|
Post by motorcitysam on Jul 10, 2015 18:59:48 GMT -5
While there is no real connection or affinity between the Titan program and the Pac 12 (as there is with the MVC, A-10, Big East) the West Coast's major conference has some great basketball history and we've found our way on the schedule of their member programs from time to time. A thread about this conference is probably worth starting, for information's sake. This article is a couple of months old, but previews the coming year in the Pac 12. Cuonzo Martin appears to have Cal on the way to a revival. Washington's Lorenzo Romar needs a tournament season to keep the heat off; bad luck and injuries killed them last year, and they lost their starting point guard who transferred to Gonzaga, but they have a good 2015 class coming in. USC is expected to finish near the bottom of the league again, despite the presence of Dunk City coach Andy Enfield. A couple of Titan connections: Former target David Crisp is expected to play a big role with the Huskies and former Detroit target Kyle Kuzma should be ready to blossom with Utah. collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/13/looking-forward-catching-up-on-the-pac-12s-offseason/
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 3, 2015 11:04:33 GMT -5
Head coach Lorenzo Romar has had his ups and downs in his 13 years at Washington. On the plus side, he has had only two losing seasons in that time, and one of those was his first year. He's made six NCAA appearances, including three sweet sixteen runs. He's got two NIT appearances and a CBI in there, as well.
The heat is on him because 2011 was the last NCAA appearance for the team. (Note: The 2012 team went 24-11, 14-4, and finished first in the Pac 12 regulars season but was passed over by the NCAA selection committee.) The 2014-15 team started out 14-4, but was devastated by injuries in the front court and the expulsion of probably their best front court player, and finished 16-15, 5-13. That was the second year in a row with no post season.
Obviously, this is a big year for Romar. The team already suffered a blow when junior to be point guard Nigel Williams Goss transferred to Gonzaga. Tt caught people by surprise because Goss averaged 15 per game last year and would have teamed up this year with senior shooting guard Andrew Andrews, who also scored 15 per game last season. Just like that, the backcourt went from a strength to a question mark. However, the Huskies have brought in a great recruiting class for 2015, with three ESPN 100 recruits, as well as another ESPN four star player and three ESPN three stars. Four of those players are from Washington, as Romar usually cleans up in the home state recruiting. They also added a highly regarded JUCO PF and a PF transfer from Auburn, who will have to sit out this year unless he gets a waiver. The Huskies will be talented, but inexperienced and young. If the fans and administration show a little patience, the Huskies are setting themselves up to be very good again under Romar.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 4, 2015 18:07:08 GMT -5
Head coach Lorenzo Romar has had his ups and downs in his 13 years at Washington. On the plus side, he has had only two losing seasons in that time, and one of those was his first year. He's made six NCAA appearances, including three sweet sixteen runs. He's got two NIT appearances and a CBI in there, as well. The heat is on him because 2011 was the last NCAA appearance for the team. (Note: The 2012 team went 24-11, 14-4, and finished first in the Pac 12 regulars season but was passed over by the NCAA selection committee.) The 2014-15 team started out 14-4, but was devastated by injuries in the front court and the expulsion of probably their best front court player, and finished 16-15, 5-13. That was the second year in a row with no post season. Obviously, this is a big year for Romar. The team already suffered a blow when junior to be point guard Nigel Williams Goss transferred to Gonzaga. Tt caught people by surprise because Goss averaged 15 per game last year and would have teamed up this year with senior shooting guard Andrew Andrews, who also scored 15 per game last season. Just like that, the backcourt went from a strength to a question mark. However, the Huskies have brought in a great recruiting class for 2015, with three ESPN 100 recruits, as well as another ESPN four star player and three ESPN three stars. Four of those players are from Washington, as Romar usually cleans up in the home state recruiting. They also added a highly regarded JUCO PF and a PF transfer from Auburn, who will have to sit out this year unless he gets a waiver. The Huskies will be talented, but inexperienced and young. If the fans and administration show a little patience, the Huskies are setting themselves up to be very