Old favorites likely to lead conference again

  University of Arizona Sports Information Forward
Michael Wright, a Pac-10 Player of the Year
candidate, is one of many weapons of the strong, deep Arizona
Wildcats, the preseason pick to win the Pac-10 Conference.

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff Teams from across the nation have been
running from the Pac during this non-conference season. Come
January, Pac-10 conference teams will square off against each other
for supremacy and survival. The Pac-10 is picking up right where it
left off after a 1999-2000 season that saw Arizona and Stanford
enter the NCAA Tournament as No. 1 seeds. This year looks to be no
different, with the favorites holding court and the bottom-feeders
racing out to impressive starts. Fourth in the Sagarin preseason
power rankings (81.46) behind the Atlantic Coast Conference
(83.45), the Pac-10 has posted a 37-13 (.740) record as of Friday,
including a 3-1 record against the No. 2 Big Ten and No. 3
Southeastern conferences. The Cardinal, Wildcats and Southern
California are all currently ranked in the Top 15. But, the
conference schedule should be exciting and should provide ample
reason for the Pac-10 to send as many as six teams to the Big Dance
““ with one possibly going all the way.

1. Arizona (No. 5 AP, No. 5 ESPN/USA Today) Overall Record: 5-1
Head Coach: Lute Olsen (427-128, 18th year at Arizona) There is no
argument, on paper, as to who the top team in the conference is
this year. All five starters are All-America candidates and the
Wildcats have the dean of the Pac-10 leading the way. Arizona,
however, must stay healthy in order to live up to expectations.
Senior Loren Woods is the “center”-piece to the
Cats’ championship puzzle. The backcourt sophomores, Jason
Gardner and Gilbert Arenas, are rivaled only by a certain sophomore
in Westwood. Add the athleticism of forward Richard Jefferson, the
power and awareness of forward Michael Wright, and one of the
deepest benches in the country, and Arizona should take care of
business in conference play. “We’re excited about our
team,” Olsen said. “Last year, we had a huge problem
(with depth) as the season went on. It’s much more comforting
to know that we have some people coming in with some experience so
they know what they’re doing.” 2. Stanford (No. 4 AP,
No. 3 ESPN/USA Today) Overall Record: 6-0 Head Coach: Mike
Montgomery (293-143, 15th year at Stanford) The Cardinal took a
huge loss in the frontcourt with the NBA departure of Mark Madsen.
But Jason and Jarron Collins patrol the paint on the Farm and have
the ability to match up with opponents every night. Mike McDonald
has improved his shooting touch at the point, which should provide
even more scoring opportunities for super sophomore Casey Jacobsen
on the wing. Defense and getting out early are key, but like
Arizona, the Cardinal is susceptible to the infrequent upset.
“We’ve got a chance to be a pretty good basketball
team,” Montgomery said. “It starts with our veteran
players, the Collins twins. They’re smart players that are
going to flourish playing together. We’re excited about
they’re ability to play the wings and spread the
defense.”

3. UCLA (Unranked AP, Received Votes ESPN/USA Today) Overall
Record: 2-3 Head Coach: Steve Lavin (93-41, fifth year at UCLA) The
Bruins’ tough non-conference schedule should help combat
losses in the Pac-10 in terms of RPI. But UCLA needs to focus on
winning games they should win. Junior center Dan Gadzuric improves
game by game and should peak by mid-January. Sophomore Jason Kapono
consistently puts up huge numbers. Forwards Matt Barnes and TJ
Cummings are still getting comfortable in the Bruins’
multiple-offense sets. Senior Earl Watson must be the floor leader
for the Bruins to duplicate last year’s run. And off guard
Ray Young, a premier defender, has become a potent offensive
threat. “We will have a very difficult and challenging
schedule,” Lavin said. “Even though we will be
challenged, I think this is a team that will be up for the
challenge.

4. Southern California (No. 12 AP, No. 15 ESPN/USA Today)
Overall Record: 5-0 Head Coach: Henry Bibby (63-65, sixth year at
USC) The Men of Troy are under the national spotlight and have
lofty expectations. As they return all five starters, a bench that
can hold down the fort is essential for their postseason chances.
Point guard Brandon Granville may be one of the most underrated
floor generals in the country. An improved shooting touch from
backcourt mate Jeff Trepagnier would have opened things up inside
for USC’s interior frontline, had he not been indefinitely
suspended. But the health of power forward Sam Clancy is key.
Clancy is lethal in the low block and his absence from the lineup
last season led to the Trojans’ late collapse. “We feel
this season, our depth should not be a problem,” Bibby said.
“We are going to be competitive every night we go out and
hopefully it will be good enough to win some basketball
games.”

5. California Overall Record: 1-3 Head Coach: Ben Braun (76-53,
fifth year at Cal) Despite the Golden Bears’ early struggles,
this team has diamonds in the rough. Opening with Mississippi
State, Texas and St. Louis is tough, but Cal displayed veteran play
from a predominantly young team. Sean Lampley is a future NBA first
rounder, but center Nick Van Der Laan and wing-forward Joe Shipp
need to shoulder the rebounding load while remaining viable scoring
threats. “We’re very proud to have Sean Lampley
here,” Braun said. “He has done a great job of leading
our team over the last several years. Our goals are going to be the
same as the other teams, to compete and play for the Pac-10 title
and for postseason play.”

6. Oregon State Overall Record: 4-2 Head Coach: Ritchie McKay
(4-2, first year at OSU) First-year coach McKay inherits a veteran
ballclub that could finish anywhere from fourth to sixth in the
Pac-10. Senior point guard Deaundra Tanner is at times, the most
talented in the country. Frontline threats Brian Jackson and Jason
Heide must capitalize on the low post. With consistent play from
the starters, and big games from role players like Adam Masten, the
Beavers could return to the NCAA Tournament. “In the
leadership we have from our point guard Deaundra Tanner, I think we
will be capable of accepting challenges,” McKay said.
“Certainly I think we have the talent level to compete this
year.”

