Elephant in the room for Pac-12 teams

By Kshell

The Pac-12 football season is set to begin in two weeks so I'm sure you are reading a ton of previews on the teams in the conference. What isn't brought up in these previews is the Elephant in the room on these programs. The Elephant in the room saying is when there is something everyone knows about but it is never brought up. Each team in this conference has an elephant in the room. Some teams elephant in the room isn't much while others looms to be pretty large. Some teams have an obvious Elephant in the room to that particular fan base while for some teams this will hopefully wake you up on these teams. I read these previews and I'm frustrated that many tip toe around the Elephant in the room while some may just be oblivious to the Elephant in the room. As usual I'm sure you'll enjoy my Elephant in the room on other teams but disagree with my assessment on your team. Like I did with my last column I'll once again start off the Elephant in the room in the South starting in Alphabetical order just like I did last time.

South Division:

Arizona Wildcats:

Rich Rodriguez isn't a good football coach:

The Arizona Wildcats replaced one lame coach in Mike Stoops in another with Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez was once a high profile coach when he was at West Virginia where he went 60-26. He left for Michigan where he failed miserably going 15-22 and worse yet was 6-18(.333) in conference games. Arizona didn't struggle last year because of offense they struggled cause they couldn't stop anyone. They went 4-8 last year and lost quarterback Nick Foles to the NFL. Sure Rodriguez will put up points on the board and that will be exciting. Just don't expect him to win many games down in Arizona. If Rodriguez can't win in Michigan which has a ton of great tradition and can recruit well what chance does he have a lower tier Pac-12 school like Arizona? I expect this experiment to crash and burn starting immediately this year.


Arizona State Sun Devils:

Todd Graham had the same record as fired coach Dennis Erickson had last season:

The Arizona State Sun Devils just like their rivals had a rather interesting coaching hire. They hired Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Todd Graham. Graham won at Rice going 7-6 then bounced after one year, then went to Tulsa for four years going 36-17 then bounced to Pittsburgh going 6-6 before leaving to Arizona State. The Sun Devils just fired Dennis Erickson for going 6-6(he would end up 6-7 after losing his lame duck bowl game) yet they hired a guy who went 6-6? Graham even if he does do well has shown he will bail on a team as he has already left two programs after just one season. No matter how much you want to pump this guy up he's a .500 coach in big boy ball and I'm being generous since the Big East is dog shit and easily the worst BCS conference. Face it Sun Devils you whiffed on this hire and once again despite all the potential in the world you'll still be average.


Colorado Buffaloes:

Colorado lost their only explosive piece on offense in Rodney Stewart:

The Colorado Buffaloes were terrible last season in going 3-10 which actually surprised most people in fact. Well now they lost talented running back Rodney Stewart who ran for 854 yards(4.5 YPC) with four touchdowns while also being their second leading receiver with 45 receptions for 571 yards(12.7 YPC). He did lead the team in receptions as well. This is already a terrible team who on paper lost their one stud play maker on offense. There is a very good chance Colorado could actually be worse than they were last season which is a scary thought for Buffaloes fans in Colorado.


Utah Utes:

Jordan Wynn isn't very good while Utah benefited from a weak schedule:

I keep seeing a ton of praise for the Utah Utes and I'm not buying it. You know why I'm not buying it? Cause Utah despite going 8-5 last year was 4-5 in conference. Utah also didn't win a single game in conference against a team with a winning record. They also skipped BOTH Stanford and Oregon which would have been for sure losses. Utah due to recruiting at a Mountain West level doesn't have the athletes to defeat decent to good Pac-12 teams. Another reason they can't because Jordan Wynn isn't that good. In his career he has completed 59.9% of his passes for 4,390 yards(7.4 YPA) which is good for 219.5 YPG with 31 touchdowns to 16 interceptions in 20 games. Those are solid numbers but not good enough in this league. Utah will once again benefit from not facing Oregon or Stanford. They do have to travel to Washington and they do host USC at home. Utah will once again go to a bowl game because they are skipping two of the four best teams in the conference. Just don't be fooled at the end of the year by their inflated record.


USC Trojans:

Lane Kiffin has no pressure wins:

In three seasons as a head coach Lane Kiffin has coached in one bowl game which his team got killed. Now we are to believe this team is going to win the national championship? Kiffin who is 3-5 vs ranked opponents in his career including that shocking win over Oregon in Eugene. USC the one year under Matt Barkley when there was actual preseason expectations they stumbled going 9-4. Also speaking of the Oregon game which USC fan is screaming at me now saying that is a pressure win well yes it is but not really. USC was 17 point underdogs so nobody expected them to win so the pressure was off and then they came out to a 38-14 lead over Oregon. They when the game got tight so did USC as they almost choked the game away finally hanging on 38-35 over Oregon as Oregon missed a game tying field goal to force overtime. Oregon had just had back to back big road games in closing out Husky Stadium then defeating Stanford for the Pac-12 title. This time around when the teams square off Oregon will be ready. Kiffin hasn't had to deal with being the clear cut favorite and it will be interesting to see how he handles a national championship or bust type pressure.


UCLA Bruins:

Jim L. Mora is an unproven head coach:

Jim L. Mora so far has been fired by two NFL jobs and has a career record of 31-33 in the NFL. Now while Mora could turn out to be the next Pete Carroll he could just as easily turn out to be the next Mike Sherman(25-25 at Texas A &M), Dave Wannstedt(42-31 at Pittsburgh), and  Chan Gailey(44-32 at Georgia Tech). All of those coaches had no head coach experience at college before taking over after failing in the NFL. Mora could be a success but he can just as easily be like every other UCLA head coach since Terry Donahue which is be very average. Mora isn't getting off to the best start with his comments about USC, barking at his assistants and kicking his team out of practice. It will be interesting to see what Mora does. One thing is for sure is UCLA fans should enter the Mora era with caution as he isn't proven as a head coach.

North Division:

California Golden Bears:

Jeff Tedford can't succeed without a future NFL pro bowler at Quarterback or Running Back:

Jeff Tedford is entering his 11th season at California and has a 79-48 record. He is only 48-38 in conference play. When he coached Aaron Rodgers in 2003 he went 8-6(5-3) and in 2004 he went 10-2(7-1) finishing the year ranked 9th in the country. In 2005 Marshawn Lynch came to the program where Tedford went 8-4(4-4) then in 2006 went 10-3(7-2) tying for the conference title. Since Rodgers and Lynch have left Tedford is 36-28(21-24). As you can see since he has lost Rodgers and Lynch he is a below .500 coach in conference play. There is nobody on this California roster at Quarterback or Running Back who appears to be a future pro bowler which means the California Golden Bears will once again be destined for another average season in Tedford's 11th season.


