The Pac-12 Basketball media preseason poll will be published on Wednesday’s Media Day event. Here are my selections in the ballot I casted:

1. UCLA - UCLA reloaded from last year, which means that the drop-off from a team that lost bona fide stars such as Jules Bernard and Johnny Juzang is less than minimal. Point guard Tyger Campbell (we swear this is his last year of eligibility) will orchestrate a roster that is plenty potent with a stud newcomer and a shoo-in one-and-done player in Amari Bailey. Forward Jaime Jaquez is easily one the best returning players in the league, and Jaylen Clark, who did plenty of damage off the bench, will now get to do the same in the starting lineup. Adem Bona was outstanding for Turkey’s national team in the off-season the freshman could be one of the best centers UCLA has seen in a while. One can argue that this is a Bruin squad that could have issues in the paint, but they make up for this in so many other ways that I can’t see anyone in the conference truly challenging them for the Pac-12 championship.

2. Oregon - Yes, you can argue that aside from guard Will Richardson, there isn’t a lot of proven talent on this team, but the additions of transfers Jermaine Cousinard (South Carolina) and Keeshawn Barthelemy (Colorado) will elevate that Duck backcourt in a hurry. The frontcourt will dictate everything, in my opinion, and I believe N’Faly Dante and Quincy Guerrier can and will play much better than they did last year. If Oregon’s bench can come through, this may be a team that should prevail over any Pac-12 squad not named UCLA.

3. Arizona – I debated myself on whether this is the team that is truly second only to UCLA, and my prediction is obviously not too far off from that theory. Losing Pac-12 Player of the Year Bennedict Mathurin, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Christian Koloko, and Dalen Terry, even for the Wildcats, may be tough to fully overcome. The Wildcats have a well above average nucleus of point guard Kerr Krissa, forward Azuolas Tubelis, and Texas transfer guard Courtney Ramey. If Oumar Ballo can turn the flashes he displayed last year into consistency, that may be the tipping point that could have U of A and not Oregon become UCLA’s main contender. Nonetheless, even though this is an Arizona team that can make noise in March, it may take them a little while to figure out how they can effectively compensate for the loss of three extremely talented players.

4. ASU – I know many will call this a homer pick, but I feel that this is Bobby Hurley’s most talented team from players 1 through 12. A backcourt of Michigan transfer Frankie Collins, last year’s leading scorer DJ Horne and Nevada transfer Desmond Cambridge ack some serious firepower, and we didn’t even mention forward Marcus Bagley yet, who is the obvious X-factor if he can stay healthy and capitalize on his vast ceiling of potential. Nevada center transfer Warren Washington gives the Sun Devils an inside presence that I don’t think we saw in a while in Tempe. That is a talent-loaded starting five that more than half of the teams in the Pac-12 would love to have. Off the bench, you have forwards Auburn transfer Devan Cambridge, young up-and-comer Jamiya Neal, along with top-55 2022 prospect and freshman point guard Austin Nunez, just to name a few that head a deep bench for the Sun Devils. I know pundits predicting the prospects of this will focus on back-to-back losing seasons for Arizona State, and that’s fine. But the here and now for this squad can and should change that modest prediction in a hurry.

5. USC – I might be the only member of the Pac-12 media that is picking the Trojans outside of the top 4, and as a program that six out of the last seven years has won at least 21 games, I can understand the buzz around them this season as well. I’m just not a fan of overlying on freshmen, which is exactly what USC will have to do with a pair of freshmen in Vincent Iwuchukwu and Kijani Wright, which also speaks to the overall returning talent at this position. Boogie Ellis and Drew Patterson head a very talented backcourt that could, to some extent, with the help of Malik Thomas and freshman Tre White, balance possible issues down low. But I just feel that the 20-win run may hit a snag this year for USC with a somewhat unbalanced team.

6. Stanford – This team will rise or fall with the play of the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Harrison Ingram, who was greatly inconsistent despite earning that honor. So I am skeptical of his ability to vault the Cardinal into a top 4 niche. Michael Jones arrives from Davidson as Stanford’s program’s first transfer in 12 years and first graduate transfer in program history, and he is a sharpshooter from beyond the arc at 42.1 percent last year and part of a 27-7 squad that captured the Atlantic 10 championship and earned an NCAA Tournament berth. Last year’s leading scorer in Spencer Jones returns and, in theory, is another formidable supporting cast member here. Ultimately, this is a team that was supposed to break through last year, never did, and has generally underachieved under head coach Jerod Haase, and I don’t see that trend changing this season.

