The Pac-10 after Week 1

Women's Basketball Standings

Stanford 2-0, 7-3
Washington 2-0, 9-4
Arizona State 1-0, 11-1
California 1-1, 9-2
Oregon 1-1, 8-3
UCLA 1-1, 7-7
Washington State 1-1, 5-6
Arizona 0-1, 6-7
Oregon State 0-2, 4-5
USC 0-2, 6-6

Stanford

visited USC and UCLA and came away with a sweep. Without Candice, Stanford exhibited very balanced scoring.

Dec 28: Arizona
Dec 30: ASU
Jan 2: @ Fresno State

Washington

went to the state of Oregon and came away with two big road wins to co-lead the Pac-10 with Stanford after the first week. Both were 4 point wins and the Oregon State game went to overtime. Cameo Hicks led the way with 37 points and 19 rebounds and Andrea Plouffe had 29 points, in the two games.

Dec 29: USC
Dec 31: UCLA

Arizona State

easily defeated Arizona in their only league game and also defeated Texas Tech in the "outdoor" game. Danielle Orsillo scored 33 points in the 2 games to earn Pac-10 Player-of-the-Week honors.

Dec 28: @ cal
Dec 30: @ Stanford

Cal

started its Pac-10 season without outstanding PG Alexis Grey-Lawson, a huge blow to their top 15 ranking. Cal split its two SoCal games, beating USC and losing a heartbreaker in OT at UCLA. Devanei Hampton led Cal with 40 points and 13 rebounds with Ashley Walker scoring 31 points to go with 19 rebounds in the two games. Cal continues last year's practice of playing starters most of the way. In the UCLA game the five starters all played between 36 and 45 minutes of the overtime game, and 3 of them fouled out.

Dec 28: ASU
Dec 30: Arizona
Jan 2: Rhode Island

Oregon

hosted the Washington schools, losing a tight one to Washington by 4 and beating WSU by 11. Eleanor Haring scored 37 points and 6-7 Jessie Shetters had 19 rebounds in the 2 games.

Dec 30: BYU
no league games this week.

UCLA

beat Cal in OT and lost to Stanford to go 1-1 for the week. Noelle Quinn lead the Bruins with 30 points and 10 assists in the two games. Attendance for the two home games averaged about 750. Incredible.

Dec 29: @ WSU
Dec 31: @ Washington

Washington State

started the Pac-10 season with a 17 point win at Oregon State, then lost at Oregon. WSU will be a low scoring team, as frosh Marisa Stotler lead the team over the first two games with a total of 20 points.

Dec 29: UCLA
Dec 31: USC

Arizona

lost to ASU to start league play. Joy Hollingsworth and Amina Njonkou led the Wildcats against the Sun Devils with identical totals of 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Dec 28: @ Stanford
Dec 30: @ Cal

Oregon State

lost a pair to the Washington schools in Corvallis, although they played a great game while losing in OT to Washington. Sr Casey Nash scored 45 points in the two games, she is the leading scorer in Pac-10 play, to lead the Beavs. Nash was 13 for 16 from the floor against Washington.

Dec 28: Texas (in San Diego)
Dec 30: Holy Cross or San Diego

USC

lost to both Bay Area schools in LA last week to start their league play at 0-2. Shay Murphy had a great week with 39 points. Attendance at USC was a sparkling 695 average against the then # 14 and 15 teams in the country.

Dec 29: @ Washington
Dec 31: @ WSU

Big Games this week

Thursday: ASU @ Cal
Sat: ASU @ Stanford
Sunday: UCLA @ Washington

Predictions for the season

Having previewed all of our competition in the Pac-10, I now move to a weekly commentary on the conference, the results, and the future. Today my predictions on the Pac-10 and the state of each team.

Following are my predictions of the final standings and a brief analysis of each team's season thus far and its schedule for the remainder of 2006. All team stats are through Dec 14th, team records through Dec 16th.

1. Stanford. Well who else?

Record: 5-3
Quality wins: Texas Tech, Utah
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Wiggins, 16.9 ppg
• Smith, 14.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg
• Newlin, 9.0 rpg

3-point %: 32.7%
Averaging 18 assists and 15 turnovers per game, the only Pac-10 team with a positive ratio.

