Pac-12 Notebook
Ken Cross, Pac-12 Columnist
We all know that “The Big Game” is played every year in either Berkeley or Palo Alto in late November as neighbors Cal and Stanford have probably had more meaningful showdowns of late on the gridiron. Now, comes the hoops version where the Bears and Cardinal are tied at 5-1 in the Pac-12, heading into the Pacific Northwest for a showdown with Washington and Washington State.
Experience may be the main ingredient as this season unfolds for both. California has played really well behind seniors Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Camp in addition to double figure scorers Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs. In addition, the Bears have used a tremendous home court advantage in winning eight of their last 10 and all 13 this season.
Gutierrez and Camp have been a great inside-outside combo as Gutierrez leads Cal with 23 steals while averaging 14.8 ppg. and 5.1 rpg. Camp is a 6-8, 245 lb. immoveable force inside that has polished post skills and shoots 59% from the floor.
“Jorge has always been a kid that led by example just because he plays emotionally, commented Bears coach Mike Montgomery, “Harper is an intelligent kid that fills many roles. He’s a fifth year kid and has had so many injuries. Between the two of them everybody knows they are the heart and soul of this team.”
Cal has defended well also as the Pac-12 slate has unfolded. In four of the six games, opponents have shot under 40% which correlates well to an offense that features three guards that are scoring in double figures plus a group of big men, led by Camp, freshman Richard Kravish, and sixth-man Richard Solomon, who are playing consistently on both ends in the post.
Meanwhile, Stanford is the opposite as coach Johnny Dawkins has thrown freshman Chiasson Randle and sophomore Aaron Bright into the fire and he has received astounding results.
Randle is coming off a game-high 18 points in the Cardinal’s win over Colorado. He had led Stanford in minutes played, but now is a tenth-of a second behind Bright (30.1, 30.2). In addition, the two have combined for nearly 30% of Stanford’s field goal attempts and are second (Bright) and third (Randle) in scoring.
“They do a good job complementing each other; they are capable scorers who feed off each other,” explained Dawkins, “When one gets it going, the other is the first to call his number, so we are pleased with their development and chemistry.”
Recently, Stanford knocked off Oregon State in a four overtime game that was easily one of the best in the nation this season. Dawkins sees that as a learning experience for his young backcourt.
“I think it was a great experience for those kids,” Dawkins noted of the extra sessions in the 103-101 win in Corvallis, “You can’t practice four overtimes. You have five ends of game situations. That can only help you grow.”
Adding to the fire are the 4-1 Huskies, who have retooled into a Pac-12 contender one year after losing key ingredients of their Pac-12 regular season title a year ago.
“They’re a great offensive rebounding team as usual, get to the glass really well and have lots of guys who score the ball,” noted Montgomery, “They have guys in (Terrence) Ross and (C.J.) Wilcox who can score the ball. They are big with physical size inside and (Abdul) Gaddy is a good, solid guard, so there are a lot of pieces.”
With the virtual three-way tie atop of the league with one loss and four more teams with two, the order of the league could change once again this weekend and that could start with the Cal and Stanford trips to Washington and Washington State.
Twitter: @kcrossizballin
Pac-12 Newsstand
Colorado started 3-0 in the Pac-12, but dropped two in the Bay Area as the bench repeatedly struggled.
Oregon’s Devoe Joseph says that transfer Olu Ashaolu is an important key in the Ducks winning games.
O’Neill joins USC fans in frustration with losses.
As if things couldn’t get any tougher for the Utah Utes, coach Larry Krystkowiak dismissed leading scorer Josh Watkins Wednesday for a violation of team rules.
Stat of the week
Oregon State’s backcourt of Jared Cunningham and Ahmad Starks has scored in double figures in 10 straight games. During that period, they have combined to score 31.1 pp., 6.8 apg., and 5.5 spg.
Spanning the Pac-12: A quick look through each of the divisions
Northern Lights: When the Cal Bears blasted Utah, 81-45, on Saturday it marked the 13th win in a row in Haas Pavilion for Mike Montgomery’s team. The last time the Bears won 13 in a row in Berkley was at the beginning of the 1959-60 campaign…Stanford’s board play is one of the reasons the Cardinal rest atop the Pac-12 North with the Bears. The Cardinal out rebound opponents by 7.3 rpg. Six Stanford players average at least three boards each per outing…A win at home over the Bears on Thursday night would give Washington coach Lorenzo Romar his 300th coaching victory and 100th in league play…At 9-8, Washington State has not played a home game in a month. The Cougars return to Beasley Coliseum to host Cal and Stanford this weekend…At 1-5 in the Pac-12, Oregon State’s offensive ascension has also meant a defensive decline. OSU has scored 81.3 ppg., but has given up 86.6 ppg while allowing 51% from the floor and a paltry 45% from behind the arc…Coach Dana Altman has the Oregon Ducks moving up the Pac-12 ladder. UO may have finally found a steady starting line up as they are 4-1 with Garrett Sim, Devoe Joseph, E.J. Singler, Jeremy Jacob, and Tony Woods as the first five.
