2008 West Coast Hoops Preview

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2. Saint Mary’s (25–7, 12–2)

If any team can challenge Gonzaga in this year’s title race, it’s the Gaels. Coach Randy Bennett returns four starters, including all-conference performers Diamon Simpson and Patrick Mills, from a team that had one of the most successful seasons in school history. Simpson, a 6'7" senior forward, is one of the WCC’s most versatile offensive players and a splendid on-ball defender and shot-blocker as well. As a junior, he averaged 13.4 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds as the Gaels earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Mills, a sophomore point guard from Australia, put together a splendid rookie season in 2007-08, leading his team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and assists (3.5 apg). Bennett’s other two returning starters are junior center Omar Samhan (10.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and senior forward Ian O’Leary (7.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Samhan, a 6'11" wide-bodied post, can score inside in a variety of ways, while the 6'7" O’Leary gives the Gaels another slasher on the wing. In addition, former Indiana reserve center Ben Allen, another native of Australia, is eligible this season.

3. San Diego (22–14, 11–3)

The Toreros, under rookie head coach Bill Grier, stunned many college basketball experts last winter by upsetting Gonzaga in the finals of the WCC Tournament and capturing the league’s automatic berth in the NCAAs. And it doesn’t look like they are going away. Grier, a longtime assistant at Gonzaga prior to replacing Brad Holland at USD, returns all five starters and his top four scorers from last year’s team, and boasts a roster loaded with battle-tested veteran players. The best of the bunch is senior point guard Brandon Johnson, a third-year starter who averaged 16.9 points and 3.5 assists per game last winter while also leading the WCC with 80 3-point field goals. He will be joined in the backcourt once again by junior De’Jon Jackson, who was the only Torero to start all 36 games last year, and sophomore Trumaine Johnson. The muscle inside will be supplied by 6'8" senior center Gyno Pomare (14.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg), a two-time All-WCC performer, and 6'6" sophomore forward Rob Jones (9.0 ppg, 5.8 ppg), who is one of the most physical players in the league.

4. Santa Clara (15–16, 6–8)

Coach Kerry Keating starts his second season at Santa Clara with plenty of positive vibes despite losing Brody Angley and Mitch Henke, a pair of four-year letterwinners, to graduation. The main force behind Keating’s optimism is John Bryant, the Broncos’ 6'10", 305-pound all-conference senior center who averaged 18.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game last winter. Bryant has improved immensely and gives the Broncos a dominant presence inside. Joining Bryant on the frontline is Ben Dowdell, a 6'7" sophomore forward who started 29 games as a freshman and averaged 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds. There are some questions in the backcourt, where senior Calvin Johnson (4.6 ppg) boasts the most experience, but if junior college transfer Perry Petty, who averaged 21.0 points and 6.0 assists as a sophomore at Allen County (Kan.) Community College last year, is as good as billed, those questions should be answered.

5. San Francisco (10–21, 5–9)

The Dons return one of the league’s top players in Dior Lowhorn, who led the WCC in scoring last season with an average of 20.5 points per game. The rangy 6'7" forward, one of the league’s best on-ball defenders, also led USF in rebounding with 7.4 per game. First-year coach Rex Walters also boasts a veteran point guard in senior Manny Quezada (13.9 ppg, 4.6 apg), but talented sophomore shooting guard Myron Strong (10.0 ppg) left the program in the offseason. A nice recruiting class should help, but until the Dons show they can come together as a team and hang with the WCC’s best for more than half a season, the respect factor will remain limited.

6. Portland (9–22, 3–11)

With six freshmen and four sophomores on his roster last winter, Pilots coach Eric Reveno figured to be in for a rough ride — and he was right. But now, with his young players having matured, Reveno can start thinking about, perhaps, becoming a factor in the WCC race. Among UP’s top returning players are junior shooting guard Nik Raivio (12.6 ppg), junior point guard Taishi Ito (5.3 ppg, 3.2 apg), sophomore forward Luke Sikma (6.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and junior forward and sixth man Robin Smeulders (9.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg). But the addition of two key recruits — point guard T.J. Campbell, a junior college All-American, and John Hegarty, a 7'1", 365-pound beast out of Winchendon (Mass.) Prep School — could cut into some of the returnees’ playing time.

7. Loyola Marymount (5–26, 2–12)

Considering last year’s top two scorers, Orlando Johnson and Shawn Deadwiler, decided to transfer, the Lions figure to be in for a difficult season. But first-year coach Bill Bayno managed to cobble together an impressive recruiting class that could have an immediate impact. The best of the lot is LaRon Armstead, a 6'5" freshman and local product who averaged 19 points for Fremont High School last winter. Bayno also picked up former McDonald’s All-America nominee and Chipola (Fla.) Community College transfer Vernon Teel, an active 6'4" guard and capable defender, and freshman Ashley Hamilton, a 6'7" wing from England who was a member of Great Britain’s Under-20 National team. If the chemistry works, the Lions could surprise.

8. Pepperdine (11–21, 4–10)

In an effort to stop the hemorrhaging that has afflicted this once-proud program in recent years, the Waves hired Tom Asbury to replace Vance Walberg and serve a second stint as the school’s head coach. The 63-year-old Asbury had a successful six-year run (1989-94) as Pepperdine’s boss the first time around, but don’t look for any instant miracles in Malibu this winter. The Waves’ chances were decimated by the offseason defections of last year’s top two scorers, freshmen Tyrone Shelley and Malcom Thomas, leaving Asbury with seven first-year players on his roster.