CardinalReport.com - Early Pac-10 Basketball Storylines

October 12, 2009

Mike Clapper
CardinalReport.com Basketball Analyst

Back by popular demand, we bring you the third and final installment of Early Pac-10 Basketball Storylines. This time around we take a look at a set of Bay Area rivals, the University of California Golden Bears, and of course our beloved Stanford Cardinal.

Recently fans by the Bay have grown accustomed to the two teams finishing on opposite ends of the Pac-10 standings, with the Cardinal somewhere in the top half and the Bears fighting to stay out of the bottom third of the conference. That all changed last season when their fortunes were reversed and Cal finished in a tie for 3rd place, while Stanford compiled with just six wins in conference, only good enough for a 9th place finish in the Pac-10. The trend looks to continue this season with the Bears picked to win the Pac-10 and Stanford finishing 9th or 10th in many preseason polls.

University of California Golden Bears

With four senior starters returning from the team that led the nation in three-point field goal percentage a year ago, it's no wonder the Golden Bears are picked by many to finish on top of the rebuilding Pac-10 this season. In fact, the squad's only significant loss is big man Jordan Wilkes, who averaged just 4.7 points and 4 rebounds per game last season, despite starting 32 games. Second year head coach Mike Montgomery (maybe you've heard of him?) will undoubtedly be looking for a better defensive effort, as his team finished 7th in the conference in scoring defense last season. If the Bears can clamp down on defense they have a chance to be extremely successful in 2009-2010.

Although Cal returns ten letter winners, their ultimate fate will mostly likely be determined by the play of their four senior leaders. The trio of Patrick Christopher, Jerome Randall, and Theo Robertson accounted for 85% of the team's three-point makes last season, and are all among the top six returning scorers in the Pac-10. Jamal Boykin rounds out the foursome and adds an inside presence as the squad's leading rebounder.

The Bears will be looking for another post player to step up and occupy the fifth starting spot, and Max Zhang might just be their man. The 7'3" Chinese national played sparingly last season, but emerged this summer at the World University Games, averaging 18 points and 17 rebounds per game. Also be on the lookout for point guard Jorge Gutierrez, who had a solid freshman campaign for Coach Montgomery. Gutierrez was relatively unknown coming out of high school but played solid defense in pressure situations last season.

While the 2009 recruiting class is respectable, it's certainly nothing to write home about. The Golden Bears add three new players to the mix, including junior college transfer Markhuri Sanders-Frison. The coaching staff is hoping the young man from Portland makes an immediate impact this season for their depleted frontcourt. Forward Bak Bak, and former De La Salle point guard Brandon Smith round out the class. Bak Bak should see some time in the post, but it may be a long season for Smith, who will likely be third in line for minutes at the point, behind Randall and Gutierrez.

Stanford Cardinal

Johnny Dawkins enters his second season as the head coach of the Cardinal. Dawkins will be looking to continue the process of rebranding Stanford Basketball from the methodical half court approach of his predecessors to the up-tempo offense and pressure defense scheme he wishes to implement. Although fans were treated to a sneak peak of the new up-tempo style last year, the season really served as a transitional period for the program. With the graduation of four key contributors and a host of young talent looking to prove themselves, the coaching staff will be looking to continue the evolution this year by fully integrating the new game plan.

With the loss of three senior starters from a year ago, the Cardinal will have to rely heavily on the senior leadership of wing Landry Fields and point guard Drew Shiller. Fields has showed flashes of greatness over his three-year career but will have to really step up and become the Big Man On Campus this season. If his play in the San Francisco Pro-Am League was any indication he might just be up for the task. He averaged nearly 37 points per game this summer, while shooting over 50% from the field. That was good enough for leading scorer and Co-MVP honors in the league. Shiller will also need to step into a leadership role, as he's considered the odds on favorite to win the starting point guard job.

Stanford will also need significant contributions from the likes of junior forward Josh Owens and shooting guard Jeremy Green if they have any hope of surprising the pundits and over achieving this season. Highflying Owens has little problem throwing down rim rocking dunks, but will need to improve on the other aspects of his offensive game to be considered a true inside threat. However, his biggest area of concern has to be rebounding at both ends of the floor. Owens played the center position last season but averaged a disappointing 3.7 rebounds per game. He will be looking to at least double that number this season.

Jeremy Green had a solid freshman campaign and only got better as the season progressed. The sharp shooter earned more and more playing time late in the season and made the best of out his time on the court, averaging 11 points per game over the last six contests. Overall, Green shot an impressive 46% percent from long distance on 103 attempts and ended up earning Pac-10 All Freshman honors for his efforts.

Coach Dawkins' first recruiting class may be the biggest question mark coming into this season. Mater Dei graduate Andy Brown, who is coming off a torn ACL in January, headlines the class. While it appears as if Brown will be ready to go once the season tips off, it still remains to see if he'll have any lingering affects from the injury.

"Recovery is going well on my knee," Brown stated in a recent interview with CardinalReport's Max Mandel. "Right now, my conditioning and weight lifting are the biggest part I need to work on. Getting my wind back is going to be hard, but in the past month it has already gotten much better. The doctors said that mid-October is when I will be ready to go full throttle."

Birmingham native Gabriel Harris also joins the squad and hopes to make an immediate impact. The combo guard was not highly recruited coming out of high school and ended up committing during the spring signing period. He comes to The Farm with something to prove and is looking forward to the opportunity to play against two of his former Birmingham rivals now playing for the Kentucky Wildcats.

This summer Harris told Max Mandel, "I'm definitely looking forward to Kentucky," Gabriel declared. "Two guys from Birmingham are on the team (Eric Bledsoe and Damarcus Cousins), and playing against Bledsoe and Cousins in high school, they got all the pub and I didn't get too much, so I kind of have a chip on my shoulder about that." It will be interesting to how Harris plays against his former foes if the Cardinal meet the Wildcats in the second round of the Cancun Challenge this November.

Sophomore transfer Andrew Zimmerman rounds out the class and adds some much needed depth to the Cardinal frontline. He originally committed to Santa Clara when current Stanford Associate Head Coach Dick Davey still served as the Bronco's head coach. After seeing extremely limited action his freshman year under a new coaching staff Zimmerman chose to sit out a year and follow Coach Davey to Stanford. Andrew should be in the running for a starting spot this season to complement Josh Owens up front.

Continue to stay connected to CardinalReport.com as we get closer and closer to the start of the 2009-2010 men's basketball season. We have some new and exciting features and interviews in the coming weeks. Plus, give you all the information you'll need to be prepared for the upcoming season. Are you ready? Stay Tuned!!!

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