Pac-12 Offseason Wrap-Up
Posted by Andrew Murawa on October 14th, 2014With basketball season now officially a speck on the horizon, it is time to dig back in and begin the trek that will eventually drop us off at the Final Four in Indianapolis on the first weekend of April. If you, like us, have been away enjoying your summer and you need a refresher on what’s going on in the world of Pac-12 basketball, we’ll get you jump started by trying to sum up every Pac-12 team’s offseason and their big questions for this season in a short paragraph.
Washington State – The Cougars’ big offseason story was etched in stone way back on March 18 when they fired head coach Ken Bone after five increasingly less successful seasons in Pullman. After a tidy two-week search, former Oregon head coach Ernie Kent was named as Bone’s successor. Kent’s got his work cut out for him at the toughest job in the conference, but he’s shown an ability to recruit on the fly, putting together a tidy four-man 2014 class that will at least give the Cougs a chance to surround star senior guard DaVonte Lacy with some decent parts.
Ernie Kent, Now At Washington State, Is One Of Three New Pac-12 Head Coaches (Geoff Crimmins, AP Photo)
California – Likewise, the Golden Bears’ offseason story revolves around a coaching change, what with Mike Montgomery putting an end to his Hall of Fame career following last year’s disappointing season. Athletic director Sandy Barbour wound up with an intriguing hire when he pulled Cuonzo Martin away from Tennessee following his March run from the First Four to the Sweet Sixteen. Martin’s first year in Berkeley will be marked by a short bench, and he’s yet to have any success on the recruiting trail. Furthermore, replacing a fixture like Montgomery is never going to be easy. But Martin immediately gives Cal a completely different feel on the sidelines. Stay tuned.
Oregon State – Wrapping up the teams with coaching changes, perhaps the bigger news than the fact that Craig Robinson was fired and replaced by former Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle is the manner in which the change was made. After the Beavers were knocked out of the Pac-12 Tournament in a sleepy performance, it seemed obvious that Robinson’s time in Corvallis was up. From there on out, it was a dance of indecision from athletic director Bob DeCarolis, resulting in Robinson finally getting fired on May 5, and Tinkle’s hire roughly two weeks later. This year’s vintage of the Beavers will be severely shorthanded, but Tinkle does provide some reason for optimism, with an intriguing 2015 recruiting class ready to go, even if half of that class (top 100 recruits Tres Tinkle – Wayne’s son and Stephen Thompson Jr. – son of new OSU assistant coach Stephen Thompson) will wind up in Corvallis only because of blood relationships.
Wayne Tinkle Takes Over In Corvallis, And Expects Early Help From His Son (Stephanie Yao Long, The Oregonian)
Arizona – Mark it down: This is the first time in the 2014-15 season that we’re talking about Arizona, but it won’t be the last. The obvious favorite in the conference and a team on the short-list for national title contenders, the big news out of the Arizona program this offseason was the lack of surprising news. Yeah, Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson are gone to the NBA, but there were no surprises there. Every other NBA prospect on this roster with a chance to leave stayed in Tucson, and, in what is seemingly outside of the norm for big-time programs in major collegiate sports, those big names stayed out of police blotters and NCAA investigations and any other type of controversy. No, at this point, Sean Miller has this program running like a big luxury car just cruising down the highway. No noise is a good thing.
UCLA – The other big-name program in the conference was not so lucky. Sure, everyone knew Kyle Anderson was going pro, and with all the hype surrounding high-wire performer Zach LaVine, it was no surprise that he too declared early. But then Jordan Adams, after at first indicating that he would return for his senior year, reconsidered and declared for the NBA Draft at the 11th hour. Late in the offseason, expected contributors in freshman Jonah Bolden and Colorado State graduate transfer Jon Octeus were bitten by some academic issues that will keep them off the floor, leaving Steve Alford with some serious questions on the back-end of his rotation.
Oregon – Yuck. Sexual assault allegations resulted in the dismissal of two returning players (Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson) and a transfer who was due to become eligible this season (Brandon Austin). The facts that (1) this incident occurred before the Ducks played in their NCAA Tournament game, and both Artis and Dotson still played; that (2) Austin landed in Eugene after being dismissed from Providence following a previous sexual assault allegation; and that (3) head coach Dana Altman was left selling a unbelievable story about how the program handled the situation, leaves the whole basketball program hanging under a dark cloud as we head into 2014-15.
