Duckbill30

1. Washington
   It's going to be strange seeing the Huskies without Jon Brockman, who was such a dominating presence on their team. But there is plenty of talent coming back; look for the Huskies to play a faster tempo;to make up for the absence of Brockman, and to fully exploit their tremendous backcourt of Thomas, Overton & newcomer, Abdul Gaddy. Look for Quincy Pondexter to have a breakout season. Postseason: NCAA

2. California
  The Bears return the big three, Christopher, Randle & Roberston, and Montgomery has adjusted very well to his new home. The offense should be as explosive as ever, but they will need to find support from the bench and be more proficient in the halfcourt on both offense and defense. Postseason: NCAA

 3. UCLA
    The Bruins always recruit well, however the last two great players, Love and Holiday last season, only spent a season in Westwood.Nikola Dragovic leads the returning cast and as always will have a super group of freshman to intergrate into Howland's system. How fast they find the right blend will determine how the Bruins do this season.Postseason: NCAA

  4. Oregon
   Talent was not the problem for the Ducks last season; and this season practically all of it is back, and is joined by Jamil Nelson & EJ Singler, to give the Ducks a lot of depth. The biggest addition to the team though is Coach Dunlap, who's X's & O's expertise will let the Ducks fully utilize their skills, the biggest beneficiary of this should be Michael Dunigan. Postseason: NIT
 
  5. Oregon State
   Last season Craig Robinson came in and he and the Beavers did a complete turnaround. This season won't see another ascencion as high, but with a lot of players returning, most notably,Calvin Haynes and Roland Schaftennar, the Beavers should be contenders for position in the top half of the conference. Postseason: NIT

   6. Arizona
    Nic Wise is back, and new coach Sean Miller is thankfull for that, because except for Wise and forward, Jamelle Horne, the rest of the Wildcats are role players and freshman. As talented as the newcomers might be, this could be a year of setting the foundation for another run of Big Dance appearances. Postseason: NIT

  7. Washington State
    Baynes, Rochestie & Bennett are gone. It was bad enough when it looked like last season the team would have to adjust to playing without two of their mainstays on the court. But with Tony Bennett leaving and Ken Bone taking over the reighns, the adjustment scale got a lot higher. Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto will be called upon for leadership. Postseason: CBI

  8. USC
  The best thing about the season starting for the Trojans is that it means the nightmare of an offseason is over. The best players from last season left, the coach is gone, and Kevin O'Neil iis faced with using what's left in his first season as coach.

 9. Arizona State
   James Harden & Jeff Pendergraph were the leaders last season; both are gone now, leaving role players like Dereck Glasser and Ty Abbott to emerge from the shadows and into the spotlight.

  10. Stanford
    Last season the Cardinal benefited from an easy non-conference schedule to get off to a good start. The non-conference should not be as easy this season and the players are all role players who are not used to carrying the team.

  Pac-10 First Team
Isaiah Thomas (Washington)
Quincy Pondexter (Washington)
Patrick Christopher (California)
Klay Thompson (Washington State)
Michael Dunigan (Oregon)

 Pac-10 Second Team
Tajuan Porter (Oregon)
Jerome Randle (California)
Roland Scaftennar (Oregon State)
Nikola Dragovic (UCLA)
Nic Wise (Arizona)

