naterb

1. UCLA - Clearly the favorite to win the PAC-10 this year, and their utter dominance over Washington State makes me wonder if they'll sweep the conference.
2. Washington State - With only one loss this season, and the great defense this team plays they'll stay right on UCLA's heels. They aren't a team to overpower everyone with their offensive output, but make no mistake about it they won't lose many games this year.
3. Oregon - They lost to Arizona State, but since then they've put it all together, including a come from behind win against Stanford. They're an extremely high-octane offensive team that likes to get out and run. They're troubles for the season, barring injury.
4. Stanford - The Lopez twins are an imposing force down low and can carry this team far. Though their guard play outside of Goods leave a lot to be wanted.
5. Arizona State - Probably over-rated for now because of their fortunate timing for facing Arizona without Bayless and Oregon before they snapped out of their slump. ASU will quickly fall two spots within the next few weeks. They've got a nice trio of Pendergraph, Harden, and Abbot that propel the team. These kids just aren't experienced enough to stay in the top half of the conference for long.
6. Arizona - The team on the rise in the PAC-10. They've suffered a recent rough spot in their year while dealing with injuries to Bayless and Brielmaier. Bayless is back with a vengeance, and the entire team plays better with him on the floor. They'll face a tough, but winnable matchup this week against Stanford.
7. California - Present a very balanced attack and can hang with just about anyone. They aren't a dominant team, but they're good enough to keep teams, even UCLA, from running away with the game.
8. USC - O.J. Mayo may be a future NBA great, but he's not good enough to carry this team to a winning record in the PAC-10. It's going to be a long season for this spot light seeker and his teammates at the bottom of the conference.
9. Washington - A good team gone bad. For whatever reason these guys still can't get it together. On a positive note they will get their first win this week against Oregon State. Teams need to be careful not to overlook UW because they are still talented team that has known success as recently as last year. If UW can pull it together they can quickly move up a few spots in just weeks.
10. Oregon State - Do these guys really belong in the PAC-10? For all the other good teams in the conference, Oregon State seems devistatingly out of place. They'd be more at home in a conference like the "Big Sky." They'll be lucky to tally 1 win this year.

Centers:

Jordan Hill: He's an animal. Hill is a phenomenal offensive player who keeps getting better every week. He's clearly the most improved player for Arizona over the last 2 years. His range has expanded to 10', he's got a nice hook shot, and can certainly finish with authority. He plays hard every game, and is a good rebounder. Defensively he is great in the post, but seems lost when away from the basket. He can't defend someone driving to the basket, which is fine. T ypically you want your center near the basket ready to block shots and grab rebounds, and that's what Hill does best.

I'm half tempted to leave the center breakdown at that, because of who is left... but I can't...

Kirk Walters: Once touted as the next great UofA center Walters carreer was ultimately halted because of mono last year. Walters has never fully recovered, and was probably better his freshman year than this year. He is constantly lost on both ends of the floor and frequently makes foolish mistakes. He can make the occassional shot, block one if he happens to be in the right place, and provides height to the roster. Outside of that he doesn't move well without the ball, and doesn't read offensive motion for the other team to get into to optimal spot for a block or a rebound. I can't wait until next year when he's not wasting a roster or scholarship for this team.

Alex Jacobson: Beats me. He's redshirting his freshman year, so I haven't gotten to see anything from him. He's taller than Walters, and couldn't possibly be any worse. I would perfer to see him play than Walters. However, Walters doesn't have any redshirts available. Which is okay by me. The only thing I know about Jacobson is that he averaged 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks his sophomore year of high school.  But since he'sa redshirt there's not much point in doing any more research than that.