Pac-10: Freshmen upgrade quality of league

They’re freshmen, mostly teens, the reason Pac-10 basketball received a significant seat upgrade this season, from coach to first class.

At times Jerryd Bayless, James Harden, Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo, all flashy guards except for Love, an extremely smart and mobile big man, have been the four best players in the conference.

They haven’t been in the Pac-10 long and aren’t supposed to stay long, forcing everyone else to enjoy their sophisticated and extraordinary talents – or dread them – while they can.

This week, the desert guys, Arizona’s Bayless and Arizona State’s Harden, host the beach guys, UCLA’s Love and USC’s Mayo, in what promises to be some of the most intriguing one-on-one match-ups the league will offer this season.

Bayless, Mayo and Harden, in that order, rank as the second- to fourth-highest scorers in the conference, averaging, 21.1, 20.1 and 18 points per game, respectively.

Love, the Pac-10’s seventh-best point-producer at 17 ppg, rates as the league’s No. 2 rebounder at 11 per game.

The tireless Mayo and Bayless rank 1-2 in the league in minutes played, pulling 36.23 and 35.96 per outing.

And people thought last year’s superlative freshman class, which included Stanford 7-footers Brook and Robin Lopez, Washington’s Spencer Hawes, Arizona’s Chase Budinger, California’s Ryan Andreson, Oregon’s Tajuan Porter and USC’s Taj Gibson, was exceptional.

This one is better.

“I think it’s a deeper class,” said USC coach Tim Floyd, who starts two freshmen in forward Davon Jefferson and Mayo. “Of the guys selected in the top 10 to 15 of last year’s draft, this group might not have a Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in this class, but that remains to be seen. I know there’s great talent across the board with these guys. There are more of them here.”

Mayo is the man of the moment, designated as the current Pac-10 player of the week for scoring 32 and 21 points and doing a host of other things well in a sweep of the Oregon schools.

Love, Harden and Bayless previously had received the weekly honor, with Love earning it three times. Five different freshmen, with Arizona State’s Ty Abbott joining this impressive rookie mix, have won seven of the 15 weekly awards handed out.

Mayo, 20, and the oldest of the four fab frosh, has the Trojans (17-9 overall, 8-6 league) well positioned for NCAA Tournament consideration. The 6’5” guard from Huntington, W.V., has done everything asked of him, from carrying the scoring load to holding back and distributing the ball to others when needed.

“He’s a freshman and people forget that,” Floyd said. “He’s a winner. The bottom line with this kid is all he’s ever done is win wherever he’s been.”

Bayless, 19, scored 30 points or more in three consecutive games for Arizona (17-10, 7-7) before heading out on last week’s Washington road swing and tailing off with his point production some yet impressing everyone wherever he went, especially at Washington State (21-6, 9-6).

Held scoreless in the first half by the Cougars, the 6’3” guard from Phoenix unleashed 20 points over the final 20 minutes to engineer a huge 65-55 road victory.

“He’s one of the greatest competitive spirits I’ve ever seen,” Arizona interim coach Kevin O’Neill said. “He wants to be in the middle of the action. He’s a guy we depend on. He’s a special kid in a lot of ways.”

Love, fighting illness all week but showing up to play, gritted out a double-double effort, 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 75-65 victory over the Oregon Ducks, and provided 11 points and nine rebounds in limited time in an 84-49 blowout win over the hopeless Oregon State Beavers.

In spite of his stat falloff, Love, 19, still might be the favored Pac-10 player of the year candidate, helped greatly by the ongoing success of league-leading UCLA (24-3, 12-2).

That leaves Harden, the league’s youngest player (18 last August) and no less a factor than the others in determining a league hierarchy that now fully recognizes Arizona State (17-9, 7-7). After disappearing some with a modest 10-point output in a 59-47 loss at Washington State, the 6’4” guard from Los Angeles atoned for it with 25 points in a surprisingly easy 77-63 victory at Washington.

Of the four, Mayo, Bayless and Love all have played it coy concerning their future plans, though it would be shocking if all of these guys didn’t declare for NBA early entry.

Harden, as ready for the pros as the rest of them, insists his collegiate departure isn’t coming soon.

“I’ll be back,” he said in Seattle. “I have no (immediate pro) possibilities. I love college.”

Bayless is on course to be the highest-scoring freshman in Pac-10 history. He’s currently tied with California’s Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who averaged 21.1 during the 1995-96 season.

Mayo’s scoring average now ranks as the fourth-highest provided by a league freshman, trailing the two aforementioned players and fellow USC guard Harold Minor, who averaged 20.6 during the 1989-90 season.

The good thing is these four sensational freshmen ended up in the Pac-10 together, greatly elevating the league this season. The downside is they might not stick around past this year, with even Harden likely finding himself hard-pressed to turn down the pros.

“Any time you lose great players, it‘ll make the league a little weaker,” Arizona’s O’Neill said. “It’s our job as coaches to go out and get other great players.”

Among these young guys, it will be intriguing to see who’s more ready to play in the desert. UCLA and Love head there with a one-game lead over the Stanford Cardinal (22-4, 11-3), which hosts the Washington schools.