7. Washington State - I might have this team higher on my ballot than many others will, and with losing proven guards in Noah Williams, Tyrell Roberts, and Michael Flowers I can definitely understand why. But forward Mouhamed Gueye returning, and a talented freshman in the frontcourt in Adrame Diongue can somewhat offset the scoring void here. Nonetheless, the backcourt is where a huge burden of proof lies on guard TJ Bamba who will have to step up his scoring skills in order for this Cougar team to surprise. Former Auburn and Tennessee player Justin Powell along with Saint Mary’s transfer Jabe Mullins, will have to minimize the seeming drop-off in talent from last year, and I believe in this team’s capability of doing so.

8. Colorado – I don’t think this team comes close to winning 21 games like they did last year, not with the losses of starters Keeshawn Barthelemy, Jabari Walker, and Evan Battey. Yes, point guard KJ Simpson is plenty talented, and deft scorers such as Jalen Gabbidon (Yale) and Ethan Wright (Princeton) are proven Ivy League scores. But the burden of proof is still on that tandem to sow that they can parlay their success to the Pac-12level. Couple that with a thin frontcourt that will have to over-rely on Tristan Da Silva, and the Buffs may be that one team that could deliver a shocking win here and there, but not truly establish itself in the upper echelon of the conference.

9. Utah – It wasn’t long ago when Utah won 20 games for five consecutive seasons and was a thorn in the side of many of their Pac-12 foes. So, last year going 11-20, 4-16 in conference play may just be the necessary evil of the transition to a new head coach in Craig Smith. Branden Carlson was a pleasant surprise, and along with Wisconsin transfer, Ben Carlson form one of the better frontcourts in the league. Under the radar some, Marco Anthony is one of the best returning guards in the Pac-12, and Rollie Worster is a fairly solid upperclassman guard. All in all, it’s a nucleus that may return the program to its “pesky days” where there may be able to string multiple surprise wins, but overall may have a hard time slotting themselves in the middle of the pack when it comes to the final league standings.

10. Washington - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde may be an understatement to describe this Husky team last year had a 6-6 record in their non-conference slate yet still posted a formidable 11-9 mark in Pac-12 play. Can they build on this for this upcoming campign? Well, now without the Pac-12’s leading scorer, Terrell Brown (21.7 ppg), and their only only other double-digit Emmitt Matthew Jr., that may be asking the impossible. True, senior guards Jamal Bey and PJ Fuller, along with Washington State transfer guard Noah Williams have the potential to be a very productive backcourt. Freshman Koren Johnson can only enhance this segment of the roster. But, this is a team that will rise or fall on the play of its frontcourt. On paper, Kentucky forward transfer Keion Brooks can be a huge boost. A one-time elite recruit and Oregon transfer Franck Kepnang and 7’1 Fresno State center transfer Braxton Meah round out a group of players who could surprise. Yet, the only consistency about head coach Mike Hopkins’ Seattle tenure has been his inconsistency, which is why I’m skeptical of this Washington team coming close to last year’s record.

11. Cal - Much like last year, Cal should avoid the league basement thanks to their friends up north in Corvallis. Yet, this season they will not have the services of key players such as Grant Anticevich and Andre Kelly. Former Kentucky and Texas player, and a one-time blue-chip recruit, Devin Askew is certainly one of the more intriguing newcomers in the Pac-12, but the overall talent in Berkeley is probably not good enough to win much more than the handful of conference contests they did last season.

12. Oregon State - Hard to believe how hard the Beavers have fallen. In 2020-21, yes, weird Covid season and all, Oregon State was on a shocking Elite Eight run in the NCAA Tournament. Just a year later, they won a total of three games. I don’t know if we will ever see again anything like this in the history of college basketball. And the outlook for this year isn’t better despite a low bar to clear. Forward Warith Alatishe went pro, and a freshman class of six players, a class size that may be another first (in a long time) in NCAA history, even with talented forward Glenn Taylor Jr. are more than likely going to have a hard time showing an even slight improvement in the win-loss record.

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