Senior cornerback lone Wildcat on Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team

The Big Sky Conference released its preseason All-Conference Team selections on Monday during the annual Big Sky Football Kickoff Meetings. Senior cornerback Deon’tae Florence was the only Weber State University student named to the team.

After transferring to Weber State from Boise State University, Florence appeared in 10 games last season, recording 30 tackles, along with four interceptions and eight passes defended. He finished second in the conference in interceptions and passes defended, as he earned All-Conference honorable mention.

Florence and the Wildcats will start their season on the road Aug. 28, as they travel to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. The following week will be the home opener for Weber State, as they host North Dakota State on Sept. 6.

Damian Lillard makes USA Basketball player pool

Former Weber State star Damian Lillard has been invited to participate in a training camp later this month for a chance at joining the USA National Basketball Team.

USA Basketball announced on Sunday that 19 players would take part in the training camp, running from July 28 through Aug. 1. Lillard will be playing with other NBA stars, like Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, as he attempts to get one of the 12 spots on the final roster.

After training camp and roster cuts, the USA National Basketball Team will play in exhibition games in Chicago, New York and Spain, before the start of the 2014 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup on Aug. 30.

Weber State football ranked almost last in Big Sky Preseason Polls

The Weber State football team was ranked among the bottom four teams in the Big Sky Preseason Media and Coaches’ Polls.

After finishing last season with a 2-10 record (1-7 in conference), Weber State was ranked No. 12 in the Preseason Media Poll, with Northern Colorado being the only team ranked lower. The Wildcats didn’t fair much better in the Coaches’ Poll, as they were ranked No. 11, just slightly edging out Idaho State.

New head coach Jay Hill and the Wildcats will look to win more than two games for the first time since 2011 as they kick off their season on the road at Arizona State on Aug. 28. Their home opener will be the following week when they host North Dakota State Sept. 6. Conference play will begin on Sept. 27, when the Wildcats travel to Southern Utah.

Davion Berry makes Summer League debut

After not seeing any playing time during the Portland Trail Blazers’ first two Summer League games, former Wildcat Davion Berry came in for the last five minutes of the fourth quarter on Tuesday, recording an offensive rebound in the Blazers’ 91-76 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Berry was invited to play for the Trail Blazers’ Summer League team two weeks ago, following the NBA Draft. During the first two games of Summer League, the Blazers were mainly sending the players that were already on the team out to play, to get ready for the season. With a large lead in the fourth quarter, almost all of the players that had been sitting on the sidelines through the first two game finally got some playing time.

The Trail Blazers finished the first part of Summer League with a 2-1 record, and have been designated the No. 6 seed in the Las Vegas Summer League championship bracket. They will play their next game on Thursday against the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Golden State Warriors game.