SAN FRANCISCO — University of Utah basketball coach Craig Smith likes to say that Pac-12 men’s basketball isn’t just one of the best leagues in the country, it is one of the best leagues in the entire world.
That easily could have been true after the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season, when the league sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament and got four into the Sweet 16. Oregon State, USC and UCLA advanced to the Elite 8, and the Bruins lost 93-90 to No. 1 seed Gonzaga in a national semifinal.
“There is no way to sugarcoat it. It is not good for our league. But we will survive. We have 10 good teams (after 2024) and it is our challenge to improve and get better. … We will find our way. But it is disappointing because L.A. is important to us.” — Oregon coach Dana Altman on USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024
It seemed to be a breakout year for the so-called Conference of Champions, which hasn’t won a men’s basketball national championship since Arizona cut down the nets in 1997.
But last year, the conference took a step backward as only three teams qualified for the Big Dance — Arizona, UCLA and USC — and No. 1 seed Arizona and No. 4 seed UCLA fell in regional semifinals.
What’s in store in 2022-23?
Optimism abounded at the recent Pac-12 men’s basketball media day in San Francisco, partly because expectations are high that Oregon, Stanford and maybe even Colorado have what it takes to join Arizona, UCLA and USC in March Madness next spring.
Commissioner George Kliavkoff and deputy commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, who oversees men’s basketball, both predicted a big season for the conference in 2022-23.
“As a conference, our goals remain the same,” Kliavkoff said. “Our goals are to optimize for national championships, and for NCAA Tournament bids. … Three teams made the NCAA Tournament last year. We aspire for more than that, but we had three highly seeded teams last year, Arizona a one, UCLA a four and USC a seven.”
Added Zaninovich: “We are very optimistic about the season.”
A record six Pac-12 teams won 20 or more games last year, the sixth time in the last 20 years that has happened. Zaninovich noted that Arizona, UCLA and USC were ranked in the AP Top 25 for all 18 weeks of the season, and in January all three were in the top six.
“We are proud of not only the top of our conference, but also the depth,” Zaninovich said.
One reason for the optimism is that many top players opted to return to school, rather than jump to the NBA. Zaninovich said having 13 returning all-conference players “will be important to our success this year.”
Also, the league welcomes four McDonald’s All-Americans and seven of the top 50 recruits in the country, per ESPN’s recruiting rankings.
“Looking forward to a great season for the Pac-12,” said Washington coach Mike Hopkins. “Everybody (got better). I think it is going to be a great year and hopefully we get a lot of teams in the NCAA Tournament.”
Utah’s Smith said his first season in the Pac-12 proved to be ultra-difficult, partly because the league features no bad teams and allows for no easy wins.
“Last year we were served a piece of humble pie,” Smith said.
Of course, the elephant in the Pac-12 offices last week was the pending departures of UCLA and USC to the Big Ten in 2024. Losing the Bruins is especially painful for Pac-12 hoops, considering UCLA’s legacy as one of the true blue bloods of college basketball and its record 11 national championships, the last in 1995.
“I have yet to talk to somebody in the UCLA and USC community who is in favor of the move,” Kliavkoff said. “(But) I will say that I probably hear from folks who are not in favor, not surprisingly.”
Asked how the Pac-12 gets stronger despite losing the two Los Angeles schools, Kliavkoff pointed to a media rights deal to be announced “in the near future which will close the gap” between the Pac-12 and the Big Ten and SEC.
“That’s the first step,” he said. “Eventually we will catch those guys. It will take a couple of steps, but we are going to take a step towards closing that gap. And then we are going to be looking at expansion. We are going to be looking at schools that make sense for us.”
Kliavkoff declined to talk about specific candidates for expansion.
“I am not going to get ahead of my board on that,” he said.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin declined to talk about the Bruins’ departure in two years, saying “ADs, presidents, commissioners make those moves, so they can talk about it. I would rather talk about (players), in all due respect.”
USC coach Andy Enfield said the move isn’t something he’s thought about a lot.
“I know it is over two years away,” he said. “The Big Ten is a power conference. They have outstanding teams as well. That will be something we will think about more in the next year and a half, two years. Right now we are focused on our season ahead and the outstanding conference we are in.”
Oregon coach Dana Altman didn’t hold back.
“There is no way to sugarcoat it,” he said. “It is not good for our league. But we will survive. We have 10 good teams (after 2024) and it is our challenge to improve and get better. … We will find our way. But it is disappointing because L.A. is important to us.”
In the more immediate future, the season begins next Monday. Every Pac-12 team is in action — Utah plays host to Long Island University — and all 12 are playing at home.
Here’s a closer look at each program’s prospects in 2022-23, in the order they were picked in the preseason poll released last week:
1. UCLA
The Bruins are picked to win the conference title for the third straight year, and for good reason. Four of Cronin’s top seven scorers are back from a team that finished runner-up in the regular season and Pac-12 tournament last spring.
