8. Stanford Cardinal
Strengths
Lawrence Hill, Mitch Johnson, and Anthony Goods all have talent. Their problem has been consistency, but if they can play a full season, they'll give the Cardinal a solid core of guys. Johnson has a great assist-to-turnover ratio and will have to manage the game effectively. Hill and Goods can both score in bunches.
Weaknesses
The Lopez twins both left early for the NBA and will be sorely missed. Little-known John Owens and Will Paul will attempt to replace some of what they brought to the table. Experience will be hard to find with the losses of Fred Washington and Taj Finger.
Bottom Line
The Stanford season will hinge on the play of Hill, Johnson, and Goods. If they play well, the Cardinal will make the NIT and could push for the NCAAs. But if they struggle with inconsistency, this could be a long, long year in Palo Alto.
9. California Bears
Strengths
Junior guard Patrick Christopher has the talent to be a star in the Pac-10. He's great off the dribble and can shoot the jump shot. He'll be counted on to provide a lot of offense with the loss of Ryan Anderson.
Point guard Jerome Randle has talent, and the return of Theo Robertson will help the Bears. High school All-American D.J. Seeley can flat-out score. New coach Mike Montgomery has a proven record at Stanford.
Weaknesses
The Bears have a serious lack of frontcourt scoring. Harper Kamp, Jamal Boykins, and Jordan Wilkes are serviceable, but Cal needs some offense from one of them. Randle struggled mightily with turnovers last year, and there is little depth behind him if he has problems controlling the ball.
Bottom Line
The Bears have two very talented players on their roster. The problem is they both play the same position. Seeley and Christopher can both fill it up, but it will be difficult to get them on the floor at the same time. The other four positions, meanwhile, are filled with questions. It will be tough for Cal to make any postseason tournament this year.
10. Oregon State Beavers
Strengths
Not many. Oregon State went winless last year in conference play and didn't bring in any new talent. The Tarver brothers, Josh and Seth, are serviceable players, but only because there's no one better around them. Post Roeland Schaftenaar showed some promise last year.
Weaknesses
Talent. As in, they have none. The Beavers are without question the least talented team in the conference, without a dependable scorer or point guard. They were one of the worst shooting teams in the conference last year, and expect that trend to repeat itself. Marcel Jones, their top player last year, graduated.
Bottom Line
This year will be ugly for Oregon State. The Beavs went winless last year and will threaten to do so again. Without another awful team in conference, look for Oregon State to struggle to pick up a conference win.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete