WEST COAST CONFERENCE / THE OTHER TEAMS : In a Race This Close, Coaches Will Take Any Edge They Can Get

Coach Jim Brovelli and the San Francisco basketball team were blessed by Pope John Paul II during a tour of Italy last summer.

That does not guarantee the Dons their first West Coast Conference championship since 1981 but it’s at least enough to include them among the favorites in a conference that “is taking parity to almost comical heights,” according to one preseason college basketball publication.

Only Gonzaga and Pepperdine, hard hit by graduation after winning the WCC’s regular-season and conference tournament championships last season, have not been mentioned as title contenders.

And nobody is saying they won’t have an impact on the race.

Gonzaga has won 27 consecutive home games, the nation’s third-longest streak, and Pepperdine has finished below .500 only once since the 1977-78 season, having won eight WCC titles in that time.

“If you asked eight of us (WCC coaches) to pick who we thought would win the championship, you might get eight different answers,” said Dan Fitzgerald, who begins his 13th season at Gonzaga. “There’s no clear-cut favorite. If you’re at Santa Anita, it’s a race you stay away from.”

Here is a look at the teams, other than Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, in order of last season’s finish:

GONZAGA

1993-94: 22-8 overall, 12-2 WCC

The Bulldogs have only one starter back from their first WCC championship team. Guard John Rillie averaged 12.3 points a game, making a school-record 91 of 200 three-point shots.

“Our physical ability isn’t too bad,” said Fitzgerald, whose team hasn’t lost at home since 1992. “But we’re so incredibly inexperienced.”

SAN FRANCISCO

1993-94: 17-11, 8-6

The Dons will build their team around All-WCC guard Gerald Walker, who is said to be fully recovered from a broken leg he suffered during the conference tournament last March, and Art Wallace, a 6-foot-10 center who led the conference in blocked shots last season.

“We’re a little deeper than we’ve been in the past, and we’re a little bit bigger,” said Brovelli, whose team is 1-1 after beating New Mexico and losing to Memphis last week in the Preseason NIT. “So, we’ll see what we can do.”

And if the Dons falter?

“Every loss this year goes to the Pope,” Brovelli said. “I’ve already told our alums, ‘It’s on him, not me.’ ”

SAN DIEGO

1993-94: 18-11, 7-7

The Toreros led the conference in three-point baskets last season but had their NCAA tournament hopes dashed when a three-point shot clanked off the rim in the final seconds of a 56-53 loss to Pepperdine in the WCC tournament final.

Guard Doug Harris, an All-WCC pick as a sophomore, is the Toreros’ only senior. CoachBrad Holland--on the job only two months since taking over from Hank Egan, who took ajob with the San Antonio Spurs--has eight freshmen and sophomores among his 12 scholarship players.

“The transition has gone very well,” said Holland, who was 23-31 in two seasons at Cal State Fullerton. “It’s been difficult at times, but I think we’re beyond that transitional period and ready to go.”

PORTLAND

1993-94: 13-17, 6-8

The Pilots welcome back the strongest nucleus in the conference--All-WCC forward Canaan Chatman averaged 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds, 6-10 center Chris Ranta averaged 14 points and guard Ray Ross averaged 12.1 points--but they have not finished above .500 since the 1981-82 season, never placing higher than fourth in the WCC.

Said new Coach Rob Chavez, who was 28-27 in two seasons at Maryland Eastern Shore: “Regardless of talent or ability, we’ve got a lot of work to do to develop the type of mental preparation it takes to be successful.”

SANTA CLARA

1993-94: 13-14, 6-8

The Broncos have a winning tradition dating to the 1950s and a potential star in guard Steve Nash, a starter for the Canadian national team who has moved to the point this season. Brendan Graves, a 6-10 transfer from California, continues to be slowed by a knee injury that required surgery last May.

“He’s not where we’d like him to be yet,” Coach Dick Davey said. “He’s a big factor, I think, in whether or not we’ll have any success at all.”

ST. MARY’S

1993-94: 13-14, 5-9

The Gaels have 11 lettermen back from last season and won the R.L. Jones Cup tournament in Taiwan last summer.

Coach Ernie Kent, in his third season, is counting heavily on All-WCC guard Chris Johnson and forward A.J. Rollins, co-MVPs in the Jones Cup.

“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we feel like we’re right there with everybody else in the conference,” Kent said. “I think we’re ready to turn the corner this season.”