Player of the Week
Keion Brooks (Washington)
The transfer from the Kentucky Wildcats has been extremely important to this Huskies team as they find themselves 11-8 on the year after going 2-1 in conference play this week. In a 73-65 loss against Arizona State, Brooks had the first of his three straight double doubles, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Huskies followed this up with a 86-69 win against the Stanford Cardinal. Brooks played 37 minutes and had 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds. In the final game of the week, Washington won a nail biter against California, 81-78. This was Brooks’ best game of the week, where he scored 26 points and once again grabbed double digit rebounds with 10.
Who’s Hot
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
As UCLA continues to be one of the best teams in the NCAA, Jaime Jaquez Jr. continues to be one of the best players in college basketball. In a 68-49 win against the Utah Utes, Jaquez Jr. had a near triple-double, scoring 8 points while grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. The versatility in his game is impressive as even when he isn’t carrying the scoring load, he finds any way to impact the game. He followed this up with an amazing performance in a 68-54 win against the Colorado Buffaloes. He led the entire game in both points and rebounds, scoring 23 and grabbing 13. UCLA continues to impress as they stay undefeated in conference play while boasting an overall record of 16-2.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State has been quite the surprise this year as they currently hold the second spot in the Pac-12 with a record of 15-3. This week saw the Sun Devils go 3-0 against three interconference opponents. They beat the Washington Huskies 73-65 as four players scored in double figures. Though it wasn’t the prettiest game percentage wise for Arizona State (41% from the field, 60% from free throw), the fact that they still won shows that even when they play badly, they can still pull out a victory. They followed this up with a 90-73 win against the Oregon Ducks. Everything clicked for the Sun Devils in this win. They shot 52% from the field and 45% from three as they once again had four players scoring in double digits. They wrapped up the week with a win against Oregon State, scoring 74 to their 69. Desmond Cambridge led the way with 21 points as the Sun Devils took over second place in the conference.
Who’s Not
Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats really showed their struggles this week against fellow Pac-12 teams. They lost to both the Washington State Cougars and the Oregon Ducks by double digits and allowed both teams to get their way on offense. The Cougars scored 74 points to the Wildcats 61 and the Ducks scored a whopping 87 points to Arizona’s 68. Though they still have a winning record in conference play (4-3), weaknesses continue to be pointed out for the Wildcats as the season goes on. They’ll need to clean up their play if they want any chance of winning it all in March.
Top 5 Transfers in the Pac-12
Keion Brooks (Washington)
When talking about transfers coming into the Pac-12 for the 2022-2023 season, Brooks is the cream of the crop. The senior forward spent three years at Kentucky before transferring to the Washington Huskies. He’s currently averaging just under 17 points per game and just above 7 rebounds, two career highs. Though his efficiency has gone down, he’s getting 10 more minutes of play, going from 24 minutes per game to 34. His adjustment should come steadily as the season progresses.
Desmond Cambridge (Arizona State)
There’s no doubt that the gain of Cambridge has been integral to Arizona State’s jump this year in the Pac-12 rankings. Coming from Nevada, Cambridge is currently averaging 12 points per game and 3 rebounds for the Sun Devils. He’s had a couple clutch moments thus far and continues to be one of the better players on Arizona State’s roster.
Devan Cambridge (Arizona State)
The second half of the brother duo is Devan Cambridge, senior guard from Auburn. Though he averages a tad bit less in the points category than his brother, Cambridge has had a huge turnaround in his efficiency stats that helps the Sun Devils win games. He currently averages 11 points per game and grabs just over 5 rebounds. He does this while shooting 54% from the field and 40% from three.
Courtney Ramey (Arizona)
Ramey has found a place for himself with the Arizona Wildcats, carving out a role that offers him 30 meaningful minutes per game. The senior guard from Texas currently averages 10 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Though he also transferred over his inefficiency from the field with his transition to Arizona (38.4% from the field), he currently shoots 40% from three.
Jermaine Couisnard (Oregon)
Cousinard transferred from South Carolina and has immediately seen improvements in nearly every aspect of his game. He averages 14 points (career high), 4 rebounds (career high), and 2 assists per game. In addition, he shoots 47% from the field and 56% from three. These are both career highs for the senior guard. It’s safe to say that transferring was the best decision for him.