Arizona Basketball: Will Arizona be the Top Cat in the Pac 12?
By CJ O'Neill
The Top Tier
No. 4 Washington:
The Huskies had an average but promising season. Head coach Mike Hopkins has a full year under his belt and will be prepared to build upon last years’ 7th place finish. Luckily for him, he returns all of his notable players from the year prior. Jaylen Nowell, Noah Dickerson, David Crisp, and Matisse Thybulle will have another run and can crack the top tier of the conference.
Washington also has a respectable recruiting class, ranked 33rd by 247 Sports. Coach Hopkins finally has a veteran-laden roster that has the talent to make it to March. And for that reason I have them edging Arizona for the last spot in the top tier group.
Best Guess starting lineup PG- David Crisp SR, SG- Jaylen Nowell SO, SF- Matisse Thybulle SR, PF- Noah Dickerson SR, C-Sam Timmins JR.
No. 3 USC:
Southern Cal joined Arizona in a season full of highs and lows for the same reasons. There were wins, suspensions, investigations, and disappointments. Andy Enfield’s bunch finished as the runner-up to Arizona before getting bounced early in March. Stud big man Chimezie Metu is taking his talents to the NBA while the highly productive backcourt duo of Elijah Stewart and Jordan McLaughlin expire their eligibility. That trio made up three of the top four Trojan scorers which is a significant loss.
DeAnthony Melton also is NBA bound, despite not being able to play this season. However USC will be back in prime contention for the conference crown and the NCAA Tournament. Bennie Boatwright comes back from testing the NBA to anchor the squad. Players like Jonah Mathews, Nick Rackocevic, Jordan Usher, Shaqquan Aaron, and Derryck Thornton all look to take the next steps in their development. Coach Enfield also brings in a top 20 incoming class. There will once again be plenty of talent in Los Angeles, so I have USC penciled in at the Three spot.
Best Guess at a starting lineup is PG- Jordan Usher SO, SG-Jonah Mathews JR, SF-Shaqquan Aaron SR, PF-Bennie Boatwright SR, C-Nick Rakecovic JR.
Arizona Wildcats Basketball
No. 2 UCLA:
I kept going back and forth on this pick, but I think Oregon will be the team to beat (more on that later). There will be plenty of debates this summer about the best Pac 12 team, and UCLA will absolutely have a place in those conversations.
Head Coach Steve Alford will have a target on his head, as it is “put up or shut up” time in Westwood. Alford has had many years with top-flight recruits but meager results on the court. Aaron Holiday, the Bruins best player and scorer, is off to the NBA. Thomas Welsh and GG Golomon graduate.
Despite these losses, UCLA is returning and recruited more talent compared with what is departing. Last year’s stud freshmen Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands return after trying out for the NBA. Prince Ali becomes the savvy backcourt veteran. And then Alford has a loaded, top-ranked recruiting class to boot. Jaylen Hill and Codey Riley will be back in the line-up after suspension and Hill has huge upside no one has seen yet. The big question mark is obviously if all that talent can come together and accomplish what its “on-paper” projections say it can. For now, I am counting on that fact.
Best Guess starting lineup PG-Jaylen Hands SO, SG-Prince Ali JR, SF-Kris Wilkes SO, PF-Cody Riley SO, Cody Riley (5*) FR.
No. 1 Oregon:
As mentioned earlier, the Oregon Ducks will be the top Duck in the Pac 12, and possibly the West Coast. It cannot be ignored that Oregon will lose some quality production. Troy Brown declared for the draft, Elijah Brown, MiKyle McIntosh, and Roman Sorkin Graduate. MJ Cage and Keith Smith Are transferring to Pepperdine. The Ducks are still LOADED. Oregon will be doing its best Arizona impression with returning scorer Payton Pritchard, Paul White, Victor Bailey Jr, and Kenny Wooten anchoring the team. The veterans are joined by a top three recruiting class of potential One-and-Done NBAers. The Pac 12 should (hopefully) be trending up, and Oregon will be a big part of that trend.
Best Guess starting lineup PG-Payton Prichard Pritchard JR, SG-Will Richardson (4*) FR, SF- Louis King (5*) FR, PF- Miles Norris (4*) FR, C- Bol Bol (5*) FR
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There will be some new teams looking to make progress and take over the West. Oregon and UCLA will be the very top of the league, while USC and Washington will certainly contend. Lots of unknowns surround Arizona Basketball but on paper they have a roster that can hang with any team. ASU, Colorado, and Stanford will be competitive teams that must rely on inexperienced players to step up. The bottom tier of the conference will continue to be awful barring any surprises. Overall, I predict the conference to be much stronger and more consistent than it was previously. At Zona Zealots, we love exchanging different ideas and opinions. Let us know what YOU think about how the Pac 12 turns out! As always, Bear Down.