USC Getting No Respect in Pac 10 Hoops Previews
by Laughing Stock on Nov 8, 2010 7:42 PM PST
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Sports Illustrated and Sporting News each recently posted previews of the Pac 10 and each picked Southern California to finish 8th. Honestly, I find it difficult to believe that seven teams will finish ahead of SC. This team has its issues to be sure, specifically outside shooting and a lack of depth, but on the flip side the Trojans are extremely athletic, will be excellent on defense, and feature the best front court in conference with Alex Stepheson and Nikola "Kid Euro" Vucevic. So let's take a look at the shortcomings each of the teams ranked ahead of USC face coming into this season.
Washington: There is no doubt about it, the Huskies look good on paper and return every player save for one, but oh what a big one it is. Swingman Quincy Pondexter led the team in scoring (19.3 PPG) and rebounds (7.4 RPG) and his departure means that the pressure will be on Isaiah Thomas (NR) to produce most of the team's offense. The Huskies have good outside shooting too, but they really lack size down low and will need some of their recruits to help out Matthew Bryan-Amaning on the boards.
UCLA: Let's see... They lose two starters, one of whom led the team in scoring and assists while shooting 42% from beyond the arc. There are serious questions at Point Guard with the eventual answer being either the disappointing Jerime Anderson or a JC transfer. And most of their success depends upon how much Malcolm Lee improves. Tyler Honeycutt should be very good, but they will be hurting for depth up front big time if recruit Josh Smith hasn't dropped that extra poundage he's been carrying around the last couple years. In my eyes it is a complete joke that this team is being picked by most to return to the NCAA tournament.
Arizona: Derrick Williams will be the best player in conference but outside of him the Wildcats lack a legitimate post threat. Moreover if you're expecting Jamelle Horne to make some big leap as a Senior you are kidding yourself as he actually regressed in scoring and rebounding going from his Sophomore to Junior year. But hey, a team that lost its starting PG and is relying mostly on unproven sophomores should be a certain lock to dance once March rolls around... right?
Arizona State: This has to be a joke... Two starters are gone along with their 6th man. The starting lineup will have only one player taller than 6'6" and only one bench player who has played at the college level taller than 6'3". I just find it really hard to believe that a platoon of 3 point shooters with no front court or high major recruits will be sitting near the top of the conference at the end of the year.
Washington State: Let's face it, in the 2009/2010 season Klay Thompson was the only guy on this team that could create scoring opportunities on his own, and much of the Cougars offense relied on all of the attention Thompson draws. Reggie Moore and DeAngelo Casto are good supporting players, but WSU is really lacking in talent. If you take away Klay they're actually a lot like ASU and will likely live and die by outside shooting. Basically 2010/2011 looks to be much of the same story as last season.
Oregon State: Say goodbye to 3 starters, and welcome back the combined 18.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 2.6 APG that Calvin Hayes and Jared Cunningham return to the team. Yes indeed, the Beaver's starting backcourt will feature two players that dished out 2.6 assists each game between them. For OSU's sake let's hope that Roberto Nelson lives up to the hype, as he is finally cleared to play, as the trail of mediocrity behind him is very long.
California: Cal loses 5 players from last season, 4 of which were starters including Pac 10 player of the year Jerome Randle. The total production of those 5 was 62.4 PPG, 19.2 RPG, 10.2 APG. Mike Montgomery is a great coach but there is no way he will come even close to replacing that kind of production. I think this choice must be an elaborate joke.
USC finishing 8th? The Trojans will likely start MoJo, Bryce Jones, Marcus Simmons, Alex Stepheson, and Kid Euro with Jio Fontan available once conference play roles around. With Donte Smith available as a spot shooter off the bench and Evan Smith in reserve to spell our bigs it is simply bewildering to me that anyone could think that 7 teams will place ahead of SC. I guess we will just have to wait and see how it all pans out.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Conquest Chronicles' writers or editors.
