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Since our other thread is pretty old, I figure it is time to get a new one going! There has been an infusion of talent for a number of Pac-12 programs, and the conference as a whole could bounce back after a few mediocre to bad seasons.
Pick your conference champion, Pac-12 POY, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, 1st Team All Pac-12, and the Pac-12 COY.
I'll have mine posted later.
Oregon has their "Matt Knight Madness" this Friday, and I'll definitely be attending. Any other Pac-12 fans planning on going to their team's Midnight Madness?
Conference Champ: Arizona
POY and Freshman of the Year: Shabazz Muhammad
Coach of the Year: Dana Altman
1st Team
G: Mark Lyons
G: Justin Cobbs
F: EJ Singler
F: Shabazz Muhammad
F/C: Andre Roberson
Also, Darin Johnson (4 star SG) will make his commitment this Sunday. It is believed to be down to Oregon and Texas A&M with Cal being a sleeper pick. Most believe Johnson will commit to Oregon, but he did just take an OV to A&M.
Shabazz still hasn't been cleared to play same with Anderson rumor is Shabazz will be suspended first 8 games.
Shabazz will never take the court in college basketball. NCAA is ready to make an example of him. His lawyer is grasping for any straw he can reach for and it wont work.
Is USC ever going to be decent at bball?
There are a good amount of people that think USC has a big turnaround this season, but we'll see.Quote:
Originally Posted by PhillyLuver
Pac-12 Media Poll
Source: Jon WilnerQuote:
1. Arizona (15) 403
2. UCLA (16) 402
3. Cal (3) 325
4. Stanford 296
5. Washington (2) 278
6. Colorado 262
7. Oregon 217
8. Oregon State 166
9. USC 163
10. Washington State 111
11. Arizona State 107
12. Utah 78
Also, 4 star PF Jordan Bell is down to Oregon and Auburn after eliminating UCONN. It sounds like Oregon is the favorite after making an OV this past week, and it would be awesome to get a defensive stud like him.
I don't know how UW will do this year but i think we will play better than last season i think Wroten held us back in a way with his poor free throw shooting and his ball dishing.
I know i defended him last season but i started to see why fans started to dislike him when i watched him in the Pac 12 Tournament loss to the Beavers.
ucla will win
Oregon starts their season on Saturday, and I can't wait to see all of the new pieces. I didn't get to watch the pre-season games, but it sounds like we have a lot of talent. There is talent, but also a lot of inexperience. Dominic Artis will be manning the point, but that brings some Freshman mistakes. He's the most talented PG we have had since Brooks, but that is a lot of responsibility for a FR PG.
Our front court got a considerable boost from Arsalan Kazemi being given the waiver to play immediately, but we have a lot of moving parts. Woods, Kazemi and JUCO transfer Waverly Austin could form a tough and talented front court, but it will take time to find chemistry. Woods and Austin are both 7 feet tall and very athletic, while Kazemi is an undersized 4 but extremely active in rebounding. This potentially could be the best defensive front court in the Pac-12 though.
Singler is back and needs to step into the number one option role. Devoe Joseph was terrific in this role last season, but Singler is clearly the number one option now. My hope is that with a better passing PG in Artis that it will lead to more open shots for players like Singler. Damyean Dotson will need to play a lot, but he is incredibly athletic. He's a Freshman, so there will be growing pains, but playing him a lot right now will bode well for the future. Of course, Carlos Emory is going to be playing a lot as well. He had a great second half of last season and his athleticism is off-the-charts, but I want to see if he has developed an off-the-dribble game yet. We need a player that can create their own shot off-the-dribble, and I'm not sure if this team has that.
There will be ups and downs this season, but by the time Pac-12 play begins I expect this team to one of the better teams in the league. Altman has been great at getting a lot of new pieces and fitting them together to form a competitive squad, and I think this team has more upside than last year's squad had.
