OK, this is a little different -- blogging from the parking lot at the MAC. I've got about five minutes before I go interview Rob Sacre for the cover story of the S-R's special college basketball section that will run in about 10 days.

So, here's the news of the day from the WCC's tip-off event at Youtube headquarters in San Bruno, Calif. GU is the preseason pick to win another conference title and Sacre and Elias Harris were selected to the preseason All-WCC team.

UPDATE: Here's a link to the short article I put together on GU being favored in the preseason poll and a bit on tomorrow's exhibition game against Carroll College. It appears junior forward Kelly Olynyk won't play tomorrow. He suffered a concussion last week and still hasn't been cleared to practice.

More below.

From the WCC office:

SAN BRUNO, Calif. –With the start of the highly-anticipated 2011-2012 men’s basketball season barely two weeks away, Gonzaga University has been selected as the favorite to win the West Coast Conference men’s basketball championship in a preseason poll of the WCC’s nine head coaches.  The Bulldogs received seven first place votes and 63 of 64 possible points in the poll, and are one of three teams to have multiple selections on the Preseason All-WCC Team.

Gonzaga, ranked 23rd in the ESPN/USA TodayTop 25 coaches poll, has won a share of the last 11 WCC regular season championships.  Last year, the Bulldogs went 25-10 against one of the nation’s toughest schedules en route to their 13th straight NCAA appearance.  Redshirt senior center Robert Sacre and junior forward Elias Harris lead this year’s Bulldogs, and were both selected to the 2011-12 Preseason All-WCC Team.  Sacre averaged 12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game a season ago, while Harris posted similar numbers at 12.4 points and six rebounds per contest.

Saint Mary’s College received one first place vote and was picked to finish second in the WCC preseason poll with 56 points.  The Gaels captured a share of the WCC crown last year, and feature a pair of Preseason All-WCC selections.  Senior forward Rob Jones is the WCC’s leading returning rebounder, averaging 8.9 boards per game.  Junior guard Matthew Dellavedova, an All-WCC First Team selection last year, was named to this year’s Preseason Team after averaging over five assists per contest in 2010-11.

WCC newcomer Brigham Young University captured one first place vote, and was selected to finish third in the preseason poll, collecting 52 points.  The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year as members of the Mountain West Conference.  This year, in their new home, junior forward Brandon Davies is a Preseason All-WCC selection.  Davies finished fifth in the MWC last year in rebounding with over six boards per game, while averaging 11.1 points.

Last year the University of San Francisco had its best WCC season since 1982, and the Dons have beenselected to finish fourth in this year’s WCC preseason poll, with 42 points.  San Francisco returns all five starters from last season, including senior guard Rashad Green and junior guard Michael Williams – who were each selected to the Preseason All-WCC Team.  Green averaged 12.6 points per game last year, and 19 points per game in the postseason.  Williams drained 74 three-pointers last season, the second-most in program history.

Santa Clara University finished strong down the stretch last season, winning eight of its final nine games en route to capturing the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament title.  This year’s Broncos are picked fifth in the WCC with 35 points.  The Santa Clara attack is led by junior guard Kevin Foster, a Preseason All-WCC selection.  Foster was the CIT most valuable player last year, and led the nation in three-point field goals per game (3.7).  Foster was the WCC’s leading scorer, averaging 20.2 points per night.

Led by Preseason All-WCC selection Drew Viney, Loyola Marymount University has been selected sixth in the preseason coaches poll with 27 points.  Viney, a redshirt senior forward, battled through injuries to average over 17 points per game last season.  He has twice been named All-WCC.  The University of Portland (25 points), Pepperdine University (13), and the University of San Diego (11) round out the preseason poll.  Portland senior guard Nemanja Mitrovic is a Preseason All-WCC selection.  The sharp-shooter averaged 13.5 points per game and ranked sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage a season ago.

The 2011-12 season tips off on Friday, November 11, for six of the nine WCC teams.  For the first time, conference play will begin prior to January, with a Portland at Gonzaga match-up slated for Wednesday, December 28, 2011.  The 2012 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships will return to the the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas from February 29-March 5.

2011-12 WEST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

 

Team (First Place Votes)	Points
1.  Gonzaga University (7)	63
2.  Saint Mary’s College (1)	56
3.  Brigham Young University (1)	52
4.  University of San Francisco	42
5.  Santa Clara University	35
6.  Loyola Marymount University	27
7.  University of Portland	25
8.  Pepperdine University	13
9.  University of San Diego	11

 

2011-12 PRESEASON ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE TEAM

 

Player	School	Yr.	Pos.
Brandon Davies	BYU	Jr.	F
Matthew Dellavedova	Saint Mary’s	Jr.	G
Kevin Foster	Santa Clara	Jr.	G
Rashad Green	San Francisco	Sr.	G
Elias Harris	Gonzaga	Jr.	F
Rob Jones	Saint Mary’s	Sr.	F
Nemanja Mitrovic	Portland	Sr.	G
Robert Sacre	Gonzaga	RS-Sr.	C
Drew Viney	Loyola Marymount	RS-Sr.	F
Michael Williams	San Francisco	Jr.	G

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