HOT COUGAR ACTION: Some More Thoughts On Basketball
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 29, 2010 11:01 AM PDT
in WSU News And Notes
Email
PrintSince I'm hopefully going to be doing another football post later today, I'm going to lead off today's linkpost with a quick followup on yesterday's Pac-10 media day.
First off, here are the full standings from the media poll:
2010-11 Pac-10 Men's Basketball Media Poll
(First place votes in parentheses)
1. Washington (33) 348
2. Arizona (1) 296
3. UCLA (1) 281
4. Arizona State 215
5. Washington State 191
6. USC 178
7. California 151
8. Oregon State 120
9. Stanford 98
10. Oregon 47
No. 5 seems about right for the Cougs, a sentiment echoed by Ken Bone:
"Being picked fifth in the media poll is probably about where we should be," WSU Head Coach Ken Bone said. "It's quite a jump from finishing 10th in the conference last year, but we do have some really good players coming back along with some new kids that should be able to contribute right away. I don't feel like the Pac-10 is back to where it was a few years ago, but we are going to be stronger this season as a conference than we were last. I think Washington and California represented us well in the NCAA tournament last year. I'd be surprised if at least Washington doesn't do extremely well this year along with whoever else rises to the top."
My quick thoughts on the poll:
- Washington should be the overwhelming favorite. Not sure how anyone could justify Arizona or UCLA, but that's just me -- I don't think anyone is in the Huskies' class right now. I suppose someone is projecting development.
- I'm not sold on Arizona, as I didn't think MoMo Jones came even close to living up to the considerable hype last year, making point guard a major question mark for the Wildcats. I probably would have ranked UCLA No. 2. But as you can see, those two are basically in a dead heat for 2/3, and I can see reasonable cases made for each.
- ASU and WSU are pretty clearly the best of the rest in my book, although I probably would have flip-flopped them. I think the Sun Devils really end up feeling the sting of losing Derek Glasser and Eric Boateng. Both were vastly underrated at their positions last year for myriad reasons. (Does losing Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes ring a bell, Coug fans?) Replacing them will not be an easy task.
- As for 6-10, HOLY WOW the rest of the conference is not good. This league is still a year away from being anything near elite again.
- If you're looking for two teams in that bottom half that could jump up and surprise, keep an eye on both OSU and Stanford. I think the Beavers might be a little underrated thanks to their flop in the face of expectations last year, while Johnny Dawkins brought in a very good class. Granted, they're replacing Landry Fields, but most everyone else is back. Experience matters, and Jeremy Green is awesome.
Here are some other links for you on media day:
WSU picked fifth in Pac-10 basketball - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Oct. 28, 2010
Vince transcribes the quotes from the appearance of Ken Bone and Klay Thompson at media day.
Pac-10 Video > Wash St Coach Bone
Video of the appearance if you'd rather watch and listen than read.
Husky Basketball | Pac-10 will honor late UCLA legend John Wooden | Seattle Times Newspaper
A roundup of media day.
Huskies near-unanimous choice to win Pac-10 hoops title | WSU Cougars - The News Tribune
Same deal.
On to the rest of the links!
WSU Football News
Long pass still big part of Cougars' game - Spokesman.com - Oct. 28, 2010
For more than 20 years, Washington State University’s offense has been renowned by the ability to do one big thing. Since Dennis Erickson was head coach in the late 1980s, WSU has made a living with the long pass. And nothing’s changed.
WSU on the way to Tempe - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Oct. 29, 2010
Wulff answered my question about ASU running similar offensive and defensive schemes as WSU and if that helped preparation with a qualified yes. The qualification came from not having the depth to do what the Sun Devils are doing, not using scout teams but using the two versus the ones to prep.
I've seen enough: Paul Wulff must stay - Jim Moore, SeattlePI.com
Here's all I want from the Cougs -- play to your potential down the stretch, win a couple games and make Moos' decision as difficult as possible. At that point, whatever the WSU AD chooses to do is fine by me, but I'm going to hope that Wulff builds an iron-clad case to keep his job.