1. UCONN

2. UNC

3. Oklahoma

4. Pittsburgh

5. Memphis

6. Michigan State

7. Louisville

8. Wake Forest

9. Clemson

10. Duke

11. Villanova

12. Missouri

13. Marquette

14. Illinois

15. Kansas

16. Xavier

17. Purdue

18. Syracuse

19. UCLA

20. Gonzaga

21. Washington

22. Butler

23. Arizona State

24. West Virginia

25. California

1. UCONN

2. UNC

3. Oklahoma

4. Pittsburgh

5. Louisville

6. Duke

7. Marquette

8. Wake Forest

9. Memphis

10. UCLA

11. Michigan State

12. Villanova

13. Clemson

14. Xavier

15. Kansas

16. Butler

17. Missouri

18. Illinois

19. Purdue

20. Syracuse

21. Minnesota

22. Gonzaga

23. Washington

24. Texas

25. Ohio State

1. UCONN

2. Oklahoma

3. UNC

4. Duke

5. Louisville

6. Pittsburgh

7. Wake Forest

8. Xavier

9. Marquette

10. Clemson

11. Butler

12. Michigan State

13. Purdue

14. Minnesota

15. Gonzaga

16. Memphis

17. Texas

18. Syracuse

19. Villanova

20. Kansas

21. Washington

22. UCLA

23. Illinois

24. Missouri

25. West Virginia

1. Duke

2. Pittsburgh

3. UCONN

4. UNC

5. Oklahoma

6. Wake Forest

7. Louisville

8. Xavier

9. Texas

10. Marquette

11. Michigan State

12. Clemson

13. Arizona State

14. Purdue

15. Syracuse

16. Illinois

17. Butler

18. Gonzaga

19. Memphis

20. Minnesota

21. Missouri

22. Washington

23. Kansas

24. Kentucky

25. Georgetown

1. Wake Forest

2. Duke

3. Pittsburgh

4. UCONN

5. Syracuse

6. UNC

7. Oklahoma

8. Michigan State

9. Texas

10. Clemson

11. Xavier

12. Marquette

13. Louisville

14. Georgetown

15. UCLA.: The system only gets them so far. Lack of playmakers exposed in crucial last five minutes of regulation against ASU.

16. Purdue

17. Minnesota

18. Baylor

19. Butler

20. Arizona State

21. Illinois

22. Villanova

23. California

24. Gonzaga

25. Kansas

Week 1

1. UCLA

2. Cal

3. ASU

4. USC

5. Washington

6. Stanford

7. Arizona

8. WSU

9. Oregon State

10. Oregon

Player Of the Week: Randle, Cal

Week ll

1. UCLA

2. Cal

3. ASU

4. USC

5. Washington

6. Stanford

7. Arizona

8. WSU

9. Oregon State

10. Oregon

Player Of the Week: Christopher, Cal 

Week lll

1. UCLA : . Collison is the only Bruin who can really create his own shot, and they didn't go against ASU. They have little margin for error.

2. Arizona State: Yes, they were beaten by USC, but coming back against UCLA, however flawed they are, on the road, was more indicative of their team at this time.

3. California: They're playing on the edge, figuratively, and with 3 pointers, almost exclusively on offense. They showed a toughness against Washington, that wasn't apparent against Stanford.

4. USC: The Trojans have close to seven interchangeable player's, Hackett continues to be a villain, and DeRozan joins Thomas as top Freshman.

5. Washington: Brockman has a lot of help inside with Bryan-Amaning, and Thomas and Dentmon have developed into a formidable backcourt.

6. Stanford: Good win against their rival, are transitioning very well from Lopez based offense.

7. Arizona: Nearly got the split on the road.

8. Washington State: The Cougars, down considerably on the talent level, still control their games.

9. Oregon State: Much improved from last season.

10. Oregon: The team was better a month ago.

Player Of the Week: DaRozen, USC

Week lV

1. Arizona State

2. Washington

3. UCLA

4. Cal

5. USC

6. Oregon State

7. Arizona

8. Stanford

9. Washington State

10. Oregon

I have Arizona State at #1, but I expect the Huskies to move in to the top spot and stay there after this weekend. They are the deepest team in the conference, both in number of player's that make solid contributions, and in elements of the game. Brockman, Amaning-Williams and Pondexter are very effective in the frontcourt, and Dentmon, Thomas, Overton can all shoot from the outside, as well as get to the basket. The Huskies are very good at rebounding and defend both transition and halfcourt.  Arizona State got a tough win in Arizona, and Harden & Pendergraph will have a tough time against the Huskies and will need big efforts from the other player's. UCLA was fortunate to get out of WSU with a win and were soundly beaten, for the fifth year in a row in Seattle. Cal bounced back from the OSU loss by shooting 67% against the Ducks. USC has a lot of talent, but it just doesn't click for a whole game. Oregon State doesn't have a lot of talent, but they play with discipline and believe they can win. Arizona hopes the play at the end of the Houston game carries over in to the rest of the season. Stanford had a weak non conference schedule, and overachieved on top of it. Washington State still forces the tempo and plays tough defense, but struggle to score themselves. Oregon has periods of effective play, but still has way too much downtime on both ends of the court.