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Not sure from your post if you're thinking that USC will finish ahead of UCLA
but you obviously don’t think UCLA can be a NCAA tournament team this year. I understand some of your thoughts here, but a couple of points.
1) Mike Roll, our one significant loss from last year, was a gamer who played solid basketball. Despite his shooting and court vision, he was a defensive liability who could not keep opponents in front of him. He will undeniably be missed, but he had some shortcomings that cannot be overlooked when evaluating how his loss will affect this year’s team.
2) Losing Dragovic is addition by subtraction. The occasional hot scoring streak was not balanced by his terrible defense and awful rebounding. He played because there were few options. This year, there will be, although none of the replacements have the shooting range that he did. All the options this year, however, play better defense and rebound better than he did.
3) Adding Zeke Jones at PG will likely not be a total cure for what has ailed us at PG, but there’s no reason to believe we can’t get at least improved PG play. IF all we get out of PG this year is fewer turnovers and better defense, UCLA likely makes the tournament.
4) Our frontcourt should be very good. Both Nelson and Honeycutt showed a lot of talent, and another year in the system will only benefit them. Josh Smith is already down 50 lbs. from his peak and looked like he could handle a college game tempo in our one exhibition game against Westmont. Granted, it was only exhibition, and he is a) only a freshman and b) must get even more fit, but the preliminary indicators are good. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say UCLA may have the best frontcourt in the conference by the time conference play starts.
5) Malcolm Lee will be improved and should mature into a very good player. Last year he was a solid contributor, but I think having play at the point messed him up a little bit. Keeping him at the 2 should help him. If he has discovered a more consistent stroke fromt he outside he will he all Pac-10.
6) We still have a great coach, the best in the Pac-10.
Preaseson pick: UCLA finishes ahead of USC and makes the tournament after a one-year absence.
Nice DJ
I pick USC 3rd in conference. Where do you pick UCLA? I simply do not completely by into Zona…yet, and UW is appears talented but vulnerable. I could see a USC/UCLA 1-2 finish this season.
You?
You can't put sanctions on the fkn endzone! Bowls are for salad!
Tough to predict
I think we finish 3rd as the writers predict. I think the preseason slection of USC at 8th is probably mistaken, but in all honesty I have a hard time seeing USC in the top half of the conference. They could surprise, but with so little experience, especially at PG, I just don’t see it.
That said, the conference is pretty wide open and it would not shock me to see USC do better.
Yah I agree about 1 & 2 points DJ----------plus I have been keeping up about Smith and he is now leaner but is a freshman.
Tyler H is the guy that will keep your team in the games, but the problem is at PF Nelson is a gamer but can he stay healthy. He is already injured and his Bullish style doesn’t help him. I wouldn’t say Ben is the best coach in the Pac-10, but among the top one being Romar, Dawkins, Montgomery, Sendick, O’Neil and Ben. It all comes down to if Ben stays with uptempo offense which has a lot of turnovers, and he hates turnover plus like Tim floyd uses a slow time consuming offense as defense.
Washington on paper looks great, but they have before and flopped the team I would be worried about is Stanford. But we shall see you never know until the season is 2/3 completed.
I love national championships it makes me feel superior to others, my whole place has USC stuff everywhere, it's painted red and gold, my car is the same colors my asscrack is bruin blue.
by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2010 3:40 AM PST up reply actions
Well I guess i should of looked at Stanfords roster before I called them a sleeper 6 freshman, not going anywhere soon.
I love national championships it makes me feel superior to others, my whole place has USC stuff everywhere, it's painted red and gold, my car is the same colors my asscrack is bruin blue.
by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2010 4:13 AM PST up reply actions
I know you have not been a fan of Howland
but the guy has done everything as a coach short of winning a national title, and that puts him way ahead of Dawkins, O’Neill, Romar and Sendek, none of whom have coached a team IIRC to the FF. Romar, et al. are fine coaches, but their collective track record does not support your assertion that they are as good as Howland. Montgomery is a first-rate coach who is IMHO as good as Howland.
