Predicted Order of Finish

1. UCLA
UCLA had two players taken among the top five picks of the NBA Draft and lost a three-year starter in the second round. Time to rebuild? Never. Not these Bruins. With Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute off to the NBA, the Bruins have lost three of their top five scorers. But they are bringing in five highly gifted freshmen — headlined by combo guard Jrue Holliday — and have experience at a key position thanks to point guard Darren Collison’s decision to return to school. An exceptional recruiting class and the proven defensive philosophy of coach Ben Howland mean a fourth successive trip to the Final Four is possible.

2. Arizona State
Unless guard James Harden or center Jeff Pendergraph gets hurt and misses a majority of the season, the Sun Devils should break through the glass ceiling and make the NCAA Tournament. There’s even been talk that ASU could challenge UCLA for the conference title. Don’t be surprised if the Sun Devils do that and more. Harden is that good. He’s the kind of player who could lead a team a long way during March Madness. In case you were wondering, the last time ASU advanced as far as the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 was 1994-95. That’s how long a dry spell it’s been in Tempe. The drought is about to come to an end.

3. USC
Say good-bye to O.J. Mayo, and hello to DeMar DeRozan, then add a distinctive hip-hop beat in the background, courtesy of the most celebrated USC basketball recruit of them all, Romeo — formerly known as Lil’ Romeo, son of rap mogul Master P. If DeRozan is as skilled as most scouts say, scoring points shouldn’t be a problem for the Trojans. The key will be how well the always defense-conscious coach Tim Floyd can mold this group into playing well at that end of the court. If gifted shot blocker Taj Gibson can play up to his considerable potential, USC could challenge for second place in the conference and surprise come tournament time.

4. Arizona
Once McDonald’s All-America point guard Brandon Jennings decided to play in Europe rather than enroll at Arizona, the Wildcats dropped from a team that could contend for the Pac-10 title to one destined to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth. Then, the abrupt retirement of 74-year-old national championship winning coach Lute Olson gave the Cats an even bigger void to fill. With the unexpected departures of the head coach and point guard, even a talent like Chase Budinger will have a tough time saving keeping the school’s streak of 25 straight NCAA Tournament appearances intact.

5. Washington State
Tony Bennett enters his third season as Washington State’s coach, which is a relief to Cougar fans who thought he might be at Indiana, LSU or somewhere else. For the past two years, Bennett has been hotly pursued because of his remarkable success at WSU, where he’s gone 52–17 and led the Cougars to two NCAA Tournaments, including the Sweet 16 last year. This year, there are enough returners and solid newcomers to give this team a chance to make its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

6. Washington
Jon Brockman can’t do it alone. For two seasons, the Huskies have found this out to their great frustration, relying entirely too much on their all-conference forward and failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament as a consequence. Coach Lorenzo Romar’s team has had trouble putting the ball in the basket and getting consistent production out of anyone other than Brockman. If incoming freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas is as good as advertised, look for Washington to become a serious player in the Pac-10 again.

7. California
Mike Montgomery likes his big men. He had a bunch of good ones in his 18 years at Stanford, and they were the foundation for 10 consecutive teams that reached at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, four years removed from his tenure across the Bay and after an unsuccessful two-year stab at the NBA, Montgomery has landed at Cal. He replaces one-time rival Ben Braun, who was fired after 11 seasons, including only one in the past five years that produced an NCAA bid.

8. Oregon
The Ducks will try to replace three starters and avoid putting too much pressure on their six-member freshman class early on, but those players will have to develop into key contributors by the time conference play rolls around if a third straight NCAA Tournament berth is going to happen for Oregon. The good news is that the Pac-10 lost a number of talented big guys, so conference play likely won’t be as rigorous as it might have been for young forwards. There might yet be hope for another NCAA appearance for the Ducks, despite all the youth.

9. Stanford
For all the perceived similarities between his old and new schools, new coach Johnny Dawkins understands that Stanford is not Duke. And vice versa. Dawkins hasn’t inherited a roster packed with McDonald’s All-Americans and, for all the Cardinal’s recent hoops tradition, few schools can match the Blue Devils’ basketball heritage. It’s difficult to envision this team even coming close to duplicating last year’s 28–8 campaign. More likely, the Cardinal will struggle to approach .500 in the Pac-10.

10. Oregon State
There’s no place to go but up. The turnaround will not happen overnight, and coach Craig Robinson must work extraordinarily hard to rebuild OSU’s reputation with in-state talent and to recruit Pac-10-caliber players. The Beavers should avoid a second consecutive winless conference season. However, the overall talent level is low, the learning curve for Robinson’s offense is steep, and in all probability OSU will struggle to win seven or eight games even though the schedule isn’t especially challenging.

Conference Superlatives

Player of the Year: Darren Collison, UCLA
Best Defensive Player: Darren Collison, UCLA
Most Underrated Player: Taylor Rochestie, Washington State
Newcomer or the Year: Jrue Holiday, UCLA

All-Pac-10 First Team

Jon Brockman, Sr., F, Washington
Chase Budinger, Jr., F, Arizona
Darren Collison, Sr., G, UCLA
Taj Gibson, Jr., F, USC
James Harden, So., G, Arizona State

All-Pac-10 Second Team

Aron Baynes, Sr., C, Washington State
Jordan Hill, Jr., F, Arizona
Jeff Pendergraph, Sr., C, Arizona State
Tajuan Porter, Jr., G, Oregon
Josh Shipp, Sr., F, UCLA

All-Pac-10 Third Team

Demar DeRozan, Fr., G, USC
Daniel Hackett, Jr., G, USC
Jrue Holiday, Fr., G, UCLA
Taylor Rochestie, Sr., G, Washington State
Isaiah Thomas, Fr., G, Washington

Recruiting Roundup

1. UCLA The Bruins signed five top 50 players in the clear No. 1 class in the nation.
2. Oregon Stud center Michael Dunigan leads a very strong six-player class.
3. Washington The Huskies signed three Top 100 talents including guard Scott Suggs.
4. USC Demar DeRozan is incredibly athletic with a quickly blossoming skill set.
5. Arizona Jeff Withey is an interior scorer who will make an impact in the desert.
6. Washington State Klay Thompson is the highest-rated Cougar signee in years.
7. California D.J. Seeley will put up points in bunches as a starter or off the bench.
8. Arizona State ASU adds two quality forwards in Johnny Coy and Taylor Rohde.
9. Stanford Jarrett Mann has a complete game and should contribute this year.
10. Oregon State Kavon Rose will add to new coach Craig Robinson’s bench depth.