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Cats picked fourth at Pac-10 media day; TC.com agrees

by on Oct. 29, 2009, under Sports

Not much surprising from Pac-10 Media Day in Los Angeles. Arizona, in keeping with other preseason predictions, has been picked to finish fourth in the Pac-10 in men’s basketball.

Sounds about right. It might not be a great league this time around, given the exodus of talent in the past two seasons (21 Pac-10 players have been drafted in the past two years), but Arizona is just too young to predict them to finish ahead of the top three teams.

Here is how the Pac-10 media voted, with first-place votes in parentheses:

1. California (25), 350 points
2. Washington (7), 330
3. UCLA (5), 302
4. Arizona, 221
5. Oregon State, 218
6. Oregon, 175
7. Arizona State, 144
8. Washington State, 123
9. USC, 109
10. Stanford, 63

UA sophomore guard Kyle Fogg was asked Wednesday in a meeting with reporters about feeling pressure to win in coach Sean Miller’s first season and to extend the program’s NCAA Tournament streak to 26 seasons.

“I felt pressure at the beginning, but Coach really emphasized that we’re not worried about all that,” Fogg said. “We’re just trying to go out and get better every day. He said if we work hard every day and get better every day, it will all work itself out. We all trust him.”

Related link: Miller gushes about freshman Derrick Williams at Pac-10 Media Day (plus audio)

Related link: Senior guard Nic Wise chosen as one of 50 players on Naismith Trophy preseason watch list.

Related link: Cal No. 12, Washington No. 13 in ESPN/USA Today poll released this morning. UA received no votes. How in the world did USC receive 22 points??? The coaches poll does not release individual ballots, and, thus, has no accountability.

Related link: Steve Rivera Ventures: Cats go through “tough” practices; Miller joins in at times

All the members of the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network are just fine with Arizona being picked fourth … with one exception. Scott Terrell likes the Cats a bit more than the other five, but given UCLA’s early injury woes, maybe he is on to something (and I like his pick for champion).

There is more disagreement toward the bottom of the league, with some big swings regarding Washington State, Stanford and Oregon.

TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network Pac-10 predictions

No. Anthony Gimino Javier Morales Andy Morales Steve Rivera Scott Terrell Rob Lantz
1. Washington Cal Cal Cal Washington Cal
2. Cal Washington Washington Washington Cal Washington
3. UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA Arizona UCLA
4. Arizona Arizona Arizona Arizona UCLA Arizona
5. Wash. St. Oregon St. Oregon St. Oregon St. Oregon St. Oregon St.
6. Oregon St. Oregon Oregon ASU Stanford USC
7. Oregon ASU Wash. St. Stanford ASU Oregon
8. ASU USC ASU Wash. St. Wash. St. ASU
9. USC Wash. St. Stanford Oregon Oregon Stanford
10. Stanford Stanford USC USC USC Wash. St.

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  • blueleaf11

    Just saw the USA Today Coaches preseason poll… what a joke. The preseason polls are usually worthless and extremely biased, but this one takes the cake.
    Kentucky in the top 5 after gutting the team, a team which wasn’t good last year? A new big name coach and a great recruiting class (which guarantees absolutely jack squat) means top 5? Give me a break.
    USC at #36, after losing their coach and having a much, much worse off-season than Arizona? Holy cow.
    Arizona is nowhere to be found in the top 55, falling behind teams that are sure to be powerhouses this year like Cornell, Utah State, South Carolina, and Northern Iowa.
    Almost every year I vow to ignore the preseason polls forever, but I think this might be the year that finally does it for me. What a joke.

    • Anthony Gimino

      I agree with you, but it’s not as if Arizona isn’t in the “top 55.” It just means that none of the 31 coaches picked UA in their Top 25, which is reasonable. (By the way, ASU’s Herb Sendek is the voter from the Pac-10 this season).

      But, really, how did USC get 22 points? Did somebody pick USC fourth, which would account for 22 points? (Not fathomable). Did multiple votes pick USC? (Only if they are on drugs).

      Here is my theory: Somebody meant to put UNC at No. 4 and accidentally typed USC.

  • Mark B. Evans

    My take, UA will lose four or five games in the pre-Pac10 season as Miller “breaks the colts” as Shooter Flatch would say, even though the schedule’s not all that tough (save for Oklahoma and maybe Gonzaga in Maui).
    But then they’ll be ready for the grind of the Pac-10 season. I’ve got them 11-7 in the Pac10, but that means only 17 or 18 wins headed into the Pac 10 tourney and needing to win at least one to get onto the NCAA tourney bubble.
    The preseason is key to getting into the NCAA tourney, go 9-2 or 8-3 in the preseason and 10 or 11 wins in the Pac10 regular season and they’re on the bubble. Add one win in the Pac 10 tourney and they’re in the NCAA tourney, no problem.
    Go 6-5 in the preseason, or worse, and don’t win at least 12 or 13 or in the Pac 10, which is unlikely, and the streak is over.
    All of that said, wasn’t there a team from Michigan a few years back that had five freshmen starters? Hmmmm, I wonder…..

  • Jim Bodkins

    If Arizona can get good post play from Kyryl – meaning, not much baby sitting of a freshman – and good rotation from Jacobson (sp) then I believe a backcourt of Wise and Fogg with rotations from Lavendar, Judkins and Jones will drive the wing game … Horne (who should be solid) and Williams with rotations from Hill and Parrom.
     
    I think this could be solid early. Wise will be there as will Fogg. One of Lavendar and Judkins will give good minutes as well. If the post is contested, there will be a problem. If the post is there – between Nic in the backcourt and a (hopefully) solid post – the wing should be a threat. That is Horne/Williams and Hill/Parrom.
     
    Lets not forget Jones. He has the potential of scoring behind agressive wing play.
     

    I doubt we will see a class collapse. We will see individual issues in some games. Which should be ok with the flexibility that is there in terms of rotations. (Except for Nic and Kyryl).
     
    I think they could win 20 – the biggest challenge will be conference road games … which are freshmen killers.

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