Schedule:

• Dec 20 @ USC
• Dec 22 @ UCLA
• Dec 28 Arizona
• Dec 30 Arizona State

2. Arizona State

Record: 9-1
Quality wins: Gonzaga, New Mexico
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Westerberg, 16.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
• Orsillo, 10.4 ppg
• Noe, 6.4 rpg

3-point %: 41%, tops in the Pac 10.
January, Thompson, Simon and Noe are all averaging between 9.3 and 9.9 ppg.

Schedule:

• Dec 20 Arizona
• Dec 28 @ Cal
• Dec 30 @ Stanford

3. UCLA

Record: 6-6
Quality win: 3 losses to top 10 teams
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Pluimer, 16.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg
• Quinn, 15.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg
• Ibekwe, 6.5 rpg

3-point %: 34.5%
Quinn is averaging 6.4 assists per game, but shooting only 39%. UCLA is out-rebounding its opponents by 8 per game.

Schedule:

• Dec 20 Cal
• Dec 22 Stanford
• Dec 28 @ WSU
• Dec 30 @ Washington

4. Washington

Record: 7-4
Quality wins: Gonzaga, Florida State
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Hicks, 18.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg
• Plouffe, 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg
• Bell, 9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg

3-point %: 32.3%.

Schedule:

• Dec 21 @ Oregon
• Dec 23 @ Oregon State
• Dec 29 USC
• Dec 31 UCLA

5. USC

Record: 6-4
Quality win: Notre Dame
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Murphy, 19.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg
• Kerr, 14.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg

3-point %: 28.5%.
Backup Hughes is now out for several weeks.

Schedule:

• Dec 20 Stanford
• Dec 22 Cal
• Dec 29 @ Washington
• Dec 31 @ Washington State

6. Cal

Record: 8-1
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Walker, 19.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg
• Hampton, 11.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg

3-point %: 35.8%
The loss of Grey-Lawson for the year puts the spotlight on Frosh Lauren Greif. She is hitting 48.6% from 3-point range and has a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio.

Schedule:

• Dec 20 @ UCLA
• Dec 22 @ USC
• Dec 28 Arizona State
• Dec 30 Arizona

7. Oregon

Record: 7-2
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Haring, 13.1 ppg
• Lilley, 11.4 ppg
• Shetters, 8.9 rpg

3-point %: 39.6%

Schedule:

• Dec 21: Washington
• Dec 23: Washington State
• Dec 30: BYU (Note, Oregon will play Oregon State twice in the same week later this season)

8. Arizona

Record: 6-5
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Hollingsworth, 16.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg
• Whisonant, 11.8 ppg
• Njonkou, 6.1 rpg

3-point %: 26%
6-7 JC Transfer Beatrice Bofia never got to play and is now out for the season with a knee injury.

Schedule:

• Dec 22: @ ASU
• Dec 28: Stanford
• Dec 30: Cal

9. Washington State

Record: 4-6
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Stotler, 10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg
• Kelly, 8.4 ppg
• Benz, 8.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg

3-point %: 24.2%

Schedule:

• Dec 21: @Oregon State
• Dec 23: @ Oregon
• Dec 29: UCLA
• Dec 31: USC

10. Oregon State

Record: 4-3
Leading Scorers & Rebounders:

• Nash, 21.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg
• Lomax, 12.4 ppg, 12.2 rpg

3-point %: 22.4%
They have a fine 1:1 assist to turnover ratio

Schedule:

• Dec 21: Washington State
• Dec 23: Washington
• Dec 28: Texas
• Dec 30: Holy Cross or San Diego

Pac-10 Preview: Washington State

(Washington State roster)

In the past three years WSU has gone 5-49 in league play. They are the weak sister of the Pac 10. It appears that record won't improve much in the coming season. Thus far in pre-season play WSU has 3-6 record with wins over Sac State, San Jose State and Eastern Washington.

Washington State is led by 6-2 SR Kate Benz, who averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds per game last year. She would be a go to player on any Pac 10 team, and is a very strong rebounder.

The good news for WSU is that the supporting cast is very young, and some of them are playing quite well.