Stanford Cardinal:

Stanford is living off the name of two guys Jim Harbaugh and Andrew Luck who are no longer there:

The Stanford Cardinal have been terrific the last two years mainly due to #1 pick overall Andrew Luck at quarterback and the Jim Harbaugh handing the program over to David Shaw. In the two big games last year Stanford lost both games where Shaw appeared over matched in the Oregon game and in the Oklahoma State game he took the ball out of Andrew Luck's hands. Stanford also has a tough stretch after they start off 2-0 they host #1 USC, travel to Washington on a thursday night game, host Arizona then have a road game at Notre Dame, followed up by a weird road game against their rival California in the middle of the year. Stanford could very easily go 1-4 during that stretch with a rookie quarterback, not to mention they also lost David DeCastro who anchored their offensive line. They also lost first-teamers Jonathan Martin to the draft and tight end Cody Fleenor. Stanford lost five of their six first-team all conference guys to the NFL draft. I know most are high on Stanford but they lost their star quarterback, head coach two years ago, star tight end plus their two best offensive lineman. I don't know if any program can reload after that much departure especially a non football powerhouse like Stanford.


Oregon Ducks:

The Willie Lyles storm cloud hanging over Oregon's 2012 season:

Oregon fans don't like talking about it while rival fans do which is the Willie Lyles controversy appears to be coming to a conclusion soon. You can't talk about Oregon football without Lyles name being brought up which may be hurting their recruiting right now. Oregon despite being a top tier program has only eight committments is ranked 38th in the nation and only 5th in the Pac-12. If the penalties are severe should be interesting to see how Oregon handles the controversy. I witnessed it at Washington as the Huskies went to three straight Rose Bowls and were picked to go to a fourth straight. Then probation hit and Don James suddenly left while the Huskies suffered through three straight unthinkable 7-4 seasons. For Oregon to think they can A) survive sanctions, B) Chip Kelly won't flee to the NFL and C) replace Kelly  and maintain this level of excellence is ridiculous.

Oregon has been building this journey for a while. In 1994 they went to the Rose Bowl then following it up with a Cotton Bowl. Then suffered through three average seasons until the Joey Harrington era started where they saw their program rise to the #2 ranking in the nation in 2001. Then from 2002-08 they were a solid program who couldn't get over the hump. Chip Kelly arrives and with USC going on two year bowl ban with Pete Carroll leaving they have dominated the conference. There is no guarantee Chris Peterson would bolt to Oregon like so many fans think it is a for sure thing. Do I think Oregon would fall to Washington status of 0-12? No I don't but I could see them returning to what they were in the Mike Bellotti years where they were a good program. They just weren't a great program under Bellotti so in my opinion the Lyles Elephant in the room is the biggest in the entire conference mainly cause it could take down the team of the conference which right now is Oregon.


Oregon State Beavers:

Mike Riley is an underachiever and the program is in decline:

Mike Riley known as the coach who can do more with less has struggled in recent years. In his 11 years all at Oregon State he is 72-63 and 46-47 which is partly due to his first two years when the program was the worst in the nation. In his second go around he is 64-49 and 44-33 in coference play. Riley in 11 seasons has never had a season where he has lost fewer than four games in a season. Riley has seen the programs win totals drop four consecutive years as the Beavers have lost to the Oregon Ducks four consecutive years. Last year Riley went 3-9 and had an embarrassing loss to Sacramento State at home. In fact under Riley the Beavers have lost 12 games to teams not in a BCS conference which is pathetic for a major conference coach.

There doesn't appear to be hope on the horizon as Oregon State is ranked 75th in the nation in recruiting which puts them last in the conference, last year Oregon State ranked 44th good for 10th in the conference. Riley is driving the Beavers straight into the ditch and most fail to bring this up. I see how Oregon State is expected to make a bowl game even predicted to do better than Washington according to Phil Steele. I'm just not buying it, sure Riley pulls off one or two upsets a year but he has his fair share of bad losses. Two years ago lost at home to a 2-10 Washington State Cougars team giving Paul Wulff his first ever road win. Then last year the loss to Sacramento State at home was inexcusable as a real program would have fired him for that especially for going 3-9. As long as Riley is in Corvallis the Beavers will forever be limited.


Washington Huskies:

  Steve Sarkisian's offense is overrated:

The Huskies offense receives a ton of praise as Steve Sarkisian is labeled the offensive "guru". The offense though is actually overrated and racks up big numbers against crappy teams. Against the three top teams in the conference the Huskies have struggled offensively. Against Stanford all losses they have scored 14 points, 0 points and 21 points. Against Oregon all losses they have yet to score 20 points scoring 19 points, 16 points and 17 points. Against USC where they won twice they scored 16 points, 32 points and 17 points. In the two biggest wins of the Steve Sarkisian era the Huskies defeated #3 USC 16-13 in 2009 and defeated #18 Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl 19-7. Even the signature California win where Polk scored the game winner in 2010 the Huskies won 16-13 no exactly an offensive shootout.

 As you can see the offense struggled, in three years the offense has only came to play one time against a good defense which was an 8-5 USC team on the road in 2010 scoring 32 points. In most of the Huskies big wins it was the defense who came through so this notion that the Huskies just need an average defense then they'll be a BCS team is completely false. They scored 56 points in a bowl loss against Baylor but Baylor's defense was ranked in the 100's not exactly a good defense. This team has no NFL offensive lineman either which means they can't grind out those tough drives. Remember last year against Eastern Washington, Hawaii and California how the game was put in the hands of the defense? It was because the offense couldn't put the game away with a sustained drive. A great offense like the 2000 one chewed up the clock, moved the chains and got the clutch first downs. This is a good offense but it has a long ways to go before it becomes a great offense.


Washington State Cougars:

Cougars went 4-8 last year with a top 10 passing offense in the nation and top 30 offense overall in the nation. Defense was the problem and Leach isn't a defensive coach.

The Cougars are excited to have Mike Leach over the dreadful Paul Wulff. I keep hearing how Air Raid is going get the Cougars back into a bowl game this year as Leach is going to vastly improve that passing offense plus Jeff Tuel is coming back as well. The thing is the Cougars offense was pretty good last year and wasn't the problem. They were top 10 in the nation in passing offense and top 30 in the nation in overall offense. Leach will improve that field but he won't improve what has plagued the Cougars for a while which is their defense. The Cougars defense in nine conference games allowed 311 points(34.6 PPG) with 27 being the fewest which was against Colorado and Arizona State which were both wins. Against teams with a winning record the Cougars went 0-6 last year allowing 227 points(37.8 PPG) showing they aren't ready to hang with the good teams.

The last time the Cougars defeated a team with a winning division-1 record was SMU back in 2009. The last time the Cougars defeated a conference opponent who ended the year with a winning record was all the way back in 2006. The Air Raid offense will put up points but it will also put more pressure on the field as passing teams tend to not use up much time of possession. The Cougars defense which has been dreadful the last couple of years doesn't appear to be any better. Leach is an offensive coach, the defensive players aren't very good. Look for the Cougars to be a better version of what Paul Wulff had them be last year which is eat up the weak teams but struggle to stop anyone in conference.

