Stars Aren’t Out in the WAC Skies : Basketball: There is plenty of talent on the league’s missing-persons list.

SAN DIEGO —  The snow in the Rockies is still fresh. The second semester has yet to begin at most universities. The NCAA tournament is still on the other side of conference races.

And yet, scan Western Athletic Conference basketball locker rooms and something appears as plentiful as water bottles during a time out.

Empty lockers.

Utah forward Josh Grant, last year’s WAC player of the year, had surgery on his left knee in late August and will redshirt this season.

Wyoming forward Reggie Page, a senior who started 31 of 32 games last season, is out for the year because of academic troubles. Also missing are seniors Paris Bryant and Rick Henry, the first two off the bench for Wyoming last season, who also didn’t make grades.

The list goes on:

* Hawaii’s Ray Reed, the WAC’s leading scorer last season (19.9 points per game), was convicted of assault, and University of Hawaii President Albert Simone would not let Reed return to school.

* Brigham Young sophomore Shawn Bradley, the 7-6 giant who led the NCAA in blocked shots, is on a two-year Mormon mission.

* Forward Marlon Maxey, Texas El Paso’s best player, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during the Christmas break and is out until late January.

* San Diego State’s Keith Balzer, one of the key ingredients in SDSU’s mix, is sitting out this season as a medical hardship redshirt because of tendinitis in his left knee.

And that doesn’t include the players who exhausted their eligibility, such as New Mexico’s 7-2 center Luc Longley, a first-round NBA draft choice.

But the fact that several familiar names are gone doesn’t change one thing: The conference race will continue to be dominated by the regulars. BYU, UTEP, Utah . . . even without Grant.

“Oh yeah,” BYU Coach Roger Reid said. “Josh Grant is a great player, but let’s put it this way. Do you know how many guys on that team are back?”

Utah, which was ranked 10th nationally and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, has seven of its top 10 players returning.

But in case Reid, who picked Utah to win the conference, was attempting to deflect pressure from his team . . .

“From what I’ve seen in December, BYU looks to be the strongest of our contenders,” SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said. “Their big kids are rebounding well, their age and maturity are really helping them. . . . They’ve played, by far, the most consistent basketball.”

A Dow Jones look at the WAC--excluding SDSU--in order of last year’s finish:

UTAH

1990-91: 30-4; 15-1 (WAC)

This season: 10-3; 0-1

Losses: The worst is Grant. The other one that hurts is the graduation of center Walter Watts, a 6-8, 265-pound load who gave the Utes beef inside. Add senior swingman Craig Rydalch’s temporary absence (wrist injury), and Utah is missing 34 points and 17 rebounds per game from last year’s team.

Gains: The most notable is 6-10 senior Paul Afeaki, the new starting center. His wingspan of 86 1/2 inches will make opponents wary of shooting inside and should give Utah a rebounding advantage.

Net: Aside from a WAC-record 30 victories last season, Utah had 14 come-from-behind triumphs. The Utes will be hard-pressed to repeat that in 1991-92. Coach Rick Majerus says 5-9 guard Jimmy Soto is the Utes’ best player. Soto, who doesn’t even start, leads Utah in scoring at 12 points a game. Utah leads the WAC in scoring defense (56 points per game) and field-goal percentage defense (37% per game).

BRIGHAM YOUNG

1990-91: 21-13; 11-5

This season: 9-1, 0-0

Losses: Bradley made most opponents re-think their offense with his shot-blocking capabilities. He set an NCAA record with 177 blocked shots and had 14 in one game. He also led BYU with 15 points and eight rebounds per game. BYU lost three other starters--all-WAC forward Steve Schreiner, forward Kenneth Roberts and guard Scott Moon.

Gains: Gary Trost has stepped in at center; guard Nathan Call, the lone returning starter from last season, is playing well with increased responsibilities; and Nick Sanderson, a 6-3 transfer from College of the Canyons in California was named to the all-tournament team in the Red Lobster Classic in late December.

Net: No matter who they lose, the Cougars always remain formidable. Their only loss was to No. 11 Michigan in the Red Lobster Classic, 86-83. BYU is playing nine or 10 players a game. “That’s really been helpful,” Reid said.

NEW MEXICO

1990-91: 20-10; 10-6

This season: 7-6; 1-0

Losses: Aside from Longley, what’s the deal with the Pit? What once was one of the most user-friendly arenas for a home team is losing its stature. Earlier this season, the Lobos lost five in a row--their most ever--at the Pit. To be competitive, New Mexico must win at home--14 of the Lobos’ first 16 are in the Pit.

Gains: New Mexico has 10 new players, including Steve Logan, a transfer from Compton Community College who leads the Lobos in scoring (15 points per game). And Logan doesn’t even start. Ike Williams has gained a position--shooting guard--after starting at three different spots last season.

