It was an eventful opening week in the Pac-12. Here are a few of the highlights — and lowlights — from the early action out west.
Best Showing from a Supposedly Bad Team: Most pundits expected USC to be vastly improved from last season, so it may be a slight mischaracterization to say USC was “supposed to be bad”. But it was still surprising to watch USC dismantle a good New Mexico team so easily on Saturday. The difference for the Trojans has been shooting. Last season, the Trojans’ effective field goal percentage was just 46.8 percent while making only 32.9 percent of their shots from downtown. This season, in a small sample size, USC’s effective field goal percentage is 56.2 percent and the Trojans are shooting 37.9 percent from downtown. The defense is still a work in progress with so many underclassmen in the rotation, but the pieces are there and if the offense can keep up, the Trojans could have a shot to go dancing in March.
Worst Showing from a Supposedly Good Team: Through Miami’s first five games, the Hurricanes have looked like an offensive juggernaut that cannot be slowed down. But if Utah is going to be a team with Sweet 16 aspirations, they should never look as lifeless as they did against the Canes. The Utes turned the ball over 16 times in that game and allowed the Hurricanes to shoot better than 50 percent from everywhere on the floor. Jakob Poeltl and company were also easily out-rebounded. The Utes have struggled shooting the ball from long range this season, and relatedly, senior point guard Brandon Taylor has been an abject disaster on both ends of the floor. Still, there’s reason to be believe that both those early trends are aberrations, and losing to Miami isn’t the end of the world. But there’s no denying it: for the present moment, the way they lost has left Pac-12 supporters with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Best Reminder That They Ball in Corvallis Even if No One is Watching: There were few, if any, players in the country that could fill a box score the way Gary Payton II could last season. Most figured the 6’3″ combo guard with an iffy jumper had reached his ceiling in a stat-stuffing 2014-15, but Payton II has shown huge growth as a scorer early this season. His usage numbers haven’t changed much from last season, but his effective field goal percentage (67.6%) is way up from last season, along with his assist rate (31.5). And don’t worry, he’s still playing defense: Payton II’s steal percentage has gone up (6.6%) despite leading the country in the metric last season. There’s a good chance his shooting percentages fall and the offense comes back to earth slightly, but take notice, because Payton II may be the best player in the country that no one is watching.
Worst Job of Flying Under The Radar: I’d be willing to bet that even a large portion of the Colorado fan base had no idea who George King was until this season started. If they didn’t know his name then, now they certainly do. The redshirt sophomore has been a revelation as the Buffaloes’ best player through four games. The 6’6″ San Antonio native was expected to contribute, but not expected to score 18.8 points (on 51% field goal shooting) and grab 6.3 rebounds per game, which is what he’s done so far. There have been plenty November heroes that fade as the season goes on, but King has shown the ability to score from anywhere on the floor while getting to the free throw line often, so don’t be shocked if King keeps up this scoring binge for the whole season.
Best Way of Taking What the Defense Gives You: Arizona freshman Allonzo Trier has averaged 10.7 points per game through four games and incredibly, only made 12 field goals. At 6’6″ and 210 pounds, Trier is an elite athlete, but doesn’t yet shoot or pass the ball well. However, unlike so many freshmen who attempt to shoot their way through slumps, Trier has used his distinct advantage (his athleticism and size) to make an impact. Trier has drawn 8.4 fouls per 40 minutes and boasts a 100.0 free throw rate, ranking him among the top 60 in the country in both categories. The strategy has been made particularly effective by Trier’s success at the free throw line (26-31 for 83.9 percent). The Wildcats are hoping Trier supplies a scoring punch all season long. So far, he is showing coach Sean Miller that he may have multiple ways of living up to that promise.
Worst Proof that Johnny Dawkins Deserves Another Year at Stanford: It isn’t the coaching staff’s fault that point guard Robert Cartwright is hurt and lost for the season, but it is their fault that the Cardinal has looked ill-equipped to deal with his loss. Stanford was blown out by St. Mary’s on Sunday, and while Moraga is no easy place to play, the Cardinal should not be getting so easily handled by a mid-major team. It’s also fair to say that even with Cartwright, the Cardinal would have had no replacement for the production of Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown. Nobody expected clones for two of the best players in program history, but the way it looks now, Stanford won’t be stopping anybody on defense and they clearly don’t possess the firepower to keep up on offense.
Best Joseph Young Impersonation: Even Young, the former Duck gunner, only took 24 shots or more just once last season, which is why it’s even more surprising that sophomore Dillon Brooks hoisted 24 shots on Sunday against Valparaiso. It was two more field goal attempts than Brooks had tried in all the three games prior, but the Ducks needed every one of his 26 points and 13 rebounds to hold off Valparaiso. The Crusaders had no answer for Brooks’ physicality (21 of his shots came inside the arc), and the sophomore put the Ducks on his back in the second half. Brooks has a reputation as a capable and versatile scorer, but it was still shocking to see him turn into a volume scorer and possession dominator for a night.