2022 Preseason Conference Preview: Pac-12

[Ezaco]

PACIFIC 12 CONFERENCE

 

Pac-12 after dark? Let's bring this one into the light - there's some really good competition here.

 

ARIZONA WILDCATS

Don't look now... but the Wildcats could make some serious noise. Jeff Thomas and Parul Patel are some serious shooters - and they're only juniors. Defensively they're a hinderance, but there's a number of other options Arizona can look at to lock down, who can also still score - like Alex Maranon. It's a big trade off between skillsets on this Arizona roster, and if they can balance it right they can be extremely dangerous. But it won't take much to throw that balance off.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:arizonastate:ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

The Sun Devils are a huge mix of talent. David Bland - the junior from Kenya - is poised to make a name for himself and make some noise prepping for the draft, with a silky smooth shot and deft ball handling skills. His teammate John Chambers is entering his senior year and ready to make a splash. The addition of the four star freshman Thomas Stevens is a nice pickup... but will all of it be enough? I don't think so. Defensively there's a lot of questions, and on the boards Arizona State has some work to do as well. It's a streaky shooting team, not to mention. There's promise for this roster, but it's not this season.

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

 

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS

Cal isn't much different than Arizona State... maybe slightly better? Jon Delgado could be one of the best players in America, and Charles Griffin is coming into his sophomore season with a lot of promise. Defensively the Bears are a nice-looking team, anchored in all the right spots with few weaknesses. It's scoring that Cal gives me pause... not that they can't score, but more that they're a team with a lack of true identity there. There's not doubt they can score, it's simply how will they choose to do it, and will it be the right choice?

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 32

 

:colorado: COLORADO BUFFALOES

Not gonna lie... I forgot Colorado was in the Pac-12. They might also want to forget to. The Buffaloes (Bison?) aren't a bad team, to be clear, but the rest of their conference is simply... better. Colorado is, defensively, a nice team. Scoring-wise they're solid as well, with little to no weaknesses. But is there a star for Colorado? Ling Meza is stepping onto campus this fall - all the way from Delaware - with his eye on that prize and maybe he can do it. If Meza can step into the limelight and lead, and if the rest of the pieces around him can complement well, the Buffaloes have a promising season in front of them.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:oregon: OREGON DUCKS

Oregon is a solid, solid team. Defensively they're pretty good, even if rebounding they could use some work. Under the basket they're a lights-out team, and they're not slouch away from it either. So where do the Ducks have issues? Star power. Recruiting stars may be overrated, but this roster doesn't feature any recruits over a three star - and those three stars have developed into really nice players who are graduating at the end of the year. Oregon's time to win is right now, and there's simply not enough of it for them to do it, not in this conference.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:oregonstate: OREGON STATE BEAVERS

The Beavers should be better than they are... but I don't think they will be. There are a trio of excellent players on this roster - Gregory Harris, Michael Logan, and Nathan Samek - all of which will be leaving campus after this season. But are they NBA caliber? Because for the supporting pieces around them, they're going to have to be... and I don't think they are. The Beaver defense is definitely no dam even if they are a good team on the boards. Scoring-wise Oregon State leaves much to be desired outside of the paint where, while they're good, they're not great. I'm just not sure I can buy in.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:stanford:STANFORD CARDINAL

This one is tough. Stanford is a good, maybe great, defensive team. Robert Atker, Nigel Hall, Nicholas Peetom, and Manuel Villegas are some of the most dominating big men you're going to find in college basketball, defensively and on the boards. Akter and Hall are great scorers, too, especially Hall who can take a couple steps out and sink the ball. It's really tough, in fact, to find many holes in this team's game, because every single one of them can get under the basket and score at will. Shooting at range is the most difficult part of the game for this roster so... can they overcome it? It's a swath of talent that has a real possibility.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16

 

:ucla: UCLA BRUINS

John Wooden would be disappointed. Of course there's talent here - Solomon Washington is a defensive ace, but he can't score. Jared Hansford is a shooting wizard, but he can't defend or move to the basket. And these are microcosms of the Bruins roster - those who can defend can't score, those who can score can defend. It's a see-saw, and no one ever won a battle of see-saw. It's going to be a tough season in LA... not even sure it'll be at least fun to watch.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:usc:USC TRJOANS

It's not much better across town... Jeffrey Clark being the sole exception who's very good at every point on the floor, the Trojans are a bad defensive team who, probably even worse, aren't very good at shooting either. There's a handful of scorer's on this team, yes, but no one you can point to as an ace, or any big consistency across the team. And that's really disappointing for a team who picked up a major five star land in Ryan Foley, who's come all the way across the country from Delaware to play for a not-very-good team.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:utah: UTAH UTES

And then there's Utah. There's a lot of hype for this Utes team this season. Currently sitting at #2 in the preseason expectations... but how, and why? Undoubtedly Martin Cintron is a great player... but a five star recruit should be a much better scorer in his junior year by now. Brian Portnoy and Howard Wen are awesome shooters with a sweet stroke, and in my opinion they're going to be the ones to lead this team. But across the rest of the board... there's not a ton of great scoring options for the Utes. Defensively they are a pretty good team, yes, and they may be the best rebounding team in the NCAA. But you still have to score. The Utes are going to be good, that is undoubted, but I think looking back on this season it will be a bit of a disappointment.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16

 

:washington: WASHINGTON HUSKIES

The Huskies leave little to doubt about how disappointing their season will be. Emanuel Haywood is a graceful shooter, and Jonathan Reinhardt is a great defender with a soft touch... and that's about the extent of the compliments for Washington. Defensively the rest of the team is simply atrocious, and scoring options are few. However, the one thing the Huskies do have going for them is a handful of guys who can fill it up from outside the 3-point arc... as if that's all they practice all day. And it might be.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:washingtonstate: WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

The last team to look at here is our sole user-coached team in the Pac-12... and what an unfortunate one to land on. The Cougars are not the worst team in the country... In fact I don't even think they're the worst team in the conference. But there's certainly a lot to wish for. Wallace Crawford is developing into an exceptional talent, if he can continue to develop his shooting alongside his great defense. Jordan Thacker was an under-recruited high schooler baller who has developed into a nice option for the Cougars in his senior season and should do them proud. But... we run out of nice things to say. I do enjoy this Washington State defense - it's no slouch at all. Rebounding you want to hope for more, but there's plenty to be happy with as well. It's scoring where the Cougars fall apart, with very few options to get the ball into the basket. They will have to rely on their defense and rebounding to be successful, because they're liable to miss a lot of shots and live on those second chance points.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

[Ezaco]

Pick to win conference: Stanford