Monday, February 23, 2009

Student comments on Pac-10 Basketball

Listen to the interview here...

Pac-10 Perspective Radio




Directed and Produced by Brittney Bishop and Dax Dentler
Copyright 2009

Thanks to special guest Lacey Allen

Who will take home the PAC 10 Title?

The University of Washington still is a game up on the Arizona State Sundevils who beat Arizona last night 70-68 on their home court. However the final games for these teams will be anything but easy wins. The Washington State Cougars pulled a big upset over UCLA this weekend down at Pauley Pavilion as the cougars escaped with one point. Could WSU be rejuvinated? Could UCLA be a little...well a lot overrated? Can ASU finish strong or fall for the second time to WSU in Pullman? ASU and Arizona have been hot the last several weeks so look for difficult games for the Washington schools even with homecourt advantage.

Last season the Sundevils finished in the middle of the pack while UW finished 8th. Isah Thomas may have been that missing piece while ASU showed some maturity holding on to star players Jeff Pendergraph and national standout James Harden. It was only a matter of time for these teams to settle near the top. Some might remember a little team out in Pullman. (Chris Berman voice) Maybe you all remember a couple 3 star and two star players who stayed all four years...Kyle Weaver, Derrick Low, Robbie Cowgill ... It goes to show hard work and dedication pay off. Thats a lesson to you USC and UCLA ...

Some might wonder how good those teams could get if players stayed? We may never know.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Untold story of a Walk-On


Many people love to talk about O.J. Mayo, Brook Lopez (sometimes Robin too), etc of the PAC 10. We hear just as much about the 5 star recruiting classes of UCLA and Arizona but near next to nothing about the role players and glue players who bust their hump trying to contribute to their team. Even rarer are there talks about walk-on players. Well that can be put to rest. I had a chance to sit down and talk with Washington State University's Ryan Bailey this week about his story as a walk-on player. Enjoy knuckleheads.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Last Night in LA

The Cougs played a miserable game against USC last night in Los Angeles in Galen Center. I am fairly disappointed I actually walked down to My Office Bar & Grill to watch the game because it wasn't on live TV. WSU started the game 3-12 from the field, and continued that trend throughout the first half. At one point in the first 20 minutes the Cougars went close to eight minutes without scoring, remanescent of the second half meltdown against Oregon State last week in Pullman. The score at the end of the first half actually ended up being closer than it looked at 29-21 USC.

The second half started with more domination from USC where there outscored the WSU 9-1 in the first four and a half minutes. Then a glimmer of hope came when WSU pulled the game within 1 with 7:35 remaining in the game by going on a 20-7 run of their own. A big part of that came when DeAngelo Casto decided to start beasting down low putting up an impressive 7 points in 3 minutes; showing Coug fans a glimpse of what he will be offering in the next few years.

In the end USC's Dwight Lewis and Taj Gibson finished too strong for WSU to keep up and USC won 61-51. On a bright note with just a few minutes left in the game the owner of My Office came and sat at our table to ask us about the fight a couple of my friends got into on Saturday night outside his bar resulting in cops after we bailed out of there. Funny stuff and at least he distracted us from having to see the end of the game, where the Cougs dismanteled themselves once again.

full recap

box score

McDonalds All-Americans Announced

The McDonalds All-Americans were announced this week, only one of them is coming to a Pac-10 school, unfortunately it is Abdul Gaddy who is going to UW. North Carolina dominated the list having 4 of their 5 recruits playing in the game. The ACC has the most recruits in the game with 9 out of 24 going to different ACC schools. 3 people on the list still have to commit to schools and all 3 of those guys have Pac-10 schools on their lists of possibilities. The game is played on April 1st in Miami. The game always contains future stars that go on to become some of NBA's greatest, some previous players include Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and many others.

