Pac 12 M5: 11.21.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on November 21st, 2012

  1. Although Colorado and Tad Boyle are pleased with their early season performance and championship in the Charleston Classic, not everyone is content on the Buffaloes. Wesley Gordon, a surprising redshirt freshman who many thought would impact the Buffaloes this year due to their lack of depth in the front court, has not been able to help the Buffaloes early on this year. Gordon chose to redshirt, but in the final of the classic against Murray State, the Buffaloes’ Andre Roberson and Josh Scott both got into foul trouble and Colorado had to rely on players like Xavier Johnson and Jeremy Adams to step up. Neither Adams Nor Johnson are 6’8″ and 225 pounds like Gordon and neither has the defensive ability that Gordon possesses. Even though Gordon did choose this on his own for betterment of the program, early on, he seems to be adjusting to his decision slowly.
  2. With the Oregon Ducks losing three starters in Devoe Joseph, Garret Sim, and Olu Ashaolu last year to graduation, there were doubts about this team, but the defense has picked up the slack to start off the year. For the second consecutive game, Oregon held their opposition to 20 points in the first half. Adding Arsalan Kazemi to a team with Tony Woods up front certainly has helped. The Ducks have registered 40 steals in their first four games and blocked 17 shots. Even better for Dana Altman, the players believe they have a long way to go still on defense, which isn’t good news for the rest of the Pac-12.
  3. The other team in Oregon, the Oregon State Beavers, are still dealing with the season-ending injury of Angus Brandt. Coach Craig Robinson seems unfazed by the injury as he still believes his team can make the NCAA Tournament. In Brandt’s absence, the Beavers will have to use more of the 6’9″  freshman Olaf Schaftnaar off the bench and most likely start other 6’7″ freshman Jarmal Reid in Brandt’s place. Additionally, the Beavers will need more out of Joe Burton, Eric Moreland, and Devon Collier. The Beavers are fine from a depth standpoint to replace Brandt, but they’ll need to improve their overall play up front to truly make Craig Robinson forget Brandt’s injury.
  4. As if the Washington State Cougars didn’t have enough trouble last night, getting dominated by Kansas 78-41, they also lost DaVonte Lacy to an apparent knee injury. Lacy left the game after only five minutes and was unable to play tonight in the Cougars’ 55-54 loss to Texas A&M, a result that could have changed were able to play. No news has come out yet on Lacy’s injury as he will be evaluated today in Pullman, but a loss of a starter and 8.5 PPG so far this year would be a major problem for the Cougars if he’s out for a prolonged period of time. Given that was Lacy is a major contributor for the team-wide project of finding a replacement for the dismissed Reggie Moore, the WSU problems at the lead guard position may have just gotten worse.
  5. Everything is still the same for Sean Miller down in Arizona. If you can shoot the lights out and score on offense, it won’t matter if you can’t play defense. That’s exactly Kevin Parrom‘s dilemma. Parrom went 5-5 from three putting up 15 points in 20 minutes, but Sean Miller said his playing time will be predicated on how he plays defense. The Wildcats gave up 14 threes to Long Beach and Parrom’s guarding of Long Beach’s shooting guards was a main reason for this. Parrom knows he has to improve on defense, and if he does, he will continue to see the floor. If not, guys like Jordin Mayes and freshman Gabe York are more than willing to steal some minutes.
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Pac-12 M5: 11.20.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on November 20th, 2012