Utah – Larry Krystkowiak’s program didn’t have any such soap operas this offseason, but it remained one of the more momentous offseasons in recent history for this basketball program if only because of the excitement surrounding this team. With their six leading scorers returning, including Player of the Year candidate Delon Wright, and with a highly intriguing recruiting class due on campus, it is NCAA Tournament or bust for the Utes. After five straight seasons missing the Big Dance, we’ll see if Utah finally has the talent to overcome the weight of those expectations.
Delon Wright And The Utes Will Need To Deal With The Weight Of High Expectations (Rick Egan, The Salt Lake Tribune)
Arizona State – Last year, the Sun Devils rode veteran leadership into the NCAA Tournament, and were a couple freak plays away from winning their opening round game. So, momentum, right? Well, not so fast. A pair of questions surround Herb Sendek’s program this year. First, who are all these players? And second, what’s with all these transfers? The second question (nine players have transferred out over the last three seasons) leads to the reason for the first, as, coupled with three graduations and Jahii Carson’s early entry to a professional career, the Sun Devils will welcome seven new scholarship faces this season: three freshmen and four junior college transfers.
Washington – When we last left the Huskies, they were sort of a depressing program to be around. C.J. Wilcox was graduating; they were returning a ho-hum roster that didn’t seem to have any chance to move up the Pac-12 standings; and it seemed that head coach Lorenzo Romar had lost all program momentum. An offseason later, there is some buzz surrounding the Huskies again. Sure, let’s not expect a huge leap forward for this vintage (although if Jernard Jarreau comes back from his ACL injury to live up to his promise, and if Fresno State transfer Robert Upshaw turns into a force to reckoned with in the middle, there is a chance), but Romar got back to work on the recruiting trail and landed a pair of commitments from top-100 2015 recruits this offseason. After slowly but surely earning his way to the fringes of the hot seat, maybe Romar is about to turn it around in Seattle.
Colorado – Which way from here? When Spencer Dinwiddie went down with a calamitous ACL tear in the middle of last season, it was bad for everybody – Dinwiddie, his teammates, his coaches, fans of the Buffaloes and just fans of basketball in general. But when Dinwiddie decided to head to the NBA Draft anyway, it was a turning point. Dinwiddie is off to pursue his career, while Tad Boyle and company must now determine where to go from here. Such was Dinwiddie’s effect that no one player will be tasked with replacing him, but this offseason the Buffaloes worked on laying the groundwork for the future. Senior guard Askia Booker, freshman point guard Dominique Collier and skilled sophomore Jaron Hopkins look to be among those chipping in to replace Dinwiddie’s production, and if Boyle can get those guys to become play-makers as well as floor generals, the Buffs have enough talent to earn a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
USC – Year two of the Andy Enfield experiment finds the Trojans with significantly more talent up and down their roster, and, more importantly, that talent is more appropriate to Enfield’s style of play. No more J.T. Terrell playing the role of team captain and senior leader. No more Omar Oraby as the big man filling the wing on the break. This roster doesn’t have a ton of room for error, but the mere fact that Enfield will be able to send out an explosive, attacking point guard in freshman Jordan McLaughlin is a huge upgrade. With increasing talent, however, comes increasing pressure on Enfield, as opposing coaches around the conference were not impressed by his game management last season. In year two, he’ll need to begin to show that he can do a little bit more than just recruit well and then roll the ball out there.
Athletic Point Guard Jordan McLaughlin Gives Andy Enfield A More Appropriate Point Guard (Anne Cusack, Los Angeles Times)
Stanford – The monkey is off Johnny Dawkins’ back, for now. After missing the NCAA Tournament in his first five seasons on The Farm, the Cardinal backed into the Big Dance and then shocked the world as they earned their way into the Sweet Sixteen. There are still plenty who think that run was something of a fluke and are still unconvinced by Dawkins as this program’s leader. With several key players from last year’s team returning and with a talented recruiting class ready to contribute right away, can the Cardinal prove the doubters wrong?
Andrew Murawa Likes Basketball.