Washington uses a three Guard line-up, with 5-8 SO Katie Appleton swinging to several spots, including the Point; 5-9 SO Amanda DuRocher at the 2/3 and 5-8 FR Colleen Betteridge at the Point. Betteridge had a game with 6 assists. Appleton and DuRocher each averaged 8 points per game as Frosh, and both are good 3 point shooters.

Also playing at the 2/3 are 5-7 FR Nakejia Kelly and 5-11 JR Dani Montgomery, who averaged 4 points per game last season.

In the frontcount with Benz are 6-1 FR Marisa Stotler, 6-4 SO Center Ebonee Coates and 6-0 SR Adriane Ferguson. Last season Ferguson averaged 4 points per game, but has been sidelined for a time this season with a finger injury. Coates started out great in the rebounding area, but recently has given way to Stotler who has had games of 24 and 25 points.

Only 2 of 8 players are SRs, and only one is a top six player, so the future could get slightly better, except for recruiting. I can't find any recruits for the 2007 class. There is one possible, Shanice Brown who should be a frosh, but is not on the roster.

Pac-10 Preview: Washington is not being bold

(Washington roster)

The Purple and Gold are not being Bold. One would have thought a 5-1 start would be possible and probable, given their schedule, but losses on the road to Kent State and Marquette have left the Huskies at 3-3 going into a road game against Ohio State. And the Ohio State game was very encouraging, despite a close loss.

Graduation losses were minimal, Kayla Burt and Kristen O'Neill. Burt made a fantastic comeback from heart problems and O'Neill was an excellent 3 point shooter, but losing only 2 role players from an 18-9 regular season record should not have had this effect on the Huskies.

At the point is 5-5 junior Emily Florence. She is leading the team in assists at 4 per game while averaging 4 points per game. She has started every game and tied for the most minutes with Cameo Hicks.

Hicks, a 5-10 senior, is off to a great start, averaging 19 points per game. She is an offensive force, one of the best offensive players in the Pac 10.

Washington doesn't have a true center on the team, but has a number of 6-0 to 6-3 women.

Andrea Plouffe is a 6-2 junior who came on toward the end of last season. She missed 3 games this year, but is 2nd in points per game at 11 and 2nd in rebounds at 5 per game. Also starting up front is 6-1 senior Breanne Watson. Watson is averaging 9 points and 4 rebounds per game. 6-0 senior Jill Bell is scoring at the rate of 10 points per game and has a sizeable lead in rebounding at 7.4 per game for the Huskies.

Other post-type players are 6-2 freshman Laura McLellan from San Jose who has played in every game, and 6-3 senior Maggie O'Hara.

Cheri Chaddock, a wonderful athlete, is a 5-10 senior averaging 6 points per game. Stefanie Clark is a 5-9 sophomore guard averaging 8.6 points per game, 5th on the team.

Injured, and out until January or so, is 5-8 junior Dominique Banks, who scored 7 points per game last season while starting all but one game.

Lack of strong post play has hurt the Huskies, who are presently 3-4 on the year.

Recruiting: The Huskies recently got a transfer from the University of San Diego, 6-0 guard Michelle Augustavo. She must sit out this season and will play next year. Can she shoot? She holds the USD record for scoring 42 points last year against Clemson with TEN 3's.

Washington has a great high school recruiting class, # 10 in the US. Joining the Huskies next year will be:

• 6-5 4-star center, Kali Bennett
• 5-8 4-star point guard, Sarah Morton
• 5-10 4-star guard, Candice Nichols
• 6-3 3-star center, Mackenzie Argens
• 6-0 3-star guard, Katelan Redmon

Adding in Augustavo makes for a bright Husky future.

Pac-10 Preview: USC is hovering near the top

(USC roster)

USC is "Hovering Near the Top". Coach Mark Trakh has his team at the top of the Pac-10, the top 10 of Women's College Basketball. But that hovering will be delayed for a season due to three top players missing the present season. Standout point guard Camille LeNoir, super freshman Jackie Gemelos and outstanding 3-point shooter Brynn Cameron will miss this season. So what will 2006-07 bring? Maybe a .500 season.

In addition to the three major losses above, USC lost solid Meghan Gnekow to graduation. That's right, Trakh went into the past off-season with only one loss and a potential Top 10 team. Then the roof fell in before the Women of Troy could move to the new Galen Center.