Here is an article on the game
Full list of the All-Americans

Monday, February 9, 2009

Top Paid Coaches in College Basketball

Who are the top paid coaches in the NCAA? Let’s take a look…

Number 10
John Calipari University of Memphis

Total pay: $1,315,000

During the 90’s, Calipari made UMass an unstoppable team. With his coaching the Minutemen made it to five NCAA tournaments. Coaching his last season there, the Minutemen advanced to the Final Four. Calipari now coaches at Memphis, hoping for similar results. He set the school record for most wins in a single year and then beat it last season with 33 wins. For the second straight time, he won the regular season, and titles in Conference USA and took the team to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament.

According to USA Today, Calipari got $1,315,000 a year in guaranteed cash and a one-time bonus of $2.5 million.


Number 9 Billy Donovan University of Florida

Total pay: $1,389,173

In ten seasons Donovan has a record of 261-103 and directed the Gators to back to back national championships, three SEC titles, four SEC East titles, three SEC tournament championship, and made three trips to the final four NCAA tournaments.

According to USA Today Donovan makes $1,389,173 per year and got a one-time bonus of $1,942,500. His contract also includes cars (in the medium price range) for him and his wife.


Number 8
Roy Williams University of North Carolina

Total pay: $1,424,274

Williams took Kansas to the Final Four NCAA tournament, four times. It wasn’t long after he was at North Carolina before he started adding to their list of achievements. He directed them to a 106-30 record, 2005 NCAA Champions, two ACC regular season titles, and one ACC tournament championship. Roy Williams is a Hall of Fame coach, and also gives back to the University. He has given $200,000 to a scholarship fund that helps students stay out of debt.


Number 7
Jim Calhoun University of Connecticut

Total pay: $1,500,000

Before Calhoun took over UConn, he had two national championships, more than 700 wins, and became part of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Ever since coaching UConn, Calhoun has won an NIT Championship and a record of 16 Big East titles.


Number 6 Bill Self University of Kansas

Total pay: $1,600,700

Self is one of four coaches in NCAA Division 1 history to take three different teams to the Elite Eight, Tulsa, Illinois, and Kansas. He won three league titles with Kansas, and two each with Tulsa and Illinois.

His contract also includes two luxury cars, memberships at two country clubs, and a term life insurance policy at $2,000,000. According to USA Today he received a one-time bonus of $1,125,000.


Number 5
Tom Crean Marquette University

Total pay: $1,688,487

In 2003 his team made it to the Final Four, led my current NBA star, Dwayne Wade. Crean hasn’t made way to any national titles in the past four years, but made a career record at Marquette at 163-84.


Number 4 Tom Izzo Michigan State University

Total pay: $1,735,964

Within 9 years as a Spartan, Izzo made a 245-93 record. During that time, Izzo led them to a national championship, four Big Ten titles, four times to the Final Four, and ten straight appearances at the NCAA tournament.

Izzo’s contract also includes two cars, and term life insurance policies worth $1,000,000 and $5,000,000. According to USA Today Izzo received a one-time bonus of $9,801,935!


Number 3 Thad Matta Ohio State University

Total pay: $1,750,000

Last season, Matta led OSU to a No. 1 ranking in the final Associated Press college basketball toll. They won the Big Ten title for the second straight year in a row and the conference tournament before a loss in the national championship game.

According to USA Today Matta received a one-time $100,000 bonus and 10 hours of personal time on a private jet of no more than $65,000 a year.


Number 2
Rick Barnes University of Texas

Total pay: $1,800,000

In 2003, Barnes led Texas to the NCAA Final Four. He’s also guided them 8 straight times to the NCAA Tournament. Texas is one of six programs to make it to the Elite Eight twice in the last four years.

Barnes contract also includes two cars, and a $180,000 relocation allowance.


Number 1
Tubby Smith University of Minnesota

Total pay: $2,073,307

Although Kentucky fans often didn’t applaud Smith, he racked up a list of achievements there including, a national championship, five SEC championships, and average of about 27 wins per season, and six Sweet 16 appearances. Smith gained 100 wins faster than any other coach at Kentucky besides Adolf Rupp.

According to USA Today, before moving to Minnesota, Smith was also getting two cars, and a one-time bonus of $4,000,000.