UCLA starts the season ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25, and No. 7 in the coaches preseason poll. Senior point guard Tyger Campbell and combo forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. are both All-America candidates who “decided to come back and try to hang banner No. 12 in Pauley Pavilion,” in the words of Jaquez Jr.
“We got two horses this year, and we are going to ride them,” Cronin said. “… Always nice when you got two guys who could win league player of the year on your team.”
Freshman guard Amari Bailey, a probable “one and done” guy, was one of the top 10 recruits in the country out of Chicago by way of Sierra Canyon School in California. Jaylen Clark, Dylan Andrews, David Singleton, Will McClendon and five-star center prospect Adem Bona should also contribute.
2. Arizona
Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko moved on to the NBA, but Kerr Kriisa, Azuolas Tubelis and former Ute Pelle Larsson are back and will be joined by former Texas starter Courtney Ramey, a huge offseason pickup for Arizona.
After losing to Houston in the Sweet 16 last March, second-year coach Tommy Lloyd said the Wildcats learned about some deficiencies and went about correcting them.
“We are excited to start a new journey,” Lloyd said. “Obviously, we got a great group of guys, and (Kriisa and Tubelis) have done a great job this preseason getting this team ready to roll.”
Arizona is No. 17 in the AP preseason poll, No. 13 in the coaches poll. Lloyd said the Wildcats love competing against USC and UCLA and want to schedule them beyond 2024 when they are no longer in the Pac-12.
“They gotta make the decisions they feel is the best for their athletic programs. I am going to respect that,” Lloyd said. “I really believe and I feel strongly that the brand of Arizona basketball is strong enough to stand on its own.”
3. Oregon
Altman’s program took a step back in 2021-22, but the veteran coach was able to get a pair of high-profile transfers in Colorado’s Keeshawn Barthelemy and South Carolina’s Jermaine Couisnard to Eugene and should have enough firepower to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
The return of guard Will Richardson, who averaged 14.1 points per game last year, will certainly help, and if one-time five-star recruit N’Faly Dante can avoid the injury bug and realize his potential, the Ducks could push Arizona and UCLA for the conference title.
Syracuse transfer Quincy Guerrier underperformed last season at Oregon, but worked hard on his conditioning in the offseason, according to Altman and should help inside.
“Well, we were disappointed last season,” Altman said. “We won 20 games and we should have won more. For whatever reason, team chemistry — it boiled down to we didn’t rebound well enough and we didn’t defend well enough.
“If you look at the stats our offense was OK, but defensively and on the boards, we weren’t good enough. And we should have been. We had the guys to do that.”
Oregon is ranked No. 21 in both preseason polls.
4. USC
The Trojans, who are receiving votes in both preseason polls, but unranked, lost a lot of their front court talent, talent that has carried Enfield’s team to Big Dance berths the past several years.
USC’s backcourt got a big boost when wing Drew Peterson and guard Boogie Ellis opted to return. Peterson averaged 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds last year and is one of the league’s most versatile players. Ellis averaged 12.5 points after transferring in from Memphis a year ago.
Ellis and Peterson “will be the leaders of our team this season,” Enfield said. “They have had outstanding careers so far and we are looking forward to them leading our group of sophomores and freshmen.”
Those freshmen are part of an outstanding recruiting class that includes five-star Kijani Wright and fellow big man Vincent Iwuchukwu, although Iwuchukwu suffered cardiac arrest on July 1 and hasn’t been cleared to practice yet.
“We are almost ready to go from the (opening) jump, with how (the freshmen) play,” Peterson said.
Enfield said freshman guard Oziyah Sellers is an elite shooter who will also contribute immediately.
“He is the best shooter in our program, one of the best shooters I have ever coached,” Enfield said. “And that includes the NBA as well.”
5. Stanford
Coach Jerod Haase said getting star forward Harrison Ingram and leading scorer Spencer Jones (12.0 ppg.) to return to the Cardinal “is going to be a big deal for us” as the program looks to return to better days.
“We have an extremely difficult schedule, but also an opportunity to make some noise with our nonconference schedule,” Haase said.
Jones said he returned because of “some unfinished business” and Ingram agreed, saying he is putting his NBA dreams on hold to get Stanford back to the Big Dance.
“My other dream is to make it to March Madness, and I think we have a great chance to do it this year,” Ingram said. “I trust coach, I trust Spencer. I trust my teammates to get it done.”
Starting forward Jaiden Delaire transferred to San Diego, but starting forward James Keefe and valuable sixth man Brandon Angel are back, and Haase landed Davidson graduate transfer Michael Jones, who will help with toughness and outside shooting.
“I do think there is a lot of optimism within the team, but also an understanding that we still have tons left to do,” Haase said.
6. Colorado
The Buffs were going to be a hot pick to contend for the conference title this season — until star Jabari Walker left for the NBA and guards Barthelemy and Elijah Parquet hit the transfer portal. Barthelemy ended up at Oregon and Parquet is at UNLV.