Cougfan.com: D-line: Rotation ready
WHAT WILL THE interior of the d-line look like on Saturday when the Cougs line up against Arizona State? Will last week's starting change at DT still be in place this coming Saturday, or is a first year Cougar with seven starts under his belt ready to jump back in?
WSU football: Pac-10 picks, including WSU | Moscow-Pullman Daily News Blogs
Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve always thought there’s a lot of danger in a rebuilding team putting all of its hope into that one, shimmering game that everyone thinks they have a chance of winning. What happens if they lay an egg, and Arizona State covers the 21-point spread?
WSU Weekly Show Highlights, Stanford Edition - WSU Football Blog
Other WSU News
Cougar Soccer Heads to Los Angeles for Final Road Trip - WASHINGTON STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
The Washington State soccer team (6-11-0, 1-5-0 Pacific-10) travels to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA.
Coach Potter Quotes and Gurveen Clair Update - WASHINGTON STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - Blog
In this installment of the Cougar Soccer Blog, Washington State Head Coach talks about the weekend ahead in Los Angeles and we can an update from Gurveen Clair. The freshman goalkeeper is with the Canadian National Team in its quest to qualify for the World Cup.
Pac-10 News
Pac-10 football: Picks of the Week (Will USC and Oregon score 80 … or 90?) | College Hotline
WASHINGTON STATE (plus-21) at ARIZONA STATE: Cougars have covered four weeks in a row. At some point, the line will catch up to their not-atrocious existence. But not this week. Pick: Washington State.
Husky Football | Bud Withers' Pac-10 power rankings and predictions | Seattle Times Newspaper
Arizona State 35, WSU 13: Might be spot where rigorous October catches up to Cougars.
Other Stuff We Like
College Football Buffet, Week 9: Michigan State vs. Iowa, Missouri vs. Nebraska Are Must-Eats - SBNation.com
Previewing every game of college football's Week 9, including the huge match-ups between Michigan State vs. Iowa and Missouri vs. Nebraska.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS | Varsity Numbers Talks Trade with KenPom
A must-read if you love Ken Pomeroy's work with basketball. Fascinating.
38 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
apologies if it's here somewhere
but WSU was the subject of Katz’s blog today. Nothing earth shattering.
Also
Casto has trouble guarding taller players in the post? Since when?
On balance, though, probably a fair assessment. Don’t want to pick it apart too much.
Looks like basketball season should be just as confusing as football season
Washington 1st, Oregon 10. 2-9 who knows?
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
#1
I think the only thing that could stop the Huskies is if Jake Locker plays point guard. No doubt he would be considered a pre-season Wooden finalist!
SC
Look for SC to surprise this season. I’m a bit skeptical of the post given the lack of mention of SC as a clear dark horse.
They'll win more games than that team, obviously
But I use that as an illustration of what kind of a gap there’s going to be between their offense and defense.
(Sorry for the multiple replies.)
SC is replacing its 1-3
so i’m not sure we can judge their offense based on last year.
defenses were able to collapse on Vucevic and Stephenson because their backcourt sucked so badly
Jio Fontan and Maurice Jones were brought in specifically to score.
Which I'm not convinced they're going to be able to do
They may prove to be able to. But the struggles of Abdul Gaddy and MoMo Jones, as well as the fading of Reggie in the second half, show the vagaries of relying heavily on freshmen.
Jio's a junior
transferred from Fordham.
I don't think any of the three newcomers will be relied on to score
as much as they’ll be relied on to be enough of a threat to spread the floor so their two very-talented big men can get their work done.
I'm not sure I'd classify either of them as "very talented"
At least not offensively. Vucevic’s greatest asset is cleaning up offensive rebounds and putting them back.
can i just say
that i’m really fired up that it’s FINALLY time to get into this?
I was thinking the same thing
So happy for hoops.
by Jeff Nusser on Oct 29, 2010 9:51 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Maybe
I stand by my comment that SC will prove the dark horse in the PX this season. I expect BigWood to back me on the assertion.
Harvey!
I guess it depends on what you mean by “darkhorse.” SC is replacing Lewis, Garrity and Marcus Johnson, but I think Jio’s going to be better than all three of them.