For more information visit AskMen.com

Monday, February 2, 2009

Pac-10 Recruiting Trail so far...

Taking a quick look at the Pac-10 recruiting so far... I've got to say, compared to the last few years, its not looking so good. The 2009 Pac-10 recruits aren't really adding up to what we as Pac-10 viewers are used to seeing. These last couple years we've grown accustomed to big names such as O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love, Demar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday, Spencer Hawes, Chase Budinger, Jerryd Bayless, etc. the list goes on and on. But this year with only 2 5 star recruits so far (according to scout.com) coming in to the conference, the normal hype just isnt there... Here's a look at what the teams have right now...


Ranking as of right now:

1.UCLA
2. UW
3. USC
4. ASU
5. OSU
6. WSU
7. Oregon
8. Stanford
9. Cal
10. UofA

Arizona - 0... yes that's not a typo, Arizona has no college basketball recruits right now... Unbelievable I know but with Lute Olsen leaving the program the recruits have been decommiting like crazy. The big loss came with the 5 star recruit Abdul Gaddy leaving for UW...

Arizona State - 3 commits, one 4 star and two 3 stars... Pretty solid class coming into the desert, with the headliner being 6'5" Trent Lockett from Minnesota, who is a very talented two-guard. The other recruits include Ruslan Pateev (C, 6'11" 235) and Demetrius Walker (SF, 6'4" 185)

Cal - 3 commits, one 3 star and two 2 stars (none have signed LOI)... Kind of a disappointing class for Cal right now with their best recruit being only a 3 star but with them having a good season don't be surprised if they start getting some better caliber recruits... The headliner of the class is Juco Transfer Markur Sanders-Frison (PF, 6'8" 265) who is a big southpaw and has a decent shot... The other two recruits are Bak Bak (PF, 6'8" 200) and Brandon Smith (PG, 5'11" 170)

Oregon - 2 commits, two 3 stars... Headliner is E.J. Singler (SF, 6'6" 200) small forward who is very athletic and can do it all... The second of the two recruits for Ernie Kent is Juco Transfer Jeremy Jacob (PF, 6'7" 210) from Florida.

Oregon State - 3 commits, one 4 star and two 3 stars... WOW! Oregon State has a 4 star recruit! This is unbelievable! After going 0-18 and a coaching change they landed 4 star recruit Roberto Nelson (SG, 6'3" 180) who is a terrific scorer and could help get this program going in the right direction. With Nelson, Craig Robinson also got Jared Cunningham (PG, 6'3" 165) and Joe Burton (C, 6'7" 270) to finish off the class for right now

Stanford - 1 commit, one 3 star... This is not promising for Johnny Dawkins who is losing 3 starters and needs to reload his roster, don't count him out, he learned from one of the best in Mike Krzyzewski at Duke... The recruit he's got right now is Andy Brown (PF, 6'8" 200)

UCLA - 5 commits, one 5 star and 4 four stars... This is the 9th ranked recruiting class (according to ESPN.com) in the nation and is by far the best in the Pac-10. UCLA continues its excellent recruiting with the 5 star recruit Tyler Honeycutt (SF, 6'8" 190) who can block, score, rebound and will fit in well at UCLA... The rest of the class includes Mike Moser (SF, 6'7" 185) Anthony Stover (C, 6'10" 207), Brendan Lane (PF, 6'9" 200) and Reeves Nelson (PF, 6'7" 215). Reminder: UCLA got the nations top recruiting class last year...

USC - 3 commits, two 4 stars and one 3 star... Best recruit is Noel Johnson (SG, 6'6" 180) who can stroke from the arc and should probably make an impact right away. Solomon Hill (SF, 6'6" 215) and Derrick Williams (PF, 6'6" 190) are the rest of this class so far...

