Gonzaga remains cream of WCC crop

By Brian Betz

With West Coast Conference hoops on the horizon, brace yourself for what looks to be a two-horse race between last year's league co-champions Gonzaga and Pepperdine.

"Our league right now is very top heavy," said Santa Clara associate head coach Steve Seandel. "There is considerable gap between the top two teams and the rest of the league."

University of San Francisco head coach Philip Matthews added, "When you talk WCC basketball, you have to give it to Gonzaga and Pepperdine. Right now they are clearly in another category."

Pollsters have been quick this preseason to crown the Zags as future WCC champs for the fifth consecutive year, but unlike their previous title runs, this one might be the most contested. Not only will the Bulldogs have to compensate for the loss of All-American Dan Dickau, but they will have to defeat an extremely athletic Pepperdine team that returns four of its five starters from last season.

"In a weird, weird way, I feel Gonzaga might be slightly overrated," said Seandel. "They're still going to be the cream of the crop, however, this year will be very different for them in that they will be much more interior oriented. I just don't know if they're good enough to be top 15 again."

Preseason All-American Cory Violette, Zach Gourde, Ronny Turiaf and Colorado transfer Richard Fox are the Zags' four legitimate big men fighting for playing time in the low post.

"We will definitely have a different look to us this year," said Gonzaga men's assistant head coach Bill Grier. "Our strength is that we do have four post players battling for minutes."

Without Dickau, new point guard Blake Stepp now "steps" into an offense where team scoring should be much more evenly distributed than it was with Dickau in the lineup last season. Yet, expect to see Violette take over as the Zags' new go-to-guy.

"Violette does everything you'd expect from a post player," said Santa Clara head coach Dick Davey. "By the time he is a senior I expect him to be the best player in our conference."

Despite the team's depth and experience, the x-factor for the Zags this season might be the emergence of Richard Fox. Although Fox averaged just six points and five boards his sophomore year at Colorado, his all-around abilities - coupled with his six-foot-11-inch 290-pound frame - is understandably why Spokane, Wash., is already buzzing about their newest Bulldog's potential in the WCC.

"Richard is extremely skilled in the low post," said Grier. "His abilities to back down, pass and shoot beyond the arc make him a threat both inside and out."

If anyone is going to prevent the five-peat, most think it will be up to Paul Westphal's Waves. Seniors Jimmy Miggins, Devin Montgomery and Boomer Brazzle, along with sophomore standout Terrance Johnson, will anchor a Pepperdine team that has been touted to be the most athletic in the WCC.

"The thing that makes Pepperdine so tough is that they have athletes at every position," said Seandel. "Their ability to play one-on-one anywhere around the court makes them so tough to defend."

Grier added, "Pepperdine is loaded. After that, the league is wide open."

Leading the second tier of teams is the University of San Francisco. The Dons return the versatile senior Darrell Tucker, along with junior guards John Cox and Shamell Stallworth.

"If we are to be successful this season, those three will have to carry the load for us," said Matthews. "However, getting James Bayless and Alvin Broussard eligible in December will definitely help."

Bayless and Broussard are both junior transfers who sat out a year due to transfer requirements.

"[San Francisco] always has a lot of talent and you have to bring your 'A' game if you want to beat them," said sophomore Ethan Rohde.

Of the five remaining teams, it is tough to distinguish one from the other. If Santa Clara plans on being in contention, they will first have to get healthy.

"The big 'if' for us will be our health," said Davey. "We have the ingredients to be halfway decent, but we have to get certain guys back first.

Of the players who comprise coach Davey's "mash unit," the most exciting and unknown to Bronco fans are junior college transfers Alex Kargbo and All-American transfer J.R. Patrick. Yet, injuries to both have kept them from being able to participate in practice this preseason. Without their presence, Davey will rely much more on junior point guard Kyle Bailey, as well as the much-improved Rohde.

"Kyle will assuredly get the ball in clutch situations," said Davey. "But at the same time, we're counting on other people to step up. Ethan, I feel, will make a significant impact now that he has more of an opportunity to play."

Bailey added, "No one person will be the key to our success. It will be a collective team effort."

Although they lack height in the middle, don't necessarily expect the Broncos to rely solely on the three-ball to win games. The well-coached Broncos will need big outputs from sophomore Jordan Legge and junior Jim Howell in order to get beyond the first round of the WCC Tournament.

"Our style of play will be dictated by our opponent," said sophomore Bakari Altheimer.

Legge added, "A balance of an inside and outside presence will keep teams honest."

Saint Mary's stands as one of the more underrated teams in the WCC, predicted by the coaches poll to finish sixth despite being regarded as a program that is moving up.

"Saint Marys' program doesn't get a lot of attention, but they are very well coached and tough defensively," said Seandel.

The Pilots of Portland have a lot of question marks, most specifically surrounding their youth. Head coach Michael Holton returns no seniors and just three juniors. This means that the Pilots will be depending on nine freshmen to step up if they want to improve on last year's 6-24 mark.

In contrast, the University of San Diego will rely on the senior leadership of Jason Blair to ready freshmen guards Travis Smith and Derek Stockalper for non-conference showdowns against UCLA, Purdue and Utah.

Rounding out the conference is Loyola Marymount University, who welcomes nine new players in an effort to improve on their 2-12 WCC finish in 2001.

"Teams are going to have to grow up fast to compete for the title," said Seandel.

Play begins Nov. 22. If eight days aren't enough time to mature, expect this year's finish to be a mirror image of the last.