Inspired Dickerson looks to lead Arizona to a repeat in Pac-10
Posted: Tues November 11, 1997 at 4:26 p.m. EST
Surely everyone will be gunning for the defending champion
Arizona Wildcats, but they have one big advantage -- their top
scorer from last season went cold in the stretch run and he is
looking for redemption.
Preseason All-America candidate Michael Dickerson finished third
in the Pac-10 last season with an 18.9 scoring average, but
simply did not show up in the NCAA tournament. The 6-5 forward
was not even on the floor when Arizona won its first-ever
national title in the thrilling 84-79 overtime victory over
Kentucky. He was riding the bench as Miles Simon, Mike Bibby
and friends were on the court finishing off the previous
defending champions.
Part of the problem for Dickerson was Simon, who missed the
first 11 games due to academic ineligibility. While Simon was
the key to Arizona winning the title, he directly impacted
Dickerson's production. Dickerson scored 20 points just once in
the final seven games of the regular season. Simon, meanwhile,
scored 20 or more seven times in the last 10 games.
In the NCAA Tournament, Dickerson was non-existent, averaging
just 10.8 points per game and shooting 2-of-18 from the field in
the Final Four. There was one promising factor that came out of
his offensive struggles -- his defense greatly improved.
Dickerson continued to work on his defense in the offseason and
rededicated himself to basketball and to his religion. The
conference's top returning scorer grew tired of the criticism
and is looking to prove himself again. Coach Lute Olson has
stated that Dickerson has been more physical and a greater
presence on the glass in practice and the preseason.
One benefit that Dickerson, Olson and all of Tucson has is that
the nucleus of last year's team is completely intact -- the top
eight on the squad are all back.
The backcourt of Simon and Bibby is the best in the nation.
Despite a terrific tournament in which he averaged 22 points per
game, Simon, a senior, opted to returned for his senior season.
He and Bibby, who averaged 13.5 and 5.2 assists last season as a
freshman, are expected to light it up from three-point land.
Simon heads to the draft after the season, but Bibby might go
with him two years early.
Dickerson should provide limited help on the boards, leaving
fellow starters Bennett Davison and A.J. Bramlett as the key
rebounders. The 6-foot-8 Davison averaged 9.7 points and 6.4
boards during the regular season and is the defensive stopper on
the team. He virtually shut down Kansas Jayhawks' star forward
Raef LaFrentz in the regional semifinals. The 6-11 Bramlett
(8.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg) grabbed a Tournament-high 64 boards in the
six games.
Additional rebounding help comes from the bench with sophomore
Eugene Edgerson and 6-11 junior Donnell Harris, whose 5.8 boards
per game was third on the team. Olson spoke highly of Harris'
play in a nine-game tour in Australia during the summer.
But the biggest lift off the bench will come from guard Jason
Terry, arguably the best sixth man in the country. His
defensive prowess and scoring ability force Olson to give the
6-2 junior plenty of minutes.
Assuming his Wildcats return to the NCAA Tournament, Olson will
match Georgetown coach John Thompson for the second-longest
streak of making the NCAA Tournament at 14. The recently
retired Dean Smith holds the record with 23 at North Carolina.
But Arizona's run to the title involved a good deal of luck and
a backcourt that constantly fired on all cylinders. A team that
finished fifth in the Pac-10 last season is ranked at the top of
the ESPN/USA Today preseason poll. Every game will be that much
tougher as the "defending national champion" Wildcats take their
opponents' best punch.
UCLA, ranked fifth in the preseason, is first in line to
challenge Arizona. Steve Lavin took over as coach last season
and led the Bruins to their third straight Pac-10 title.
The strength of UCLA was expected to be a dominant front line,
but the most important piece in that puzzle is missing in
action. Center Jelani McCoy was incommunicado with the coaching
staff and even his parents last week following his indefinite
suspension from the team. School officials have yet to announce
McCoy's status, but rumors have swirled he may have seen his
final days in a Bruin uniform.
McCoy, a preseason all-conference pick, was suspended along with
senior swingman Kris Johnson. The school never gave the reasons
for the suspension, but Johnson, who averaged 10.3 points last
season, is expected to return to the team for the upcoming
season.
Senior forward J.R. Henderson, who averaged 14.1 points and 6.8
rebounds last season and played well in the NCAA Tournament,
leads the frontcourt. But with McCoy out indefinitely,
Henderson will have to be even bigger on the boards.
Like Henderson, senior guard Toby Bailey could be a first-round
selection in next summer's NBA Draft. The 6-5 guard has earned
the reputation of a clutch player, hitting crucial shots in the
final moments of games and coming up bigger in the postseason
than the regular season. He will also finally move back to his
natural position of shooting guard for his senior season.
UCLA landed one of the top prospects in the nation when it
signed Baron Davis, who will take over at the point for Cameron
Dollar. Davis provides a bit more scoring than Dollar, but he
will need to feed the wealth of talent around him.
Stanford stands at in the nation and should have no
problem getting back to the Tournament. But, and this could be
the biggest "but" in the conference, the Cardinal need to fill
the void at point guard left by Brevin Knight, who went to the
NBA. That job falls to junior Arthur Lee, a capable offensive
player that contributed substantially last season.