USC does have their post players back. Chloe Kerr is a 6-3 senior who averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds per game last season. Backing Kerr up will be 6-3 sophomore Nadia Parker, who averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds. Also at the center position could be 6-1 senior Markisha Lea, who played 10 minutes a game last year.

At a forward position will be their leader, Shay Murphy. Murphy is a 5-11 senior who led the team last season in scoring at 17.6 ppg and rebounding at 7.3 rpg. She also took twice as many shots as any returning player, shooting 42.5% overall and 34% from 3. Not very good percentages, but in the first few games this season, Shay has been the shooter and scorer for USC.

Jamie Funn is a 6-2 senior who could play many minutes at both the 4 and 5 positions. Funn averaged 5 points and almost 6 rebounds per game last season.

The point guard will be veteran 5-4 senior Jamie Hagiya. Jamie split time with LeNoir last year and averaged 6 points and 3.5 assists per game.

The wings will mix some new players and some returnees. 5-11 senior Allison Jaskowiak will probably be one starter after averaging 26 minutes last season. She also averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game. The other starter could be our JJ Hones' teammate from Southridge, 6-2 freshman Aarika Hughes. 6-2 freshman Hailey Dunham will see a lot of playing time at the 1, the 2 and the 3. She will be the back up point guard to Hagiya.

Other wings include 5-11 junior Simone Jelks, who was injured quite a bit last season. 6-1 freshman Morghan Medlock will see quite a bit of play at both the 2 and the 3. She was highly recruited.

What could have been! However they will play six seniors, and if their three standout freshmen develop, I could be wrong and USC could challenge for a top 4 league finish, their early loss to South Dakota State notwithstanding.

Recruiting: 6-1 five-star Stefanie Gilbreath is a Top 15 player. 6-5 Kari LaPlante is the # 9 Center and # 90 or so player in the country. However USC graduates two of their three centers, so Kari fills a huge need.

Pac-10 Preview: Oregon State has an exciting young coach

(OSU roster)

Having an exciting young coach is this season's highlight for the Oregon State Beavers. LaVonda Wagner had an excellent first year although they played a very weak non-conference schedule. Her 14-13 record going into the Pac 10 Tournament, and a first day win were very exciting. However, huge personnel losses, coupled with a small roster will make this season quite a trial.

Losses include Kim Butler, Mandy Close, Anita Rivera, Tiffany Ducker and Karen Vickery, who combined to average 53 of their 63 points per game. That's right, only 10 points per game return.

Oregon State has no centers on their 9 person roster, which means a forward will play defensive center. They also have only three forwards, and here's the catch, all three are freshmen. Stacey Nichols played with our JJ Hones at Southridge and is a fine prospect. The 6-1 Nichols is already starting. She was a 4-time All State player while at Southridge. 6-2 freshman Whitney Champlin is the Beavers' tallest player. 5-11 freshman Judie Lomax is short for a front line player, but had a reputation in high school for being a strong rebounder.

At the guard position, 6-1 senior Casey Nash is the top returning scorer at 7 points per game. She'll play the 2 or 3 in what will surely be a three guard offense. She is not a three point shooter. 5-8 freshman Jasmine Smith from Pinole Valley will also start at Guard, and has already had a 20 point game. Jasmine is Oregon State's best recruit. She was All East Bay, and can both slash and hit the three.

Other guards include 5-8 senior Ebony Young, who has not played much in her career. She averaged 2 points per game in only 8 games last year. 5-8 freshman Julie Futch looks to be the point guard. Julie averaged 18 points, 5 assists and 5 steals a game as a high school senior, and had her jersey retired. Also looking for playing time is 5-10 junior Ashley Allen. Allen is interesting. She's a transfer from the University of Oregon. She could get playing time at point guard and may vie for the starter's position.

It looks like a very long season, which is why I include the next topic.

Recruiting: 4-star 6-3 center/forward Alexandria Mitchell should move right into the post position next season.

6-2 3-star forward Brittany Eskridge will certainly be a candidate to start.

5-11 Guard Talisa Rhea comes from Alaska and is not yet rated.

With 5 open scholarships, it should be a busy recruiting winter for Oregon State.

