Pacific 10 Preview : Restoring Tarnished National Image Is First Order of Business

The Pacific 10 managed to squeeze out two invitations from the NCAA last season for the annual basketball tournament.

The fact that six conference football teams will be playing in bowl games this season provides a clue as to the league’s national image in the two sports.

In keeping with a recent trend, the Pac-10’s representatives in the NCAA tournament in 1985-86, Arizona and Washington, went quietly. They were out the door after the first round.

Moreover, UCLA and California couldn’t even survive first-round games in the National Invitation Tournament, the one that picks the scraps left over from the NCAA’s bulging table of 64 teams.

The Pac-10 proudly points out, however, that it has won more NCAA basketball championships, 13, than any other conference in the country.

UCLA, in its heyday, accounted for 10 of those titles in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but a Pac-10 team hasn’t advanced to the Final Four since the Bruins made it 1980.

The conference has had 13 first-round losers since then, with only Oregon State and Washington surviving the first two rounds before being eliminated.

The decline of the Pac-10 as a power--make that the Pac-1, UCLA--is attributed to a recruiting invasion from the East, not much television exposure and a lack of dominant centers.

“The future of West Coast basketball depends on recruiting,” said Coach Jerry Tarkanian of Nevada Las Vegas. “There’s no question our area is losing athletes to the East and the Midwest. Coaches from those areas are coming out here because there’s so much talent.”

Tarkanian, whose Rebels don’t even play in the Pac-10, doesn’t have such problems. He was merely empathizing with his neighbors.

He predicted that the Pac-10 will make a comeback because it has attracted so many quality coaches--Lute Olson at Arizona, Lou Campanelli at California, Andy Russo at Washington, and George Raveling at USC.

Olson and Campanelli have already made an impact and that’s why their teams are regarded as the favorites this season, with UCLA and Washington not too far behind in preseason polls.

A successful coach at Iowa for nine years before becoming Arizona’s coach at the outset of the 1983-84 season, it didn’t take Olson long to revive the Wildcats’ lackluster program.

Arizona had a 4-24 record the season before Olson’s arrival. Since then he has had two 20-win seasons, culminating in a conference championship last season.

Campanelli turned around a faltering program even faster. Coming into the job last season, he was faced with the facts that Cal hadn’t had a winning season since 1974-75, had languished in the second division of the Pac-10 ever since and hadn’t beaten UCLA in the last 52 meetings dating back to 1960-61.

The former James Madison coach turned a negative situation into a positive one.

The Bears were 19-10 overall last season, finished third in the Pac-10 with an 11-7 record and beat UCLA at Berkeley, 75-64.

Cal should be formidable again, what with all five starters returning.

The Pac-10 schools are apparently doing a better recruiting job, although the talent gap with the rest of the country may not be bridged for a while.

And only Washington has a so-called dominating center. Chris Welp, a 6-11 senior from West Germany, fits that category.

The league will be trying for more exposure this season with an inaugural postseason tournament to be held at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion March 5-8.

“That sort of competition gets you into the swing of tourney action,” Oregon State Coach Ralph Miller said. “In the Pac-10, nobody plays a tournament between December and March.”

The Pac-10 hasn’t done much beyond March in recent years, but its own tournament may be a first step to improve the league’s image.

A capsule look at the Pac-10 schools, excluding USC and UCLA, with last season’s overall and conference records in parentheses:

ARIZONA 1985-86: 23-9, 14-4

The Wildcats were a near unanimous choice of the conference coaches to repeat as champion in 1986-87. That evaluation was made, though, before All-Pac 10 guard Steve Kerr went down with a knee injury in the World Championships last July in Madrid, Spain. Kerr won’t be able to play this season and his scoring, 14.4 points a game average, 54.4% from the field, will be missed along with his leadership qualities.

Even so, Coach Lute Olson has some quality players at his disposal, namely 6-8 sophomore forward Sean Elliott, who led the team in scoring with a 15.6 average, and two other starters, 6-6 junior guard Craig McMillan and 6-8 sophomore forward Anthony Cook.

Olson has been a selective recruiter since he became Arizona’s coach and he has two promising freshmen in 6-3 Harvey Mason, the Southern California prep scoring champion from Crescenta Valley High, and 6-6 Jud Buechler, the San Diego County player of the year, from Poway High.

ARIZONA STATE 1985-86: 14-14, 8-10

If the conference tournament had been held last year, the Sun Devils would have been a factor. “We’d have been in a position to do some damage because we finished so strongly,” ASU Coach Steve Patterson said. The Sun Devils beat every opponent except Washington down the stretch.

Patterson has a good nucleus to work with this season, namely a deep and talented backcourt consisting of seniors Steve Beck, Bobby Thompson and exciting 5-9 junior Arthur Thomas.

