Interesting.

“…Believe it or not, the conference’s highest rated NBA draft prospect according to ESPN.com is Oregon sophomore center Michael Dunigan at No. 34 overall. UCLA sophomore point guard Malcolm Lee is rated No. 39. Wise is ranked No. 130 overall and 18th among point guards when it comes to NBA potential…”

Javier, this is brilliant.

If I’m Coach Miller I make sure this snippet is carried by Horne and Wise everywhere they go.

Because if Jamelle and Nic weren’t feeling it before, they’re sure to be feeling it now.

We’ve all seen Dunigan play and so it’s doubtful that even Oregon believes what ESPN says it believes about Michael.

JM, you hit the nail right on the head.

A Horne with any kind of pride, a junior Jamelle who’s been through the battles and has grown, takes this assessment of PAC-10 big men to heart and has a monster year.

And can you imagine what Wise must be thinking?

A sophomore Malcolm Lee, like so many privileged Bruins before him, simply waltzes into a charm, a gift of a situation in Westwood and somehow finds himself rated the 38th highest NBA prospect in the eyes of some experts.

What would you think if you were playing for your fourth college coach in as many years, if you were shunned by the U.S. Selection Committe of the World University Games and told you weren’t good enough, if you’ve had to play through more injuries than Lee has headbands, if you came back home to your school and team, leaving sure money behind, to keep the program set for the future, if you then woke up on Thursday, October 29, 2009, to find that the only thing between you and what you know is yours now is some young – real young – guy named Malcolm?

Malcolm in the middle from UCLA.

This is great.

Can hardly wait.

With Pac-10 RPI so far down, Arizona had better look good in their non-conference results, maybe needing to go 9-3 with some quality wins. The opportunities will be there, but early in the season, who knows? A lot will be riding on Nic Wise (and MoMo when he fills in at PG) to help the new offensive schemes succeed and the newbies to get the ball where they can do something positive with it. The defense is likely to be good from the start and just keep getting better.

Arizona is my guess to win the Pac-10 tournament. By then, they will be stacked with deep talent and good chemistry, well able to put out great efforts three days in a row and to withstand the vagaries of Pac-10 officiating.

As a final hedge, other Pac-10 teams will also have improved a lot by March (though I don’t think Cal so much), so Arizona tournament wins against the best conference foes may be well appreciated in case UA would lose in the finals and be sitting on the bubble at that point — a last chance to impress.

So that’s the fall-back path(s) to keep the streak alive, to go along with the scenario you analyzed above. Bear Down!