PAC-10 PRIMER (FEB. 25-27)
Miller took on task unlike any other first-year coach
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By Javier Morales
Mind-boggling: If Arizona did not have the weight of a 25-year NCAA tournament streak, this year could actually be a feel-good story for the Wildcat basketball program under first-year coach Sean Miller.  UA senior guard Nic Wise is required to do more than before in his career in yet another transition yearEverybody loves the idea of starting from the ground up. Not as many are captivated by a struggling program trying to dust itself off. Miller has never used the word rebuilding to describe his job this season. Instead, he noted that his work includes “a fresh canvas” for a new creation of Arizona basketball. “What happened in the past is in the past,” he said. If only it was that easy. The past took on the form of senior guard Nic Wise and junior forward Jamelle Horne — a couple of Lute Olson recruits who figured to play more prominent roles than previously in their careers. The past took on the form of sellouts at McKale Center, continuing where Olson left off as the most attended arena in the Pac-10. The past also took the shape of Olson sitting about 15 rows up from the court that bears his name and that of his late wife Bobbi Olson. Miller used the word entitlement a couple of weeks ago to describe the mindset of some of the Wildcats. That word does not pop up during rebuilding years. Oddly enough, had Wise decided to play professionally in Italy this year, UA fans would not be as demanding of Miller and this team. They probably would understand if the UA was 9-17 right now without Wise instead of 13-13 and struggling to qualify for the NIT with him. Read the rest of this blog at TucsonCitizen.com and continue reading here for the rest of our Pac-10 Primer. |
FIRST-YEAR COACHESHow coaches are faring at their new school:
ALL-PAC-10IF THE SEASON ENDED NOW
* – Rebounds per game |
Arizona takes its Player of the Year Tour at the Bay area this weekend.
Stanford senior wing man Landry Fields is the odds-on favorite to capture Pac-10 Player of the Year honors, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News and others. Miller stated this week that he would put Fields and Cal senior guard Jerome Randle — who the Cats face tomorrow — against anybody in the nation.
Normally a player of the year in a major conference garners attention from the NBA. How do Fields and Randle and others stack up currently as far as that is concerned?
According to NBADraft.net, the only Pac-10 players worthy of a draft status are Washington senior forward Quincy Pondexter and Cal senior forward Theo Robertson — both in the second round. Pondexter is slated as the 38th overall pick, Robertson the 55th.
Kentucky, meanwhile, has three players forecasted to be Top 10 lottery picks by NBADraft.net: freshman guard John Wall (first overall), freshman forward Demarcus Cousins (fourth) and junior forward Patrick Patterson (10th).
DraftExpress.com has a more favorable rating of Pondexter, projecting him to go in the first round as the No. 17 pick overall to San Antonio. But he’s the only one listed from the Pac-10. No Fields. No Randle.
If Jrue Holiday stayed at UCLA and Jordan Hill returned to Arizona — which in hindsight is a more logical choice for the both of them — the NBA outlook for the Pac-10 would be much different. Hill and Holiday would be challenging for Pac-10 player of the year and a higher draft selection, although it’s arguable that Hill went high enough last year with the eighth pick overall to the Knicks.
Hill, however, averaged only 10.5 minutes a game for New York coach Mike D’Antoni, who changed his mind about the budding forward and dealt him away to Houston for an aging Tracy McGrady. Hill has yet to play for the Rockets after last week’s trade.
I know what you’re saying: What about Chase Budinger … he should have stuck around because he slipped all the way to the second round? Considering how well Budinger has played for the Rockets starting in last summer’s NBA Summer League, it’s difficult to argue that he made a bad choice. Budinger inked a four-year contract — the first two years guaranteed — similar to what first-round picks get anyway, only it was not for lottery-pick money ($3 million overall).