  1. Shabazz Muhammad finally saw his first action as a Bruin and the Georgetown Hoyas ruined his debut. The Bruins fell to John Thompson’s team, 78-70, and while Muhammad did not start, he came off the bench and scored 15 points in 25 minutes of action. He showed off his athleticism and athletic ability from the start, but as expected Muhammad will need time to adjust to college basketball as he was thrown into the fire playing against a very good Georgetown team. Because of this UCLA loss, we will not see the highly anticipated match-up with Indiana, but it’s fair to say with Muhammad now back the Bruins should be a mainstay in the Top 25 and an exciting team to watch all season.
  2. Speaking of Top 25, there’s a new team from the Pac-12 this week in the AP Poll. The Charleston Classic champions and 4-0 Colorado Buffaloes are ranked 23rd in this week’s latest poll and are back there for the first time since 1997. With wins over Dayton, Baylor, and Murray State, the Buffaloes made an excellent case for the inclusion this week. Colorado did not show up in the coaches poll this week, but did gather votes to end up at 27th. The Buffaloes will have many chances to show the nation they deserve to be in the Top 25 the rest of the way as the Buffs will travel to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks in December and will have multiple match-ups with Arizona and UCLA in the conference season to showcase themselves.
  3. The Arizona Wildcats came in at 10th in this week’s AP poll and had their first test of the season with their victory over Long Beach State 94-72 last night. Many expected the Wildcats to win this game, but the game was unexpectedly out of reach fairly early because Long Beach State didn’t cause any problems for Arizona. The Wildcats were led by freshman Brandon Ashley who put up 20 points and 10 rebounds. Arizona’s freshmen trio of Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, and Grant Jerrett are going to be key for the Wildcats all year and this game showed just how much they could impact the season. Tarczewski and Jerrett combined for 12 points, giving the trio a total of 32. If one of the freshmen can step up in every game this year, Arizona will be very hard to stop.
  4. The Oregon Ducks were able to beat Jacksonville State handily last night by a score of 67-45 with Tony Woods leading the way with 17 points. This was also transfer Arsalan Kazemi’s second game and Dana Altman thinks with additional playing time, Kazemi could have a real impact for the Ducks. Kazemi was able to pick up seven rebounds and two steals in his first game on Friday and had eight rebounds and five steals last night against Jacksonville State. The 6’7″ Kazemi might not stand out in the box score with points as he gets acclimated to life in Eugene, but he affects the game in many ways defensively and on the glass and certainly makes Dana Altman’s job a lot easier.
  5. It’s not easy to be a senior and be content in the sixth man role, but that’s exactly what Arizona State’s Chris Colvin is doing. Colvin helped the Sun Devils to a win on Sunday night against Florida A&M by scoring 15 points on nine shots. With Jahii Carson and Evan Gordon starting at point guard and shooting guard respectively, Colvin fills a vital role coming off the bench because he can play both positions. If Arizona State wants to contend in the top half of the Pac-12 this year, Chris Colvin’s role as sixth man will certainly be a factor.
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Pac-12 M5: 11.19.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on November 19th, 2012

  1. Last year, the Pac-12 didn’t have a win over a ranked opponent all year. This past weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes managed to get that victory for the Pac-12 very early in the season. The Buffaloes beat the No. 16 Baylor Bears in the Charleston Classic before taking down the Murray State Racers in the final yesterday. Colorado’s Charleston Classic Title is the first step in proving that the Pac-12 is back, but also a step in the continued evolution of the Colorado program. They were able to beat Dayton, Baylor, and Murray State in the tournament, which will bode well for them come Selection Sunday when the committee is evaluating whether they should be in the field of 68. Sophomore guard Askia Booker was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after pouring in 58 points over the course of the weekend, leading his team in scoring in each game.
  2. What won’t help the Pac-12 is what Stanford did last night, losing a home non-conference game to the Belmont Bruins. Belmont is an experienced team that has gone 57-13 over the last two seasons, but this was supposed to be a win for Stanford in that it was played at Maples Pavillion. But, Dwight Powell got into foul trouble and the team continued to struggle from deep, hitting just two-of-19 three-pointers over the course of the night, making the Cardinal a miserable eight-of-50 from deep in their last three games. And things aren’t going to get any easier as the team heads to the Bahamas this week to take part in the Battle 4 Atlantis, with their opening game coming against Missouri. This was supposed to be Stanford’s year to return itself back to the top of the Pac-12 and losing at home non-conference game to a mid-major doesn’t help Johnny Dawkins. These are the type of games Dawkins needs to win to prove he is the right long-term coach for the Cardinal.
  3. UCLA‘s highly touted freshman Shabazz Muhammad will finally see his first action tonight in the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Bruins looked sharp in their last game against James Madison, as they won 100-70 but will now face their toughest opponent this year, the Georgetown Hoyas. Muhammad should start in this game, but it will be interesting to see how he fares on the court and how many minutes he’ll get with freshman Jordan Adams and sophomore Norman Powell also looking for time. However, with Muhammad now fully back, the Bruins are a much better team and if they beat Georgetown, the final of the Classic on Tuesday night could represent a potential NCAA title game preview in setting the Bruins up against the #1 Indiana Hoosiers.
  4. Although the Oregon State Beavers were able to beat the Purdue Boilermakers 66-58 Friday night in the 2k Sports Classic, they were unable to play with Angus Brandt for the entire game as he injured his knee during the second half . He was unable to walk off the court without help and word came down yesterday that his injury would keep him out for the rest of the year. Brandt was averaging 11.3 PPG and 8.5 RPG this season after he was able to provide 9.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG last year for the Beavers. Craig Robinson’s team will sorely miss Brandt and his presence as it’s hard to replace a big man of Brandt’s size and skill, but at least the Beavers have big guys Devon Collier, Eric Moreland and Joe Burton ready to pick up the slack in Brandt’s absence. Expect Collier to regain the starting spot he had last season after exploding for a career-high 27 points and 14 boards in the third-place 2kSports game in New York.
  5. Top ten recruit Aaron Gordon cut his list of schools down to three this past weekend, including a pair of Pac-12 schools, Washington and Arizona. However, the other school in Gordon’s three is Kentucky and it’s hard to bet against John Calipari when he wants a recruit. Still, with Aaron Gordon having ties to the West Coast, there’s a good chance he could end up in Seattle or Tucson. Scouts say Gordon has an NBA future and if Gordon were to land in the Pac-12, it would be great for the conference to continue its attempt of getting back to being a dominant conference in college basketball.
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A Mid-November Pac-12 Recruiting Update