Tarre Isiah, a 6-9 senior, will be at center again and there are several players contending for the forward positions, including 6-6 Alex Austin and 6-6 Mark Carlino, both sophomores.

CALIFORNIA 1985-86: 19-11, 11-7

The experienced Bears are led by Kevin Johnson, a 6-1 senior play maker. Johnson dominated some games by himself last season, while providing the most scoring, assists and steals for his team. Chris Washington, a three-year starter like Johnson, was an effective off-guard, averaging 10.2 points and playing solid defense.

The front line, 6-8 Leonard Taylor, 6-9 David Butler and 6-5 Jeff Huling, gives Cal a blend of tough inside scoring and medium-range shooting. There’s also depth at forwards with Jon Wheeler, Eddie Javius and Wake Forest transfer Bart Koenitzer.

Cal’s overall lack of height is the only liability. Cal hasn’t played in the NCAA tournament since 1959-60, but that may be remedied this season.

OREGON 1985-86: 11-17, 6-12

Coach Don Monson is concerned about his team’s ability to rebound. Jerry Adams, the Pac-10’s leading rebounder in 1985-86 with a 10.3 average, is gone. Forward Kenny Sprague is playing with a brace to support his left knee, which was reconstructed last January. Monson is hoping that 6-11 center Sven Meyer, a transfer from North Idaho Junior College, will provide some muscle up front.

Junior guard Anthony Taylor, who averaged 17 points last season, is the offensive catalyst, and 6-7 junior forward Keith Balderston is a defensive specialist. The Ducks will be hard pressed to improve on their ninth place finish last season.

OREGON STATE 1985-86: 12-15, 8-10

Last season was an uncharacteristic one for Ralph Miller and his Beavers. Miller, the winningest active Division I coach in the country, suffered through only his third losing season in a 35-year career.

From 1975 through 1985, Oregon State finished no worse than third in the conference while winning outright, or sharing four league titles.

Miller doesn’t have much of a nucleus to work with this season with only two returning starters, senior center Jose Cruz, an All-Pac 10 selection, and guard Eric Knox, who was redshirted in 1985-86 with a knee injury.

But he has some promising newcomers in 6-5 swing man Shawn Freeman and 6-8 forward Brian Brundage, both junior college transfers, 6-2 freshman guard Gary Payton and 6-11 center Peter Centen, a starter on the Netherlands’ national team.

Miller was counting on 7-2 freshman center Fernando Borcel, but it was discovered that he has a hereditary disease, Marfan syndrome, and is unable to play.

STANFORD 1985-86: 14-16, 8-14

The Cardinal will have a distinctly different playing style this season as Mike Montgomery, a successful coach at Montana, replaces Tom Davis, who moved on to Iowa.

Davis’ teams were were known for their up-tempo, pressing tactics. Montgomery favors a more patient approach with emphasis on big, strong players. Davis didn’t leave the cupboard bare, though. The most notable player is versatile guard Todd Lichti, who had an auspicious freshman season in 1985-86. He averaged 17.2 points, shot 53.3% from the field and 81.4% from the free throw line.

Other regulars available for Montgomery include 7-foot forward Greg Butler, 6-8 center Howard Wright and senior guard Novian Whitsitt. Guard John Paye, the starting football quarterback, will join the team after the Gator Bowl game with Clemson Dec. 27.

WASHINGTON 1985-86: 19-12, 13-5

The Huskies have to be considered a contender for the league title as long as 6-11 center Chris Welp stays healthy. He was the Pac-10’s Player of the Year in 1985-86 while averaging 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. He also blocked 67 shots.

“I’m setting different goals for myself than last year,” said the native of Delmenhorst, West Germany. “I don’t want to improve just my scoring and rebounding. I want to stay out of foul trouble and play a hell of a defense.”

Greg Hill, a 6-1 senior guard, will have the responsibility of getting the ball to Welp. Clay Damon, another experienced guard, is expected to benefit from the new three-point line in college basketball. Same for Al Moscatel, the best sixth man in the league last season.

There are vacancies at forward that Coach Andy Russo must fill. Paul Fortier and Shag Crawford, who accounted for more than a third of Washington’s points and rebounds, are gone.

WASHINGTON STATE 1985-86: 15-16, 8-10

Since the Cougars lost All-Pac-10 guard Keith Morrison, along with starting center Otis Jennings and reserve guard Chris Winkler, the league coaches picked WSU to finish in the cellar.

Coach Len Stevens doesn’t quarrel with that assessment. He has some big bodies available, though, in 7-footers Todd Anderson and Ken Mathia. Other regulars returning include forwards Joe Wallace, 6-7, and Brian Quinnett and Dwayne Scholten, each 6-9. Wallace averaged 18 points a game as a sophomore in 1984-85, but fell off to a 10.7 average last season.