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.