Posted by PBaruh on November 13th, 2012

With the early signing period set to start this Wednesday, it’s time to take a look at some Pac-12 schools’ latest verbal commitments. The early signing period will run from November 14-21, and it is the first chance that those verbals can sign with schools and have a scholarship guaranteed next year. Each of these signees below have come in the last month, building upon our previous check-in on Pac-12 recruiting last month.

UCLA Bruins

Latest Commitment: Noah Allen –  Ranked 3 stars by ESPN and Rivals, 6’6”, 210 lbs. Allen is a long, athletic wing who can get into the lane and score in multiple ways. He’s a good pull-up shooter but needs to improve his range. He has good leaping ability and can dunk out in transition or in traffic with ease. Overall, Allen is a great prospect for UCLA as his size and athleticism stand out for a wing.

Washington Huskies

Latest Commitment: Darin Johnson – Ranked 3 stars by ESPN and Rivals, 6’4”, 190 lbs. Johnson is an explosive guard who can get out in transition and finish. He has the ability to get into the lane but can rely on a mid-range shot as well. At times, Johnson makes bad decisions with the ball and rushes shots and passes. However, under the tutelage of Lorenzo Romar, this should become less of an issue. Pairing him with Nigel Williams-Goss at Washington will make the Huskies scary in next couple of years with Romar’s consistent success with scoring guards.

Latest Husky commitment Darin Johnson hopes to make a deadly duo with Nigel Williams-Goss up north next year.

Stanford Cardinal

Latest Commitment: Schuyler Rimmer – Ranked 3 stars by ESPN and Rivals, 6’9”, 233 lbs. Earlier this year, Rimmer committed to Florida, but de-committed after realizing he would be a walk-on for Billy Donovan. Rimmer felt he fit well in Johnny Dawkins’ offensive system and committed to Stanford instead. He’s a big man who needs to develop much more in the post, but what he does bring is some aggressiveness and physical play. He’s a fearless player who can provide some defense and can score from the outside occasionally, but still needs to improve in all areas before he’ll contribute for the Cardinal.

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Pac-12 All-Defense Team and All-Newcomer Team

Posted by PBaruh on November 7th, 2012

The college basketball season is now just days away and here are some more of the Pac-12 microsite’s predictions for the season with our All-Defense Team and All-Newcomer Team.

