Arizona Basketball: Will Arizona be the Top Cat in the Pac 12?
By CJ O'Neill
We take an early look at next year to see if Arizona Basketball keeps its top spot in the Pac 12.
If you’re a college basketball fan, including Arizona Basketball fans, this time of year is a miserable one. You anxiously wait to see which of your favorite players decide to stay in college or turn pro. Then there’s the recruiting carousel of the chaos of the nation’s top remaining recruits deciding their future destination.
Don’t forget about the anarchy that is the transfer market in college athletics. It is arguably more tumultuous and exciting simultaneously as the NCAA tournament. Once the decision making is complete, fans can get a good glimpse of what the future holds for the upcoming season. Now that the smoke has cleared let’s take a peek at how the Pac 12 hierarchy could take form.
Arizona Wildcats Basketball
The bottom tier bringing up the rear…
No. 12 Washington State:
The Cougars basketball program just can’t seem to get itself together. One could say it’s in shambles. They finished the year 12-19 (4-14 conf.) and will likely only get worse this upcoming season.
Wazzu has now lost six scholarship players: Four from transfers, one turned pro, and another is not returning. Among those leaving is reserve guard Milan Aqcuaah, their lead guard, and second-leading scorer Malachi Flynn. Leading scorer Robert Franks, who tested the NBA Draft, is returning. Head Coach Ernie Kent doesn’t have any notable players coming in, and their losses are enormous, so they land at the bottom of the cellar for now.
Best Guess Starting lineup prediction: PG-Vionte Daniels SR, SG-Carter Skaggs JR, SR, SF-CJ Elleby (FR), PF Robert Franks, and PF/ C Arinze Chidom SO.
No. 11 California:
The Golden Bears are another program trending in the wrong direction. They finished dead last in a very weak conference and endured their worst season in school history. To proverbially rub salt on the wound, Cal is seeing some of its best players depart. The bulk of their frontcourt, Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee and Kingsley Okoroh expire their college eligibility. Don Coleman, the teams leading scorer, is transferring to South Alabama. Cole Welle, Nick Hamilton, and Derek King are graduating bench players.
On top of that, more guard depth is escaping Berkeley, as guards Brandon Chauca and Austin McCullough elected to transfer. That is a lot of roster turnover that is hard to recover from, especially in the short-term. There is hope for the East Bay program. Second-year head coach Wyking Jones just hired recruiting guru David Grace from UCLA. Jones does bring in a few four-star players, but his roster is still lacking in depth and talent.
Best Guess starting lineup is PG-Darius McNeill SO, SG-Matt Bradley (4* FR), SF-Jacobi Gordon (4* FR), PF-Justice Seuing SO, PF/C-Andre Kelly (NR FR).
No. 10 Oregon State:
Coach Wayne Tinkle is slowly putting together a solid program up in Corvallis. While the Beavers may not have had a successful season by win/loss column or conference standings, they finished at .500 which isn’t ideal, but its progress. What hurts Tinkle’s team is the sudden departure of stud forward Drew Eubanks to the NBA. Had he returned, OSU’s starting five is good enough to compete with any in the country and would make the Beavers a legitimate Tournament-caliber squad.
Their post depth takes a blow with the graduations of Cheikh Ndiaye and Seth Berger. Guard Ronnie Stacy also graduates, while depth players JaQuori McLaughlin and Kendal Manuel join the transfer wire. OSU will still be a solid, competitive team as leading scorers Tres Tinkle, Stephen Thompson Jr., and Ethan Thompson all return. Their recruiting class isn’t one that will wow fans, but Coach Tinkle has had some recruiting success. For now, the Beavers stand as the best of the lowest tier.
Best Guess at a starting lineup is PG-Ethan Thompson SO, SG-Stephen Thompson Jr. SR, SF-Alfred Hollins SO, F/PF-Tres Tinkle JR, Jack Wilson (3-star) FR.
No. 9 Utah:
Utah is a team that is not going to repeat its top three conference finish like they did in 2018. They will find themselves towards the bottom, even though Sedrick Barefield returns for his final year of college. However, as it stands the Utes are losing 4 of their top 6 leading scorers, and around 60 percent of their offensive production.
Seniors Justin Bibbins, David Collete, Ty Rawson, and Gabe Bealer graduate. They also lose some young depth, as Chris Seeley and Kolbe Caldwell are seeking to transfer. So far, they are not bringing enough talent in to replace the departures. They have a lone four-star recruit in Riley Battin, and a graduate transfer in Novak Topalovic, who averaged around 10 points and seven rebounds per game at Idaho State. I’m putting the Utes in the bottom tier.
Best Guess at a starting lineup is PG Sedrick Barefield* SR, SG- Parker Van Dyke SR, F/SF- Donnie Tillman SO, F/PF-Novak Topalovic (Grad Transfer)NA, PF/C-Riley Battin (4*)FR/Jayce Johnson JR.
Riley Battin is a beast on the court and will be a fan favorite. Our Site Expert Shereen Rayan got a chance to watch him play in the Kings of the Court Showcase a few months ago.