UW - 4 commits, one 5 star, one 4 star and two 3 stars... When Lute Olsen left Arizona, Abdul Gaddy (PG, 6'3" 170) fell into UW's lap and became their best recruit. Gaddy is a traditional point guard who passes first, scores second... Reminds me of possibly another Sebastian Telfair type player... The other recruits are Clarence Trent (PF, 6'7" 230), Charles Garcia (PF, 6'9.5" 220) and C.J. Wilcox (SG, 6'5" 180)

WSU - 4 commits, two 3 stars and two 2 stars... The star of this class is yet to be decided, Brock Motum (PF, 6'9, 215) has earned some respect after people have seen him play and Xavier Thames (PG, 6'3" 177)is no doubt going to impress people when he hits the court. The rest of the Coug's class so far are David Chadwick (PF, 6'8" 215) and Anthony Brown (SG, 6'5" 192)

Stay tuned for more up-to-date information on Pac-10 recruiting

(Information gathered from Scout.com and ESPN.com)

ESPN Break down
Scout.com

Pac 10 Rivalry Game of the Week with a Look at the Rest of the Pac 10

WEDNESDAY: Rivalry Game of the week

USC 15-6 (Road: 2-3) vs. (15) UCLA 17-4 (Home: 11-1)

Look for UCLA to continue to stretch the court firing up three point shots off screens to big men and the guards alike. USC played a triangle-two defense against the Washington State Cougars limiting the attempts from the perimeter while trying to contain the big man Aron Baynes when USC beat the the Washington State Cougars in Pullman earlier this month. UCLA lacks the dominant inside game to warrant this attention so look for a different zone look Wednesday night that will try to hold strong shooters like Josh Shipp and company in check. UCLA has been explosive at times during games this season hitting a flurry of threes and pushing the ball in the transition game. At the same time UCLA has shown dry spells that have left them vulnerable in the later part of games. UCLA has now seen two early losses to Arizona St. and Washington (both lead by a strong group of upper-classmen).

USC probably won’t have an easy night either. Granted they have a good record thus far and have a relatively good distributions as far as scoring they still need to see improvement on shots from the floor. The Trojans are fully capable of winning this game. They are currently one game ahead of Arizona St. in conference standings. USC convincingly beat ASU (USC W 61-49) mid January. You can look at this game in many ways. USC beat Arizona St. who beat UCLA in overtime in January so of course anything is possible. The fact is the USC Trojans have been just as hot and cold as the UCLA Bruins this season. The clearest example was losing in the Gill Coliseum to the OSU Beavers who didn't win a single conference game all season.

Not to sound to cliche but he who makes the least mistakes (turnovers, arrant shots, etc) will win this game. It should be a grudge match as soon as the ball tips off.

Players to Watch

UCLA 2 Darren Collison

Collison leads the team in scoring (14.6), assists (5.2), and steals (1.7). The man is unconscious from the line (94%).

USC 21 Dwight Lewis

Lewis returned missing both Washington Schools with a sprained ankle but should provide the scoring (Team leader with 15.2 points per game) the Trojans need to keep this game close.

Last Meeting: Sun, Jan 11 USC L 60-64 to the then #10 UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles , CA

Tom's Take: UCLA W 69-63

This week in the Pacific 10 Conference

THURSDAY

Arizona 14-8 (Road: 0-6) vs. Oregon St. 10-10 (Home: 7-5)

(24) Arizona St. 16-5 (Road: 4-2) vs.Oregon 6-15 (Home: 4-6)

Washington St. 12-9 (Road: 4-2) vs. Stanford 13-6 (Home: 10-2)

(22) Washington 16-5 (Road: 4-2) vs. California 16-6 (Home: 12-1)

SATURDAY

Notre Dame 12-8 (Road: 2-4) vs. (15) UCLA 17-4 (Home: 11-1)

Arizona 14-8 (Road: 0-6) vs. Oregon 6-15 (Home: 4-6)

(24) Arizona St. 16-5 (Road: 4-2) vs. Oregon St. 10-10 (Home: 7-5)

Washington St. 12-9 (Road: 4-2) vs. California 16-6 (Home: 12-1)


Schedules Provided at Rivals.com

-Tom Brooks 2k9 it's time to shine!