All-Defense Team

  • C Aziz N’Diaye (Sr. 7’0″ 260 lbs.) Washington. N’Diaye was a physical presence and an exceptional defender for the Huskies and Lorenzo Romar last year. He’s a great rebounder and shot-blocker, averaging 7.1 per boards per game and blocking a shot a night last season. N’Diaye covers the paint very well for the Huskies and is legitimate 7-footer who is mobile for his size. As a result, he can recover quickly and play great help defense. His length should cause problems for opposing offenses all year long.
  • F- Andre Roberson (Jr. 6’7″ 210 lbs.) Colorado. The second-best defensive rebounder in the nation last year, Roberson picked up 401 total and 290 defensive rebounds last year. He has been a defensive force ever since he’s arrived at Colorado by blocking everything that comes his way. Roberson averaged 1.9 blocks per game last year and also averaged 1.3 steals a game to boot. It’s very hard to score on Roberson as he never gives up second chances and tips rebounds to himself if necessary, and he can even step outside and guard perimeter players on the wing. Overall, Roberson is an outstanding defender and is underrated defensively because of his size.
  • F- Eric Moreland (So. 6’10” 215 lbs.) Oregon State. The Pac-12’s leading shot blocker last year is an imposing defender with his size and speed. Moreland averaged 1.9 blocks per game last year and totaled 69 blocks on the season. Although at first glance it may seem Moreland is not a great rebounder due to his 6.8 RPG average last year, he was second in defensive rebound percentage in the Pac-12 at 26.8%. With more minutes possibly headed his way this season, you could see his traditional rebounding numbers jump.

Eric Moreland has a knack for blocking shots and getting the ball.

  • F- Josh Huestis (Jr. 6’7″ 230 lbs.) Stanford. Huestis doesn’t have one particular skill at which he excels on defense. He can block shots and he’s a decent rebounder, but more importantly, he’s just a good all-around defender. When he’s in the game, players rarely score on him. Huestis is a smart player and knows where to play help defense and how to position himself on the floor, and his athletic ability helps him make up for a relative lack of size. With plenty of minutes available in the Stanford frontcourt, Huestis should provide great defense down low for the Cardinal this season. Read the rest of this entry »
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Pac-12 Team Previews: Arizona Wildcats

Posted by PBaruh on October 29th, 2012

Throughout the preseason, the Pac-12 microsite will be rolling out these featured breakdowns of each of the 12 league schools. Today’s release is the Arizona Wildcats.

Strengths: Sean Miller finally has all his pieces down in Tucson. This Wildcat team is talented, filled with depth, and has some serious athleticism. With all Miller teams, great defense is expected and this squad is no different. Offensively, these Wildcats can score, they can get out and run, and execute their offense efficiently in the half-court. With the backcourt stacked with transfer Mark Lyons and returning guards in Nick Johnson, Kevin Parrom and Jordin Mayes, the Wildcats will be fresh for all 40 minutes and be very hard to stop. Lyons is a much better facilitator than Josiah Turner was, and is very comfortable transferring over from Xavier having been recruited by Sean Miller there. On the front line, Solomon Hill can score down low or stretch the floor with a good mid-range game as well as hit the occasional shot from beyond the arc. To help Hill out, Miller brought in the second best recruiting class overall featuring bigs Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, and Grant Jerrett. All are expected to contribute right away, but nothing is ever certain with freshman. However, it’s pretty safe to say that based on their talent level the three combined will be able to replace Jesse Perry’s production. Additionally, Angelo Chol returns with another year of experience, and although he is still raw offensively, he can defend and rebound well for his position. Sean Miller is now in his fourth year at Arizona and this team has the potential to become elite.

Solomon Hill could cause multiple matchup problems at the small forward spot this year for opponents.

Weaknesses: It’s hard to point out any weaknesses on this team. But, as of now, the Wildcats don’t have a proven player who can really take over a game — there’s no Derrick Williams here. Yet, at least. Also, they are relying on freshman in the post to help carry some of the scoring burden. And most importantly, while Lyons is certainly a talented ballplayer, he has not yet proven his ability to handle the point guard position full-time. If everything comes together as Arizona fans hope, this Wildcat team may not have many noticeable weaknesses, but there are plenty of questions that need to be answered between now and then.

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Pac-12 M5: 10.26.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on October 26th, 2012

