Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Diego Lead Charge for WCC

March 2009 should once again provide much excitement for the West Coast Conference, with Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and San Diego all vying for the NCAA Tournament next season.

It seems very odd for a small conference to be getting multiple bids, let alone three, but the WCC has proven that it can contend with the best of them.  All three conference representatives had some very impressive wins last year.

Gonzaga held wins over Western Kentucky, Connecticut, and Saint Mary’s.  San Diego defeated Saint Mary’s twice, beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena, and Gonzaga.  Saint Mary’s recorded wins against Oregon, San Diego State, Gonzaga, and Drake.

Gonzaga has been a tournament automatic for the past 11 years, and this does not look like it will change.  The biggest factor for the Bulldogs' success next season was senior Jeremy Pargo returning to Gonzaga for his final season.  The WCC Player of the Year averaged over 14 points and five assists per game.

The Bulldogs return everybody from last season except for David Pendergraft.  Sophomore Austin Daye, who many believe to be a future NBA lottery pick, was in the running for WCC Freshman of the Year and shot over 50 percent from the field in his first year in Spokane.

Saint Mary’s lost two key role players to graduation in seniors Todd Golden and Tron Smith, but they will return four of the starting five that won 25 games last season.

The Gaels’ squad is highlighted by the possible Olympian, Patty Mills.  The WCC Freshman of the Year led the Gaels in scoring, assists, and steals.

Moraga has become a second home to Australians, as the Gaels will run four Aussies with rumors of a fifth on the way.  Seniors Carlin Hughes and Lucas Walker played pivotal roles for the Gaels’ run to the NCAA Tournament.

Indiana transfer junior Ben Allen will provide a larger inside presence and offensive firepower, both of which Saint Mary’s lacked last season.

San Diego returns their entire roster, and the theme of the WCC powers is stellar point guards.  Senior point guard Brandon Johnson helped lead the Toreros to their first WCC Championship since 2003.  Johnson also led the charge to the NCAA Tournament upset of fourth-seeded Connecticut.

The return of center Gyno Pomare is also huge for San Diego.  He was an All-WCC First Team member, along with Johnson.  Other key components for San Diego are Rob Jones and De’jon Jackson.

With the Missouri Valley Conference having a down season and conferences like the Pac-10 losing a great deal of talent to the NBA Draft, this opens the opportunity for the WCC to break through and get multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga is in most preseason top-25 rankings, with Saint Mary’s and San Diego also getting consideration.