PACIFIC 10 PREVIEW : Outstanding Depth Makes No. 3 Arizona the Clear Choice

Arizona, which has has won or tied for the Pacific 10 championship in four of the last five seasons, is expected to run away with the conference title this season.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Arizona is one of the top two or three teams in the country,” Washington State Coach Kelvin Sampson said. “And they have the best players in the league. There’s no reason for them not to win it.

“I looked at their roster and counted seven possible NBA draft choices, and I think that’s being conservative.”

Cal Coach Lou Campanelli agreed, saying: “Arizona is head and shoulders above everyone else. They’ve got three subs who could probably start for eight of the 10 teams in the Pac-10.”

The third-ranked Wildcats, who advanced to the Final Four in 1987-’88, have started quickly this season, advancing to the semifinals of the Dodge National Invitation Tournament Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Stanford, which has all five of last season’s starters, among them forward Adam Keefe, and UCLA, which has four starters back, could challenge the Wildcats.

“I hope we can give Arizona some competition,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “They look awfully strong on paper.”

Here’s a team-by team look at the conference, exclusive of UCLA and USC, which are previewed elsewhere: ARIZONA 1989-90 record: 25-7 overall, 15-3 Pac-10. 1989-90 finish: First (tie).

After winning the Pac-10 tournament, Arizona lasted only two games into the NCAA tournament, losing to Alabama by 22 points.

The Wildcats, who have six of their top seven scorers from last season, figure to get farther than that this season.

“Arizona has the makings of a team that could win the national championship,” said TV analyst Dick Vitale. “They’re going to be a dominant, dominant force.”

Arizona’s front line is clearly the best in the Pac-10.

Chris Mills, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Kentucky, will replace Jud Buechler at small forward, with 6-11 junior Brian Williams at power forward. A transfer from Maryland, Williams was a disappointment last season, averaging 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds after sitting out a season.

Coach Lute Olson, however, is confident that Mills won’t have a similar letdown after sitting out last season.

“Sitting out a year doesn’t help anyone, but Chris is a real gym rat,” Olson said.

Sean Rooks, a 6-10 junior, and Wayne Womack, a 6-8 junior, give Arizona depth at forward.

Ed Stokes, a seven-foot sophomore who led the Pac-10 in blocked shots last season, will start at center.

Matt Muehlebach, a 6-2 senior, and Matt Othick, a 6-1 junior, will start in the backcourt. The co-MVP of the Pac-10 tournament, Muehlebach averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 assists last season.

Khalid Reeves, a 6-2 freshman from Christ the King High in Queens, N.Y., is expected to get plenty of playing time. One of the top prep basketball players in New York, Reeves averaged 25.5 points last season. Arizona’s biggest weakness has been its lack of quickness in the backcourt, but Reeves could remedy that. ARIZONA STATE 1989-90 record: 15-16, 6-12 1989-90 finish: Seventh (tie).

After leaving Michigan for Arizona State, Coach Bill Frieder led the Sun Devils to the NIT in his first season and then hit the recruiting trail.

A tireless, compulsive recruiter, Frieder signed five talented high school players and a junior college transfer.

ASU got front-line players: Jamal Faulkner, a 6-7 teammate of Arizona’s Reeves at Christ the King High in Queens; Robert Conslick, a 6-11 center from Los Alamitos High, and Ian Dale, a 6-8 forward from South High in Houston.

Stevin Smith, a 6-2 freshman guard from Spruce High in Dallas, could start this season. The other recruits are Dwayne Fontana, a 6-4 All-American guard from Riordan High in San Francisco, and Lynn Collins, a 6-1 guard from Odessa Junior College in Texas.

ASU also has three starters returning, 6-10 center Isaac Austin and guards Brian Camper and Matt Anderson. CALIFORNIA 1989-90 record: 22-10, 12-6. 1989-90 finish: Third.

After making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1960 last season, eliminating Indiana before losing to Connecticut, Cal might be hard pressed to make the tournament again this season.

The Bears must replace point guard Keith Smith, a three-year starter who broke Kevin Johnson’s school assist record.

“Any time you lose a point guard who has started for three years and replace him with someone with no experience, it’s tough,” Campanelli said. “We’ll struggle early until we get used to playing with someone new at that position.”

DeShon Brown, a 6-2 sophomore who played in only 10 games last season, and Billy Dreher, a 6-4 sophomore, are competing to start at point guard.

The strength of the Bears will be the front court of Brian Hendrick and Roy Fisher.

A 6-8 sophomore swingman, Hendrick averaged 15.9 points and 7.7 rebounds last season and made the All-Pac-10 team. Fisher, a 6-7 senior forward, averaged 14.9 points and 6.3 rebounds last season.

