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College Basketball Preview - West Coast Conference

Fri 4th, November 2011

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -

OUTLOOK: Gonzaga has won outright or shared each of the last 12 West Coast Conference titles, so to count the Bulldogs out this season would be foolish. It won't come easy, though. While Mark Few and company have cornered the market on championships, there is another program outside of Saint Mary's to give the Zags a run for their money this season. With BYU's football program going independent, the Cougars found a new home for their other sports in the WCC and it is now a three-horse race to the WCC finish line.

San Francisco, Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount represent the second tier in the league. The Dons are ready to build off a highly successful 2010-11 campaign. The Broncos will be playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulders after being left out of the NCAA Tournament field. It may have been that chip which fueled the team in its run to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament crown. The Lions were a disappointment last season due in large part to mounting injuries, going from 18 wins in 2009-10 to just 11 victories in 2010-11. They could push back towards the upper teens in victories if healthy again.

The bottom third of the conference will consist of Portland, Pepperdine and San Diego. The Pilots are coming off a second straight 20-win campaign but a roster turnover will keep Portland from making it three in a row. The Waves have moved on with Marty Wilson at the helm. The former assistant under Tom Asbury has his work cut out for him this season and it may take some time to make Pepperdine relevant in WCC circles again. San Diego managed a mere six wins last season and to make matters worse, charges of fixing a game in 2010 drove the Toreros even further into the conference abyss. Bill Grier's days at USD could be numbered, unless the team can get out from under its current problems.

CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Gonzaga

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Gonzaga, 2. Saint Mary's, 3. BYU, 4. San Francisco, 5. Santa Clara, 6. Loyola Marymount, 7. Portland, 8. Pepperdine, 9. San Diego

TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:

GONZAGA: The Bulldogs won 25 games last season, captured yet another conference crown (shared with Saint Mary's) and found themselves in their 13th straight NCAA Tournament. The team loses versatile veteran guard Steven Gray, but little else, while adding a strong recruiting class that could pay immediate dividends. Gray's departure in the backcourt will allow last year's savior Marquise Carter to become the focal point he was at the end of last year. The prize of the recruiting class is 6-2 freshman Gary Bell, a versatile playmaker that can both score and distribute. Fellow freshman Kevin Pangos is the heir apparent at the point. The frontcourt has more proven commodities in 7-0 center Robert Sacre (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and 6-7 forward Elias Harris (12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Harris burst on the scene as a freshman, but failed to live up to the hype last season despite his decent numbers. Sophomore big man Sam Dower (7.6 ppg) should be able to provide an offensive punch at the pivot.

SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels won 25 games as well, tied for the conference title, but were left on the outside looking in following a disappointing Selection Sunday. Gone is WCC Player of the Year Mickey McConnell but Randy Bennett still has viable backcourt options at the offensive end in junior guard Matthew Dellavedova (13.4 ppg) and SMU transfer Paul McCoy (13.4 ppg with the Mustangs two years ago). Saint Mary's has suffered from a lack of frontcourt size over the years, but Bennett hopes he has remedied that with the addition of Northwestern transfer Kyle Rowley (7-0, 280). Senior forward Rob Jones (13.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and junior forward Mitchell Young (10.2 ppg) will lead the offensive charge along the front line. Young led the WCC in field goal percentage last year (.594). Bennett has one of his best teams ever in Moraga and this could be the season that the Gaels finally knock Gonzaga off that pedestal.

BYU: The Cougars already possessed a huge homecourt advantage and that was in the bigger Mountain West. Now in the WCC, the cavernous Marriott Center full of Cougar faithful will be intimidating for almost all conference foes. BYU won a whopping 32 games a year ago, but that was a team led by All-American phenom Jimmer Fredette. One of the nation's most explosive scorers has now moved on to the NBA (when it finally settles its issues) and took his 29 points per game with him. There is no single player on any roster that can fill that void. Not only must Dave Rose pick up the pieces of that loss, but second-leading scorer Jackson Emery (12.5 ppg) is also gone. Forward Brandon Davies was tossed from the team last year after showing signs of blossoming (11.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) amidst violations of the school's honor code. He has been given another opportunity and will be a centerpiece in BYU's frontcourt going forward. Senior forward Noah Hartsock (8.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg) adds depth up front and has great shooting range. The backcourt is full of unknowns. Freshman DeMarcus Harrison (6-4, 190) will get plenty of minutes early, but it is UCLA transfer Matt Carlino (6-2, 175) who holds the most intrigue. However, Carlino will not be available until after the fall semester.