good again under Romar. There has been an interesting development with Washington. They received a verbal commitment from one of the top players in the class of 2018, Jontay Porter. Of course, we know how often those early commits fall through once it becomes decision time, but this one might stick. Coach Romar is very good friends with Jontay Porter's father, and is the godfather of Jontay and his older brother, Michael, Jr. In another interesting note, Michael Jr. is a five star player in the class of 2017, and one of the most sought after players in the class. It's a bit unusual for a younger brother to commit before the older brother, especially when both are such high regarded recruits, but Husky fans are hoping that Romar can close the deal on both Porter brothers.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 4, 2015 18:13:51 GMT -5
New coach Bobby Hurley is off to a fast start at Arizona State, landing recent verbal commitments from 2016 center Jethro Tshisumppa, an ESPN four star player, and 2016 guard Sam Cunliffe, another ESPN four star. Hurley showed good recruiting skills at Buffalo, and it has to be easier recruiting kids to sunny Arizona.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 6, 2015 20:45:23 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 21, 2015 19:56:36 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 28, 2015 0:18:57 GMT -5
Coach Romar keeps the momentum going in recruiting as 2017 shooting guard Daejon Davis commits to Washington. Davis is a Seattle kid, and Romar generally does a great job keeping that talent at home. Davis is ranked in the top 50 for 2017 by ESPN, Scout, and Rivals. Coach LR is working on building something good in Washington. espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/203872/daejon-davis
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Aug 29, 2015 12:22:45 GMT -5
Washington will have only two returning scholarship players next year. This loss hurts a bit in terms of experience, but not overall production. The two big losses they had were the transfer of junior to be guard Nigel Williams Goss and the dismissal of talented power forward Robert Upshaw.
From Twitter:
Jon Rothstein @jonrothstein 59m59 minutes ago Washington's Quevyn Winters will not to the Huskies' program next season, per release. Averaged 3.4 PPG in 14-15.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Sept 17, 2015 8:21:51 GMT -5
UCLA is probably the easiest recruiting job in the country, all things considered. Beautiful campus, great location, historic program, strong alumni and community support, lots of money, etc. Steve Alford is doing a good job of bringing in the talent since he arrived on campus. zagsblog.com/articles/ucla-lands-2017-point-guard-jaylen-hands/
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Sept 17, 2015 8:27:09 GMT -5
Utah is expecting big things from Flint native and former Titan target Kyle Kuzma. I am very interested to see how he does. He bypassed a prep school post grad year to red-shirt as a freshman at Utah, which seemed to be the right move.
Jon Rothstein @jonrothstein 1h1 hour ago Utah's Kyle Kuzma has gained 25 pounds since the end of last season, a school official told @cbssports. Can play 3, 4, & 5. Big jump coming.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Sept 24, 2015 23:35:47 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Sept 25, 2015 14:15:45 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Sept 26, 2015 18:33:13 GMT -5
As we Titan fans are painfully aware, Oregon has built it's program by relying heavily on transfers. For the class of 2016, that may be changing. Oregon picked up a verbal commitment from power forward Michael Cage, Jr.
Interesting note: Michael Cage, SR. played for Coach Smokey Gaines at San Diego State University.
Hoopniks @hoopniks 3h3 hours ago Oregon now has 3 top 100 recruits committed for '16 with MJ Cage's pledge. Transition from relying on transfers in recruiting may be here.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Oct 15, 2015 11:53:01 GMT -5
Preseason PAC 12 Poll:
Jon Rothstein @jonrothstein 2h2 hours ago Pac-12 Preseason Poll, per release: Arizona, Cal, Utah, Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State, Colorado, ASU, Stanford, USC, Washington, Washington St.
|
|
|
Post by motorcitysam on Oct 15, 2015 12:10:35 GMT -5
Predicted PAC 12 Finishes:
Lindy's 1. Arizona 2. Cal 3. Utah 4. UCLA 5. Oregon 6. Oregon State 7. Stanford 8. Colorado 9. Arizona State 10.Washington State 11.USC 12.Washington
Sporting News: 1. Zona 2. Cal 3. Oregon 4. Utah 5. UCLA 6. Oregon State 7. Stanford 8. Colorado 9. Washington 10. USC 11. ASU 12. Washington State
Athlon Sports: 1. Zona 2. Cal 3. Oregon 4. UCLA 5. Utah 6. Oregon State 7. ASU 8. Colorado 9. Washington 10. Stanford 11. USC 12. Washington State
|
|