This is what I hope our starting five will be at some point this season:
PG: Dominic Artis
SG: Damyean Dotson
SF: EJ Singler
PF: Arsalan Kazemi
C: Tony Woods
Loyd will need to be much more in-control as our backup point guard, and I expect Austin to play a lot and could be starting at the 4 as well. It also sounds like Ben Carter will play significant minutes, and he seems like a perfect fit down the road as an Altman stretch forward.
Lastly, 4 star Jordan Bell could be making his college choice soon. He is visiting Auburn this weekend, and should choose his school afterwards. It sounds like Oregon is in good shape here, but I also thought we were getting Darrin Johnson.
Go Ducks!
They are in for a big turnaround this year with a healthy squad and many solid transfers, along with the progress of young guys like Byron Wesley and DeWayne DedmonQuote:
Originally Posted by PhillyLuver
Some think they could have an outside shot at an at large bid this year, not sure if I'd go there yet, but we'll see how it comes together... Go Trojans!
USC wins 87-73!
They still played real sloppy, 17 turnovers has to be addressed or they will lose many games in the confrence
Omar Oraby looks very solid, he's guy people are gonna have to plan for, at 7'2 he provides great size and hustle, very impressive debut for him
Its hard to be good consistently if you don't recruit very well.Quote:
Originally Posted by PhillyLuver
Our game versus Northern Arizona was not pretty at all. Our defense was pretty bad and we got gashed by three pointers by one of their guards. He was on-fire in the 2nd half and actually made it a game. With so many Freshman and newcomers, there will be plenty of communication issues defensively, but they should grow as the season goes on.
Damyean Dotson started and looked really good. He's very athletic and has upside as a perimeter shooter. He's only a Freshman, but I really think he will make up for our insane attrition in guards due to transfers.
Dominic Artis made some bad turnovers, but you can tell he has a lot of upside. He's so smooth and can really make plays on the drive. He also did make some very nice passes, but will need to play better defense and cut down the turnovers.
Tony Woods and Waverly Austin both showed a lot of promise as well. Woods was the only player really cleaning up the glass and showed a lot of improvement in his post moves. He was clearly the player of the game, and he should continue to take strides as an offensive player. Austin showed more skill offensively than I expected and was also active on the boards. He needs to improve in not fouling as much, but with Woods being the starter it isn't a huge issue if he takes a lot of fouls. Ideally, Woods can start and allow Austin to come in as an active reserve, but occasionally I like the idea of going big and having both on the floor.
Singler did not play very well, and part of that is due to him playing the 4 right now. He had also not played in awhile due to a knee issue, so there was some rust. My hope is that once Kazemi is declared eligible that Singler can move to the 3, Dotson goes to the 2, and Artis plays the 1. Then we can bring Emory, Austin, and Loyd off-the-bench, which forms a solid bench. Emory definitely struggled as well, but I'm not too worried about him. He is a perfect 6th man that can bring energy and play great transition defense. I also wouldn't be against starting him, but I like Emory as the 3 more.
Oregon plays Portland State tonight, so it will be interesting to see how the rotations are set up. It will change a lot during non-conference, and when Kazemi is eligible it should give Altman even more options. I just want to see Artis take care of the ball and continue to grow as a PG. He is going to be a huge asset this season, and will make it easier for Singler and Woods to get involved. We didn't really have a pure point guard last season, and he definitely looks like he could become that player.
Oregon looked great versus Portland State in the first half, but the energy level definitely tapered off in the 2nd half. Oregon is young so this is bound to happen, but we also need to get Singler more involved. Artis was awesome though, and he has a tough match-up this Friday versus Brad Tinsley. I would be surprised if we beat Vanderbilt, but I'm hoping we can be competitive and that the young guys perform well in a tough game.
Jordan Bell committed to Oregon today. He's a 4 star PF/SF, and is a defensive stalwart and great rebounder. Very limited offensive game, but we need glue pieces like him that can do the dirty work. Bell is a terrific athlete that is going to make the team better in many areas. I'm very excited to see Altman bring in tough basketball players like him since we have been a soft team even when Ernie's teams went to the Elite 8.
Edit: Just checked and Tinsley is gone. They are super-young, so we may have a chance after-all.