Net: New Mexico finished third in the nation in field-goal percentage last season (53%), but much of that was because of Longley’s inside shots. Now, the Lobos are relying more on outside shots. Behind a three-guard offense, the Lobos defeated Utah, 60-54, in each team’s WAC opener Friday. But New Mexico has already lost at home to Eastern New Mexico, 81-76. Eastern New Mexico?

WYOMING

1990-91: 20-12; 8-8

This season: 8-3; 0-0

Losses: The three who were dropped for academic reasons chipped away at the depth of what could have been an outstanding Wyoming team. Quein Higgins, a sophomore with promise who sat out last season with a knee injury, re-injured the knee and will sit out again.

Gains: Experience--four starters are back. A good attitude, maybe. The biggest problem with the Cowboys a year ago was that they couldn’t play with five basketballs. But after winning a game in the NIT tournament, the Cowboys are ready for a fresh start.

Net: Wyoming’s best player is Reggie Slater, a 6-7, 245-pound forward who can shoot (21 points per game this season) and rebound (12 per game). He and Tim Breaux (15 points per game) give the Cowboys a strong inside game and senior guard Maurice Alexander (14 points a game) provides some pop from out. Wyoming’s biggest needs this season are improved defense and rebounding.

TEXAS EL PASO

1990-91: 16-13; 7-9

This season: 10-1; 0-0

Losses: Maxey and junior guard Henry Hall, a starter who set a school career record with 96 three-point field goals, were expected to provide the Miners with spark this season, but . . . Maxey aggravated his knee and Hall left school.

Gains: At least they can go to the NCAA tournament. UTEP was hit with a two-year probation for, among other things, assistant coaches giving rides to players. The Miners can sign only two players in each of the next two seasons, but they were not banned from the tournament or television appearances.

Net: While other schools are losing players, the Miners got one back. Guard Prince Stewart, who missed last season for academic reasons, is back and is averaging 14 points and four assists per game. Center David Van Dyke (15 points, eight rebounds per game) has also helped UTEP win six in a row. Although UTEP should do well in conference play, it will be a change of pace. Among others this season, UTEP has defeated Chapman College, Houston Baptist and Tarleton State.

HAWAII

1990-91: 16-13; 7-9

This season: 7-4; 0-0

Losses: The Rainbows will miss Reed’s scoring, but that’s about all. He wasn’t particularly popular with teammates or Coach Riley Wallace. Example: He showed up at Wallace’s hotel room door at 2 a.m. one night in Colorado Springs last season with a big dog, asking if he could take the dog home on the team flight. Guard Troy Bowe, Hawaii’s career assist leader, might leave a bigger void.

Gains: Height and transfers. With five players over 6-7, Hawaii is fielding one of the tallest teams in school history. Also, Wallace brought in seven community college transfers.

Net: With a nucleus of guard Phil Lott, center Chris Walz and forward Tim Shepherd, the Rainbows will be competitive. Lott (23 points per game) leads the WAC in scoring and Walz is averaging 12 points and seven rebounds per game. In the preseason, Hawaii lost to Arizona (85-71) and Illinois (69-64), but the Rainbows upset Villanova Dec. 30 (86-79).

COLORADO STATE

1990-91: 15-14; 6-10

This season: 6-7; 0-0

Losses: A sense of reality. First paragraph in the Ram media guide: “Mention the name ‘Colorado State,’ and the memory that immediately comes to mind is that of national basketball prominence.” Huh?

Gains: A new coach. Stew Morrill, former Montana coach, has replaced Boyd Grant at Colorado State. In five years at Montana, Morrill won 97 games and led the Grizzlies to the NCAA tournament in 1991.

Net: Morrill will take his lumps early because he does not inherit much experience. Only two starters are back--guard Lynn Tryon and forward Aaron Atkinson. Morrill likes to run--his Montana teams were among the highest scoring in the Big Sky Conference--but he doesn’t yet have the players. The Rams do play defense--they have been ranked among the top five nationally in scoring defense in each of the past four seasons.

AIR FORCE

1990-91: 9-20; 2-14

This season: 5-6; 0-0

Losses: The Falcons’ leading scorer, forward Chris Lowry (15 points per game), has graduated, but otherwise, Air Force hasn’t lost much. Of course, the returnees might not be a blessing--the Falcons were last in the WAC in 1990-91.

Gains: A familiar name, senior forward Dale French, is back after sitting out last season on Academy suspension. He has given the Falcons scoring punch, ranking fourth in the WAC at 16 points per game.

Net: Air Force has two things coaches look for--an experienced backcourt and senior leadership. The Falcons might go as far as French and guards Charles Smith and George Irvin will take them. In other words, if these three play well, Air Force might not finish ninth again. Smith averaged 13 points during the last 14 games in 1990-91 and is at 14 per game this season. Irvin is the WAC’s leading free-throw shooter, making 22 of 25 attempts (88%) in preseason play.