The Cardinal are one of the few teams league-wide without a freshman working his way into the rotation. That was last year, when they relied heavily on the Lopez brothers. Now sophomores, the twins, particularly Brook Lopez, have made Stanford a Top 10 team and nearly unbeatable.

“More than anything, people are paying attention to Brook,” Cardinal coach Trent Johnson said. “It’s opening up things for a lot of guys because of Brook.”

Washington State, which tests Stanford on Saturday, relies mostly on seniors, especially multi-purpose guards Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low.

The Pac-10 expects at least six NCAA Tournament bids, which should give the four prized freshmen a chance to show their stuff in the postseason.

On the outside of title pursuits and super freshman follies are Cal (15-10, 6-8), Oregon (15-12, 6-9), Washington (15-13, 6-9) and dreadful Oregon State (6-21, 0-15). These teams likely are looking for NIT or new CBI berths, with the exception of the Beavers, who, at this point, would take a victory, any victory, after losing 17 consecutive games.

One thing is clear: All of these bottom-tier teams better have some quality freshman coming in next season if they want to keep up with the others and pull out of the bottom division.
   
Rising Team: UCLA

The Bruins fell behind Oregon by 11 at home, but maintained their cool and their slight edge over Stanford in the Pac-10 race. All these guys need to do is push a button to get going. Against the Ducks, sophomore guard Russell Westbrook did the honors, throwing down a stunning dunk that made the visitors start to backpedal and momentum shift quickly.

Falling Team: Oregon

The Ducks have dropped three consecutive games and likely played themselves out of NCAA Tournament contention, and probably put coach Ernie Kent’s job in jeopardy. They blew a 15-point advantage against USC, and coughed up that 11-point edge at UCLA. This was a team that expected to do so much more, especially with four returning starters.

Player of the Week: O.J. Mayo, G, USC

This kid was all over the place against the Oregon schools, totaling 53 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and six steals. He connected on 16 of 34 shots, including 9 of 14 3-pointers. He has piled up 66 3-pointers this season, a Trojans freshman record.

Freshman of the Week: Rihards Kuksiks, F, Arizona State

The Latvian import came up with 15 points in the Sun Devils’ impressive 77-63 defeat of Washington, hitting double figures for just the second time this season, actually within the past nine days. He was the difference against the Huskies. Kuksiks hit a 3-pointer to open each half and get his team going and outhustled opponents to several loose balls.

Stats of the Week:

11: Two streaks ended by Arizona State were Washington’s series dominance over the Sun Devils and the Huskies’ Senior Day prowess.

13: James Harden’s 20-point games, an Arizona State freshman record, one more than Ike Diogu in 2002-03.

14: The number of consecutive home victories Stanford has over the Huskies, who visit again on Thursday.

15: This would be the next home victory this season for the Cardinal (14-1), attempting to set a school record, with 14 home wins previously done five times.

20-20: Oregon State hasn’t had a 20-point scorer in its past 20 games, 17 of which have been consecutive losses.

73-72: Cal’s lead in its all-time series with Washington, the closet long-running competition in the league.

They Said It

“I still can see it in their eyes. They haven’t folded it in. I would know if they quit. I don’t think that’s an issue.” – Oregon State interim coach Kevin Mouton, on the state of mind of his 6-21 team, which has lost 17 consecutive games.

Key Upcoming Games

Thursday, Feb. 28
UCLA at Arizona State, 8:30 p.m. PT
The Bruins were ruthless when these teams earlier met in Los Angeles, hammering Arizona State 84-51, part of a five-game tailspin for the Sun Devils. Herb Sendek’s team, however, has righted itself after that momentary midseason swoon and should be better competition in the desert. Still, UCLA usually has its way with this team, leading the series 55-14 after winning the past seven games.

Saturday, March 1
Washington State at Stanford, 1 p.m. PT
Two points in overtime separated these two teams, currently second and third in the standings, in their previous meeting in Pullman. They are two of the more seasoned and taller Pac-10 entries, possibly making for this week’s most competitive match-up. Stanford leads the series 64-55.

Sunday, March 2
UCLA at Arizona, 2 p.m. PT
These teams have switched places in the league hierarchy over the past half dozen years, or since Ben Howland took over at UCLA. The Bruins reaffirmed that on Feb. 2, by blasting Arizona 82-60 at Pauley Pavilion. The Wildcats, extra thin in personnel, come off an uplifting 65-55 victory at Washington State. UCLA leads the series 44-31, counting victories in the last six meetings.

Oregon at Oregon State, 7 p.m. PT
The Beavers lead this series 180-148, but don’t expect No. 181 to show up this weekend. Oregon State is a mess, made worse by the midseason coaching change from Jay John to Kevin Mouton and dismissal of starting center C.J. Giles. These guys come off 28-, 35- and 38-point defeats, the last one against Washington at home, and are crawling along at 0-15 in the conference with a 17-game losing streak.

Dan Raley has covered the Washington Huskies and the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for nearly three decades.

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