So when you making your predictions for this upcoming season keep in mind these Elephants in the room for each program. I noticed every fan base chooses to ignore their Elephant in the room and especially the media  who covers their teams. I just like to look at them before I do my predictions as the season is only two weeks away. We'll see how each team handles their Elephant in the room and perhaps make me look dumb by the end of the year. Once again I'm sure most fan bases will like this piece while the homer fans who see no wrong in their team won't like it. For those rational fans out there I hope you enjoy this and hopefully you can at least respect my Elephant in the room on your program while nodding your head reading about the rival schools I had a dig on.

If the Pac-12 was a neighborhood party

By Kshell

With college football just around the corner I figured I would take a fun take at the history of the Pac-12 conference. In this piece I'm pretending what each football program would be like if they represented a real person . I set all 12 teams in a neighborhood as they are all neighbors who have a neighborhood party once a year to see who is doing the best. I'll include the programs history based on how successful this person may or may not be. How good their coach is will represent their wife or if they have a new coach that will represent a girlfriend. How the football program is doing will represent how they are doing in life far as their job, how much money they make, their accessories, etc. Like I said I'll try in a creative way use the past and the present day programs to give you a better idea how each football program looks in our conference. I'll go alphabetical order like I do in my Pac-12 predictions piece starting with the South.

Arizona State:

Arizona State is no longer the new guy on the neighborhood and just like that has been part of this neighborhood for a while when the neighborhood expanded to 10 houses. Arizona State also has the rest of the conference confused as to why he isn't more successful in life and is always single. Arizona State is pretty intelligent so he should be successful in his work life and is in great shape as he is always working out. He is also pretty good looking and the rest of his neighbors view him as a sleeping giant to have the best house and hottest wife. Then at the party the rest of his neighbors noticed that Arizona State is the life of the party. He is the guy who is always tanked and brings the bulk of the alcohol. He is a fun loving guy who simply doesn't give a shit. He is just there to have fun. That is when everyone else realized he is what he is which is a guy who has potential for so much more but won't ever reach that potential.


Arizona:

Arizona moved into the neighborhood same time as Arizona State did. Minus a brief time period in the 1990's Arizona has just been the forgotten man on the neighborhood. He has never been married or even had a pretty girl friend. He has never been successful in his job either. He isn't a loser and his house isn't the worst on the block. That is the thing about Arizona he isn't so bad where his neighbors make fun of him but they are wondering why they invited him to the block in the first place? Then they remembered he brings value outside of the neighborhood. He is good at other stuff that nobody really cares about(basketball, baseball, etc) but still has value. He is the guy who goes around the neighborhood to help clean up, he is always willing to baby sit for you as well. So his value is other areas so the rest of neighborhood tolerates him.


Colorado:

Colorado is new to the neighborhood and currently owns the smallest home on the block. Colorado used to be in another neighborhood where he was very successful. He had the hottest wife and was making six figures at his job. In 1990 he was named most successful man in the city. Then in 1998 his young hot wife left him in the middle of the night and ended up marrying Washington. Colorado still hasn't recovered from that and last year they struggled in their new neighborhood after their last neighborhood was threatening to fold. The fellow neighbors still don't respect Colorado as they know they are a has been. Sure they may have been successful 20 years ago but right now they are left eating the scraps at the party with Oregon State and Washington State. Poor Colorado had they joined this neighborhood 20 years ago they would have fit in nicely instead they are the runt of the neighborhood.


Utah:

Utah like Colorado is new to this Pac-12 neighborhood. Utah had a rough transition their first year but settled in nicely. Utah was in a different neighborhood that was beaten down sure they had the nicest house. They also had the nicest house on one of the worst neighborhoods in town. Utah made good money at his job or so he thought compared to the rest of his neighborhood. He was big fish small pond syndrome. In this past he's had competitions with teams in the Pac-12 and whooped their ass so he figured the transition would be easy. Finally another house was built in the Pac-12 neighborhood and Utah decided to jump all over it. Now with the same wife who was the hottest in her previous neighborhood she is simply good looking in this one. Utah will eventually get adjusted and raise their game up. They need to do some landscaping around the house to improve on it some, with the promotion in their job they will start making more money so they can upgrade their car. Utah will eventually upgrade their house so in a few years they can finally compete. As is they are still one of the better overall guests at the party. Almost everyone respects Utah but they also got a kick out of Utah's struggles that first year proving that you can't just go from a shitty neighborhood to a big time neighborhood without your struggles.


UCLA: 

UCLA has been part of the conference since day one. UCLA is good looking and for a long period of time had a great house with a great job. His problem is he is next door neighbors to USC so no matter how good he does it doesn't seem enough. UCLA has had some woman issues lately too. Remember the wife who left Colorado? Well after Washington chose to divorce her UCLA decided to marry her and she sank him down. So now UCLA is dating a girl who has been lusting after Washington for years. UCLA has what it takes to control this neighborhood but his biggest problem is he is a wimp. He lets his neighbors(particularly USC) walk all over him. When USC wants something of his UCLA just bows down and USC takes whatever he wants. UCLA despite having the best location in the neighborhood and easy access to move up in his job he just can't seem to seal the deal. What it boils down to is UCLA is soft as a person and when you are soft others will walk all over you.


USC:

USC has been part of this neighborhood forever. His grandpa made this neighborhood what it is today, then his dad ruled this neighborhood and someday so will his son. USC is the biggest toughest guy in the room and always has a hot girl friend. USC makes six figures and nobody messes around with USC except for lately. Due to a scandal he had at work back in 2005 he was sentenced to two years in jail plus probation. So other teams in the neighborhood have caught up to USC and gotten some revenge on USC the last two years. USC has a new young girlfriend and is determined to be the most successful person on the block. At the parties USC is seen as arrogant but he knows he can be because he has earned it. He will once in a while give Washington a nod of respect but don't think for one second he will even acknowledge what Oregon has going on at their place. He will act like McKayla Maroney and be very unimpressed. USC knows even while being in jail he was still the most successful person at the southern end of his block. USC is constantly laughing at his next door neighbor UCLA whom he doesn't even consider  a rival. He considers Notre Dame the guy who lives across the city who has been living off his dad and grandpa's generation for a while now. USC is finally out of jail so he is hoping to make up for lost time the past two years.


California:

California is the hippie pot smoking guy on the neighborhood who is care free. California despite such a big house had one of the dumpiest houses on the block, one of the worst cars, wasn't married and had a terrible job. Then after hitting rock bottom he met a girl and fell in love. Early on he enjoyed great success as he got a new job which paid well. In fact only USC was more successful on the block than he was. Now his wife her looks have dropped off a bit, at work people have passed him up, his car isn't so nice anymore. He has returned to be average on the block and worse yet his oldest son who he raised so well has left his company to go work for Washington. Then his son stole some other young up and comers he was recruiting to go work for his company. He has never felt so betrayed by a family member in his life. California tasted success but now is just rolling in mediocrity.