I concur that Nelson has injury issues and his style of play will probably raise those issues more frequently than those 4’s who are less physical. Still, the kid was at the top of the Pac-10 last year in FG percentage and was the leading rebounder. If he stays healthy, he’s another Brockman.
Still don't think Howland is better than anyone else, you are wrong about fondness since I use to play pick-up with Ben and Lorenzo.
I love national championships it makes me feel superior to others, my whole place has USC stuff everywhere, it's painted red and gold, my car is the same colors my asscrack is bruin blue.
by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2010 10:26 PM PST up reply actions
The big issue I have with this years Bruins
I just find it hard to believe that Malcolm Lee will be much better because his overall lack of athleticism and bad attitude will really limit him. It’s also funny to me that UCLA fans are so sure about Smith, I mean if any hoops fans should be weary of supposedly elite recruits it would be you guys. But like I said we’ll have to see. Despite the tone of the article though it’s really hard for me to say for certain which will be better of the two LA schools, but I can say for certain that SC is not the 8th best team.
by Laughing Stock on Nov 9, 2010 4:12 PM PST up reply actions
I don't disagree with your comment re Malcolm Lee
but I think you’re placing a greater weight on his development as a precondition for UCLA to radically improve from last year.Lee doesn’t have to be great, just good, and he was pretty solid last year. I think he will be better, but the single biggest problem that UCLA had last year was at the point. If our PG play improves to merely adequate, UCLA is a tournament team, regadless of Lee improving.
Prediction for the Season
So, what is a reasonable goal for this season?
First, a recap of last season. After Mike Garrett imploded the team, KO resurrected a phoenix from the ashes to finish tied for 5th in conference at 8-10 and over .500 for the season with more wins than UCLA (16 to 14).
Even though we faded a bit late in the season, KO worked miracles last year to finish in the upper echolon. With what sounds like tremendous player development and a strong recruiting class, it seems reasonable to expect the Trojans to improve on last year’s finish.
I can understand the weak ass, lazy MSM not appreciating this USC team. We lost our backcourt, perimeter shooters, and lone slasher from last season (Gerrity, Lewis, Johnson), who must have accounted for at least 60% of our offense. We return only back-up PG Donte Smith to the backcourt. We have no depth on the front court behind Alex and Kid Euro. Literally, 0 backcourt depth with experience.
Yet, transfer Jio Fontan has the ability to be one of the best PGs in the conference when he becomes eligible. Frosh Brice and Mo Jones would appear to be able to put the biscuit in the basket from the perimeter, although it’s tough to count on true frosh for meaningful roles. This USC team will have too. Kid Euro and Alex Stepheson should form a formidable frontcourt, perhaps the conference’s best. But, for this team to really be successful, Marcus Simmons and Donte Smith must play at a very high level, and help lead the team as upper classmen. By all accounts, Marcus and Donte have improved during the offseason, and are capable of filling our perimeter scoring needs. As usual, I know this athletic KO team will play great defense.
For the rest of the PacX, I see a wide open race with Cal dropping out of the elite teams. Zona is young and talented, but too young to win the conference. UW is also talented, but not elite. As usual, UCLA looks great on paper. Surely, BenBall can’t put up another stinker this season, can he? Herb Sendik is the most underrated coach in America, but ASU would appear to be down. ’Furd, OSU, and Oregon all had decent years last season and should be competitive, if not upper echelon.
I think the conference is there for the taking. I predict a top 3 USC conference finish with USC in a tight race with UW, UCLA, and Zona all season long. My expectation for this season: March Madness, baby!!! Even if we don’t win a game, an NCAA tourney invite would be a huge accomplishment for KO’s 2nd season, and I believe it is a realistic goal. I will not be surprised either if USC wins or ties for the Pac10 regular season championship with Nicola Vucevic being named PoY ahead of Derrick Williams at Zona.
You can't put sanctions on the fkn endzone! Bowls are for salad!
Lets not forget about Garrett Jackson this kid is going to be great.