Vucevic and Stephenson will make sure their defense stays as stellar. It’ll depend on if Maurice Jones and Garrett Jackson are ready.
I think they’re a mid-tier team and could probably beat anyone in the conference.
to add
if Jones’ height isn’t a problem, a five man lineup of Jones, Jio, Jackson, Stephenson and Vucevic could put the hurt on just about anybody.
Yep
That’s what I mean. I don’t expect SC to contend to the conference. I do expect them to be competitive and upset more than a few teams. My original comment was in response to Nuss’ ignoring them altogether and specifically mentioning inferior teams. Don’t sleep on SC.
I guess that makes sense
I suppose I just glossed over them because they’ll probably finish right where they’re at. I think both OSU and Stanford could finish well above where they’re picked — that’s the reason I identified them.
The lifelong Cougar in me has to ask
How far are we from bei
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
Not sure what happened there, but ...
How far are we from being 8th or 9th place in this conference? We are talking about a team that finished 10th, albeit with little upper class contribution. Are we definitely a top half team that can challenge Arizona, UCLA and UW, or are we a bottom half team fighting Oregon and USC for the cellar?
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
i think there's a clear 3-tier system we're playing with here
UW and Arizona (and maybe UCLA) are in the top tier; We’re in the next tier with ASU and probably USC. The NoCal schools and Oregon schools are all probably a year away. Oregon is probably 2 years away.
I can’t see a reason why any team couldn’t lose to another team 1-9. But I think over an 18 game schedule, it’ll shake out somewhere in that order.
What do you see differently?
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
it feels like UCLA and Arizona get the nod from people
because they are the name brands in this league.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
A lot depends on Lee's knee
And how his injury holds up. Honeycutt is a stud. I’m curious to see how much the big guy has improved. Heard he’s lost 50 lbs & is actually moving well, which has been his achiles heel.
UCLA should definitely be top 2-3, but if Lee has knee issues again – all bets are off.
Arizona has great talent
and arguably the best coach in the pac-10
There's been so much roster turnover that it's hard to make any kind of coherent prediction.
The conference’s junior and senior classes are the classes that got decimated in the mass plague of coaching turnover that struck the league two and three seasons ago. A coaching change usually damages two years of recruiting— not just the commits for that year who might try to get out of their letters if the coach changes, but the next year as well, since the coach doesn’t have time to build long-term relationships.
However, I really don’t understand the rating-up of a Washington team which finished 30th in the Pomeroy rankings last year, lost its best player, and has exactly one player who’s a proven scorer. It’s surely not the coaching. I generally find predictions pointless, but I’m pretty comfortable with predicting that they will not win the conference. Maybe they’re more likely than anyone else, but if they’re technical favorites, it’s by default only. I’m inclined to not even go that far— I think Zona and UCLA probably both have more returning talent. I’d say the only sure pick is Oregon in 10th.
Cal’s roster was obviously stripped of talent in a major way by losing eight players, but they brought in a very strong class (3 4* prospects and 1 3*, plus Emerson Murray who was kind of off the recruiting radar), get Harper Kamp back at full strength for the first time since the Ben Braun era (of which he is, surprisingly, the last representative on the roster), and are still coached by Mike Montgomery, who last didn’t make the tournament in something like 1992. Don’t sleep on them, either.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Agree with your thoughts on Stanford & OSU
Both could very well surprise. OSU is all dependent on Rosario – if he plays, they’re instantly a much better team. Also think Cunningham & Brandt will develop very well. And Haynes is a stud. Might be a year away, but they could sneak up that ladder.
Watched Stanford’s scrimmage after our football game. I expected them to be bad – guaranteed #9. But they surprised me. Will frustrate teams with their D’ & their ability to really work the ball around well. Their 2 big guys – Trotter & (I forget) are very good shooters – Leunen-like, which is always a tough match up. Powell, their super FR, didn’t do much for me, but I’m sure he was simply nervous. I still don’t think they climb than 8th, best case though. But wouldn’t shock me if they knock us off in Stanford, CA. They’re the type of team that will drive us nuts.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
Related FanPosts on CougCenter
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