Stanford:

Stanford was the skinny little nerd at the neighborhood party for years. He was the smartest guy at the part something he'd always remind everyone but nobody else cared as he was a slob. His house was messy, he was single, he had no car and his job was terrible. Then very quietly Stanford met this girl and caught a "LUCKy" break. He started to work out and suddenly showed up to the part not only as the smartest guy but also the toughest guy. He was bullying USC at the party which nobody did and USC was backing down. He was also pushing around Washington which he never used to do. The only person who could stand up to Stanford lately is Oregon who has been beating everyone at everything lately. Stanford's young hot girlfriend left him for better opportunities that he couldn't provide. His lucky horseshoe he lost while on a trip to Indianapolis so some are curious how Stanford is going to far without his hot girl friend or his good luck charm. One thing is for sure Stanford isn't that skinny little wimpy nerd that the conference used to take advantage of for years. Stanford will fight back and lately Stanford has been the one taking advantage of others in the conference.


Oregon:

Oregon's family has been part of this neighborhood forever. Oregon was the loser of the block, had a small house, couldn't afford a car, worked at a shitty job, had a long time wife who was average. Then suddenly in the 1990's Oregon realized his distant uncle was the creator of Nike. His uncle who had no kids of his own immediately treated Oregon like a son and named his CEO of Nike. Oregon who used to get picked on by everyone especially Washington is now picking on Washington. After Oregon's long-time loyal wife left him for what she thought was a better guy Oregon would realize he had an uncle. Then after being one of the top guys on the block Oregon met some under the radar girl from the east coast. Nobody knew anything about her and after short time he booted his second wife to the curb for this young hot wife. Oregon has the nicest house on the block, the hottest wife and due to being treated like crap for generations they are obnoxious about their success. USC still doesn't acknoweldge their success and just recently after winning the best roses on the Pac-12/Big 10 block contest Washington is reluctantly giving Oregon credit. Oregon is new rich but there is a storm brewing possibly. There is speculation Oregon could get in trouble and go to jail soon as they may have done some illegal things to get this high. We'll see but for now Oregon has been king of the neighborhood for three straight years and only USC can knock him off that porch this year.


Oregon State:

Oregon State is the nice polite guy at the party who everyone else secretly wonders why they were even invited to the neighborhood to begin with. For over three plus decades Oregon State had the worst house, was living off welfare and was single. He was a loser who everyone else felt sorry for. Then  Oregon State met a sweet girlfriend who brought his life together but she quickly left him. Oregon State then found great success with his new girl. He finally got a kick ass job, improved his ass and his girl friend although a drinker was pretty hot. Just like that Oregon State was one of the more successful guys at the party. Then that girl friend left him so Oregon State decided to get back with his previous girl friend who had left him and they sustained success for a while. Well that girl friend hasn't been working out, letting herself go a little and is bad with money. Just like that Oregon State career isn't going as well so he is having to cut back on his house a little. Oregon State looks around and he is in danger of becoming the least successful person on the block if he isn't careful. He is too loyal to his girlfriend as well even though many are suggesting he can do better.


Washington:

Washington has been part of this block for generations as well. He has always had one of the nicer houses, and a nice job plus beautiful women. He inherited the place from his dad who was the most successful guy on the block from 1977-1992 then suddenly one of his dad's employees below him took out an illegal loan to help finance his house. The other neighbors found out and they flipped punishing his dad for two years which his dad said screw it I'm moving out! Then suddenly his dad passed away unexpected and there was major turmoil for Washington. His uncle came in to right the ship for a while but eventually had to hand it over to Washington who wasn't ready for this responsibility. Washington snatched away Colorado's wife and that was a hit right off the bat Washington was kicking ass at his job, did some improvements to his house and was living the dream. Come to find out his wife was a bit of a gambler and after being tired of being lied to he finally dumped his young attractive wife. He settled on Stanford's ex where he hit rock bottom. He lost his job in 2008, had to file for bankruptcy and even live on welfare for a while. He is now dating someone from the USC family tree one of USC nieces and things have turned around. Washington is working a decent job, his house seems in order but Washington is frustrated because he has to achieve what his dad had achieved for such a long stretch. At one time his dad was the smartest, toughest and most successful guy on the block. Washington is hoping someday he can join that level of USC and Oregon but right now he isn't quite there.


Washington State:

Washington State is always the guy who embarrasses himself at the party by getting too drunk off Busch Light. He is the guy everyone wonders who invited this guy? He insists that he matters but in reality he doesn't. He really enjoys it when his next door neighbor Washington is down in the dumps even though his life isn't going as well. Washington State has been the least successful guy on the block throughout most of their history. He had a stretch from 2001-03 where he turned his life around, his loyalty to his wife paid off as she got smoking hot, he was named ceo of his company and life was looking good for him. Then his loyalty turned to betrayal as his wife left him in the middle of the night. Washington State just ended a bad four year divorce where they hit rock bottom. She gave him bad advice and he has been unemployed for the last four years, living off welfare and everyone on the neighborhood wanted him to move out. Washington State is now dating this weird chick who is obsessed with Pirates, she is controversial and speaks her mind. She also appears to be a good fit for Washington State. Washington State just recently found a job and things could be looking up for Washington State. In a few years Washington State might not be the least successful guy on the block as that title will probably belong to Oregon State at this rate.

Well I hope I didn't offend your fan base in this piece as this was all done in fun. I always imagined what they would look like if they were in a neighborhood together. This was one of the more fun pieces I've done as I usually don't do satire pieces. The Pac-12 neighborhood has gone over some changes in recent memory and we'll see how this post stands up in a few years from now. Some teams have had to work hard to get where they are at, while others seem to always be successful, while some have never tasted success and lastly some have had success but fallen on hard times. I tried to give a historical review of each program in a less than serious context. Should be a fun 2012 season coming up and I can't believe college football is only 15 days away for most programs and for Washington State it is only 13 days away!

Huskies blow big opportunity losing to Bruins 75-69

By Kshell

Two days ago I talked about a storybook ending for Darnell Gant winning an outright Pac-12 championship in his hometown against the team who didn't recruit him. There is a reason why those are called storybook endings and not reality. With the Huskies trailing 71-69 Lorenzo Romar drew up a play for his senior captain to knock down the game winning three pointer. Instead Gant's three like most of his shots that evening came up short and the Huskies momentarily lost out on a chance to win the outright Pac-12 title. The UCLA Bruins(18-13,11-7) earned the season split by defeating the Washington Huskies(21-9,14-4) 75-69 after trailing by as many as nine points in the first half. The Bruins who had have plenty of controversy this week responded by sweeping the Washington schools. The Huskies after scoring 47 points in the first half scored just 22 in the second half as the Bruins dictated the pace. This was another tough loss on the road in the Romar era where once again his best players didn't decide the game. Terrence Ross, C.J. Wilcox and Tony Wroten didn't touch the ball on the final possession despite all three having productive games. Now the Huskies must wait and see how the California Golden Bears-Stanford Cardinal game goes to see if they are just co-champions or outright champions. Either way the Huskies blew a big time opportunity to punch their ticket into the NCAA tournament.

