PACIFIC 10 BASKETBALL / DAN HAFNER : Arizona Duo Best in Conference

When it comes to guards, the Pacific 10 Conference doesn’t concede a thing to any conference.

Beginning with California sophomore Jason Kidd, just about everyone’s preseason All-American, the Pac-10 boasts an abundance of talented backcourt players.

UCLA, going into the start of conference play Thursday night as the only unbeaten team in the Pac-10, has a powerful pair in Tyus Edney and Shon Tarver. In most areas, they would be rated the top tandem.

But everyone has at least one good guard and the better teams have a pair. Among the best are Dion Cross and freshman Brevin Knight of Stanford, Tony Harris and Eddie Hill of Washington State, Brent Barry of Oregon State and Hedake Smith of Arizona State.

But the outstanding pair of guards in the Pac-10--and possibly as good as any in the country--is Arizona’s Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves. Utah Coach Rick Majerus and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale have already proclaimed the pair the best in the nation.

With the loss of Pac-10 player of the year Chris Mills and 7-foot center Ed Stokes, it was expected the Wildcats would stumble after winning or sharing five of the previous six conference titles. Three of the five, including last year’s team, posted 17-1 records.

Last season, Lute Olson built his team around Mills. This year, the leaders are Reeves, a 6-foot-2 senior from New York, and Stoudamire, a 5-11 junior from Portland, Ore.

The Wildcats open conference play tonight at home against Arizona State with a 10-1 record. The only loss came by one point on a tipin at the buzzer against No. 4-ranked Kentucky in the Maui Classic. Among their victories was a surprisingly easy decision at home against then seventh-ranked Michigan, 119-95.

Reeves and Stoudamire have taken charge. Between them, they are averaging 43 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and four steals per game. They have accounted for 65% of the Arizona offense.

Stoudamire runs the offense and Reeves is the shooting star, leading the Pac-10 in scoring with an average of 25.1 points. Moreover, his shooting has picked up each week.

The pair has been one reason Olson has changed his offense. The Wildcats have changed to a three-guard setup. Sophomore Reggie Geary and senior Dylan Rigdon share the third guard spot.

“There has been as big a change in a year in Khalid Reeves as any player I’ve ever had, “ Olson said. “It has helped that he has become a full-time player, but the change has been entirely for the better.”

After the Wildcats ended Utah’s 17-game home winning streak, 88-81, last month, Majerus said: “They are the best backcourt in the country and this is a Final Four team.”

Reeves, who scored a career-high 40 points in the rout of Michigan, scored 27 against Utah. Stoudamire scored 19.

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Although they have been a bit of a disappointment, the California Bears are still among the favorites to win the conference.

They figure to get a major test in their opener Thursday night at Berkeley against Kelvin Sampson’s strong Washington State team.

The Cougars, led by 6-9 sophomore Mark Hendrickson, are 10-2. One of the losses was at Indiana, the other at Fresno State.

Injuries slowed the Bears at the start of the season and they lost two of their first four games. But K.J. Roberts, Kidd’s backcourt partner, has come back strong from an injury. Alfred Grigsby, injured before the season, will sit out the Cougar game. He was the Bears’ No. 4 scorer last season.

“I like our team, although we don’t have a lot of experience,” Sampson said of the Cougars. “We make considerable use of four freshmen and a sophomore. I thought we were real good until I saw Arizona and UCLA. Then I realized we will be in a league with two great teams.”

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The early season surprise has been Stanford. The Cardinal, beset by injuries, won only seven of 30 games last season. The only victory in the last 17 games was an upset of USC in late February. After that, Stanford lost its last six.

Mike Montgomery’s team won its first six this season, including an overtime victory over Santa Clara, one of the teams that beat Cal.

Even though the Cardinal lost at Wisconsin and Seton Hall, the games were close and Montgomery said he was pleased with the progress.

“Brevin Knight is just a freshman, but he is already a key to our success,” Montgomery said. “The kids play hard and we’re improving.

“But it doesn’t mean anything until we win some conference games.”

Pacific 10 Notes

In his 40-point game against Michigan, Khalid Reeves of Arizona made 13 of 14 shots and 11 of 12 free throws. . . . Stanford freshman Brevin Knight set a conference record when he had 10 steals against McNeese State on Dec. 20.

For a change, Arizona State Coach Bill Frieder will welcome back a player this week, instead of losing another. Mario Bennett, a 6-foot-9 sophomore who sat out last season because of a knee injury, is back. “I don’t think any team has lost more starters in the last two years than the seven we lost,” Frieder said.