PAC 10 HOOPS PREVIEW
The Washington Huskies won the conference title a year ago. They’ll try to run their way back to the top of the PAC 10. Isaiah Thomas is expected to lead the Huskies, but incoming point guard Abdul Gaddy is likely to be on those highlight reels too. The plan will be to run and score a lot of points, but they’ll need to find some rebounds to activate the breakout. Lorenzo Romar’s team went from under .500 to conference title last year. Three rebounders could fill the openings in the lineup. Senior forward Quincy Poindexter, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Darnell Grant return to get the show started. Freshman Clarence Trent could help up front too. Romar has moved this team from the bottom, or middle to the top of the PAC 10. Given the youth on this unit, they should be around for a while.
No matter what UCLA does in December and January, don’t write them off. Of course, if their young talent matures quickly, that may not even be a consideration. There are holes to fill. There are talented young players to fill them with. Ben Howland has no problem getting good young players to attend the most successful program in NCAA tournament history. Here’s the list this season: Sophomore guard Malcolm Lee. Sophomore point guard Jerime Anderson. Sophomore forward/center Drew Gordon. 6-9 freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt may start. The names have changed, but Howland’s plan is eerily similar. Play defense, score off of that defense. Contend for the PAC-10 title. And, come March, if the other months didn’t do them in, UCLA will be a very dangerous team.
Herb Sendek had Arizona State in a very unfamiliar position in the conference a year ago. They hadn’t had 25 victories in a season in over 30 years. Doing that again will be very difficult. The Sun Devils’ two best players are gone. There are capable replacements and some are newcomers. Point guard Dereck Glasser returns and there is shooting ability to the extent that there may be four guards on the court at times. Richard Kuksiks is a sharpshooter who had at least two triples in 25 of A State’s games last year. Sendek went to Russia to get 7 footer Ruslan Pateev and he could be starting by the end of the year. They’ll be devils on the defensive end which will give Arizona State a chance to build on past accomplishments.
If any team has pressure placed upon them in the PAC 10 this season, it’s the California Bears. They are expected to win the conference. Four starters return. They are senior oriented. Mike Montgomery doesn’t have as much experience as head coach of Cal as do his seniors in playing their fourth years there. This team will be judged by the end results. Those results weren’t so great a year ago. It starts with all- PAC-10 guards, Jerome Randall and Patrick Christopher. Harper Kamp, junior forward, is a key player as well. Their 3-point shooters are back. 7-2 sophomore Max Zhang had a strong off season and may be able to add an inside force. Add in JC transfer Markhuri Sanders-Frison and California will have the guns to shoot their way to the top of the PAC 10.
Southern Cal won’t be expected to do much. They return just two starters and lost their coach amidst an NCAA investigation that is still going on. For new coach Kevin O’Neill, there’s not much pressure. Just find the players needed to compete and keep it clean according to the NCAA. For O’Neill and his players, the goal will be to have the attitude that “no one expects much, let us show you.” Senior Dwight Lewis will be the team leader. North Carolina transfer center Alex Stepheson is expected to start right away. In Trojan land, this season is about seeing where the team lands. Any positive expectations will be tempered with a great deal of realism.
Sean Miller is expected to make the most of his returning players at Arizona, and blend in an outstanding last minute recruiting class to be competitive, more so than expected in the conference. Miller’s immediate job is to secure the Wildcats 26th straight NCAA tournament bid. It will be a great accomplishment if they do. Senior point guard Nick Wise dipped his toes into NBA waters and pulled them back out to come back and finish at Arizona. Forward Jamelle Horne will add to the mix as well. But the newcomers will be heavily counted on to provide for Miller the immediate help the ‘Cats need. Look for center Kyryl Natyazhko to get immediate playing time as a freshman. It shouldn’t be long before Miller has the team back at the top of the conference.
A coaching change at Washington State is likely to change the face of the Cougars. Ken Bone is likely to step up the pace a bit while not abandoning the defensive end of the court. Bone’s teams at Portland State shot the ball when they had the openings. They’ll be encouraged to do the same at Washington State. The Cougars will be one of the youngest in the country, let alone the PAC-10. Klay Thompson, so of former NBAer Mychal Thompson and DeAngelo Casto will lead the way for Bone. There are seven frosh who will contribute in one way or another, including Australian Brock Motum. Times are changing at Washington State. Likely for the better.
Oregon State usually doesn’t show up on preseason radar screens. Not so this season. Craig Robinson’s team is supposed to be pretty good. Their defense is strong. A strong recruiting class is led by point guard Jared Cunningham. Two Australians will add to the team’s ability to put points on the board.
Johnny Dawkins is in his second year as coach of Stanford. He’ll have quite a few miracles to work to get the Cardinal in the upper half of the PAC-10. Senior forward Landry Fields is going to be heavily counted on and sophomore Jeremy Green may be ready to step out. Dawkins will count on inexperienced players to step up their play. 6-8 point forward Andrew Zimmerman will have an opportunity to start as a redshirt sophomore transfer from Santa Clara.
Ernie Kent has done some good things at Oregon. Last in the conference a year ago isn’t one of them. And his team is very young this season. TaJuan Porter returns as the top career scorer in the PAC 10. But, advancement in the conference battles will require better team defense. Kent isn’t listening to the naysayers headed into this season. That’s good. It will take a focused approach to prove them wrong.
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