Pac-10 Preview: UCLA is Noelle's team

(UCLA roster)

This week it's a review of the UCLA Bruins, the team headed by the controversial Kathy Olivier, also known here as KO.

UCLA suffered the most losses through graduation/transfer of any Pac10 team. Gone are 2/3 of the Terrific Trio, Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis. Also gone is solid backup Guard Ortal Oren. And to compound the losses, potential Point Guard Lauren Pedersen transferred out during the summer.

On the other hand, Noelle Quinn returns for her senior season, climaxing a wonderful career at UCLA. She will move from Wing to Point Guard, and certainly be the leader of this team. As KO said, "It's Noelle's Team."

The leader, 6-0 senior Noelle Quinn will start at Point Guard and move to the 2 when 5-9 freshman Jerica Williams enters the game. Noelle averaged 18 points per game last season, and while Blue was the full time PG, Noelle also averaged 3.8 assists per game. This is an extremely solid number, reflecting her outstanding court vision.

The other starting Guard will be 5-10 sophomore, Tierra Henderson. Tierra only scored a point a game while playing just 10 minutes a game last season, but the Bruins and their fans are high on her. Keep in mind that with Willis and Blue playing 34 minutes per game last year, there wasn't much playing time for many.

Others who will vie for playing time at the Guard positions include 5-10 freshman Amy Horton, a big time scorer in High School, and seldom used 5-8 senior Shaina Zaidi. An interesting note, KO's daughter, 5-8 freshman Alexis Olivier has walked on to the team.

There are only three true post players on this team; 6-3 sophomore Chinyere Ibekwe and 6-6 freshman Moniquee Alexander lead the way. Ibekwe averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds per game in only 12 minutes per game as a freshman. In my very humble opinion, she was the cause of UCLA's defeating Stanford in the Pac10 Tournament finals. She's a banger with a tremendous amount of desire and hustle. Ibekwe could also play the 4, when Moniquee (Double E) moves into the Center position. In UCLA's first game, an 87-62 win over UCSB yesterday, Double E scored 8 points, grabbed 10 rebounds in only 14 minutes. She also had a frosh-like 5 turnovers. The backup will be 6-4 senior Consuelo Lezcano who played only 18 games and 6 minutes per last season while fighting injuries.

The starter at the 4, and maybe the 3 down the road is 6-4 junior Lindsey Pluimer. Lindsey is not a banger, but she grabbed 11 rebounds in the Bruins' first game. She was highly recruited, including by Stanford. Lindsey has had to guard a post player during her UCLA career, but this year she may get to play more wing, and really display her talents. Last year she averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds per game. However Quinn was their leading rebounder at a very good 8 per game, and it remains to be seen if UCLA can afford to play both Pluimer and Quinn outside.

For now, maybe, the starter at the 4 is 6-1 senior Amanda Livingston. Amanda saw plenty of action last season, 19 minutes per game, but had only 6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. However, as so often happens, the fact that Amanda knows she will play could give her increased confidence and a solid increase in productivity.

Other Forwards are 6-2 senior Julia Pitts, who has often been injured and remains so as of this writing, and 6-0 freshman Erica Latimer, a top recruit who will see considerable playing time.

Kathy gets the players, but the loss of Point Guard Ashlee Trebilcock, a top 25 high school player, who transferred out after playing four games last season, will haunt this team. However superstar Quinn and extremely solid players like Pluimer will keep UCLA in the top half of the Pac10.

Recruiting: KO did extremely well in recruiting this year. Her class has been ranked as high as 8th nationally. We all write her off, and she comes back with a great class.

No 5-Star players, but five 4-star recruits and a 3-star recruit make this six player class one of the deepest in the nation. Leading the way is #6 Center in the US, 6-4 Regina Rogers. Lots has been said about her need to get into shape, but KO also landed her high school teammate, 6-3, #11 F, Christina Nzekwe. Christina, is a sleek and very athletic Post type player.

Other recruits include #22 F, 6-4 Candice Brown; #43 Guard, 6-1 Nina Earl; #52 Guard 5-10 Doreena Campbell and 3-Star Guard, 5-8 Darxia Morris.

All six players are ranked in the 40-90 area nationally. Quite a year recruiting, and KO convinced a number of other top players to visit. The allure of Westwood remains strong.

