Grip on Sports: Pac-12 basketball just doesn’t have the same excitement it had for years and years
A GRIP ON SPORTS • I’m not sure why Pac-12 basketball is so down this season. But I am sure about one thing: It doesn’t hold my interest like it usually does. Read on.
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• If you are looking for a label for me, college basketball fan works. Most years you can find me glued in front of the television set all winter, watching games from Pittsburgh to Berkeley, from Tucson to New York City. ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, it doesn’t usually matter. The effort, the crowds, the excitement usually draws me in.
But this year Pac-12 games have had little of that. Any of it, actually.
Turning on a Big 12 game from, say, Stillwater or Lubbock this season includes the usual trappings of college hoops. Big crowds. Intense defense. Big shots. That can’t be said about most Pac-12 contests.
I tried to watch some of the Cougar game against Oregon last night out of a sense of responsibility. But the level of … darn, I can’t think of the word. What’s the opposite of excitement? Apathy? That’s not quite right. There was just no energy in the building and it came through the TV set quiet and clear.
And the basketball being displayed by both teams was a notch below what you can see from watching, say, an SEC game these days. And that’s mystifying.
The Pac-12 has always been a basketball conference. At least in my lifetime. And I’ve lived a long time. I have can remember watching the conference’s teams play for more than 50 years.
From John Wooden’s Bruins to Sean Miller’s Wildcats, you could count on the conference having one of the nation’s best teams. And, thanks to Marv Harshman and Bob Boyd and Ralph Miller and on and on, depth up and down the standings.
This year neither of those things is true. There is a chance, a wild chance mind you, seven teams could finish tied for the fourth spot in the 12-team conference. Balance you say? Mediocrity is my response. And in this case mediocrity is the enemy of the interesting. (By the way, I’m not the only one to feel this way.)
Actually, even the best of the Pac-12 this year is mediocre. Washington holds the distinction of being the conference best. The Huskies deserve it. But even die-hard UW fans would admit this year’s group can’t hold a flashlight to some of Lorenzo Romar’s better teams. Heck, today’s Huskies would probably have finished sixth or seventh in the conference a dozen years ago. That’s how far the Pac-12 has fallen.
And the fall has taken my interest with it. After watching a hard-fought, loud, exciting ACC or Big 12 game in the early evening, sitting through a turnover-filled, morgue-like Pac-12 game from Stanford or Boulder or Pullman later that night just doesn’t hold the same cachet.
After turning away from the Cougar game, I found myself watching “Doctor Strange” on another channel. And wondering if I could use his time-travel dilly-bob to go back to the days when Pac-12 basketball was fun to watch. Now that would be magical.
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Gonzaga: Talk about awards season. Rui Hachimura found out yesterday he was one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Award and one of five finalists for the Erving Award. Jim Meehan has both of those stories. … And Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth joined Washington State’s Pat Chun as winners of an award given to people in their position. Jim also has that story. … Back to the actual season, basketball, we can pass along a story about former Gonzaga star Domantas Sabonis. And there is also one from Jim Allen on the Zag women using their week off to prep for the West Coast Conference tournament. … Around the WCC, the BYU women feel good about their NCAA chances heading into Las Vegas. … The San Diego men say they are ready for whatever is thrown at them in the tournament.
WSU: With the basketball team losing another Pac-12 game, this one to Oregon at home, Theo Lawson devoted his time to looking at the three Cougars who just competed at the NFL Draft Combine. He checked in with a local draft analyst. … Theo also spoke with Larry Weir for the latest Press Box pod. I will be speaking with Larry later today. … Around the Pac-12, there was a battle in Seattle last night. Washington overcame Oregon State in overtime. … Oregon and Oregon State will play in a new Nike-sponsored tournament next season. … The last week of the regular season features jockeying for tournament position. That’s evident when Colorado hosts UCLA and Utah takes on USC in Salt Lake City. The Bruins are on a roll and the Trojans have had a freshman emerge. … There is football news from the desert, with Arizona State picking up a grad transfer and Arizona losing one. … Washington’s latest commitment resulted in some trash talk.
EWU: The Eagles are on the road tonight hoping to cement a first-round bye in the Big Sky tournament. Eastern is at Idaho State. … Around the Big Sky, Montana can clinch the top spot but will have to do it on the road. … Northern Colorado has to keep winning to have any hope.
Idaho: The Vandals are at up-and-down Weber State tonight.
NIC and CCS: The NWAC tournament begins today for the local teams, but it is a local player who got away that is in the spotlight. Former Shadle High player Markieth Brown Jr. has shined at Everett CC. Ryan Collingwood has his story.
Preps: Three Spokane-area girls teams came close to State basketball titles. Steve Christilaw recounts how they did in their respective championship games. … Ryan has his women’s basketball notebook and once again he focuses on the exploits of former North Central standout Brianna King. … We can also pass along the winter sports all-league teams.
Mariners: Spring training is always full of the optimism of youth. … Oh, and the Mariner commercials. … And bad late-inning pitching.
Seahawks: Could Seattle target a couple Huskies?
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• It’s funny. When you are semi-retired and work from home, everyone just figures you are always available for whatever. From Uber-like driver to prescription drug mule to chef, it falls to the “retired guy.” Consider this your warning for down the road. Until later …