College Basketball Preview: Pacific Ten

The East Coast should be alive and well but the hype coming out of the West is too strong to ignore. Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo are at the front of a banner year for freshmen in college basketball. Mayo steps in to the rising program at USC while Love is looking to put the UCLA Bruins over the top and the season at number one. UCLA is the clear favorite heading into the start of the season because of their immense talent across the board as well as their experience and coach (Ben Howland). Darren Collison is the Bruin PG and he leads the team defensively. He has quick feet and quick hands ( 2.2 steals/game last year). He will be build on his assist total as well with the help of SG Josh Shipp, SF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (Moute kicks Boute signs can be seen at home games), PF Lorenzo Mata, and Love, the Center. This combination of experience and talent will certaintly land UCLA at least a top ten ranking throughout the season as well as the being in the title hunt come March. On the bench is sharpshooter Mike Roll, scoring guard Russell Westbrook, brusier Alfred Aboya, and sophomore forwards James Keefe and Nickola Dragovic. This team is chalk full of experience after making the last two Final Fours but always coming up short of winning the big one. With Love anchoring a usually weak frontcourt, the Bruins now have the pieces in place to really win the title. But before they get ahead of themselves they have some serious competition from USC, Oregon, and Washington State

Washington State has been tucked in Pullman for a very long time but thanks to new coach Tony Bennett the Cougars are finally getting some national pub. WSU play a very boring and patient offense. It oftens make them boring to watch but it's actually very successful. The teams heart and soul is G Derrick Low. Low provided leadership and clutch play that allowed WSU to gain a three seed in the NCAA tournament last season and a consensus top 15 ranking to start this season. Low will be walking the ball up and dissecting the D with Kyle Weaver, Deven Harmeling, Robbie Cowgill, and Aron Baynes. Any of these guys could explode for big double figures any night. That is what makes this team so dangerous. Becuase of the slow pace not much bench is needed but when it is Taylor Rochestie will be counted on to provide big spot minutes just as he did last season. If UCLA loses a game this year expect it to be February 7th in Pullman.

USC and Oregon have many things in common. Both have tremendous guard play with USC having Mayo, Daniel Hackett, and Dwight Lewis while Oregon will run with Tajuan Porter, Bryce Taylor, and Malik Hairston. Both have one quality big men with USC having Taj Gibson and Oregon countering with Euro style PF Maarty Leunen. They also have similar problems such as a very shallow bench as well as a weak post player to complement their starts like Gibson and Leunen. They will both be top 25 good and will spring a big win early in the year but may melt down towards seasons end because of the lack of depth.

Arizona, a traditional power in this conference, has been experiencing some minor problems and may have an off year while California, Washington, Arizona State, and Stanford still look to be a several years away from competing for a title. My predictions for the 2007-2008 Pacific Ten Conference

Winner: UCLA
Player of the Year: Chase Budinger SF Arizona
Freshman of the Year: Kevin Love C UCLA
Most Improved: Daniel Hackett G Southern California
Surprise Team: Arizona State

All Pac-Ten:
C Kevin Love UCLA
PF Jon Brockman Washington
SF Chase Budinger Arizona
SG OJ Mayo USC
PG Darren Collison UCLA