  1. The Washington Huskies had their first exhibition game two nights ago and knocked off Western Washington, 88-78, a much closer result than expected. Washington only committed 14 turnovers but couldn’t manage to pull away from the Vikings until the very end of the game. Abdul Gaddy struggled early, but redshirt freshman Andrew Andrews tallied 14 points to carry the team in the first half. Gaddy picked it back up in the second half and finished with 14 points as well. More importantly was the play of C.J. Wilcox, who led Washington with 21 points by shooting 7-14 from the field and grabbing seven rebounds. It’s October and it’s an exhibition so fans should not put too much stock into the margin of victory, but it was still a little too close for comfort.
  2. CBS came out with its top 30 freshman in America and, somewhat surprisingly, Shabazz Muhammad was listed as third behind Nerlens Noel of Kentucky and Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State. After Muhammad comes his other currently questionably-eligible teammate, Kyle Anderson at #4. Brandon Ashley of Arizona is the next to make an appearance on the list at #15 and then Jahii Carson of Arizona State lands at #23 followed by Grant Jerrett at #24. Carson will have an impact at Arizona State, but that slot seems a bit high for him. Yes, he’s an athletic, great ball-handling guard, but other players like Josh Scott of Colorado or Kaleb Tarczewski of Arizona could have a bigger impact than him.
  3. CBS also ranked its  top 25 transfers, and Xavier transfer Mark Lyons, now at Arizona, was ranked as the number one transfer. It’s hard to argue with this call considering Lyons will be a key cog for this Wildcat squad. He’ll take on the point guard spot for Sean Miller and should have a much larger impact than Josiah Turner did last year. Only two others from the Pac-12 made the list with Larry Drew II of UCLA coming in at #20 and Evan Gordon of Arizona State at #24. Those both seem like justifiable choices, however, leaving J.T. Terrell from USC  off the list is questionable, especially considering the fact that these same people listed him among the top 100 players in the nation. Terrell should play a big role for USC this year and although  he might not be the most notable player, he should still be on this list.
  4. UCLA’s number one recruit, Shabazz Muhammad, injured his shoulder on Wednesday at practice, and the results of his MRI came back yesterday. Muhammad will be out of action from 2-4 weeks with a shoulder strain. The injury is to his non-shooting shoulder, but it’s still a bad injury to have for a player of Muhammad’s caliber and just another thing to go wrong for the Bruins. Exactly two weeks from today, UCLA starts its season against Indiana State and while no one expected Muhammad to be declared eligible in time for that game, this effectively seals the fact that the year will begin without Muhammad in uniform. If everything breaks just exactly perfect for UCLA and Muhammad, he could make his debut in Brooklyn at the Legends Classic, but really, at this point, that is little more than wishful thinking.
  5. Hey, hey. Andrew stepping in here to take over the last bit of the Morning Five from Parker today, just because I wanted to gloat a little bit. Connor and I have been going back and forth all year picking every football game involving a Pac-12 team, and, well, ever since Washington State laid down for BYU back on the opening weekend of the seas0n, Connor has been kicking my butt. Wait. Actually, check that. Let’s make that “had been” kicking my butt. After week one, I was two games back. Just a week later I was down four. But, I didn’t panic, nailed the Stanford over SC upset, then came back a week later to take Washington over those same Cardinal, and by last Saturday afternoon when David Shaw’s bunch was wrapping up a victory in The Big Game, I had come all the way back AND taken a one-game lead over my foe. So, yeah, I’m spiking the ball a little bit harder these week, but I’m saving my touchdown dance for the final whistle, because we’ve got a pair of games this weekend on which we differ. Picks below, including our game of the week in bold. But, really, how can I lose to a guy who was so wrong about last week’s game of the week that he missed the final score of Oregon’s win over Arizona State by a whole six points?
    Game Connor’s Pick Drew’s Pick
    Colorado at Oregon Oregon Oregon
    California at Utah California Utah
    Oregon State at Washington Oregon State 28-17 Washington 21-20
    UCLA at Arizona State UCLA UCLA
    USC at Arizona USC USC
    Washington State at Stanford Stanford Stanford
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Pac-12 M5: 10.25.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on October 25th, 2012