The first half was being played at a fast pace which was dominated by the Huskies. After trailing 11-10 the Huskies went on a 7-0 run highlighted by a Wilcox three pointer to take a 17-11 lead. The Bruins answered with a 7-2 run of their own pulling to within 19-18. The Huskies immediately went on a 6-0 run leading 25-18 and stretched the lead to 31-22. That is when the Bruins went on a 7-2 run to pull within 33-29. This back and forth pace continued with the Huskies leading at halftime 47-44.  The Bruins shot well making 16-30(53.3%) from the field, four for nine(44.4%) on three pointers and 8-12(66.7%) on free throws. They were led by Tyler Lamb who scored 12 points on four for six shooting including making two three pointers, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Lazeric Jones scored 11 points on 4-10 shooting with two three pointers. Travis Wear scored 11 points on five for nine shooting with three rebounds.

For the Huskies they shot extremely well too making 18-35(51.4%) on field goals, 6-12(50.0%) on three pointers and five for nine(55.5%) on free throws. They were led by Terrence Ross who was looking to clinch Pac-12 player of the year scoring 13 points on 5-10 shooting including making three three pointers. He also had three rebounds and four steals in the first half. C.J. Wilcox off the bench scored 15 points on six for seven shooting including making all three three point attempts. Tony Wroten scored 11 points on five for six shooting with three assists and two rebounds including a block shot. The trio of Wroten, Wilcox and Ross scored the Huskies first 23 points of the game as well. Abdul Gaddy scored only two points but had nine assists at halftime. The pace of the game was favoring the Huskies which in the second half Howland made an adjustment.

In the second half it was a back and forth game just like the first half. After the Bruins fought back to tie the game at 55 the Huskies went on a 5-0 run to lead 60-55 highlighted by a Wilcox three pointer. Leading 60-55 the Huskies on one possession saw both Ross and Wilcox miss wide open three pointers as the Bruins went down and sank a three pointer to pull within 60-58. Trailing 62-58 the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead since leading 11-10 leading the Huskies 63-62. The Huskies fought back to take the lead. Trailing 65-64 Abdul Gaddy who hadn't made a shot all game drilled a three pointer to give the Huskies a 67-65 lead. Next possession Wilcox was wide open in the corner for another three pointer and after making his first four attempts he missed that one. The Bruins missed their shot but Joshua Smith from Kentwood Highschool had the tip in to tie it up at 67. With two minutes to go Abdul Gaddy had a crucial turnover as Lazeric Jones made the Huskies pay with a jumper to give the Bruins a 69-67 lead. After a Huskies miss Aziz N'Diaye had the putback to tie it up at 69 with 1:20 left. After two missed shots by the Bruins Travis Wear had the goahead tip in with 44.4 seconds left to give the Bruins a 71-69 lead. After a Huskies timeout Ross forced up an early off balance shot which was missed but due to Gaddy's hustle diving on the floor the Huskies had another chance. Romar had Gaddy wind the clock down before driving and kicking it to an open Darnell Gant at the top of the key. Gant missed the shot and the Bruins made their free throws to hang on to the 75-69 win.

The Bruins outscored the Huskies 31-22 as the pace of the game changed in the second half. The Bruins shot 27-58(46.6%) from the field, 6-18(33.3%) on three pointers and 15-21(71.1%) on free throws. They also outrebounded the Huskies 37-32. They were led by Lazeric Jones scoring 20 points on 7-15 shooting including hitting three three pointers. Jones also added five rebounds and four assists. Travis Wear scored 16 points on 6-11 shooting grabbing 10 rebounds. Tyler Lamb scored 14 points on four for eight shooting hitting two three pointers. Lamb added six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Joshua Smith scored nine points on three for nine shooting with five rebounds.

For the Huskies they shot 27-62(43.5%) from the field, 9-22(40.9%) on three pointers and a woeful 6-11(54.5%) on free throws.  The Huskies were led by C.J. Wilcox scoring 22 points off the bench on 9-12 shooting including four three pointers. He also had five rebounds as well. Terrence Ross scored 18 points on 7-16 shooting also made four three pointers but for the third straight game failed to shoot a free throw. Ross had four rebounds and four steals. Tony Wroten scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting as he slumped in the second half. Wroten also added three rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. Aziz N'Diaye scored seven points on three for five shooting as he battled foul trouble all game. N'Diaye also grabbed six rebounds and a steal. Abdul Gaddy scored only five points on one for seven shooting including a three pointer. He did however dish out 12 assists with three steals. Darnell Gant scored only two points on one for seven shooting as well including the final miss. Gant tied a career high with 10 rebounds. This is a loss that could haunt the Huskies for a while as they were the better team and let this one slip away.

The Huskies have no other choice but to wait and see what happens between Stanford-California today. For the Huskies they must be more agressive and attack the rim as they were falling in love with the three point shot too much. The Huskies choked this game away and must rebound next week in Los Angeles as they look to defend their back to back conference tournament championship. This Huskies team is resiliant and have proven in the past in the Romar era they can bounce back from tough losses. This ranks up their as one of the toughest regular season losses in the Romar era without a doubt. The Huskies failed to punch their ticket into the big dance and now must take care of business next week to make sure they're going to be dancing.

Observations:

- C.J. Wilcox is healthy and has shown that in the last few games. Today Wilcox came out in the first half and continued that throughout the game. Wilcox scored 22 points on 9-12 shooting including four three pointers. Wilcox had two crucial wide open three point misses but the game shouldn't even be on his shoulders as he carried the Huskies. I would have liked to have seen Wilcox take the final game winning shot. Wilcox who has hit pressure shots before as he drilled a three pointer to force overtime last year in the Pac-10 championship game against Arizona.

Wilcox in his last seven games is averaging 14.0 PPG and 3.3 RPG. He is also shooting better making 34-71(47.8%) from the field, 16-40(40.0%) from three point range averaging 2.3 three pointers made a game. He has also made 14-19(73.6%) on free throws during that stretch. For the season Wilcox is averaging 13.9 PPG, 3.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 43.3% from the field, 41.2% on three pointers making 2.3 a game and 85.7% on free throws. He is also filling up the stat sheet averaging 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. That injury kind of derailed Wilcox for a while but he has bounced back the last seven games. He is back to being that instant offense for the Huskies off the bench. Depending on what Ross and Wroten do in the offseason Wilcox's role on the team might have to expand a lot next season.

- Nice seeing Tony Wroten break out of his shooting slump as he failed to shoot over 40.0% the last three games. This game Wroten scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting while dishing out five assists to just two turnovers. The problem this game was Wroten was just one for six in the second half with three points. Had the Huskies won the game and Wroten had a great weekend he could have won the Pac-12 player of the year.  I think Wroten won't win it now but still for a freshman to be in the talks is impressive. I feel as if some fans forget he is only a freshman. The reason is because Wroten could be a one and doner for the Huskies.

This year Wroten is averaging 16.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 3.7 APG. He is also averaging 2.0 steals per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Those numbers are why Wroten will be first team all conference and in talks of player of the year award. These numbers 18.4% on three pointers on 1.6 attempts per game, 57.5% on free throws on 7.6 attempts and 3.9 turnovers is why Wroten should come back. Even if Ross leaves if Wroten comes back the Huskies will be the favorites to win the conference along with Arizona Wildcats in my opinion. If both Wroten and Ross leave the Huskies are looking at the NIT at best next season.