2009-10 PAC-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nov. 16 – Quincy Pondexter, WASH
Nov. 23 – Klay Thompson, WSU
Nov. 30 – Klay Thompson, WSU
Dec. 7 – Quincy Pondexter, WASH
Dec. 14 – Patrick Christopher, CAL
Dec. 21 – Alex Stepheson, USC
Dec. 28 – Mike Gerrity, USC
Jan. 4 – Michael Dunigan, ORE
Jan. 11 – Ty Abbott, ASU
Jan. 18 – Quincy Pondexter, WASH
Jan. 25 – Landry Fields, STAN
Feb. 1 – Nic Wise, ARIZ
Feb. 8 – Quincy Pondexter, WASH
Feb. 15 – Jerome Randle, CAL
Feb. 22 – Landry Fields, STAN
TEAM NOTES
Some information provided by Pac-10 via the media relations departments at the various schools:
ARIZONA
Freshman forward Derrick Williams leads the Wildcats in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. In the previous 31 seasons of Pac-10 play, only two freshmen have the team in scoring — Jerryd Bayless (19.7 points per game/2007-08) and Sean Elliott (15.6/1985-86). … Williams also leads the Cats with 6.8 rebounds per game. He is trying to become the first freshman to lead the UA in rebounding since Frank Smith, who averaged 6 a game in 1979-80.
ARIZONA STATE
Over the last three years, the Sun Devils have posted a record of 65-31 (.677). It’s the second most wins in a three-year period in ASU history.
CALIFORNIA
Randle is second on the school’s career scoring list 1,702 points. He needs 75 points to move into the top spot, passing Sean Lampley‘s school-record 1,776 points (1998-2001). … Randle needs six assists to reach 500 for his career. He currently ranks tied for third on Cal’s all-time list with Jason Kidd (494; 1993-94). … Cal is 11-0 when it shoots 50 percent or better from the field … The Bears are 29-3 at home over the last two seasons.
OREGON
Senior guard Tajuan Porter is second in the Pac-10 career charts with 326 three-pointers. He needs 17 more to take over the top spot from Arizona’s Salim Stoudamire (342; 2002-05).
OREGON STATE
Junior guard Calvin Haynes has scored in double figures in each of his last eight games, averaging 17 points over that span. In Pac-10 play, he ranks 10th, averaging 15.1 points per game.
STANFORD
With 599 points this season, Fields will become the fifth different Cardinal to score 600 points in a season. He will join a list of former All-Pac-10 performers that include Keith Jones, Todd Lichti, Adam Keefe and Casey Jacobsen. … Sophomore forward Jack Trotter shot 11-of-15 (.733) from the field and averaged 12.5 points in a road sweep of the Oregon schools. … Sophomore guard Jeremy Green‘s next three-pointer will tie a Stanford single-season mark. He needs one more to match Jacobsen’s school mark of 84 set in 2000-01. … Stanford shot 9-of-18 from beyond the arc in each game last week. Senior guard Drew Shiller led the way, hitting 7-of-13 (.538).
UCLA
Freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt leads the team in rebounds (6.1 a game), with freshman forward Reeves Nelson right behing (5.5). This would mark the third time in the last five years that a freshman led the Bruins in rebounding.
USC
Senior guard Dwight Lewis is 13th on USC’s career scoring chart. He needs 32 points to crack the top 10. Lewis has led the team in scoring in each of the last three games, averaging 19.7 points.
WASHINGTON
Junior forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning has averaged 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds over the last five games, shooting 26-of-41 (.634) from the field.
WASHINGTON STATE
Sophomore forward DeAngelo Casto leads the Pac-10 in blocked shots with 59 (2.2 per game). He set the WSU freshman single-season record with 39 blocks last year and now owns the sophomore record. The 59 blocks are the most in a season for the Cougars since Stuart House swatted a league-leading 69 during the 1979-80 season.
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February 24th, 2010 at 11:23 AM
One of our readers, Geoffrey, asked me to pass this along about Pac-10 tournament hotel rates: He booked at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel for 3/11 – 3/14 for $55/night plus taxes & fees through Priceline.com (Name your own price). Appears downtown Marriot may be in same price range. Check out biddingfortravel.com to see bids accepted on Priceline and bidding strategies. … Of course, we don’t have a working relationship with priceline.com or biddingfortravel.com. Just an FYI in case you’re thinking about making the trip.
February 24th, 2010 at 11:24 PM
For that person identifying himself as gatoslocos, I tracked your IP address to Tempe, AZ. Interesting. At any rate, your IP is banned from this site. We strive to make this a blog of intelligence, not one of the feeble-minded such as yourself. Keep your filth to yourself.