Pac-10 Preview: Oregon, The Ducks Need Magic

(Oregon roster)

This week we'll look at the team known as the Oregon Ducks. I say known as because three players are from Oregon, two from California and six from other countries.

Oregon was hard hit by injury and graduation. Lost was junior-to-be Gabrielle Richards, the Ducks leading scorer and rebounder last season, along with graduates Brandi Davis, Chelsea Wagner and Kedzie Gunderson. The four not returning accounted for half the Duck points last season.

However the Ducks will be strong in the post. Returning are Power Forward hopefuls 6-1 senior Eleanor Haring, who averaged 7 points per game, and 6-2 junior Kristen Forristall who averaged a solid 5.5 points per game as a freshman 2 years ago. In the middle should be 6-3 senior Caroyln Ganes, who averaged 7 points per game despite starting only 2 games. Also in the middle is tall (6-6) but seldom used senior Jessie Shetters.

Two new players should help up front; in fact, one should be a starter. Jamie Hawkins transferred from Boise State two years ago, sat out, and is raring to go. She's a 6-1 senior and the 17th leading scorer in Boise State history. She averaged 11 points per game in each of her first two seasons, and 5+ in her final year at Boise. She is the niece of former Boise State Football Coach, Dan Hawkins.

The other new Forward is freshman 6-2 Mary Sbrissa, from Italy. She actually joined the team in January of last year and redshirted. Some may remember her introduction to the Oregon crowd during the Stanford game.

At Point Guard will be returning starter 5-10 junior Kaela Chapdelaine. Kaela led the team in assists last year, although she only averaged 4 points per game. However she did hit 40% of her Three Point attempts.

At the 2 Guard will be Cicely Oaks, a 5-7 senior, who finally got some playing time last year and averaged 6 points per game. She was the Most Improved Duck last year. Also back is 5-8 sophomore Tamika Nurse, who averaged 3.5 points per game.

Two newcomers at Guard are 20 year old 5-8 freshman Micaela Cocks from New Zealand and 5-6 freshman Taylor Lilley. Lilley is one of the greatest 3 point shooters in high school basketball history. She shot 44% for her career, including an amazing 119 for 238, 50% as a senior.

There's lots of international experience on the roster, but only 11 players and a decided lack of marquee players. Bev Smith will have to really work magic for a winning season.

Recruiting: Lilley, this year's only U.S. freshman, was a 3 star recruit, on a scale of 1-5, out of high school.

This year Oregon has landed 3 players of note. 4 star Guard Tatianna Thomas should help immediately next year. Also committing are Guard Nia Jackson, a 3 star player from Sealth High School in Seattle and 6-4 Center Nicole Canepa from San Francisco. Canepa is a 2 star player. Oregon is still in the mix for outstanding 5 star Guard Melissa Jones.

Pac-10 Preview: Cal, The Bear is Back

(Cal roster)

The Bear is back, as Cal announcer Joe Starkey likes to shout. The addition of the Fab 5 last year brought Cal women's basketball back into the limelight as a winning team and with a trip to the Dance. But much has happened since their NCAA first round loss.

Strong Forward Renee Wright graduated, which was Cal's only planned loss. Then Guard Sarah Pool decided not to play her 5th season; followed by Jessica Lawson's transfer to Central Florida; then Jene Morris thought the grass was greener with Beth Burns and off she went to San Diego State. Poof, there went the depth.

Cal starts off the season with one of the smaller Pac 10 rosters, 11 players, but they also return three sophs, who are outstanding. The pressure will be on 2nd year coach Joanne Boyle to keep her Big Three (shades of the Terrific Trio at UCLA these past years) healthy. Hampton, Walker and Gray-Lawson all suffered injuries during the summer, although they should be healthy for the start of the season.

At Center, 6-3 Devanei Hampton is an outstanding player. She has great offensive skills, and the quickness and jumping ability to be a strong defensive presence. Behind her is 6-2 Emmelie Geraedts, who hasn't played much, and 6-5 frosh Rama N'diaye. Rama's background is not strong, and she's not a Center by personality. She seems better suited as a 4, and may play there also. The big question is, will she be ready for Pac 10 play? That's quite a jump for her, and judging by what I saw in the summer league, it might be rushing her.