- Abdul Gaddy shot terrible making just one of seven shots and of the four guards played the most minutes with 36. I don't think he should be playing that much. Having said that he played a good game. Gaddy scored five points, 12 assists to only two turnovers and even added three steals. Gaddy has turned the corner since the disaster in Eugene. The last six games Gaddy is averaging 7.8 PPG, 6.5 APG and 1.3 steals. Those numbers I will take. Even though he still isn't shooting very well at all making only 14-42(33.3%) from the field and 5-13(38.4%) on three pointers.

For the year Gaddy is averaging 33.6 minutes per game, 7.9 PPG and 4.9 APG. He is shooting 39.5% from the field and 31.4% on three pointers on 2.3 attempts per game. Hopefully next year Gaddy will have improved on his shooting since Romar is in love with him. I have no problem with Gaddy as he does have value. The problem is Romar plays him like he is a superstar when he should be a role player coming off the bench instead. Anyways if Gaddy keeps producing those 6.5 assists per game like he has the last six games I won't be complaining.

- The Huskies rebounding was terrible as the Bruins outrebounded the Huskies 37-32. In the end Smith had a tip in to tie it up at 67 on a missed shot and Travis Wear had the goahead tip in after two Bruins to give them the lead for good. Part of the rebounding problem was Aziz N'Diaye was in foul trouble. Another part was Wroten, Ross, and Wilcox were all playing so well together Romar wanted to play all three at once. So he had to make a choice to sit a power forward or Gaddy. Since we all know Romar loves Gaddy he chose to sit a powerforward meaning Gant who isn't really a powerforward was having to play center. Desmond Simmons who hoisted up two bad three point shots only played four minutes. Still Simmons who broke Spencer Hawes record for most rebounds in a season by a freshman could have added some value this game. Although Gant did added 10 rebounds he also played 37 minutes. Gant isn't going to outrebound anyone and he is more valuable when the other big men are perimeter players. Against UCLA the Bruins aren't perimeter players amongst the front line. That was simply bad rotation by Romar.

- Terrence Ross played a great game scoring 18 points on 7-16 shooting and drilling four three pointers. He also had four rebounds and four steals as well. This loss may have cost Ross the player of the year though. As we saw two years ago with Quincy Pondexter the player of the year sometimes goes to a guy on the best team. If Cal wins today although the Huskies are Pac-12 co-champions it won't feel that way which is too bad. Ross I think is playing his final days with the Huskies as he really has nothing left to work on except maybe being more consistent.

For the year Ross is averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks. He is shooting 45.4% from the field, 36.2% on three pointers making 1.8 a game and 74.7% on free throws. Ross can drive to the hole, he can shoot a three point shot and mid range jumper. He rebounds very well for a guard and although at times he is bad defensively due to his athletic ability can be a good defender in the NBA. When he came to Washington, Romar called him the best athlete he's ever coached. Ross who broke out last year during the Pac-10 tournament when he was named first team all tournament team has a chance to repeat that honor. Ross I still think should win the player of the year award but you never know. One thing I do know is that this is Ross final season at Washington. I'm glad I'm taking the time to appreciate his greatness.

- The final play was mind boggling to me. Even with the crappy play that Romar drew up as you can see Ross was wide open. Some have debated if he truly was open as this picture might be deceiving. Well Darnell Gant on his twitter said this "ROSS WAS OPEN SMH WATCHED THE FILM". Yes he did use all caps not me.  I've always had problems with Romar in these situations due to him out thinking himself which Ken Bone did last week against the Huskies.

On the final possession of the game he put the ball in his second and worst players on the court. Gaddy had the clock wind down then kicked to Gant who was 1-6 prior to that miss and hadn't made a big shot in his entire career at Washington. While Wroten, Wilcox and Ross didn't touch the ball. I'd rather seen Wroten have the ball there since the Huskies are down just two so they would have to respect Wroten driving to the rim and probably collapse. Meaning either Ross or Wilcox who both made four three pointers would be left open. Just like last year when Isaiah Thomas did that to the Arizona Wildcats to find open Ross and then Wilcox to tie up the game.

- Romar has accomplished a lot in his career with the Huskies. If the Huskies go to the tournament this year that will be the 7th time in 10 years. Romar has won some sort of conference championship five times while with the Huskies. This loss drops him to 11-10 all-time against the Bruins meaning he still has a winning record against the Bruins and Arizona Wildcats the two powerhouse programs. Romar was Pac-12 coach of the year for the first 17 games in the conference but this loss I think cost him the Pac-10 coaching of the year award. A team that was picked to finish fourth(were they on crack?) will either tie for the conference title or win it outright today. Still I just can't get over the final play where Romar had his three best players not touch the ball. Where Gant and Gaddy who were a combined 2-14 played the most minutes as well. Romar loves veterans which is why the Huskies always seem to lose these type of games much like last year against UNC in the NCAA tournament.

When Romar adapts to college basketball 2012 style and realizes talent is greater than experience the Huskies can make some real noise. Until then sadly they are a sweet 16 ceiling with him as head coach. Romar is a wonderful person and a good coach. He does have his flaws which as a person aren't bad since his main flaw is loyalty. Romar needs a cold hearted assistent to whisper in his ear so games are no longer decided by upperclassman who aren't ready for the moment.

This loss will sting with the Huskies for a while but they have a chance to three-peat as conference tournament champions which hasn't been done since the Arizona Wildcats did it in the late 1980's/early 90's. This group still won a share of a conference title keeping that streak alive as well. The Huskies hopefully build from this tough loss as ultimately the regular season doesn't matter in college basketball. It's what you do in March Madness. Nobody cares that UCONN last year finished 9th place in their conference or that VCU didn't belong in the NCAA tournament. Romar who is 13-5 all-time in the conference tournament will have his team prepared this week. This is when the Huskies start to build momentum heading into the NCAA tournament as Romar has won at least one tournament game in five of his six previous appearances. This loss will sting for the Huskies but look for them to bounce back even stronger from this tough defeat.

Ross explodes in second half comeback as Huskies win 8th straight at home vs Bruins 71-69!

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(15-7, 8-2) found themselves trailing at home by 10 points to the UCLA Bruins(12-10, 5-5) who were looking to win for the first time in Seattle since 2004. That is when Terrence Ross carried the Huskies down the stretch as the Huskies outscored the Bruins 16-4 to end the game. Ross scoring 10 of those points to score a team high 22 points for the Huskies to extend their streak over the Bruins. More importantly for Lorenzo Romar's team is the fact his Huskies are in first place after winning back to back games on ESPN at the buzzer. Both times his team came up with a huge defensive stop to prevent overtime as the Huskies have now won four games in a row and seven of their last eight games. This game the Huskies overcame the injury to Tony Wroten and foul trouble to Aziz N'Diaye. This team is starting to come around and finally play like a team who will be dancing come March.

