After finishing last season with a record of 26-9 and winning their first outright Pac-10 title since 1953, the Washington Huskies are one of the preseason favorites to make a run at the crown again in the 2009-2010 season. This is largely due to Washington’s abundance of returning players. While the absence of Jon Brockman and Justin Dentmon will certainly be felt, the Huskies hope that their young core of talent can persevere.
Coach Lorenzo Romar has done a nice job putting this team together. Isaiah Thomas was the team’s leading scorer in his freshman campaign last season, averaging 15.5 PPG. He will look to build on his experience and should continue to be a scoring threat this season. Quincy Pondexter took a big step forward in translating his potential into on-court success for the Huskies last season, as he averaged over 12 PPG and almost 6 rebounds per contest and had some of his strongest games down the stretch.
Quincy Pondexter gets his props
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Basketball Early Previews – Washington Huskies'»
Last year, the Oregon State Beavers had a season that everyone around the conference (and beyond) had to take notice of. Coming off of an awful season in which the Beavers went 0-18 in conference play, the team from Corvallis went 7-11 in Pac-10 play in the 2008-2009 season and finished 18-18 overall. What a turnaround. This was their best finish since Gary Payton’s senior season of 1989-90.
Coach Craig Robinson brought something the team desperately needed after two decades of bottom dwelling; a sense of pride and a sense of responsibility.
This all started at Pac-10 media day before the start of last season, when he told the media that his team would have morning workouts that began at 5:30am. When asked what would happen to players who didn’t show up, Robinson simply replied, “No one is making them come here. If they don’t want to be here, they don’t have to be.” This mentality and work ethic was engrained in his players since his arrival, and it has shown in their performance on the court.
Coach Craig Robinson addresses the media
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Basketball Early Previews – Oregon State Beavers'»
To say that the 2008-2009 season was a rebuilding period for the Ducks would be an understatement. Oregon finished dead last in the Pac-10 with just two wins in-conference and eight wins on the entire season. They relied heavily on freshmen, who played as you would expect them to; like freshmen. 41 percent of the team’s scoring came from freshmen, even though some didn’t play up to their potential in their first college season.
Freshman center Michael Dunigan, who was one of the nation’s top prospects coming out of high school, struggled to stay on the floor for long in games because of foul trouble. He averaged just over eight PPG and looked unpolished offensively. He will need to drastically improve his play if the Ducks are to contend this year in the Pac-10.
Another big man who underperformed for Oregon last season was Josh Crittle. Crittle averaged just three points and three boards per game with the Ducks last season. The team was undersized and did not rebound well – just a couple of reasons why they had such a tough season.
Tajaun Porter cuts through the defense
Continue reading 'Pac-10 Basketball Early Previews – Oregon Ducks'»
Comments (5,326) 
