to the list of new faces first-year San Francisco coach Kyle Smith, fresh off an impressive six-year run at Columbia.The league, still largely unheralded despite its decades-long run of postseason success, is suddenly boasting some high-profile coaching names to go along with the old staples of No. 14 Gonzagas Mark Few and Randy Bennett at 17th-ranked Saint Marys, which might have one of its best teams yet after a 29-win season . The Zags and Gaels shared the WCC regular-season crown last season and are picked by the coaches to go 1-2.I have a very healthy respect for the West Coast Conference and I really believe its on the verge of exploding, said Sendek, back on the bench following a year away after his dismissal at Arizona State . Clearly you have the top tier that has been dominant for the last many years but you also sense a renewed commitment from the other schools to be even more competitive. Its a terrific basketball league.In Portland, Porter sometimes points to examples of NBA players emerging from the WCC to make big impacts at the next level.Smith, who went 101-82 at Columbia with a Collegeinsider.com Tournament title and 25-10 record last season, is hardly new to the WCC yet now takes on a storied program determined to be a regular contender again. A former top assistant under Bennett at Saint Marys who also worked at San Diego, he has connections to several programs and most of the other coaches.I coached in the league for 17 years and Ive always thought its really the one league I know, so I think its a great time, Smith said. Over the last five years youve had three programs that have emerged and theyve been good, theyve kind of gotten to the top, and it looks like some other programs are really trying to regain some of their past glory and make it interesting. I think they will, and I think it will be healthy for the league with these new coaches. Its a big investment trying to make the league better.Porter rarely speaks of his own playing experiences while chuckling and noting, theyre so young and wont remember him anyway. Rick Adelman has stopped by Pilots practice to provide another set of eyes on things, and Porter speaks to his former coach with the Spurs, Gregg Popovich, on occasion for any tips on starting something new and building a system -- and family atmosphere.Its personal core values and me being on championship-caliber teams sharing what do we hold true and what helped us be successful, Porter said.Smiths ties to Bennett are just a start in the close-knit conference.Porters son, Franklin, played for Bennett in the suburban East Bay hills of Moraga.Bennett is thrilled to see the WCC generate more attention with all the change.I knew Terry because of Franklin. Hes just a class act, Bennett said. Ive known Damon Stoudamire since he was about 15 and always considered him a really good guy, and a guy thats a friend. Ive known Herb and have a lot of respect for him as a coach. Weve gotten to know each other because hes been out West. Obviously Kyle, I have a long history with and a really good friend.All four of them I know, its pretty cool that way ... good, talented people. Its going to help the league. The leagues going to get stronger.Sendeks own coaching tree is strong: He has watched 12 of his former assistants or other staff members become Division I head coaches. He has found a good fit.I do feel refreshed, he said.All of the new coaches are realizing challenges with starting fresh.Porter accepted the job right before his players took finals, then they went their separate ways for the summer. So he has spent much of the preseason finding a groove.Being around them and talking about some of our team identities and trying to build some of those things, it was something weve had to get into a little bit later, he said. The guys have really embraced it.New Golden State Warriors top assistant Mike Brown played at San Diego for Bennett and also knows Smith, Few, Porter and Stoudamire. Browns allegiances will stay in Southern California with the Toreros and coach Lamont Smith, an ex-USD player and another former Saint Marys assistant.Brown is eager to watch Bennett -- who has been turning up at Golden State practices this fall -- face off with good friend-turned rival Kyle Smith.This is a big-time conference, Brown said. This conference is not an easy conference. It will be interesting to see how both those guys do. Im sure theyll do great. Im glad Im so close to be able to pop in and catch a game. Its going to be a fun year for the West Coast Conference.The WCC sent three of its then-eight teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 for the first time then again in 2012 once BYU joined the 10-team league.The coaching and the turnover this year has changed dramatically but you still have the two major staples in Mark and Randy, Porter said. Its going to be fun to see the conference get after it. Nike Air Max 97 Clearance . 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Yeezy Boost 350 Fake China . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. DALLAS -- Jalen Robinette and the Air Force Falcons havent even led since a win over service academy rival Navy that had them unbeaten and maybe thinking about a national ranking.Now its just about survival in the Mountain West Conference.Teriyon Gipson rushed for 140 yards with a touchdown and caught a pass for another score, leading New Mexico to a 45-40 victory over Air Force on Saturday.The Falcons (4-2, 1-2 Mountain West) lost their second straight, and have trailed from the opening minutes to the finish both times after a 35-26 loss at Wyoming a week earlier.When we were 4-0, there was a lot of hype going around, said Robinette, who had his third straight 100-yard receiving game. Came up short twice, but those are the ones that hurt because youre right there. With the group we have, we keep our heads up.Playing at the historic Cotton Bowl not far from his Dallas high school, Gipson ran 60 yards down the sideline on an option pitch to give the Lobos (3-3, 2-1) a 14-3 lead in the first quarter.The neutral site game at the Texas state fair featured teams with a combined 51 players from the Lone Star State, including 17 starters.I always dreamed about playing in the Cotton Bowl, watching Texas-OU, being from Dallas, its right up the street, Gipson said. My first time playing in it, I wanted to make it memorable.Nate Romine threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns for the Falcons.New Mexicos nation-leading rushing offense had 373 yards against an Air Force defense that was No. 2 nationally against the run and had allowed 401 yards all season coming in.The teams combined for 974 yards -- 443 for New Mexico and 531 for Air Force -- and eight scoring drives of 70-plus yards.But both defenses stiffened in the fourth quarter, when the Lobos had just 9 yards rushing and punted four times. Romine was sacked three times after halftime, and Air Force stalled twice in the final 3 1/2 minutes when a touchdown would have put the Falcons ahead.When you know its going to be a shootout game type like that, youve just got to buckle down and know that weve got to score every drive, said Jacobi Owens, who led Air Forrce with 106 yards rushing.dddddddddddd Sadly at the end, we didnt score every drive.Lamar Jordan had a career-high two touchdown passes for the ground-oriented Lobos. After a 12-yarder to Gipson midway through the second quarter, he floated one to a wide-open Q Drennan for a 45-yard score . It was one of the nine plays of 30-plus yards in the game.Robinette finished with season highs of seven catches for 182 yards, including a 53-yard score .Tyrone Owens had a career-high 126 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Lobos, who got two rushing TDs from Richard McQuarley.STAYING NEUTRALIt was actually the third neutral site game between these schools from neighboring western states. Two of the first three games in the series were played in Denver in 1957 and 1959, just up the road from Air Forces Colorado Springs campus. The high-scoring game came 57 years after Air Force played one of two scoreless ties in the Cotton Bowl game, against TCU.GAME HELMETAfter the game, Gipson handed his helmet to 8-year-old nephew Marcell Gipson Jr., one of several family members in attendance. Thats my biggest fan, Gipson said. Hes been watching me since high school, middle school. He called my name all the time on the sidelines so after the game I had to go show him some love.THE TAKEAWAYNew Mexico: The Lobos bounced back strong from a blowout loss to No. 15 Boise State and might have taken a big step toward a second straight bowl season under fifth-year coach Bob Davie.Air Force: The Falcons might have been thinking about making a run for the Top 25 after improving to 4-0 with a win over Navy, which handed No. 13 Houston its first loss a week later. But consecutive Mountain West losses have changed their outlook.UP NEXTNew Mexico: Home against Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.Air Force: Home against Hawaii next Saturday.---This story corrects previous versions to show 9 yards rushing in the fourth quarter for New Mexico instead of 10 and 182 yards receiving for Jalen Robinette instead of 169. ' ' '