https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2019/07/23/pac-12-rankings-arizona-colorado-oregon-washington
As the midpoint of college basketball’s offseason approaches, it’s time to check in on every major conference. Every team in the country has questions at this point of the summer, some more pressing than others. So in addition to power ranking each league, we’ll be asking some burning questions about the conference that won’t be answered until tip-off. With the AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten down, next up is the Pac-12.
Pac-12 Summer Power Rankings
1. Colorado: Surprised? You shouldn’t be. While other schools that are expected to contend atop the conference have lots of incoming talent, the Buffs return every major player from a team that was among the Pac-12's hottest to end last season.
2. Arizona: After a catastrophic 2018-19 campaign, Sean Miller has reloaded the roster. Nico Mannion headlines a top-five recruiting class tasked with bringing the Wildcats back to their usual place among the Pac-12’s best.
3. Oregon: The Ducks are primed to do damage once again in March. But when Dana Altman has to integrate several new pieces into his system, it often takes a while for them to all gel.
4. Washington: Like Oregon, Washington will look pretty different from last year’s NCAA tournament team. Landing five-star frontcourt freshmen Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels along with five-star transfer Quade Green replenishes the lost star power.
5. USC: The Trojans have plenty of talent, but that hasn’t been an issue in the past couple seasons under Andy Enfield filled with underachievement. USC could be the best shooting team in the Pac-12 with grad transfers Daniel Utomi and Quinton Adlesh joining Jonah Mathews.
6. Arizona State: This is another Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde team, with the Sun Devils often appearing two-faced in Bobby Hurley’s tenure in Tempe. ASU has a few very intriguing players though, including one of the most energetic players in the country in Remy Martin.
7. UCLA: All eyes are on Mick Cronin in his first season in Westwood. The Bruins are the biggest mystery in the Pac-12 in terms of projecting the pace they’ll play at, but the roster Cronin inherited is far from barren.
8. Oregon State: Tres Tinkle opted to return for his senior season, and is the favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year. Getting Ethan Thompson back too was a huge boost.
9. Utah: I’m afraid to put Larry Krystkowiak’s bunch down here, since it seems that the Utes always exceed expectations with “The Other Coach K” at the helm. Utah has a nice young core, but losing Sedrick Barefield and Parker Van Dyke will decrease the offensive firepower.
10. Stanford: The Cardinal should not have finished in 10th place last season in a down Pac-12 with as talented a roster as they had. It’ll be tough to top that position now after having to replace their best player, KZ Okpala.
11. Washington State: Analytics-minded Kyle Smith was one of the most intriguing hires this offseason, and he’ll definitely shake things up in Pullman. CJ Elleby was one of the best freshmen that no one talked about in 2018-19.
12. Cal: Mark Fox takes over, and he has a low bar to start after how bad Cal was the past two seasons. The Golden Bears, however are still a long way from relevancy, even in the Pac-12.
As the midpoint of college basketball’s offseason approaches, it’s time to check in on every major conference. Every team in the country has questions at this point of the summer, some more pressing than others. So in addition to power ranking each league, we’ll be asking some burning questions about the conference that won’t be answered until tip-off. With the AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten down, next up is the Pac-12.
Pac-12 Summer Power Rankings
1. Colorado: Surprised? You shouldn’t be. While other schools that are expected to contend atop the conference have lots of incoming talent, the Buffs return every major player from a team that was among the Pac-12's hottest to end last season.
2. Arizona: After a catastrophic 2018-19 campaign, Sean Miller has reloaded the roster. Nico Mannion headlines a top-five recruiting class tasked with bringing the Wildcats back to their usual place among the Pac-12’s best.
3. Oregon: The Ducks are primed to do damage once again in March. But when Dana Altman has to integrate several new pieces into his system, it often takes a while for them to all gel.
4. Washington: Like Oregon, Washington will look pretty different from last year’s NCAA tournament team. Landing five-star frontcourt freshmen Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels along with five-star transfer Quade Green replenishes the lost star power.
5. USC: The Trojans have plenty of talent, but that hasn’t been an issue in the past couple seasons under Andy Enfield filled with underachievement. USC could be the best shooting team in the Pac-12 with grad transfers Daniel Utomi and Quinton Adlesh joining Jonah Mathews.
6. Arizona State: This is another Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde team, with the Sun Devils often appearing two-faced in Bobby Hurley’s tenure in Tempe. ASU has a few very intriguing players though, including one of the most energetic players in the country in Remy Martin.
7. UCLA: All eyes are on Mick Cronin in his first season in Westwood. The Bruins are the biggest mystery in the Pac-12 in terms of projecting the pace they’ll play at, but the roster Cronin inherited is far from barren.
8. Oregon State: Tres Tinkle opted to return for his senior season, and is the favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year. Getting Ethan Thompson back too was a huge boost.
9. Utah: I’m afraid to put Larry Krystkowiak’s bunch down here, since it seems that the Utes always exceed expectations with “The Other Coach K” at the helm. Utah has a nice young core, but losing Sedrick Barefield and Parker Van Dyke will decrease the offensive firepower.
10. Stanford: The Cardinal should not have finished in 10th place last season in a down Pac-12 with as talented a roster as they had. It’ll be tough to top that position now after having to replace their best player, KZ Okpala.
11. Washington State: Analytics-minded Kyle Smith was one of the most intriguing hires this offseason, and he’ll definitely shake things up in Pullman. CJ Elleby was one of the best freshmen that no one talked about in 2018-19.
12. Cal: Mark Fox takes over, and he has a low bar to start after how bad Cal was the past two seasons. The Golden Bears, however are still a long way from relevancy, even in the Pac-12.