Tristan da Silva, Nique Clifford and point guard K.J. Simpson are back, though, and Princeton grad transfer Ethan Wright and Yale transfer Jalen Gabbidon bring much-needed experience.
“I really like this team coming up,” coach Tad Boyle said at CU’s media day. “It is going to be a fun team to coach. We got great kids. Selfless kids.”
7. Arizona State
Arizona State seemingly experiences a lot of roster upheaval every season, and that is no different in 2022 as Jalen Graham and Jay Heath hit the transfer portal.
Coach Bobby Hurley added talent as well, luring 15-point scorer Desmond Cambridge from Nevada and his brother, Devan, from Auburn.
Leading scorer DJ Horne returns, along with Marcus Bagley, and will be joined by point guard Frankie Collins, who is expected to fill the shoes of Marreon Jackson.
“There has been great competition in practice. We got a deep team, a deep roster. So each unit is battling pretty hard. We have been staying relatively healthy, so that is a positive sign,” Hurley said. “… The group has demonstrated unselfishness, and with their energy defensively we have a chance to be really good at that end of the floor.”
8. Washington State
Some spring departures have left the Cougars scrambling a bit, but coach Kyle Smith remains optimistic that Wazzu can finish in the upper half of the league. That’s a big ask, considering Tyrell Roberts and Noah Williams transferred and Michael Flowers and Efe Abogidi moved on to pro ball.
It is a good thing big man Mouhamed Gueye returned, along with beefy junior guard TJ Bamba, who averaged 7.7 points as a sophomore but shot just 38% from the field.
Jabe Mullins, a transfer from Saint Mary’s, is a candidate to start, along with Tennessee transfer Justin Powell.
“We are just a different team. Our talent is different. We have a little bit bigger guards and our front court is a little more skillful,” Smith said. “… It is more like teams I coached at San Francisco, and Columbia, a little bit, as far as the skillfulness, hopefully. But (WSU) is just bigger and more athletic than those teams.”
9. Washington
Senior guards Jamal Bey and PJ Fuller are back, but the Huskies needed to hit the transfer portal for help after finishing above .500 in Pac-12 play last year and seemingly headed back in the right direction.
Coach Mike Hopkins raided rival WSU for Williams, a wing, and rival Oregon for center Franck Kepnang. But his biggest pickup is Kentucky transfer forward Keion Brooks, a 6-7 forward who averaged 10.7 points per game in his last two seasons with the Wildcats.
“Sometimes you grow out of your environment,” Brooks said. “I mean, Kentucky was great to me. I got lifelong friends there, and love coach Cal (John Calipari) and the staff he had there. But I just thought it was time for me to challenge myself and do something new after I pulled my name out of the draft.”
10. Utah
Second-year coach Smith said the Utes needed to get bigger, tougher and more physical after winning just four Pac-12 games last year, and it appears they did that with the transfers of 6-9 forward Ben Carlson from Wisconsin and 6-9 forward Gavin Baxter from BYU, who is a walk-on still waiting to be medically cleared after sustaining an ACL injury last winter with the Cougars.
Senior center Branden Carlson and Utah State transfer Marco Anthony are the foundation, and will get help from Cincinnati transfer Mike Saunders and sophomore guard Lazar Stefanovic, poised for a breakout season after a solid freshman campaign.
“We know the University of Utah has a rich tradition of excellence. We know last year wasn’t up to the standard. We know we have to work our hands to the bone to make it happen. But it is an exciting group to be a part of,” Smith said.
11. California
The Utes shouldn’t have much trouble finishing in the top 10, because California and Oregon State face major problems, most of them talent-related.
The Bears lost their best player, Andre Kelly, to UC Santa Barbara. He was averaging 13 points and eight rebounds per game for Cal. Lars Thiemann and Joel Brown are back, and Texas transfer Devin Askew, from Sacramento, will help after signing with Kentucky out of high school.
“It is probably the most enjoyable team I have had to coach on a daily basis in well over a decade,” said coach Mark Fox.
So there’s that.
12. Oregon State
That magical run to the 2021 Pac-12 tournament title and a solid showing in the Big Dance seems like an eternity ago to Beavers fans, who had to endure a three-win season in 2021-22. One of those wins was over the Utes, 88-76 on Dec. 30 in Corvallis.
Coach Wayne Tinkle cleaned house in the offseason, but lost one key piece he probably wanted to keep: forward Warith Alatishe, who turned pro.
Sophomore Glenn Taylor Jr. is back, but little else is left and OSU might not win a league game this season. It is that bad.
“New group for the Beavs,” Tinkle said. “… Obviously we have tried to squash the past year as much as we can, and we are really focused on getting our culture back, which we feel we have done. ... We are excited about what is in front of us.”
Even if it doesn’t include a lot of wins.
