This Conference SHOULD and I put a lot of emphasis into that should back to its old ways and begin building a power conference back to normal. Last year was just the fall of all falls for them. But they represented there conference well in the NCAAs. This being said here is my thoughts on the teams and how i think its gonna shake out in the end.
First of 8 of the 10 teams have atleast 1 ESPN U top 100 recruit coming to play for them. Washington State and Oregon did not recruit any ELITE talent for the 2010-2011 Campaign.
Klay Thompson the star of Washington States squad though has vowed that he and his team will make a lot of noise in the coming season. He announced that he is working his hardest on making this 2010-2011 season a very good one.
The OREGON DUCKS may have a load of money to hand out but no one feels the need to go play there. Why would a player in his Senior year of high school want to go play for a struggling PAC-10 program that hasnt had a quality season since Aaron Brooks became a phenom there.
A team that could be interesting would have to be the Arizona Wildcats. Im really unsure of how balanced or how top heavy this team is. They have ELITE talent. A great coach in his 2nd year at the school now and a excellent fan base. They could defintly be a sleeper in the PAC-10 and march on into the NCAAs. The team lacks size though. There big man is Kyryl Natyazhko at 6'10 he is going to be a Sophomore in the 2010-2011 season but only averaged 2 points a game. Parrom, Williams, and Hill will defintly look to increase there presence in the PAC-10 though and will work to become a deadly force.
Since I just finished talking about Arizona lets take a look at there Rivals. The Arizona State Sun Devils. I feel like im repeating myself over and over but this team has the Potential to be a big sleeper and make it into the NCAAs. They recently graduated Derek Glasser im pretty sure. Not Positive though. But return a star player in TY Abott and have a rather deep bench with experience. Playing off of the bench last year in his freshmen season was ESPN U TOP 100 Demetrius Walker. Im looking for him to have a stronger roll. Taking a look at there recruiting page I see they have recruited a top 100 player from Mater Dei High School. An ELITE high school program that is always showcased. Along with a Canadian player who is 7'2. Holy shit is all I gotta say. His rating is a 92 on the scouting report and weighs 245 lbs. He could become an instant impact player (Jordan Bachynski)
The Cal Bears are gonna have a rough one at it this year. There simply going to be way to young to be an impactful team in the PAC-10. They lose there Star player in Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, Theo Robertson, and Jamal Boykin. Thats 4 STARTERS. They return Jorge Guiterrez though who played off the bench and is a very good assist man along with DJ SEELY. They have a strong recruiting class coming though and its a strong one. Showcasing 2 top 100 players and a player from New Trier High School in Illinois which is a powerhouse school at all sports. I dont think its gonna be Californias year to shine though.
Oregon State somehow got a hold of a top 100 power forward after there disapointing season last year. They graduated a couple roll players but have a very deep bench with experience. Could be intersting to watch these guys play. I think they could be an above 500 team. Other then that though I dont have much to say about this teams future.
Stanford will be a complete flop a or an above average team in the PAC-10. They have a monster recruiting class defintly one of the biggest ones ive noticed. With 2 top 100 signees and 4 others in the high impact range this could be interesting to see if they somehow mirror last years Kentucky team full of freshmen. This Stanford team is gonna be run by young players in there Freshmen seasons. I expect to see a lot of fast paced action but also a lot of mistakes and errors.
UCLA is defintly my pick to win the PAC-10 for the season. I simply love what this team has and what there going to do. They have a POTENTIAL player of the YEAR CANIDATE in my oppinion in Tyler Honeycutt. He is a bombshell player that can shoot the 3 work the post drive the ball and plays extremely hard. He will be a sophmore this year and was a top 100 recruit in his freshmen season. He is a extremely talented player. Add there talented freshmen class with Josh Smith and Tyler Lamb and spice things up with Malcom Lee and Jerime Anderson. Wow this team is gonna be a handful. I expect big big things from this team. Last year was a rough patch. This year will be an impact STATEMENT SEASON.
USC has gone under a lot of trouble in the past year but they turned things around some last year even though they couldnt play in the NCAAs. They have some transfers coming from other school im pretty sure and a talented class of freshmen coming. This is gonna be a well rounded team in my oppinion, but im not quite sure how good this team is going to glue.
And last but not least the Washington Huskies my pick to finish 2nd in the PAC-10
This team has it all. Size, talent,heart, and experience. Take Issiah Thomas with there top 100 recruit coming Terrence Ross the #5 Small Forward in the country and give him Abdul Gaddy a sickly ball handler this team could give havoc to teams. They lost Quincy Pondexter who will be greatly missed im sure but this team will still have plenty of size with Ammaning returning.
So all in all here is my take on the Pac 10 finishing
1.UCLA
2.Washington
3.Arizona State
4.Arizona
5.Oregon State
6.Stanford
7.USC
8.Washington State
9.California
10.Oregon