7. Arizona State Overall Record: 5-1 Head Coach: Rob Evans
(38-30, third year at ASU) The Sun Devils are trying to create
momentum with a cupcake non-conference schedule that won’t
prepare them for conference play. Without Eddie House there to drop
61 points, fans in Tempe better enjoy the good life now.
Wing-forward Awvee Storey is a capable offensive go-to, but his
defense is suspect. Shawn Redhage and Chad Prewitt are two
frontline plays with no mid-range offensive game and slow defense.
Alton Mason is a good transition guard on a team that is likely not
to run that often. “Last year we had the youngest basketball
team in the country with seven freshman and one senior,”
Evans said. “The loss of Eddie House is a huge loss for us,
he was the leading scoring in the history of our school.”

8. Oregon Overall Record: 5-0 Head Coach: Ernie Kent (59-35,
Fourth year at Oregon) Losing Alex Scales and A.D. Smith may be
costly for this season. Bryan Bracey and Anthony Norwood are
Oregon’s offensive juggernauts, but don’t expect too
much from these guys when conference play rolls around. The lone
bright spot for the Ducks may be at the point in freshman Luke
Ridnour. A highly touted recruit, he holds the key to the future of
Oregon basketball. Unfortunately, the future is not now.
“We’ve lost more seniors than any (school) in the
conference,” Kent said. “With the leadership that left,
the perception is going to be that we should drop off, but I feel
comfortable that the players we have will be able to step into
those roles.”

9. Washington State Overall Record: 2-1 Head Coach: Paul Graham
(8-23, second year at WSU) The Cougars have a decent shot at
avoiding the Pac-10 cellar, but it’s not because the men from
Pullman are any better than they were last year; rather, the
Washington Huskies just may be a little worse. Washington State won
its season opener for the 11th time in 12 years, but this is not
the recipe for Cougar success. Sophomore guard David Adams is the
lone offensive threat for WSU and Eddie Miller will throw his
weight around in the paint. “The main thing I like about our
team this year is that we have our full complement of
players,” Graham said. “Washington State has a long way
to go. It is so tough because the league is so good.”

10. Washington Overall Record: 3-2 Head Coach: Bob Bender
(98-106, eighth year at Washington) Bender’s Boys have a
revamped Bank of America Arena/Hec Edmundson Pavilion, but the
building won’t help their underachieving ballclub. Michael
Johnson returns as the Huskies’ leading scorer and senior
forwards Thalo Green and Will Perkins will have to help out on the
boards. “Obviously we have some major challenges going into
this season,” Bender said. “But with five seniors, they
have the experience to deal with situations.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL PAC-10 PREVIEW 1.
Arizona This is the best group that head coach Lute Olsen
has ever had. The Pac-10 Player of the Year will come from one of
the starters on this squad. Senior Loren Woods won’t be making many
friends this season with the number of rejections he gives opposing
teams this season. And at power forward, they can’t go wrong with
Michael Wright. 2. Stanford Turn on the tractors
on the Farm. The Cardinal plans to mow down the opposition this
season with the Collins twins, Jarron and Jason, healthy and
playing alongside each other in the paint. But the key to unlocking
their postseason chances lies in them supersizing their back court
with a little extra production from point guard Michael McDonald.
3. UCLA The team may suffer setbacks early, but
don’t count the Bruins out just yet. Head coach Steve Lavin will
help this team claw its way back into the national rankings when
the conference opponents enter Pauley Pavilion. Jason Kapono shoots
the rock with the best of them and point guard Earl Watson can
doctor any defense in the country. 4. USC Head
coach Henry Bibby resuscitated the program and brought in extra
bodies this year so his starting fire would not falter down the
stretch as it did last season. Brian Scalabrine scores a lot, but
watch for Desmon Farmer to plow through the opposing back court and
put up big numbers. 5. California It will take
both brains and head coach Ben Braun for the Golden Bears to make
the NCAA Tournament this year. Senior forward Sean Lampley lights
up the scoreboard every night and point guard ShanTay Legans will
try to stretch opposing defenses with his dribble penetration and
perimeter shot. 6. Oregon State Leave it to the
Beavers to make the conference race interesting down to the wire.
First-year head coach Ritchie McKay’s ballclub could be a
surprising sixth Pac-10 school in the Big Dance when March rolls
around. Point guard Deaundra Tanner is looking to finally have a
breakout season that will move him up the NBA Draft charts.
7. Arizona State With out a House (Eddie, that
is), the Sun Devils will be scrambling for shelter when the
conference schedule begins. Guard Alton Mason should be working for
Habitat for Humanity with the number of houses he can build from
the bricks he puts up nightly. 8. Oregon The Ducks
will be the soup de jure of the Pac-10 conference in 2000. Losing
much of their scoring, rebounding, and overall talent from last
year, Bryan Bracey is expected to hold the Ducks afloat until next
year. But a bright spot will be "Cool Hand" Luke Ridnour and his
amazing passing ability at the point. 9. Washington
State The Cougars will growl just a little this year. Head
coach Paul Graham should serve something remotely golden this year
to Washington State fans. 10. Washington Head
coach Bob Bender will be twisting and tweaking with this starting
lineup all year long. With graduation and transfers, the Huskies
might have to ask power forward Thalo Green to grow his curly locks
out again to increase fan support. SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info
Original graphic by JACOB LIAO/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by
CHRISTINE TAN/Daily Bruin