Player of the week: Calvin Haynes, Oregon State, averaged 23 points for the Beavers in their weekend sweep of California and Stanford.

Week V

1. Washington

2. UCLA

3. USC

4. California

5. Arizona State

6. Arizona

7. Washington State

8. Oregon State

9. Stanford

10. Oregon

Player of the Week: Chase Buddinger, Arizona

The Huskies have to get it done on the road. Player for player, quality on both ends of the court, Washington comes out on top for me. But, they didn't match Arizona in intensity, particularly at the start of the second half, and never had control of the game. They get another chance to win away from home, starting at Cal. The Huskies had the first one in the bag, several times, but Cal stole it in the end, at Hec Ed. UCLA served notice that they might be ready to take charge. The offense definitely misses Westbrook from last season, but it came alive against the Bears and Card's. The Trojans bring their talented but inconsistant team into Pauley, and if they can focus for forty, they could come out with a W. Gibson missed most of the first game with foul trouble, but the Trojans played their best ball with him on the bench. Arizona looked sharp at home against the Huskies and Cougars, and have a chance to get the second half off to a good start  with games against the Beavers and Ducks. Washington State put a chokehold on Harden & Pendergraph and snagged a win on the road, the Coug's and Card's see who stays above water in their match-up. Oregon State is 4-5, if they don't win another game the rest of the season, it's still been great. Oregon? Can the Ducks get a win?

 Week Vl

1. UCLA... The hibernation for the Bruins is over. The last week had them playing the type of ball that matched the hype I thought they had been receiving before. The defense has always been smothering and now the offense has caught up. Another Final Four is definitely possible.

2.  California...The Golden Bears make a clean sweep of the Huskies with a convincing win at home, and are too much for WSU. The backcourt and hustle, mixed with an aggressive defense make the Bear's a tough team when everything is clicking.

3. Washington...The Dawg's finish off four straight on the road at 2-2. They are a deep and multi-talented team, but the lack of success away from Hec Ed could be their undoing in the postseason.

4. Arizona State...The Sun Devils are Harden & Pendergraph. The other player's are good in their roles, but if H & P aren't at the top of their games, it's hard for the Sun Devils too pick up the slack.

5. USC... Gibson, DeRozan, Lewis, Hackett are all talented and effective player's, But the Trojans lack consistency, during games and the season itself.

6. Arizona...Buddinger, Hill and Wise have all found their games, and the Wildcat's are now equally effective in fastbreak as well as halfcourt play. They did well against the Ducks and Beavers, a split at home against the LA school's will put them in a very good position.

7. Washington State... The Cougars will stay in games because of their style, and Klay Thompson has joined Rochestie & Baynes as a scoring option.

8. Stanford...The Cardinal get the edge over the Beavers here because of more talent throughout the roster.

9. Oregon State...The Beavers go into games now believing they can win, but their is a ceiling on their talent level.

10. Oregon... The Ducks are getting close. The team has talent and lately have started games well, but something comes over them at halftime and all effectiveness is gone.

Player Of the Week: A repeat for Randle.

Week 7

1. Washington: Strong inside and out, a win at Pauley will make the case for the Huskies.

2. California: Their game is getting more balance, and play with a confidence that keeps them in every game.

3. Arizona State: Harden & Pendergraph lead, and the rest of the team are getting better as the season goes on.

4. UCLA: Up and down for the Bruins. They looked to be gaining momentum, but fall flat and face a must win.

5. Arizona: The 'Cats are taking all the suspense out of will they or won't they make it 25.

6. USC: Talent, but can't get it together with any consistency.

7. Oregon State: The Beavers have a chance in any game they play.

8. Stanford: One of their starters is going to be a Dentist.

9. Washington State: Klay Thompson is a good player, and will be in charge next season.

10. Oregon: When will they win?

Player Of the Week: Nick Wise, Arizona. 

1. Pittsburgh

2. Duke

3. Wake Forest

4. UCONN

5. Syracuse

6. UNC

7. Clemson

8. Oklahoma

9. Michigan State

10. UCLA

11. Texas

12. Georgetown

13. Xavier

14. Michigan

15. Minnesota

16. Marquette

17. California

18. Purdue

19. Arizona State

20. Notre Dame

21. Illinois

22. Villanova

23. Baylor

24. Louisville

25. Gonzaga