Cougs picked to finish eighth in Pac-10 media poll

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 29, 2009 3:08 PM PDT

I don't place much stock in these things, given that they're trying to predict how a conference season that doesn't start for two months is going to play out after a team plays ~10 nonconference games. But it is kind of interesting to assess perceptions from the media side, and I know you guys like to talk about it, so here you go.

I actually did a way-too-early power ranking after the NBA Draft, and my opinion has changed very little -- the lone exception being I will move Stanford down below USC at this point, because the Cardinal are basically the basketball version of WSU football right now. But I still feel pretty good about the rest of it, which, incidentally, makes me exactly like the media on the first five. I went ahead and put how I would have voted next to the results and offered a little bit of commentary. I hope you like.

Oh, and I'm sure there will be a report about what Ken Bone and Nik Koprivica had to say at today's media day in Los Angeles at some point, so we'll pass that along when we see it. EDIT: Here's Grippi's story.

Rank (Points)	Team (1st Place Votes)	Me	Comments
1 (350)	California (25)	1	No brainer here. Least amount of question marks, and might just have the two best players in the conference. Sounds like a winning recipe.
2 (330)	Washington (7)	2	Again, seems like a no brainer. Lots of returning talent -- with some new talent -- but just enough question marks to keep them out of the top.
3 (302)	UCLA (5)	3	Those first place votes? Those are votes for Howland -- not the Bruins. Because I don't know how else anyone could project these guys as the first place team.
4 (221)	Arizona	4	As expected, a large drop off after the top three. I'll bet they wouldn't be ranked this high if Kevin O'Neill -- and not Sean Miller -- was still coaching there.
5 (218)	Oregon State	5	As you see, the media pretty clearly sees this as a four-tier conference, with Arizona and OSU being in the second tier.
6 (175)	Oregon	8	This one actually shocks me a bit. The gap from OSU to Oregon is about the same as from Oregon to ASU. Does the media know something I don't know about a team that was 2-16 in conference last year? Did Kent suddenly learn to coach?
7 (144)	Arizona State	6	Seems about right to me after losing Harden, although I could see them going higher.
8 (123)	Washington State	7	Still trying to figure out how so many members of the media are so certain Oregon is going to be better than the Cougs. Maybe they think we're underestimating the loss of Tony Bennett?
9 (109)	USC	9	Welcome to the fruits of Tim Floyd's labor. The Trojans will be a pain if they buy into O'Neill, but after seeing how well the Wildcats bought into him, he sure seems like a coach who needs his own guys.
10 (63)	Stanford	10	Welcome to our world, Cardinal fans. Welcome to our world.

Poll

Where would you (honestly) pick the Cougs?

1

5 votes

2

0 votes

3

5 votes

4

18 votes

5

64 votes

6

62 votes

7

42 votes

8

6 votes

9

4 votes

10

6 votes

212 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Poor mans Jon Brockman?

I’m really not sure what the benefit is of Ken Bone publicly calling Casto “a poor mans Jon Brockman” and saying he isn’t really a scorer.

by DrayCox on Oct 29, 2009 3:53 PM PDT reply actions

Yeah, seems a little weird

I dunno. I’m guessing he probably meant it as a compliment, being that Casto has a similar skill set (hustling rebounder) and gets his points off that skill set, rather than as a “scorer”. I do think Casto has much more potential as a scorer than Brockman, though.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 29, 2009 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Brockman was more "polished"

Brockman was probably more polished as a soph. than Casto. Casto scores his points mostly from being a good athlete. He doesn’t have an assortment of post moves that result in easy buckets. He uses his quickness, jumping ability, and strength to score. Nothing wrong with having those attributes.

If Casto works as hard as Baynes he will become a true scorer. I don’t think a comparison (I have thought more of Jordan Hill) to Brockman is anything but a compliment but he probably isn’t quite as far along. As they grow, Moore and Thames will get Casto easy buckets.

I am really excited about the prospects of Moore, Thompson, and Casto together. They could be as talented a group of 3 as we have had at WSU especially in a point/wing/forward combination.. Not to mention having Thames, Motum, Capers, Harthun, and Watson and they all have 3 years left.

by BornCoug on Oct 29, 2009 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Sadly, I really like Oregon. I actually think Oregon is going to finish

higher than UW. I really like their big guys. I see Washington finishing 4th or 5th.
Save this post so you can stick it in my craw after the season.

by ptowncoug3012 on Oct 29, 2009 5:33 PM PDT reply actions

You got it

Like Harmeling said, if Howland was coaching that group … watch out. But he’s not. Ernie Kent is.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on Oct 29, 2009 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes, but they start Garrett Sim

That’s the equivalent of us starting Abe Lodwick. Not a knock on Abe, mind you…

by Grady Clapp on Oct 29, 2009 8:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh and also

Mike Harthun was a MUCH better prep player than Sim. And will probably be a better college player.

by Grady Clapp on Oct 29, 2009 8:42 PM PDT up reply actions

?

so you think one of the worst teams in pac-10 history will in 1 year be better than the defending conference champs? same guys at oregon who could only win 2 games last year. losing brockman and detmon is huge…but they return everyone else and add a high school all american. i am not trying to hype UW but have a hard time thinking Oregon is going to be that good. if you like oregon that much then why not like the cougs to finish top 3?

by donkeyjon12 on Oct 29, 2009 6:51 PM PDT up reply actions

yeah I'm not seeing that either

by johnnycougar on Oct 29, 2009 10:20 PM PDT up reply actions

Also, I still maintain UW as a "lock" for #2 is ridiculous

A round of 32 team last year that lost its best player by far (Brockman), and while they gain Gaddy, he’s still a freshman, andthey already had a high-scoring guard (IT).

by Grady Clapp on Oct 29, 2009 8:47 PM PDT reply actions

The idea that any of these teams are a lock

for any spot is rediculous. There are surprises every year.

Vote for Butch!

by spencer peaty on Oct 29, 2009 8:58 PM PDT up reply actions

I had not seen the Stanford headlines

So, the team last year (which was depth-light) lost three good starters and only recruited three replacements. They then suspended Will Paul for the entire season, and apparently he may not even be enrolled at Stanford anymore, reducing the team to nine players. Andy Brown blew out his ACL… again. Now one of the two surviving starters from last year is out with some undisclosed but apparently serious medical problem and last year’s sixth man has been arrested for a felony.

Can they just redshirt the entire team and skip this season? This is approaching 2008-Indiana bad. spencer peaty is wrong. This is an ironclad lock for the last-place team in the conference.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Oct 31, 2009 12:25 AM PDT reply actions