Arizona Basketball: Will Arizona be the Top Cat in the Pac 12?
By CJ O'Neill
The Middle Tier, (obviously) the middle third of the conference.
No. 8 Stanford:
The Cardinal was a team that surprised many with a finish in the top half of the league. While they didn’t make the tournament, head coach Jerod Haase is building himself a program to watch in the next few years.
Short term, the program will be hurting as they stand to lose the services of Michael Humphrey, one of the Cardinal’s top rebounders and Dorian Pickens, their highest scoring perimeter player. Also, reserve guard Robert Cartwright is transferring to UCSB. The biggest offseason blow to the team is Reid Travis who is looking to transfer out of the program. Travis is far and away the best player on the team and their heart and soul. Long term, the Cardinal have rising sophomores-to-be in Daejon Davis and Kezie Okpala.
Their bench remains intact, and their incoming class is solid, ranked in the Top 30 by 247 Sports. The losses will lead to a setback for Stanford back into the bottom half of the league.
Best Guess at a starting lineup is PG- Daejon Davis SO, SG-Isaac White SO, SF-Kezie Okpala, PF-Oscar da Silva SO, C- Lukas Kisunas (3*) FR.
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No. 7 Colorado:
The Buffs were mediocre but showed some signs of competitive edge. While I project them slightly above their 9th place finish this last year, I do see some growth from this program. They are losing some solid veterans. Big man Tory Miller-Stewart is a grad transfer, and two of their best back court players in Dominique Collier and George King, graduate.
But Coach Tad Boyle has some talented players coming back. McKinley Wright IV came out of nowhere as a freshman averaging nearly 15 points and six assists per game. Wright is bound to come back even stronger as a sophomore, and he will get help from fellow guard Namon Wright.
Their post looks just as good with Tyler Bey, Lucas Stewert, and Dallas Walton. Depth from the bench and low ranking recruiting class will determine if the Buffs stay towards the bottom half of the Pac-12, or if they surprise and contend.
Best Guess starting lineup PG-Mckinley Wright IV SO, SG-Namon Wright SR, SF-Tyler Bey SO, F/PF-Lucas Stewert JR, PF/C-Dallas Walton SO.
No. 6 Arizona State:
ASU endured a season full of extremes. They went undefeated in non-conference play and ranked as high as No. 3, but finished with an 8-11 Pac-12 record and an eighth place finish. Overall, their program trajectory is trending in a positive direction.
The Sun Devils bring back a lot of key freshmen from this past season, but this team will be severely lacking in veteran leadership. Sun Devil fans should be excited to see the growth of youngsters Remy Martin, Kimani Lawrence, and Romello White, while they are bolstered by a top ten recruiting class and the eligibility of SDSU transfer, Zylan Cheatham. That excitement should be tempered, as Coach Bobby Hurley’s squad loses a trio of players that he relied upon heavily.
Tra Holder (18.2 ppg), Shannon Evans II (16.5), and Kodi Justice (12.7) who accounted for nearly 60 percent of ASU’s offense, all graduated. Not to mention the loss of depth from guys like Carlton Bragg and Ramon Vila. The eligibility of touted freshman recruit Taeshon Cherry remains in question with his involvement in the FBI probe. With Cherry, they could contend for the upper echelon of the conference. With or without the youngster, the Sun Devils pound for pound will have as much talent as anyone, but this team is extremely young, so for now, they take the six spot.
Best Guess at a starting lineup is PG-Remy Martin SO, SG-Luguentz Dort (4*) FR, SF-Elias Valtonen (4*) FR, PF-De”Quon Lake SR, PF/C-Romello White SO.
No. 5 Arizona:
Arizona Basketball endured a season with as many ups and downs as the Rocky Mountains. The program experienced some big wins and frustrating losses all with a storm of off-court noise surrounding it. The Wildcats and their fans have enjoyed nearly a decade of dominance in the Pac-12 and as the premier national team on the West Coast.
That reign of success could come to an end this year with the fallout from the pending FBI probe and unfair media defamation from ESPN. In addition, Arizona loses its ENTIRE starting lineup to the NBA and graduation. DeAndre Ayton, Allonzo Trier, and Rawle Alkins will have their names read by Adam Silver, while Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Keanu Pinder, and Dusan Ristic will receive their well-earned diplomas and possible Summer League and/or G-League two-ways. That group accounted for nearly 91 percent of Arizona’s offensive output! Usually, that would spell disaster for a program, but this is Arizona, and Sean Miller knows how to recruit.
As it stands, the Wildcats bring in the 21st best incoming class according to 247 Sports. Four-stars Devonaire Doutrive, Belgian wing Omar Thielemans, and highly touted lead guard Brandon Williams will join forces with the likes of Chase Jeter, Ira Lee, Emmanuel Akot and Brandon Randolph. Grad Transfers Justin Coleman from Samford and Ryan Luther from Pitt will bolster the lineup for a competitive Wildcat team. I have them in the 5th spot, for now, they have the talent to compete in the conference, but there are lots of question marks and unknowns at this point.
Best Guess at a starting lineup is PG-Justin Coleman SR, SG- Brandon Williams (4*) FR, SF- Emmanuel Akot SO, PF-Ryan Luther SR, C- Chase Jeter RS JR. (Editor Note: Dylan Smith has a good chance at starting along with Chase Jeter with their experience, something Miller covets, knowing his system)