SAN FRANCISCO: Rex Walters is building something special with the Dons and brings a team with almost every key player back from a squad that finished with 19 victories overall and double-digit conference wins (10), good for third place in the league. The team should be able to post similar results in 2011-12, with a formula of tough defense and gritty play. The backcourt is the strength of the squad, as the team boasts one of the top tandems in the league in junior Michael Williams and senior Rashad Green. Williams (14.7 ppg) is a defensive nightmare for opponents, with the ability to light it up from anywhere on the floor. Green is a versatile playmaker, with the ability to both score (12.5 ppg) and rebound (5.8 rpg). Sophomore point guard Cody Doolin (7.7 ppg, 3.5 apg) looks to build off a surprisingly successful freshman campaign. Perris Blackwell (6-9, 240) will anchor the front line after averaging 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds as a sophomore.

SANTA CLARA: Kerry Keating's Broncos won a total of 24 games last season and despite also getting snubbed on Selection Sunday, they used it as a rallying cry and took out the competition in the CIT, capturing the tournament crown. It marked Keating's first winning season at the helm and earned him a nice extension. Now its time to prove that last year was no fluke. Santa Clara finished third in the league in scoring and should be fine in that category once again thanks to the return of WCC scoring leader Kevin Foster. The 6-2 junior can score from anywhere on the floor, evidenced by his gaudy 20.2 ppg as a sophomore. Evan Roquemore had a huge freshman season last year, showing the ability to both score (11.7 ppg) and distribute (3.7 apg). When the team needs scoring down low, it will look to 6-9 senior Marc Trasolini (12.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg).

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: While several teams overachieved in the conference, Loyola Marymount failed to live up to its potential. Despite almost everyone back from an 18-win season the year prior, Max Good's squad only posted 11 victories and finished a miserable 2-12 in WCC action. One of the reasons for the decline was a foot injury that forced shooting guard Jared Dubois (10.2 ppg) to take a redshirt season. He is healthy to begin this campaign and that has to have Good happy about a possible turnaround. Sophomore guard Anthony Ireland (10.6 ppg, 3.0 apg) earned All-Freshman honors last season and will run the point again this year. Senior forward Drew Viney is a Player of the Year candidate in the frontcourt, who averaged 17.2 points and 6.6 rebounds as a junior. Viney should get help from athletic forward Ashley Hamilton (9.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg). Freshman forward C.J. Blackwell has the potential to produce up front right away.

PORTLAND: Portland is coming off its second straight 20-win season. Eric Reveno is obviously doing something right. Despite that 20-12 overall mark though, a 7-7 conference record showed that there is still work to be done. The Pilots will try to cope with an upheaval in terms of talent. There are several losses from last year but none will be harder to deal with than the departure of 6-8 forward Luke Sikma, who averaged a double-double (12.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg). The frontcourt now lacks a proven commodity. Reveno hopes that foreign import Thomas van der Mars (6-11, 225) can become one of the conference's top pivots. Senior guard Nemanja Mitrovic (13.5 ppg) was a First- Team All-WCC selection last year and is the perimeter threat on the roster, after leading the WCC in three-point accuracy as a junior (.463). A lot is expected of 6-5 freshman swingman Kevin Bailey, as well. However, there is not much veteran depth on this roster, and that could shave at least five wins off of last year's total.

PEPPERDINE: The Waves finished with 12 wins last season and that total may be considered optimistic this season. This isn't Wilson's first stint in Malibu, as he served on an interim basis in 1996. Wilson already had to deal with the departures of two of the WCC's best in Keion Bell (18.9 ppg) and Mychel Thompson (14.6 ppg) and adding to his woes is the injury during the summer to top returning scorer Lorne Jackson (torn ACL). The problem now is that without a bona fide scoring threat, the team will need to rely heavily on its recruiting class. That class includes 6-9 freshman Manny Ochenje, 6-2 freshman Jordan Baker (Arizona Player of the Year) and foreign imports Nikolas Skouen (6-4 Norwegian) and Moriba De Freitas (6-9 from Trinidad).

SAN DIEGO: The Toreros suffered through a horrific season in 2010-11, with just six wins. The problem is that the nightmare may not be over. San Diego ranked 311th in the nation in scoring last year and 243rd in scoring defense. There isn't much hope that those stats will improve dramatically in 2011-12. The team does return its only double-figure scorer from a year ago in Darian Norris (10.4 ppg), but he isn't exactly a game-changer. Perimeter scoring has a chance to get better with Ben Vozzola (6-5 guard) and John Sinis (6-8 forward) finally suiting up after redshirting a year ago. Also presenting some intrigue is big man Chris Gabriel (6-11, 285), who could become a factor inside if he can stay in shape.