Ryan Drew, a 6-3 senior, will start at shooting guard. One of the best three-point shooters in the Pac-10, Drew averaged 9.8 points last season and shot 42% from three-point range. OREGON 1989-90 record: 15-14, 10-8. 1989-90 finish: Fifth.

After being picked to finish in the cellar last season, the Ducks finished fifth and made the NIT for the second time in three seasons.

And Oregon, with four starters back, should be improved this season.

The Ducks have one of the best backcourts in the league with sharpshooters Terrell Brandon and Kevin Mixon. A 6-0 junior, Brandon averaged 17.9 points, six assists and 3.6 rebounds. Mixon averaged 12.5 points last season.

Forward Richard Lucas and center Bob Fife, who became a starter midway through last season, also return. A 6-7 senior, Lucas averaged 10.9 points and 8.5 rebounds.

The Ducks also recruited well, signing six players, among them guard Orlando Williams, the Oregon high school player of the season. Williams averaged 26.3 points at Benson Tech High in Portland. OREGON STATE 1989-90 record: 22-7, 15-3. 1989-90 finish: First (tie).

After tying Arizona for the Pac-10 title last season, the Beavers lost All-American point guard Gary Payton and might slip into the second division.

Compounding problems, Will Brantley, a senior from Seattle who is the Beavers’ leading returning scorer, and Allan Celestine, a senior from Ridgecrest, Calif., were suspended for a week Monday by Coach Jim Anderson.

Brantley, who averaged 11 points last season, was apparently involved in two assault incidents last weekend, according to Corvallis police, although charges have not been filed in either case.

Celestine, Charles McKinney and Kevin Harris are vying for the vacancy left by Payton.

A 6-1 senior, Celestine averaged 4.1 points and three assists last season as the first player off the bench.

But it will be hard to replace Payton, the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, who led the Beavers in scoring, rebounding and bragging.

Forward Teo Alebegovic, a 6-9 senior who averaged 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds last season, might have to score more to pick up the slack. STANFORD 1989-90 record: 18-12, 9-6. 1989-90 finish: Sixth (tie).

After making the NCAA tournament in 1989, the Cardinal was expected to struggle last season. But Stanford got off to an 8-0 start and went on to make the NIT for the second time in the last three seasons.

The Cardinal, with its entire starting lineup intact, should be even stronger this season.

“I think a little too much is being made of the fact that we have five starters back,” Montgomery said. “Realistically, we were a sixth-place ballclub last year. We’ve got to prove that we can do the things that we didn’t do last year, which caused us to finish sixth.”

Keefe, a 6-9 junior center who led the Pac-10 in rebounding and field-goal percentage last season and was third in scoring, could be the best big man in the conference.

Joining Keefe are forwards Andrew Vlahov, a 6-7 senior, and Deshon Wingate, a 6-7 senior.

Vlahov, who played for the Australian national team last summer, has become more assertive.

“He has the ability but he never knew when to assert himself,” Montgomery said. “If he missed a shot, he’d let it affect him.”

Senior guards Kenny Ammann and John Patrick also return. Ammann shot 46.5% from three-point range last season. WASHINGTON 1989-90 record: 11-17, 5-13. 1989-90 finish: Ninth.

After replacing Andy Russo last season, Coach Lynn Nance was unable to revitalize the Huskies, who have had three consecutive losing seasons.

Although Russo recruited well, signing four players, the Huskies might still be a year away.

Two starters return from last season, 6-5 forward Dion Brown and 6-8 forward Mike Hayward.

The Pac-10 freshman of the year four years ago, Hayward hasn’t reached his potential, averaging 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds last season. Brown averaged 11.3 points.

Todd Lautenbach, a 6-10 senior, will start at center with 6-4 sophomore Quentin Youngblood at shooting guard. WASHINGTON STATE 1989-90 record: 7-22, 1-17. 1989-90 finish: Last.

After watching his team lose its final 18 games, Sampson revamped the Cougars, signing nine players, four of them junior college transfers.

Three of the junior college transfers, all from Texas, will start for the Cougars: Neil Derrick, a 6-3 guard from Trinity Valley Junior College in Garland; Terrence Lewis, a 6-4 All-American guard from Howard Junior College in Big Spring, and Ken Critton, a 6-8 forward from West Texas Junior College in Snyder.

Brian Paine, a 6-10 junior forward-center who averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, is being challenged by David Vik, a 6-11 freshman from Everett High in Everett, Wash.

“We’ll have depth in the front line and we’ve never had that before,” Sampson said.

Although WSU has won only five Pac-10 games under Sampson the past two seasons, he isn’t worried about his job. “Kelvin Sampson puts pressure on Kelvin Sampson,” Sampson said. “Nobody puts more pressure on me than I do. But I think we may be the most improved team in the league this year.”