As the start of the new season grows closer, CBB Review gives its Pac-12 Basketball Preview.
Pac-12 Basketball Projected Standings
1. UCLA Bruins
2. Arizona Wildcats
3. Oregon Ducks
4. USC Trojans
5. Stanford Cardinal
6. Colorado Buffaloes
7. Washington Huskies
8. Washington State Cougars
9. Arizona State Sun Devils
10. Utah Utes
11. California Golden Bears
12. Oregon State Beavers
Preseason Player of the Year
Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Jaquez returns for his senior season at UCLA, coming off a year in which he averaged 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He will be even more of a focal point of the offense after the departure of Johnny Juzang. He is a skilled scorer, averaging the 9th most points per game in Pac-12 basketball play last season. He shot the 3-pointer poorly last season, but if that regresses more to the mean, he could very well be a top 2-3 scorer in the conference.
Preseason Coach of the Year
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Lloyd lost 3 players to the draft and one player to graduation. He was able to bring in 2 quality transfers in Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson Jr. Lloyd is going to have to be able to fill in the gaps this year after losing a good amount of production. Having First Team Pac-12 player Azuolas Tubelis helps a lot. There are still high expectations in Arizona once again.
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Kel’el Ware, Oregon
Ware comes to Oregon as the 10th-best recruit of his class per 247Sports. The 7-footer has good mobility, and he has the potential to be a dominant threat on both ends of the floor from day one. He is expected to start right away for the Ducks, and he will provide a ton of lineup versatility. If he can adjust to the physicality of the college level, Ware could be one of the best players in the conference period this year.
Preseason Transfer of the Year
Keion Brooks Jr., Washington
The Kentucky transfer averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season for the Wildcats. Now he will look to bring that to the Huskies. He should play a pretty big role for Washington, and they will rely on his rebounding. He has shown a willingness to shoot, but not with much efficiency. He will provide a physical presence that will be able to defend multiple positions.
Preseason First Team
- G: Drew Peterson, USC
- G: Tyger Campbell, UCLA
- G: Will Richardson, Oregon
- G/F: Jaime Jaquez Jr, UCLA
- F: Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona
Preseason Second Team
- G: Harrison Ingram, Stanford
- G: Pelle Larsson, Arizona
- F: Mouhamed Gueye, Washington State
- F: Spencer Jones, Washington State
- C: Brandon Carlson, Utah
Preseason All-Freshman Team
- G: Amari Bailey, UCLA
- G: Kylan Boswell, Arizona
- F: Adem Bona, UCLA
- F: Kijani Wright, USC
- C: Kel’el Ware, Oregon