1. Stanford's Chasson Randle should be Pac-12 Preseason Player of the Year: This shouldn't be up for debate. The Pac-12 lost several standout players from last season (Nick Johnson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams) and Randle returns as the anchor of a Sweet 16 team.
The 6-foot-2 guard had a terrific junior season, averaging 18.8 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3-point range. Forced to play point guard after veteran Aaron Bright was sidelined because of an injury, Randle led the Cardinal to their first trip to the NCAA Tournament under Johnny Dawkins.
Another thing to watch in regards to Randle next season? Dawkins may be able to slide him off the ball more regularly thanks to the addition of freshman point guard Robert Cartwright. The 6-2 Cartwright is a heady floor general who makes the right pass and creates opportunities for teammates. His presence likely will allow Randle more time on the wing in 2014-15 and that could allow him to be even more aggressive offensively.
I think Randle will certainly be one of the better performers next year, but I think it's a complete joke to say he's "hands down" the favorite. I think that UA will be so much better than anyone else in this conference that the "best player on the best team" theory will win out, but even if it ends up being a non-UA player my money would be on Delon Wright, and possibly Joseph Young.
People totally dismiss Brandon Ashley. It's ridiculous. To have two three-year starters along your frontline, one seven feet and one pushing it with a game 20 feet and in...well, you're just dumb if you think Chasson Randle blows that away.
So, of course, the correct response from the Pac-12 offices will be Kyle Anderson.
Not sure why anyone would be the POY without debate at this point. That just smacks of trolling for site hits.
Of the 12 coaches, Rush picked the one whose fans have the deepest passion, the longest memories, the greatest lung capacity and … did I mention deep passion?
Wright's a pretty good defender as well. I almost see him as Utah's version of Nick for us last year. He's not a lethal scorer but he does almost everything when he's on the floor.
But I'd still be shocked if it doesn't end up being an AZ player. My best guess would be Ashley.
biggles wrote:Wright's a pretty good defender as well. I almost see him as Utah's version of Nick for us last year. He's not a lethal scorer but he does almost everything when he's on the floor.
But I'd still be shocked if it doesn't end up being an AZ player. My best guess would be Ashley.
I'd be surprised if we had the winner. Not because I don't think we have the best players in the conference, but because it will be hard to shine with a stacked lineup. We should have all 5 first team slots and not the POY.
Spaceman Spiff wrote:I'd be surprised if we had the winner. Not because I don't think we have the best players in the conference, but because it will be hard to shine with a stacked lineup. We should have all 5 first team slots and not the POY.
I think stat-wise you're totally right, I wouldn't be surprised if our top scorer wasn't even top 5 in the league. I think from a voting perspective though that AZ should be so clearly the best team in the conference that most coaches will feel compelled to give it to who they see as AZ's best player. Of course it's entirely possible that the conference race is more competitive than I envision, or that the season might end with every one of our starters having as good of an argument for that title as the others which would muddle things.
On a side note, I think UCLA will end up in that second tier of conference schools, but I have no idea who their obvious candidate for PotY would be. If it can't be an AZ player, I'd love to see it go to Alford, just to see the bruinsnation reaction.
biggles wrote:Wright's a pretty good defender as well. I almost see him as Utah's version of Nick for us last year. He's not a lethal scorer but he does almost everything when he's on the floor.
But I'd still be shocked if it doesn't end up being an AZ player. My best guess would be Ashley.
I'd be surprised if we had the winner. Not because I don't think we have the best players in the conference, but because it will be hard to shine with a stacked lineup. We should have all 5 first team slots and not the POY.
I tend to agree with this, although I thought we were pretty loaded last year and we ended up with the POY in Nick.
If an Arizona player were to win, my best guess would be Rondae. If he's put in some work on his jumper, the dude has a chance to be the most dynamic player in the league (in fact he probably already is).
If an Arizona player were to win POY, just like last year it probably won't be our most important player but the guy who puts up the most points.
Of the 12 coaches, Rush picked the one whose fans have the deepest passion, the longest memories, the greatest lung capacity and … did I mention deep passion?
biggles wrote:Wright's a pretty good defender as well. I almost see him as Utah's version of Nick for us last year. He's not a lethal scorer but he does almost everything when he's on the floor.
But I'd still be shocked if it doesn't end up being an AZ player. My best guess would be Ashley.
I'd be surprised if we had the winner. Not because I don't think we have the best players in the conference, but because it will be hard to shine with a stacked lineup. We should have all 5 first team slots and not the POY.
I tend to agree with this, although I thought we were pretty loaded last year and we ended up with the POY in Nick.
If an Arizona player were to win, my best guess would be Rondae. If he's put in some work on his jumper, the dude has a chance to be the most dynamic player in the league (in fact he probably already is).
Nick was our unquestioned leader last year. This year, it's less defined. Zeus, Ashley and Rondae could shoulder the load on any night, and TJ is the head of the serpent. I'd love it if someone ascended to Nick's role, but I think TJ is the most likely candidate in intangibles, and I doubt his stats will reflect that.