Lee will constantly be looking for center Tim Young, the
go-to-guy for the Cardinal. The preseason all-conference pick
averaged 13.7 points and 8.4 boards last season, but Young has
battled back problems the past two seasons. He rested the back
during the summer, but the Cardinal will struggle without him.
Kris Weems can light it up from the outside and will likely hang
around the perimeter waiting for a kickout pass when Young gets
doubled down low. Excluding all guards playing in Tucson, Weems
may be the top three-point shooter in the conference.
The Cardinal seem to finally have what they have always lacked
-- size and athletic ability. Forwards Pete Sauer and Mark
Madden help give Stanford both with scoring and rebounding.
Although it may be a bit early, Stanford also recruited brothers
Jason and Jaron Collins, both of whom have size and a large
upside.
The conference defines the phrase top-heavy because after
Arizona, UCLA and Stanford, the field does not look too
appealing. The Pac-10 may send only four teams to the NCAA
Tournament.
The most intriguing stories of the next tier are at California
and Arizona State, two teams facing major transition periods.
The Golden Bears lost their entire starting five from last
season, including Pac-10 Player of the Year Ed Gray as well as
current Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez. To make
things worse, California is ineligible for postseason play as a
result of NCAA violations involving previous coach Todd Bozeman.
Key transfers Geno Carlisle and Thomas Kilgore will not be
available until the second semester.
Ben Braun proved he could coach last season, guiding Cal to a
23-9 record and the Sweet 16 in his first season. He will
depend on 6-10 forward Sean Marks, who was third on the team
with an 8.0 scoring average. Center Kenyon Jones needs to
improve offensively, but at 6-10 and 280 pounds, he could become
the team's top defender and rebounder.
The backcourt is where Braun faces the most trouble. With Gray
gone and Carlisle and Kilgore unable to start the season, San
Diego State transfer Ray King will run the offense while
sophomore swingman Sean Jackson need to provide scoring.
The talk in Tempe surrounds the sudden departure of Bill
Frieder, who was unable to make Arizona State a consistent
winner and always found players with legal problems. So Don
Newman takes over at the helm, already with two of his players
-- guards Eddie House and Reggie Hester -- suspended due to
violating the school's student code of conduct.
But the Sun Devils do have talent, having lost just two starters
from a year ago. The best of the bunch is unquestionably
all-conference guard Jeremy Veal, who averaged 18.7 points as a
junior last season.
Great potential lies with a pair of forwards -- Mike Batiste and
Bobby Lazor. Batiste showed signs of being a top talent early
last season but he tired and his play suffered as the season
dragged. He has looked great in the preseason, but it remains
to be seen if he can sustain that play come conference time.
Lazor, who had 29 points and 10 boards in an exhibition game, is
a 6-8 transfer from Syracuse who sat out last season.
Washington could surprise if its foreign "Twin Tower" centers
can be effective. Seven-foot Canadian Todd MacCulloch teams
with 7-1 German Patrick Femerling down low for the most imposing
frontcourt tandem in the conference.
This unproven duo will need to some serious damange offensively.
MacCulloch needs to shoulder the load after averaging 14.2
points and 7.3 rebounds last season, but no longer has star
forward Mark Sanford, who averaged 17 points and eight rebounds,
by his side. Femerling showed promise in limited action last
year but will need to step up his game for the Huskies to have a
winning season.
Possibly the biggest attribute for Washington is guard Donald
Watts, the son of former NBA guard Slick Watts. He averaged 8.6
points last season but shot just 36 percent from the field.
Intrastate rival Washington State has one of the top players in
the Pac-10 in forward Carlos Daniel but not much else. Daniel
is a solid inside player and has the potential to be in the
20-point, 10-rebound range. But the Cougars do not have anyone
to fill the sneakers of Isaac Fontaine, who poured in 22 points
per game last season.
Backcourt help must be provided by Rodrigo de la Fuente, who
showed potential towards the end of last season and is the only
returning starter.
Southern California coach Henry Bibby lost his top three players
from last season in Stais Boseman, Jaha Wilson and Rodrick
Rhodes. His squad is undersized and inexperienced, neither of
which bode well when facing the exact opposites in Arizona, UCLA
and Stanford. The only two returning starters are guard Elias
Ayuso and forward Gary Williams. Both averaged almost 10 points
per game.
Carson Cunningham left Oregon State for Purdue, but the Beavers
could still be a team on the rise with the rest of last year's
starting squad back. Three are sophomores, and swingman Corey
Benjamin is a definite star. He scores from everywhere and will
not hesitate to shoot.
John-Blair Bickerstaff, son of Washington Wizards coach Bernie
Bickerstaff, must replace Cunningham at the point. Seniors
Terrill Woods and Todd Marshall provide strength and rebounding
up front and can leave the scoring to Benjamin.
Unlike their in-state counterpart, Oregon could be in trouble
this season. The Ducks lost most of their scoring punch with
the departure of Jamal Lawrence, Kenya Wilkins and center Kyle
Milling. New coach Ernie Kent will have to count on unproven
seven-footer Michael Carson and senior guard Jamar Curry, who
averaged just under 10 points last season.
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