  1. CBSSports.com has already ranked their top 50 big men and point guards (which our own Kevin Danna had his take on), and yesterday they ranked their top 50 wings. Shabazz Muhammad, even as a true freshman, was ranked as the top wing in America. The next Pac-12 player to make an appearance on the list was Allen Crabbe at #16. Crabbe is a great shooter and will need to step up this year for Cal with the losses of Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp, but he’s ranked in the right spot on this list. Solomon Hill comes in at #21, while J.T. Terrell arrives 10 spots later at #31. Hill is arguably Arizona’s best player and should help lead them to a deep postseason run next March. As for Terrell, he’s just one of the numerous transfers for Troy, but he looks like a completely different player than the one at Wake Forest as he’s no longer so one-dimensional. Finishing the list for the Pac-12 is Washington’s C.J. Wilcox at #46, who has big shoes to fill. With Washington losing both Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross, Wilcox will have to come out of the gate shooting and scoring to keep the Huskies afloat in the Pac-12.
  2. Shabazz Muhammad is still ineligible according to the NCAA, but now there’s even more disappointing news for the Bruins. Muhammad injured his non-shooting shoulder last night during practice. Muhammad underwent an MRI last night and the results are scheduled to come out later today. If Muhammad is seriously injured to the point of having to miss substantial time (assuming he is eligible to play in the first place), it would put a large dent in UCLA’s hopes to win the Pac-12 this season. This preseason continues to just get worse and worse for the Bruins, as their fans wait with bated breath for news on their top recruit.
  3. Although Muhammad is now injured and still ineligible, there is some good news for the Bruins. David Wear is trying to return to practice this upcoming Monday. Wear sprained his ankle last Sunday and UCLA will need his presence down low when the season begins. Wear averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and is one of UCLA’s key returning starters along with his brother, Travis Wear. Ultimately, the quicker Wear returns, the better, as the Bruins need as much post play as they can get with the unreliable and unpredictable Josh Smith still on the team. The good news is, by all appearances, he should be back to full strength by the time the season tips off.
  4. Colorado’s Tad Boyle doesn’t want his team thinking they’ll have it easy this year. Boyle brought in a former Navy SEAL to train his youthful squad over the next two days. It’s called “The Program” and should be quite the experience for his team, as the workouts include carrying teammates, treading water, and other strenuous activities. It’s another clever move for Boyle as he mentioned multiple times in the article that his team has talent but needs to learn how keep its composure and adapt to the tough road environments they will play in this season. Ultimately, this experience will help the Buffaloes battle through any adversity they face this season because nobody trains more or harder than a SEAL.
  5. Roberto Nelson is making some noise in Oregon State practice this week. Head coach Craig Robinson said that he could see Nelson having a breakout season, (which our own Andrew Murawa also has as his breakout guy) and that would bode very well for the Beavers. The head coach has also been impressed with the play of Angus Brandt up front, more good news for Robinson’s long term plans in Corvallis. Robinson hasn’t necessarily struggled as a head coach at Oregon State but he also clearly hasn’t met expectations after some strong early season starts. With the loss of Jared Cunningham to the NBA, Nelson will need to step up if the Beavers want to make a legitimate postseason appearance.
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Pac-12 M5: 10.24.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on October 24th, 2012

  1. CBS released its 2012 Top 50 Big Men list and a handful of Pac-12 players were scattered throughout. Highest on the list was Andre Roberson at #15, however, some have projected Roberson as a future lottery pick and coming in at that spot seems a little too low for someone with his talent. He averaged a double-double last year, was one of the nation’s best rebounders, and clearly was a major factor in Colorado’s run to the NCAA Tournament last season. The second man from the Pac-12 on the list was Brock Motum at #29, while Josh Smith of UCLA followed at #34. Motum should continue to help Washington State greatly this year, but Smith seems too high in his position. Last year he was only effective in spurts and since his weight issues don’t seem to be going away, foul trouble will continue to plague him most nights out. As the list nears the end, two out of the three Arizona freshman big men made it with Brandon Ashley coming in at #40 and Grant Jerrett landing at #50. Out of the three big freshman for the Wildcats this fall, Kaleb Tarczewski was the only one left off the list although he was the highest ranked recruit for the Wildcats of the group. Overall, five entries on a 50-player list is not exactly staggering, but it does show that the talent level in the Pac-12 is improving.
  2. Can the Pac-12 make its way back to respectability? It’s the oft-repeated question of this offseason, and ESPN the Magazine took its crack at answering it. The conference has been struggling for at least three years now and it certainly was not pretty last season. But the article points out that things might be beginning to round into shape. What hasn’t been noticed as much is that the creation of the Pac-12 Networks should have a major impact going forward. That, coupled with the Pac-12’s new national television agreement with ESPN, will allow all teams to get some consistent national exposure which should aid recruiting and will definitely generate more money for the schools. Additionally, the fact that all the head coaches this season return with another year under their belt at their respective schools should help the conference considerably.
  3. Colorado continues to reap the rewards of Tad Boyle and its move to the Pac-12. Now in their second year in the conference, CU season ticket sales are at an all-time high with more than 5,000 season ticket packages sold thus far. And although the Coors Event Center cannot hold as many fans as other venues in the Pac-12, it’s a continued step in the right direction for the Buffaloes, the Division I school that has seen the greatest percentage attendance increase over the past four years. Since Boyle has arrived, the Buffaloes have gone 32-4 at home and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any easier to pick up a victory in Boulder this upcoming season.
  4. Finally there is some good news for the Utah Utes: Jason Washburn returned to practice for first time in a week today. After already losing Aaron Dotson for 4-6 weeks and David Foster for the entire year, the return of key players to practice and to get conditioned and prepared for the season is crucial. Washburn had been experiencing concussion-like symptoms, but should be good to go now. Utah needs him to be one of the bright spots on this inexperienced squad and any setback could bring the Utes the same terrible results as last year.
  5. ESPN.com‘s Eamonn Brennan talks about what he can’t wait to see in the Pac-12 this year, particularly mentioning the potential of Arizona and UCLA. It’s generally agreed upon that the Wildcats will be at the top of the conference this year with the Bruins somewhere right above or below them, but will any other team make a run to contend for the Pac-12 title? Although anything can happen in this conference, it seems likely that Arizona and UCLA will go 1-2; however, spots 3-8 are wide open. USC has a team full of talented transfers; Colorado could surprise with its frontcourt depth and backcourt experience; Stanford has the talent to win the conference, but does Johnny Dawkins finally have a title within him? All in all, the Pac-12 is up for grabs and there are various reasons to be excited.
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Pac-12 M5: 10.23.12 Edition