Southern Stars: UCLA may have gotten it’s most impressive win of the season on Sunday night, 66-47, at USC. For one thing, it was their first win on an opponent’s court and then the Bruins were able to jump to an 18-point lead and keep the distance between themselves and the Trojans…. USC continues to struggle to score. Common perception in the locker room after the loss to UCLA was embarrassment. Guard Alexis Moore told the Long Beach Press-Telegram that the Trojans “did a disservice to the university” with the performance vs. the Bruins… Utah’s Dijon Farr has picked up his games immeasurably as the season has gone on. He hit a stretch of games where he made 30-of-53 field goals to push his field goal percentage over 50%...After playing only one true road game, Colorado dropped two on the road last week in the Bay Area. Road play may define where the Buffs go with the rest of their season as seven of their last 13 are away from Boulder…Arizona is 2-6 when trailing at the 10-minute mark of the first half this season. Sean Miller is looking for the Wildcats to get a spark early this weekend in roadies to Utah and Colorado…Arizona State coach Herb Sendek was pleased with what he saw in a leadership mode from Trent Lockett last week at Oregon and Oregon State and as fate would have it, Lockett went down with a severe ankle sprain in the 76-66 win over the Beavers. ASU is now down to eight healthy scholarship players, one of which is a guard.
Who's Hot & Not
Who’s Hot: Washington’s Terrence Ross put on a stellar show on Sunday night as he had a career-high 30 points and 14 rebounds in a 75-65 victory over Washington State. He had 26 of those in the second half as he was 8-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-7 from three point range.
Who’s Not: It’s been a tough year for UCLA big-man Joshua Smith as his production is down in totality off of last season. Smith had an 18-point, four-rebound output against Arizona State, but struggled in only 14 minutes in the Bruins’ win over USC. Smith played only 14 minutes and scored six points in attempting four field goals. Injuries have even crept into play as he sat out against Arizona because of concessionary issues.
Ken’s High Five
These five role players are becoming major contributors to their teams:
- Josh Huestis, Stanford – Huestis had back-to-back 13 point games as the Cardinal handed Colorado and Utah a pair of losses. He notched a double-double with 13, 6-of-6 from the floor, and 10 boards against the Utes. The talented sophomore is also contributing across the boards as he had four blocks and four rebounds in the win over the Buffaloes.
- Davonte Lacy, Washington State – Lacy in the Cougars’ leading three-point producer with 30 thus far. The freshman from Tacoma had a streak of six straight games with a three-pointer snapped against Utah, but cam back to nail three to keep Wazzu afloat in Sunday night’s loss at Washington.
- Arizona Freshmen Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson continue to start for the Wildcats. They have struggled off and on as you would expect with players who are enduring on-the-job training. Turner had a good weekend against the Oregon squads last week as he averaged 7.5 ppg. with three boards and two assists in both. Johnson ranks second on the team in assists with 44 while building a 1.5-to-1 turnover ratio.
- Justin Cobbs, Cal – The sophomore guard is a key catalyst in the Bears attack as he averages 4.6 apg. For a guard that is averaging 30.3 mpg., Cobbs is as productive as anyone in the Pac-12 as he shoots 52.1% from the floor and 58.6% from three.
- Terrence Ross, Washington – Like we said earlier, Ross was in another zone in leading the Huskies over Wazzu last Sunday night with the career-high 30 points. The sharp-shooter has had double digits in all 18 games so far and has four double-doubles.
Cross-Continental Examination: Injuries keep Sun Devils point guards in a flux
The point guard equates to the hockey goalie, the quarterback, or the catcher. Running the team and calling the shots are the norm for any backcourt general. Generally, the point guard stabilizes the team. Probably the major reason for the Arizona State Sun Devils’ 6-11 record is the injuries on the point and how those injuries have continually shuffled chemistry.
“It’s been hard. If you want to oversimplify things and try to put an understanding on this season’s journey, it might begin and end with that commentary because lets face it, that’s arguably the most vital position on the court because it impacts the other positions so much,” said Sendek.
The point guard woes have gotten to the point in the past couple of games that Trent Lockett has had to take over that spot. He is a 3-guard or maybe even a 4-man in the post, so Sendek had to get creative once Keala King quit the team and then Chris Colvin suffered an injury after Jahii Carson failed to qualify. Last weekend, against Oregon State, Lockett went down with a high ankle sprain and his services are questionable this weekend as ASU travels to Colorado and Utah.
“It just has been one thing after the other and it has forced everybody to have to adjust,” noted Sendek, who moved Lockett to the point so he could keep Chase Creekmore and his shooting prowess on the wing, “I think it has been our single greatest challenge, not that we don’t have others. In a lot of ways, everything is kind of connected to that at some level.”
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