Ashley Walker, a 6-1 Soph, is a strong player with quickness and a desire to mix it up under the basket. Walker and Hampton form an outstanding pair of Post players, who will do a lot of damage on offense near the basket, and be ferocious rebounders. Backing up Walker will be 6-0 Jr Krista Foster, who should be solid as the back up.

At the Small Forward will be 6-0 Soph Shantrell Snead. Shantrell was very highly recruited and a part of the Fab 5. However, injuries have left her trying to make a comeback of sorts. If 100% healthy, she will be a major contributor. An outstanding rebounder for a 3, she is also a strong offensive weapon, although not a 3 point shooter. Backing up Snead will be one of the five Guards. Therefore a lot of pressure on Snead and her comeback from injuries.

At the Point will be the outstanding 5-8 Alexis Gray-Lawson. Gray-Lawson is really an ideal 2 Guard. She has outstanding offensive skills from the three point line to under the basket. She's a score first PG, not ideal when your other two offensive weapons are post players. But she is exciting, and definitely a leader.

There are four Guards who could play and, the Bears hope, contribute. 5-7 Frosh Natasha Vital comes in as about the #55 HSer from last year and can play the Point. Another Point will be 5-5 Soph Kelly O'Connell.

At the 2 Guard will be 5-10 Sr Keanna Levy. Levy has played well the past two summers in the Pro Am, but didn't see much playing time last season for Cal. This could be the year she breaks out, and the Bears need her to step up. Backing up Levy will be 5-10 frosh Lauren "Bring the Opposition" Greif. An outstanding HSer from Oregon, she brings that Oregon mentality with her, always at the right place at the right time. Lauren could also play the 3.

Last year the top three scorers were Hampton at 15.4, Gray-Lawson 14.6, and Walker at 13.3. These three account for 43.3 of the 51.5 returning points or 84% of the offensive production. Hampton averaged 7.9 rebounds per game, Walker 7.7. Both are truly outstanding rebounders.

Recruiting: This year's class includes two # 50 -100 type recruits in Greif and Vital, and a project in Rama.

In the current recruiting cycle, Cal has landed the outstanding 6-2 Post Lenita Sanford, a 5 star player. Other than that, 6-1 Kelsey Adrian is now rated in the 90's and unknown 6-0 Rachelle Federico from Arizona has also verbaled to Cal. Despite six scholarships to give, it appears Cal is done for this signing period. They might be looking for late bloomers for the April signing period.

Pac-10 Preview: Arizona, Tall and Deep

(Arizona roster)

This week we'll look at the Arizona Wildcats as they emerge from the darkness that was the season of 2005-06. Normally I don't like to talk about who was lost from the previous season other than mentioning them, but the loss of Polkey loomed over all, and this program is ready for a more joyful 2006-07 season.

Having said all that, last year's team shot and rebounded poorly but played hard. This year the Wildcats welcome four new players who will help immensely in the areas of shooting and rebounding. In fact the incoming players are two sets of twins, the 6-6 and 6-7 Bofia sisters from Cameroon, by way of Illinois Central JC, and the 6-1 Neabors twins from Pomona. The two sets of twins will give instant rebounding, post defense, post offense and depth. Arizona also returns all seven of their leading scorers, except top scorer, Guard Natalie Jones.

Post play really has to start with Jr Shannon Hobson, who missed the entire previous season. She's 6-2, strong, and will be a focal point. Before her injury she was not a big scorer, but was the Wildcats most inspirational player last season, despite not playing, and can play very strong defense. Suzy Bofia, the shorter twin at 6-6, scored 12 points and had 9 rebounds per game in JC last year. Her 6-7 sister wasn't nearly the scorer, but with her height, and the depth they have, should be an important contributor.

Newcomers 6-1 Rhaya and 6-2 Rheya Neabors are frosh, and both were ranked in the Top 100 or so in the US last year in High School. They will add depth to returnees 6-1 Whitney Fields and 6-0 Ché Oh. Oh, you might remember, was having a fine game against Stanford at Maples but was injured during that game. Fields averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game in her frosh season and Oh averaged 8 points and nearly 6 rebounds in the 20 games she did play.