In the first half the Huskies got off to a nice start up 6-2 led by Aziz N'Diaye scoring the first four points for the Huskies. The Bruins responded by going on a 12-3 run to lead 14-9. Which the Huskies would then respond with a 10-2 run to go up 19-16. Later in the half the Huskies would go on a 7-0 run to lead 28-24. Trailing 34-33 right before halftime Terrence Ross hit an impossible shot to give the Huskies a 35-34 lead at halftime.  The Bruins made only 15-36(41.7%) of their field goals while missing all three three point attempts. They were kept in the game by Kentwood High School star Joshua Smith who scored 14 points off the bench on five for six shooting while making four of five free throws. The Wear twins stepped up as well as David Wear scored eight on four for seven shooting with four rebounds while Travis Wear had six points on 3-10 shooting with seven rebounds.

For the Huskies they shot well in the first half making 15-30(50.0%) from the field and two for four on three pointers. The Huskies were killed by 10 turnovers giving the Bruins too many chances. They were led by senior Darnell Gant who scored 10 points on four for five shooting including two three pointers. Abdul Gaddy scored six points on two for four shooting making two three point plays the old fasion way. Tony Wroten scored five points on two for five shooting making his lone free throw. He also added three rebounds and two assists but had four turnovers. Aziz N'Diaye scored four points on two for three shooting while grabbing five rebounds but had two quick fouls. That allowed Shawn Kemp Jr to earn some minutes as he scored four points on two dunks that reminded fans of his father Shawn Kemp plus he also grabbed two rebounds. Terrence Ross like he has in the past struggled in the first half scored just four points on two for four shooting. Like he has all season long he saved his best for the second half.

The second half was a game of runs as the Bruins led 54-47 as the Huskies went on a mini 4-0 run to pull within 54-51. The Bruins would go on a 9-2 run at that point as Lazeric Jones would drill three straight three pointers to give the Bruins a 63-53 lead as Hec Ed was quiet.  Trailing 65-55 the Huskies started to attack the Bruins by going to the free throw line as C.J. Wilcox hit four straight free throws as well as Terrence Ross. The Huskies had gone on a 6-0 run with just free throws pulling within 65-61 as Romar pulled the hurting Wroten who was too hurt to continue. Ross went down and drilled a three pointer as the Huskies pulled within 65-64. Ross would hit a reverse layup to give the Huskies a 66-65 lead over the Bruins. The Huskies then forced a steal as Gant finished the play off with a dunk as the Huskies lead 68-65 capping a 13-0 run. The Bruins finally scored to pull within 68-67 that is when Ross hit a three pointer with a man on him to give the Huskies a 71-67 lead as the Huskies had just gone on a 16-2 run. After a Bruins bucket the Huskies put the ball in Ross hands once more and for the first time all second half he missed after making his first seven shots in the second half. The Bruins had the ball with less than 20 seconds left with one timeout elected to play it out. Norman Powell who had scored just two points up until then tried a floater with three seconds to go on the baseline but the ball rimmed out as Smith tried to put it back in Ross poked the ball out of his hands in mid air as the Huskies held on for the 71-69 victory.

The Bruins lost the game despite a career game from sophomore Joshua Smith who scored 24 points on 9-13 shooting while making 6-10 free throws with nine rebounds. Lazeric Jones scored 11 points on 3-12 shooting but made 3-5 on three pointers. David Wear finished with 10 points on five for six shooting with four rebounds while his brother Travis scored eight points on just 4-15 shooting with eight rebounds.

For the Huskies they were led by Ross who scored 22 points on 9-12 shooting with two three pointers, four rebounds, a steal and two blocks. Ross scored 18 in the second half on seven for eight shooting. Tony Wroten who played hurt all game scored 13 points on 4-11 shooting but was a perfect five for five on free throws. Wroten also added five rebounds, two assists and a steal but had five turnovers. Darnell Gant off the bench scored 12 points on five for nine shooting with two three pointers with two steals and a block. Aziz N'Diaye who fought foul trouble all game long scored seven points on three for four shooting with 11 rebounds. Abdul Gaddy scored seven points on two for five shooting while making three of four free throws. He also had five assists but had four turnovers as well. C.J. Wilcox scored six points on one for four shooting but was perfect on four free throw attempts. Shawn Kemp Jr. off the bench scored four points on two for three shooting in 11 minutes. The Huskies as a team shot 26-50(52.0%) from the field, 4-10(40.0%) on three pointers but made 15-20(75.0%) on free throws which proved to be the difference.

This was a big win for the Huskies as they continued their dominance over the Bruins .The Huskies have now won eight straight at home against the Bruins(three final four teams in that stretch) and four games overall in a row against the Bruins. Since 1997 the Huskies are 13-3 at home against the Bruins as well as Seattle is becoming a giant thorn to the Bruins. This is two years in a row where the Bruins had the Huskies beat until someone caught on fire for the Huskies in the second half. Last year that was Wilcox this year it was Ross who had done the same thing against the Washington State Cougars. This team is now winning these close games and winning it with defense as their defense prevailed at  the buzzer against the two best programs in the conferece on ESPN both games. This was a huge win for Romar's team who now sits in first place all by themselves.

Observations:

- Aziz N'Diaye really had to battle this game not only against a motivated five-star talent in Josh Smith but more importantly foul trouble. N'Diaye began the game with four quick points but finished with only seven points. N'Diaye did record 11 rebounds and I noticed when he was in there Smith wasn't running wild. When N'Diaye had to site Smith was going off on Gant, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Desmond Simmons and Kemp Jr as well. N'Diaye is a tough defender and this year on offense can score around the basket unlike last year.

This year N'Diaye is averaging 8.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 1.3 blocks per game with 0.5 steals per game. N'Diaye is also shooting 53.8% from the floor as well. His free throw shooting has been horrid lately making only 3-22 from the foul line. N'Diaye who isn't a good free throw shooter is better than that. The Huskies need him to at least be halfway decent so they can throw him the ball more. This year with those 11 rebounds that is the sixth time this year N'Diaye has grabbed double digit rebounds. So far in Pac-12 play N'Diaye is averaging 8.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 0.7 blocks per game. With N'Diaye in the middle the Huskies have a guy who can change the game defensively in the paint which they've never had in the Romar era.

-  Senior Darnell Gant who grew up in Bruins country this has to feel extra sweet for him. Gant in the first half carried the Huskies scoring 10 of 12 points including two three pointers as the offense struggled. Gant stretches the floor well his shooting ability and does set good screens. One major flaw in Gant's game is his rebounding and this game he had just one rebound. Gant has to become a better rebounder going forward. Gant has never been one of the best players on the Huskies but is a nice glue guy for the program. He is looking to become the first every Husky to have played in the NCAA tournament all four years. So far Gant has played in seven NCAA tournament games and eight Pac-10 tournament games in his career. He is one of the few guys on this roster who has been battle tested.

For the season now Gant is averaging career highs in points and rebounds. He is averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG. He is shooting 48.8% from the field and 35.6% on three pointers making 0.7 per game. In Pac-12 play Gant is averaging 6.6 PPG and 3.9 RPG which he needs to step it up. Gant is the lone senior and the only guy who is battle tested on this roster. The Huskies will need more from him going forward if they wish to make him the first ever player to have played in four NCAA tournaments with the Huskies.

