Player of the Week
[player: Dillon Brooks] – Oregon
Don’t look now, but Oregon appears to have become the team to beat in the Pac-12. The Duck’s sophomore guard has helped carry Oregon the last couple of games, especially in their win over Arizona. Brooks pitched in 25 points with seven boards, three assists and one block against UCLA, but I want to focus on Oregon’s win against the Wildcats. The Ducks found themselves down early, in probably the hardest arena to play in the Pac-12, Arizona was going for 50 straight at home. However, no matter how loud the crowd became, Oregon never relented. Brooks and the Ducks climbed their way back into the game and simply ran away with it in the final five minutes. While we will talk about the Ducks play later, Brooks is just so much fun to watch. While he doesn’t have that great of the three-point shot, it is still enough of a threat to make teams not leave him out there. Brooks is at his best when he doesn’t settle and drives to the rim. Bill Walton couldn’t heap enough praise on Brooks, amazed how he was getting to the rim and finishing over the bigger, more athletic Wildcats. Honestly, this was all in a days work for Brooks, he has been doing this all year and is now a legitimate threat to win Pac-12 player of the year. Jared Dudley carved out a solid NBA career with inferior athleticism to Brooks. All in all, Brooks is a great player, and incredibly fun to watch, whether he has the speed to make it at the next level remains to be seen, but he’s certainly stating a case for himself as one of the Pac 12’s top players as a sophomore.
Who’s Hot
[player: Jakob Poeltl] – Utah
Welcome back to the hot list Poeltl. The sophomore forward was an animal against Washington, in what was probably one of Utah’s biggest wins of the year. On the road, Poeltl had 29 points, 10 boards, four assists, a steal and a block. The sophomore forward got to the free throw line 16 times, making all but three. Simply put, Poeltl was unstoppable. Not to be denied in the Ute’s second game of the week, the sophomore forward was great against California. Poeltl played through foul trouble and finished the game with 21 points and nine boards. While the Austrian only shot 7 of 14 from the free throw line, we’ll give him a pass this week, as Utah got the win. This can be seen as a bounce back for the Utes but I’m still skeptical. [player: Jordan Loveridge] is still in a slump and while both [player: Brandon Taylor] and [player: Lorenzo Bonam] seem to be passing better, they still can’t shoot. It’s on Poeltl to carry the Utes to the promised land.
[player: Jordan Mathews] – California
Okay, I understand California went one and one this week and Mathews was bad against Utah, but the junior might have saved the Golden Bear’s season against Arizona. Mathews was a monster the entire game, hitting everything he looked at. The junior guard finished with 28 points on 10 of 17 shooting, nailing six threes in the process. While most would consider Mathews a sharpshooter, I loved how he didn’t settle against the Wildcats and forced them to defend his driving game as well. The Golden Bears have their own set of issues and just aren’t consistent on the road right now. However, Mathews will always have the game against Arizona, where he was the best player on the floor.
Who’s Cold
[player: Gabe York] – Arizona
The Wildcats just lost two straight since who knows when and while it might be unfair to put blame on one player, York just was not good this week. The senior guard may be suffering the most from the [player: Alonzo Trier] injury. Most of the opposing teams gun for York now, instead of splitting their attention between him and Trier. York is also one of the only three-point shooters left on the Wildcats, putting even more pressure on him. The senior guard has never been a passer, so it’s understandable that his response to the added pressure is to just shoot more, but it’s hurting Arizona. York shots 6-17 and 7-15 this week, when almost everyone else on his team was playing well. If Arizona wants to catch both Oregon and Washington, York has to go against his instincts and get some more efficient shots for the team. Even with the two losses, I’m not worried. Sean Miller is a great coach and Trier will be back soon. Wildcats fans do not fret, it’s going to be fine.
[player: Dejounte Murray] – Washington
This might not be fair, because Murray really shot around his normal percentage this week, but this was a disappointing week for one of my favorites. Honestly, I can live with the Utah game. The freshman only shot 4-16 but he had 13 rebounds and six assists. That’s okay, everyone has a bad shooting day, and Murray contributed in other ways. The UCLA game was probably the first time all year where Murray was just nonexistent. The freshman shot 2-11 but finished with only five rebounds and one assists. I watched the end of the game where [player: Bryce Alford] just took over and in a game where [player: Andrew Andrews] didn’t have it going, I was looking for Murray to step up. Obviously, Murray is still young and he has a ton of room to grow but I know Washington is better off with him playing aggressive, not passive. Lets hope the freshman bounces back next week.
I was a bit depressing last week with my Top 5 list, so lets cheer it up a tiny bit. Here are the top 5 things I like about the Pac-12 season so far.
Top 5 Things I like
5. Bill Walton calling games
If anyone hasn’t listened to Walton call a game yet, I implore you to just watch one and listen to what he says. While everything might not be about the game, Walton knows his stuff. However, my favorite part about Walton is how blunt he is. The guy just doesn’t care anymore and speaks his mind, no matter how many people are listening. Walton loves to make over the top, completely outrageous statements as well like “that’s the worst possession in the history of UCLA basketball.” I love it. The NBA champion is here to make the games more interesting and to provide color every now and then. Trust me, Walton certainly makes the games more interesting.
4. The constant offense
While this can be said about almost every other league, it’s just not the same as the Pac-12. Literally almost every team in the entire league loves to run, the only exceptions would be Colorado and maybe Utah. Colorado even scored 91 points in a game this week. If your slowest team can score upwards of 90 points on a given night, everyone is winning (except maybe the defensive coach). In a league where almost every single team has a star they can go to, everyone has to be on their game every single night. The pace is great and every coach likes to shoot, it’s just an incredibly fun product to watch this year.
3. Pac-12 getting some respect
Much has been said about the decline of the Pac-12 and honestly, it was said with good reason. The Pac-12 has not been good in the past, but this year is different. The Pac-12 has a potential of eight teams making the NCAA tournament, which would be insane. I think the number probably settles around seven, but the number isn’t important, the respect around the nation is. All of the announcers are pushing the Pac-12 and all of its teams, with good reason. Everyone can play this year and its a fun product. In a year where there is no clear favorite, maybe a Pac-12 team can get to the Final Four.
2. Oregon being legitimately good
For years, the question has always been, who’s going to challenge Arizona? The Wildcats may have finally met their match. I understand Trier wasn’t playing, but I’m actually not sure that he would have made a difference. Oregon was amazing this game (spare the first five minutes) and took it to Arizona for the entirety of the game. The Ducks have a really interesting team. While Brooks is their leading scorer, really anyone else can step up on any given night. The most amazing part about the Ducks is their size. Almost every single night, Oregon is outsized by the opposing team, it’s really amazing that they can win. The Ducks switch incredibly quick and just want the ball more than the opposing team. Brooks summed it up the best last night. Walton bluntly asked Brooks how the Ducks kept winning, even with the size and depth disadvantage. Brooks literally took a split second to answer, “but we have heart.” Who knew a Duck’s heart could be so big.
1. Parity
This could probably be said for all of college basketball right now, but its extremely appropriate for the Pac-12. Anyone can be anyone on any given night. Road wins have been extremely hard to come by as well, making every game that much more important. In a league where the title is up for groups, nobody has really stepped up. Wether it be [player: Bryce Alford] nailing a late game three against Arizona, or [player: Jakob Poeltl] going off in Washington only one thing is certain about this Pac-12 season, nobody is safe.