Season ushers in new powerhouse

Thursday, December 10, 1998

Season ushers in new powerhouse

PREVIEW: Bruins picked to capture Pac-10 crown from dominant
Stanford

By A. CinQue Carter

Daily Bruin Staff

The Bruins are attempting to re-write history.

No longer is Stanford the heavy favorite to win the Pac-10 title
– in fact, Stanford isn’t favored at all. UCLA is the pick, for the
first time in its history.

And the league has more than just Stanford and the Bruins. The
1998-99 women’s basketball campaign has all the makings of one of
the most balanced and competitive campaigns in the history of the
Pac-10 conference.

This year, the media and the conference coaches have made their
official statement regarding the crown. And they have said loud and
clear that UCLA will be the new champion, followed by four-time
defending champion Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

Still, it would be foolish to count out Stanford, which
successfully defended its conference championship for the third
straight year and has now won four consecutive titles and nine
overall.

Following last season’s poor showing, USC will look to be a part
of the 1999 West Regional that it will be hosting. Stanford will be
running the Final Four in San Jose, and naturally the Cardinal
would like nothing better than to make it that far after its
stunning first-round loss to Harvard last season.

But UCLA is clearly the class of the conference this season.
With Stanford acting as such a dominant force the past ten years,
the Cardinal will not fall further than third or fourth place.
Oregon, with its consistency, will come in at second place,
followed by Washington in fourth or third and Arizona and USC tied
for fifth. Washington State will lead the lower-echelon teams at
seventh place with Arizona State, Oregon State and UC Berkeley
rounding out the bottom four.

1. UCLA (5-2)

UCLA is picked to win the Pac-10 by the coaches and media.

After a second-place conference finish and a brilliant
tournament showing in which the Bruins went on the road to defeat
Michigan and Alabama (before the latter victory was taken from them
after Alabama’s last possession lasted :05, despite the :00.8
remaining on the clock), Olivier’s squad has something to
prove.

"Last season we accomplished many of our goals," Olivier said,
"and came close on several others. The confidence level is running
high, and there is a burning desire to achieve even more. We
probably return more quality experience than just about any team in
the country. With continued hard work and good health, we are
capable of making 1998-99 a very big year. This team came a long
way in a hurry last season after a slow start."

The next step will be contests versus Arizona, Arizona State,
Oregon State and Oregon. Here is how those teams will fare in the
Pac-10.

5. Arizona (3-3)

Arizona is picked to finish fifth by the coaches and the
media.

The Wildcats had their best-ever season last year under coach
Joan Bonvicini, but lost all-everything forward Adia Barnes to
graduation. In addition, Arizona lost the services of Marte
Alexander and DeAngela Minter, who completed their eligibility.

Unfortunately, the foundation of that team is gone now, and that
brings a definite new look to the squad. No longer will Bonvicini
have Pac-10 Player of the Year Barnes, Arizona’s leading scorer the
last four seasons, to rely on when in trouble. Barnes also led the
team in rebounds and steals, and Alexander led the conference in
blocked shots and field-goal percentage.

"We have a nucleus of players who understand what it takes to
get to the next level," Bonvicini said, "and we have an excellent
recruiting class. We’ll have a very deep bench, and our junior
college players are very, very good. How our nonconference season
goes will depend on how quickly the new players adjust, but by
Pac-10 play, we’ll be ready."

8. Arizona State (4-2)

The Sun Devils is picked to finish seventh by the coaches and
the media.

"We’ve been a team that’s been known for our effort," Thorne
said. "That’s a compliment and I enjoy hearing that. But we need to
graduate from a team that people respect for our effort to a team
that people respect for our ability to win."

9. Oregon State (5-1)

Oregon State is picked to finish ninth by the coaches and
media.

The Beavers will attempt to return to the glory days of the
program this season. In head coach Judy Spoelstra’s first year, the
Beavers made their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA
Tournament and achieved their highest-ever Pac-10 standing at
second.

In the past two seasons, however, OSU has struggled, achieving
only 11 and seven wins in 1997 and 1998 while finishing seventh and
tied for ninth in the conference, respectively.

"We can definitely improve on last year’s record," Spoelstra
said, "particularly in conference play. With the insertion of five
new players we have added some athleticism to our team, some
height, some quickness, some speed and also some camaraderie."

2. Oregon (6-2)

Oregon is picked to finish third by the coaches and media.

Jody Runge has led her Ducks to five straight winning seasons
and five NCAA appearances. There should be no dropoff this year, as
not only does Oregon return four starters from last season, it also
boasts one of the most talented frontcourts in the conference.

Runge’s Ducks team was able to defeat Arizona last season, a
feat the Bruins didn’t accomplish – but they, in turn, were swept
by the Bruins and the Cardinal. The experienced frontcourt that
Oregon now features will be too much for Stanford this time around
and UCLA as well, if they don’t watch out.

If Oregon can get some backcourt production, look for the Ducks
to seriously challenge the Bruins for the conference
championship.

"We thought we could compete for the Pac-10 Championship last
year," Runge said, "but we were plagued by injuries and I think
sometimes things happen for a reason. Because so many of our young
players got great experience last year, that’s only going to help
us this season. We have the talent."

* * *

Stanford, at 2-5, has had its worst start ever and is unranked
for the first time in recent memory. And the other teams in the
conference seem to be hitting bumps along the way as well.

With this in mind the heavily favored Bruins will have to guard
against over-confidence and avoid playing down to the level of
their competition.

Olivier says they will do both.

"We won’t be overconfident," Olivier said, "because this group
has gone through too much. We will keep things in perspective. We
feel like we need to carry the Pac-10 right now and we can and
will."BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin

Marie Philman (front) sprints past Slovan Bratislava during a
game.

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