The strength of this team, especially as the two sets of twins become accustomed to the college pace, is the Guard position. Ashley Whisonant, 5-8, returns as the PG, backed by Jessica Arnold. Last year they played together at times. Whisonant averaged nearly 14 points per game and led the team in assists by quite a bit. Arnold, only 5-4, averaged 6 points per game.

The 2 Guard will be their best player, 5-9 Joy Hollingsworth, who is one of only two Seniors. Joy averaged 14.4 points per game and made 50% more 3's than anyone else. She will be the leader, backed by Kelsey Burns, 5-11, who averaged 4 points per game and hit 36.6 of 71 three-point attempts. Linda Pace, 5-9, is the only other Senior. She averaged 5 points per game and didn't attempt a three-pointer.

In summary, this team lacked posts last year and has 5 now. The younger players have gone through an ordeal and should be battle tested.

And not the least, Joan Bonvicini is a very good, successful Head Coach.

Recruiting: Well they had 8 in the Scout Database and all have committed elsewhere. This will be a problem.

Arizona State, a Thorne in Our Side

Each week, leading up to the opening of the Pac 10 season, I will write an article on each Pac10 team excluding Stanford. The big time fans here know all about our team. I'll update any recent story on schools I've already written about. Then when the Pac 10 season starts, I'll do a weekly article on that week and how each school did, and what might happen in the current week. I'm excited about this and hope you will enjoy.

This Week: Arizona State

Our first article is on Arizona State, a Thorne in our side for several years now. ASU is known for both their very physical play and Charli's ice hockey style substitution patterns. She often subs 4 or even 5 players at a time.

The key to their play is strong post play and this year the Center position belongs to 6-6 soph Kirsten Thompson. Kirsten was a McDonald's All-American and saw plenty of action last year behind the graduated and outstanding Kristen Kovesdy. The huge question is can Thompson play D and rebound like Kovesdy. Last year Thompson scored 5 points per game and had 2 rebounds per game while playing 10 minutes per game. This year she will play 25 or so minutes per game.

Forwards will be Sr Emily Westerberg who scored 11 per game with 5 rebounds per game, and strong Sr Aubree Johnson who was at 6 points and almost 5 rebounds per game. Westerberg is a fine athlete who was second in assists. She can run and slash and shot 35% from 3. Johnson is more of a defensive player/rebounder, who shared time with the graduated Amy Denson.

Back up posts/forwards will be younger players, soph and incoming frosh. The best of these could be 6-2 frosh, Kayli Murphy. Charli's biggest challenge will be getting the back up post players up to speed for Pac 10 play, and developing Thompson as she did Kovesdy.

The strength of the team will be the Guard position, a reversal for a team that last year used their solid posts to out rebound the opposition by 6.5 boards per game.

Incoming frosh dynamo Dymond Simon will make an immediate impact. A McDonald's All-American and a 5-5 bundle of energy and extreme quickness. Soph Briann January returns as the Starting PG, to be challenged by Dymond. Briann didn't shoot well last year, 34%, 22% from 3, but was tough in the clutch and did lead the team in assists. Given the hockey style substitutions, these two could play the same amount of time.

At the 2 Guard are two players who should shoot much better than last season. Sr Jill Noe, who I believe could have 2 years left, returns after an uneven season. But remember Jill has missed a lot of time with serious knee injuries. I suspect this year she will shoot and play like the younger Noe we saw several years ago. One time Stanford possibility, Soph Danielle Orsillo also returns as Noe's back up. Noe scored 8 points per game last year, Orsillo 7. Also returning is Jr Reagan Pariseau, who was the top 3 point shooter last year at 35.5%, scoring 5 points per game.

Given 5 very good Guards, and a lack of established depth in the front court, Charli may often play 3 guards at the same time. They could well run more than before, and certainly establish a fine "kick out for 3" game that we know so well.

Recruiting: ASU has only one commitment, versatile 6-1 wing, forward, Stephanie Wilber from the state of Washington. Wilber is an outstanding slasher, 3 point shooter, ranked about 80th in the nation. Two big post players have transferred in, 6-3 Lauren Lacey from Minn, and 6-3 Sybil Dosty from Tenn. Both should be outstanding post players, and each will sit out this season, then have 2 years left to play.