Losing Len Washington didn’t help the team in rebounding, but remember we do have 6-9 freshman Curtis Washington. It will be a crap shoot for title with no team getting past sweet sixteen, although I think Nestor and his Girls are eyeing that Ncaa crown again.
I love national championships it makes me feel superior to others, my whole place has USC stuff everywhere, it's painted red and gold, my car is the same colors my asscrack is bruin blue.
by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2010 3:49 AM PST up reply actions
Did you hear James Boyd is going to try out for hoops?
Nice! We really need him. A athletic bruising rebounder off the bench. Just what this team desperately needs. Hope James does well in his hoops tryout.
You can't put sanctions on the fkn endzone! Bowls are for salad!
Seems like the Pac 10 season will be a free for all
"Understanding is a virtue, hard to come by"
J. Airplane
Yo, LS!
The man, the myth, the badass!
Great write-up! So, what do you think it is? Is it that, because of USC’s recent sanctions, poor-football play, and all around “schadenfreude”- the mainstream media and sports talking heads are experiencing a universal lack of enthusiasm for Trojan athletics across the board? I seem to think that’s the case myself.
The thing about it though, (given our current situation) I’ll invoke the age-old adage, “winning cures everything”. We (Trojan basketball) had a nice start to our season last year, and kinda had a tailing-off where we didn’t finish in the same fashion as we started the season.
In a way though, I like these “low-expectation” placings by the pundits. It lit a little fire in O’Neill’s ass last year. Let’s just hope our conditioning and mental toughness doesn’t get lost this year- and as a consequence, our b-ball team finishes much stronger than last year. I’m certain we’ll field a highly competitive team that will give other Pac 10 teams fits. Are we good enough to make a run in the Pac 10 tournament? (undecided). Can we/will we get to go The NCAA Tournament? (prolly not, but hopeful).
But I must ask you, is Kid Euro going to draftable for the NBA? Will Maurice and Jio play on the court at the same time (Maurice = assist machine/Fontan = mad fucking points)?
In case you ever asked this offseason, could it get any worse?. . .In short, the answer is yes. (Joey Kaufman- Conquest Chronicles)
A few answers
Its easy to see USC’s losses in the backcourt and write them off, but the fact of the matter is that Dwight Lewis and Marcus Johnson were extremely streaky players on offense and could not score reliably at all. I really believe our freshmen will be able to play D on their level, and if they are inconsistent scorers well then all I can say is not much has really changed from last year.
Kid Euro will definitely get looks in the NBA (but hopefully not until his senior season), but at the very least he will have a long pro career overseas. He is just too well rounded not to. He can play D, he rebounds well on both offense and defense, and he has range on his jumper. He won’t blow anyone away but his overall game is so solid it wouldn’t surprise me to see him get drafted in the 2nd round.
And MoJo will definitely play at the same time as Jio. I can’t find the exact link where he says it right now, but O’Neill himself has mentioned how Fontan can play both one and two guard. It might seem like a defensive liability but as long as Simmons, Stepheson, and Vucevic are out there I’m really not too concerned about the defensive sets.
by Laughing Stock on Nov 9, 2010 4:20 PM PST up reply actions
USC - ucla game will kick off at 7:30
If ever there was a game that needed to start early it’s this one.
Trojans and bruins agree: Pac-10 sucks.
Football season is here
U feeling Loco?
I guess they don't want anyone east of the rockies to watch the game
If it was a day game I would consider going, like 2 years ago, but not at 7:30pm
"Understanding is a virtue, hard to come by"
J. Airplane
Agree, I'm passing on this one
The bruins will be way drunk and they’ve been spoiling for a fight since last year. That will be no place for a family, 13-9 was bad enough.
Football season is here
U feeling Loco?
KEVIN WILL BEAT ucla BOTH TIMES AGAIN!
I love national championships it makes me feel superior to others, my whole place has USC stuff everywhere, it's painted red and gold, my car is the same colors my asscrack is bruin blue.
by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2010 10:29 PM PST reply actions
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