Pac-10
Pac-10's teams, coaches, style of play.
Leave it to Craig Robinson to help bring about some change in the Pac-10.
After partying it up in Washington D.C. Tuesday for his brother-in-law inauguration, Robinson flew into California and led Oregon State to a stunning 69-65 win at Cal.
That sets up a huge game Saturday in Seattle between UCLA and Washington. The winner will be all alone atop the Pac-10.
If you didn’t know, hoops on the West Coast is becoming quite the show.
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Determining how many people will attend Barack Obama’s inauguration is an inexact science. A million? Two million? About the only certainties are that it’ll be a star-studded event.
Oh, and at least one Beaver will be there. Guess that means Craig Robinson will skip Tuesday’s Pac-10 coaches’ conference call.
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It’s amazing what a good coach can do. Just look at the Pac-10.
UCLA (12-2) continues to thrive under Ben Howland. Herb Sendek’s turned Arizona State (12-2) into a Final Four contender. Heck, Craig Robinson’s even made Oregon State (6-6) into a decent team – still not great – and earned plaudits from his brother-in-law.
But Mike Montgomery at Cal has turned the most heads.
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Old school refrain: The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores. And sometimes, they become really good sophomores.
Example A: Arizona State’s James Harden.
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Michigan’s win against No. 4 UCLA shouldn’t be a huge shock. Expect nothing less from a John Beilein team.
Sure, the Wolverines (3-0) started off hot this season, mostly behind Manny Harris’ scoring touch. But it’s the third time a Beilein-coached team has beaten the Bruins. In 2007, Beilein’s West Virginia squad took advantage of a Darren Collison’s absence to snag a 70-65 win. In 2006, Kevin Pittsnogle & Co. pulled off a 60-56 win.
Whether it’s Beilein’s perplexing 1-3-1 zone or some timely 3s, his teams get it done vs. UCLA. ‘Nuff said. Especially since it wasn’t Thursday’s most remarkable game.
That would be Texas Tech’s 167-115 win against East Central (Okla.). Yes, you read the score correctly. 167-115.
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Tuesday night’s main events went pretty much according to plan. North Carolina outran Kentucky. Stephen Curry scored a bunch, but Davidson lost to Oklahoma. And Kansas raised its championship banner.
Lost among the shuffle – and that late starting time – was a ridiculous finish between Arizona and UAB. Well, ridiculous is being nice. Stupid, maybe? Pick your favorite synonym because it applies. The House that Lute built is slowly crumbling.
The quick synopsis is this: A free-throw with .8 seconds remaining gave UAB a 72-71 in the quarterfinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. But that omits all the boneheaded details leading up to the end.
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Lute Olson’s had a busy year by anyone’s standards, let alone a guy who just turned 74 less than two weeks ago.
Olson took last season off as Arizona’s basketball coach for personal reasons, finalized a divorce and came back this summer to find his star recruit bolt for Europe and two others change their minds. Last month, the NCAA announced it will investigate a possible recruiting violation.
None of that slowed down Olson, though. During a benefit dinner Wednesday hosted by ex-Wildcats star Steve Kerr, Olson announced his engagement to Kelly Pugnea, a Tucson resident. The two haven’t set a wedding date.
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Lute Olson isn’t going to recruit one-and-done type players anymore?
Yeah, right.
It’s easy to understand Olson’s frustration. When your best player bolts after one season and an incoming recruit decides to play in Europe instead, that’d make anyone cranky. (Nevermind that Olson must be feeling a little more apprehension than normal about the upcoming season. A self-imposed one-year leave of absence can do that.)
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If there’s ever a time to feel sorry for UCLA – 11 NCAA titles? Share the wealth, Westwood! – this week was the time. For about 5 seconds.
Losing Kevin love and Russell Westbrook on the same day is par for the course in college hoops today. But having your starting power forward declare a day later just aggravates the wound. Waiting to see if your starting point guard will also leave may mean some amputation.
Unless, of course, you’re UCLA.
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Who knew a school like Stanford could outsmart itself like this?
Ex-Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery had been an assistant athletic director at the school since he was fired by the Golden State Warriors in 2006. Last week, he took the job across the bay at rival Cal. A week later, current Stanford coach Trent Johnson is expected to take the LSU job.
Who knew you could lose your current coach and Hall-of-Fame caliber replacement in waiting in just seven days?
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