Posted by PBaruh on October 23rd, 2012

  1. As if losing David Foster for the year wasn’t enough for the Utah Utes, Aaron Dotson broke his foot in practice yesterday and is scheduled to be out for four to six weeks. Although Dotson hasn’t played for the Utes yet in his career since he transferred from LSU, he was still going to be an integral part of this revamped Utah team. Dotson was projected to be a starter for Larry Krystkowiak and would have provided some immediate talent that the Utes didn’t have at the guard and forward spots last year. He was poised to have a great season for Utah and was prepared to pick up the scoring void. However, not all is lost, as Dotson should be back in December just prior to conference play.
  2. Unlike the traditional team scrimmages that most of the Pac-12 teams had to start off their college basketball season, Mike Montgomery and California decided to go in a different direction. The Golden Bears hosted an outdoor event on Saturday along with the women’s basketball team as they introduced both squads to their fans. Players ran through drills on an outdoor court with an outdoor hoop and were available for autographs afterward. It was a very casual event and an interesting decision at first glance. The mid-day start time and outdoor venue weren’t the typical setting for an opening basketball event, but since they held it prior to the Big Game against Stanford, they were able to get ample support.
  3. As mentioned in yesterday’s Morning Five, the Arizona Wildcats held its Blue and Red game this past Sunday, and the expected players (Nick Johnson, Mark Lyons, and Kevin Parrom) stood out, but a surprise player was Grant Jerrett. Jerrett had 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the game, and yes it’s just a scrimmage, but it will be bad news for the rest of the Pac-12 if Jerrett can contribute right away along with the expected inputs of Kaleb Tarczewski and Brandon Ashley, the two other incoming freshmen in their big man trio.
  4. It still looks bleak in Westwood with respect to player eligibility. On Sunday, the attorney of Shabazz Muhammad spoke out about the allegations against his client, essentially stating that they are unclear on what the NCAA is looking into. Furthermore, there’s been no discussion of timeline with the NCAA which means that that the UCLA staff has no idea what to expect about his or teammate Kyle Anderson’s eligibility. With the Bruin program unveiling a statue of the legendary Wizard of Westwood soon followed by an unveiling of a newly-renovated Pauley Pavilion, the renaissance season that so many UCLA fans were hoping for may be more window dressing than substance.
  5. USC held its first practice open to the public this past Saturday and all signs point to a much better season this year. Jio Fontan, who sat out all last year with an injury, is back and ready to make an impact and the numerous transfers that USC has on the team this year should make for an interesting dynamic. The Trojans are still awaiting to see if 7’2″ Omar Oraby, a transfer from Rice, will be declared eligible before the season. Either way, all these transfers have chips on their shoulders and want to prove to everyone around them that they will make the most of their second chance. Ultimately, USC will be able to make a case for an NCAA Tournament run, but all of Kevin O’Neill’s transfers must take advantage of their new life in Troy.
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