- This was a great game for the Tony Wroten haters as Romar pulled him and the Huskies went on to win with Wroten sitting on the bench. Wroten also played hurt and still scored 13 points in this game including making all five of his free throw attempts. In fact Wroten has made 10-12 from the free throw line in the last two games so hopefully the Pac-12's leader in free throw attempts is starting to improve a little bit on making them. Wroten is still having a productive season that should earn him first team all conference at the end of the year. Wroten is averaging 16.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. In Pac-12 play Wroten is averaging 17.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.1 APG and 2.2 steals per game. As you can see in conference play he has stepped his game up in every statistical category. If Wroten can shoot his free throws like he has the last two games he could be unstoppable.

- From a pure talent standpoint Terrence Ross might be the most talented player Romar has ever had including Brandon Roy. Ross can drive to the hole, blow by you for an alley oop dunk, record key blocks and has a really nice shot. Ross this year has been an enigma at times in that he disappears in the first half almost every game. Yet in that same game he seems to catch fire in the second half. Ross is averaging 18.0 PPG in his last four home games.....in the second half alone. This game was no different after scoring just four points on two for four shooting Ross scored 18 points on seven for eight shooting with two three pointers in the second half. Ross really bailed the Huskies out this game with Wilcox having an off night and Wroten hurt that left it up to Ross who took over down the stretch. During that 16-2 run Ross scored 10 points for the Huskies to lead them to this crucial win.

For the season now Ross is averaging 15.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.1 steals per game and 1.1 blocks per game. He is shooting 45.8% from the field, 39.4% on three pointers making 2.0 three pointers a game and 72.1% on free throws. Ross is having a first team all conference type of season but he is capable of being first team All-American if he just would play like he does in the second half for an entire game. In Pac-12 play Ross is averaging 16.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks. He is also making 2.2 three pointers a game. Like Wroten in conference play he has stepped up his game. With Ross, Wroten and Wilcox the Huskies have three guys who are capable of going off on you at any moment.

- For Lorenzo Romar the former UCLA assistent this has to be a very satisfying win. This was his 500th career game as a head coach in his college career. Romar also improves to 11-9 all-time against the Bruins and considering he lost his four games to them that is really impressive. The Bruins are a basketball powerhouse while the Huskies simply aren't. During that stretch the Bruins went to three straight final fours and yet Romar has the upperhand. The past two games had to be satisfying for Romar to see his young team finally get it together to beat two elite programs in Arizona and UCLA on ESPN. These were big time wins for this Huskies program and both wins were close wins as well for the Huskies a team who typically struggles in the close games. The Huskies are now 3-3 in games decided by five points or less after winning these last two games.

For the Huskies who now sit atop the conference at 8-2 with all the hostile road trips out of the way the Huskies team who is on a run can continue this run. This season reminds me a mixture of the 2003-04 season and 2009-2010 season where it took a while for this team to get going but once it did they didn't look back at all. Romar has a very talented squad and he has them playing at the level that his tournament teams always tend to play. For Romar to be at Washington for 10 years and to have a winning record against both Arizona and UCLA is incredible and unthinkable before his arrival to Montlake.

The Huskies season has turned around as Romar is finally allowing his stars to take over games. This game was a great example of that as Ross was the only guy to shoot final three minutes minutes Gant's breakaway dunk. The Huskies basketball program has accomplished a lot but they have never reached the NCAA tournament four years in a row. With wins over Arizona and UCLA this team is inching closer towards that goal. For these young Huskies to overcome blowing a huge lead against Arizona to win and now make a huge comeback to defeat the Bruins is a confidence builder for sure. For Ross who saved the day hopefully he can finally play a complete game so this team can become unbeatable especially in this conference. For the Huskies this is now four wins in a row and four wins in a row against mighty UCLA as well.

UCLA hires Mora as new head football coach

By Kshell

The UCLA Bruins(6-7,5-4) have announced who their new football coach is. Their new coach will be former Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks head coach Jim L. Mora who will be attempting to coach college football for the first time in his career.  The hiring of Mora is an interesting move for the Bruins but a move that they had to make. The Bruins who will be going to a bowl game with a losing record ranked 85th in the nation in scoring and 96th in defense scoring as well. Mora who was only 31-33 in the NFL in four seasons as head coach will hope to pull a Pete Carroll(who was just 33-31 in four seasons as NFL head coach) and take over the Pac-12 in a big market. Mora is taking over a sleeping giant in UCLA who has experienced success in the past and is an easy sell for recruits.

Mora while in the NFL did experience some success as a head coach. During his first season in Atlanta Mora led the Falcons to the NFC championship game with an 11-5 record. The reason Mora was fired after just three seasons in Atlanta was due to controversial statements he made about leaving them for the Washington Huskies job. While with the Seahawks Mora was fired after going 5-11. Mora was head coach in Seattle for just one season which is hard to pin that season on him considering he took over a 4-12 team who still hasn't produced a winning season. Mora will be trying to take his NFL experience to the college game for the first time. Mora will try to bring UCLA Bruins football back on the map like it was under Terry Donahue when the Bruins were a top tier Pac-10 team. Mora is defensive minded which in a league that features Chip Kelly, Steve Sarkisian, Lane Kiffin, Rich Rodriguez, and Mike Leach will be important.

The program Mora is taking over is a quality program. When Terry Donahue coached the Bruins from 1976-1995 he won more Pac-10 games than any coach in conference history. Donahue compiled a 151-74-8 record while going 8-4-1 in bowl games which included two Rose Bowl wins. Donahue led the Bruins to three Rose Bowl appearances. After he retired the Bruins had back to back 10 win seasons in 1997 and 1998 including another Rose Bowl appearance. You can win at UCLA and recruit well there. Although the recruiting has been bad the last two years the Bruins in 2010 had the 8th ranked class in the entire nation which was 2nd in the conference. In 2009 the Bruins had the 5th ranked class which was fanked first in the conference and in 2008 10th ranked class which ranked 2nd in the conference. From 2002-2010 the Bruins had seven ranked recruiting classes including four top ten classes in the nation. The Bruins have won before and with all that talent in southern California recruiting has never been an issue.

In conclusion, I fear Mora going to UCLA more than I do Mike Leach going to Washington State. Mora is entering a better situation for one. He is taking over a team who is going to a bowl game and taking over a program which actually has tradition. He is also taking over a place which is easy to sell recruits and I feel being defensive minded will help him as well. Look at the teams who dominate the conference in years past like the Pete Carroll USC teams or the Don James Huskies teams they had one thing in common which was defense first. Offense is exciting but defense still wins championships which is why Mora will be successful at UCLA. As a Huskies fan it will be tough rooting against Mora but I'm happy for Mora that he finally has a chance to be successful. I have no doubts in my mind that Mora will find success with the Bruins. For the rest of the Pac-12 they better watch out as the Bruins and Cougars will be significantly better over the next decade than they were this past decade.