By Steve Rivera, Special to CNNSI.com
This season in the Pac-10 might as well be the work of mystery
writers.
And not just when it comes to finding the league champion, which may not be determined until the
final minutes of the final game Saturday between USC and Oregon
State.
It's thisclose between the first place team (Oregon) and the sixth-place
team (UCLA), with just 1 1/2 games separating the top six teams.
Every game and every moment should have meaning.
But there are other storylines, as well. Who will be named the conference
player of the year? Who will be named the freshman of the year? And who did
a good enough job to warrant coach of the year?
There are plenty of questions but not enough answers.
"It's probably as competitive a level as I've seen in my 14 years at this
level,'' said UCLA coach Steve Lavin. "I would not have thought there
would be six teams jammed up there at [12-4], 13-5, 12-6 or 11-7, but that
reflects the competitive nature of our conference.''
And that applies to individual awards, as well as to the league race.
"There are about eight choices you could make,'' Oregon State coach
Ritchie McKay said of the player of the year candidates. "There are so
many.''
From UCLA's Jason Kapono to Oregon's Freddie Jones to Arizona's
Jason Gardner and anyone in between.
McKay jokingly said he might just put all the names in a hat, shake it up,
draw and go from there.
But it could come down to USC's Sam Clancy, who had a string of
double-doubles stopped at 11 last week. He's fourth in the league in scoring
(conference games only) at 20.9 points per game and second in rebounding at
9.9.
Or Arizona's Luke Walton, who is ninth in scoring (17.6), ninth in
rebounding (7.0), second in steals (2.07) and first in assists (6.93). If
the latter statistic holds up he'd be the first non-guard to lead the league
in assists in the history of the Pac-10. He's also had the league's lone
triple-double this season. USC coach Henry Bibby already has said he
would vote for Walton because coaches aren't allowed to vote for their own
players. Others might, too.
"He's just so hard to guard,'' McKay said. "He's a tough matchup at both
ends.''
There's also no clear-cut choice for freshman
of the year. Will it be California's Jamal Sampson, one of the better
defenders in the league at the center spot? Or will it come from the
backcourt in USC's Errick Craven or Arizona's Salim
Stoudamire?
It's all a mystery -- even to the coaches -- with one weekend of play
left.
"There are guys with great stats, guys who have helped their teams win and
those who have played well against the rest of the league,'' Cal coach
Ben Braun said. "Where do you start? That's a tough one. There will be
some awfully good players left off the team.''
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It's not so much about offense this week. Instead, it was defense
and the long arms of Jamal Sampson, Cal's talented 6-foot-11, freshman
center who did exactly what he needed to do in helping the underdog Bears
get past USC.
He stopped USC Sam Clancy from being the force that he's been
all season. Entering the game, Clancy had 11 straight double-doubles.
Sampson put an end to it, limiting Clancy to 11 points and six rebounds.
"His defense is stepping up,'' said Braun. "His offense is
coming around but he's been a factor defensively. He's been tough on the
boards. He's an unselfish player offensively. He's coming on and you can see
it in practice.''
He's also coming on in games, where if he finishes well this weekend he
could be named freshman of the year. And that from a guy who
almost didn't play in the conference. Instead, he was thinking NBA right out
of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High.
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HOT: UCLA
senior center Dan Gadzuric
He recorded back-to-back double-doubles in UCLA's swing to the Bay area. In
two games he had 33 points and 22 rebounds.
NOT: Stanford
The Cardinal dropped two straight at home in a weekend series for the
first time in four years.
HOT: Oregon
Finished the season undefeated at home at 16-0.
NOT: UCLA senior
forward
Matt Barnes
He went 3 for 11 in a loss to California and -- perhaps frustrated -- was
called for a flagrant foul against Cal guard Shantay Legans, which forced him to sit
out the next game against Stanford.
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Arizona coach Lute Olson called it the "compressed brain theory'' when his
team decided to show team unity in a game against Washington State two years
ago. UA barely survived the game. Apparently, UCLA either didn't see that
game or they didn't learn from history over the weekend. In fact, the Bruins
went beyond repeating history, losing to California 69-51 in a game which
the Bruins started with headbands but by halftime had tossed them. Even
Jason Kapono, who always wears one, didn't wear one by game's end.
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 Oregon senior guard Freddie Jones
In his final game at Mac Court, Jones scored 33 points, had seven rebounds
and five steals in a 90-84 win against Washington.
Oregon State sophomore guard Brandon Payton
Getting more time with the departure of Jimmie Haywood, Payton tied his season high with 21 points in helping the Beavers to a season-best 91
points.
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Stanford at Arizona, Thursday: If this game is anything like the
first game it should be must-see. Arizona took the Cardinal in overtime in
the first one, coming back from a 15-point second-half deficit. Typically,
this is the game that has decided the conference champ; this year it'll
just eliminate the loser.
Oregon at USC, Thursday: This one is for the league lead. If the Ducks can
manage a win, they'll stay atop the league race, assuring themselves of at least a
tie for the title with one game left. But if the Trojans win, USC is back in
tie with the Ducks for first. UO won the first game 73-69. Oregon has won
two of the last three at the Sports Arena.
Oregon at UCLA, Saturday: Can the Bruins manage to stay in this one? In the
first meeting, they were out of it from the start, eventually losing
91-62. It should be a shootout. UCLA should play well at home,
having beaten the Ducks 17 straight years at Pauley Pavilion. But these aren't typical times for the unpredictable Bruins, who go into the
game unranked while Oregon is No. 13 in the AP poll.
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Arizona State doesn't have it easy this weekend. It'll conclude the regular
season by playing its fourth and fifth ranked teams in a row. So far,
ASU is 1-2, having upset UCLA two weekends ago. ... ASU should have some help
this weekend. Senior forward Chad Prewitt is expected back after
injuring his calf last week against Arizona. Also, guard Kenny
Crandall has started to shoot with the team after suffering from a strained
right foot. ... Cal's Legans is expected back in the
lineup after missing the USC game on Saturday because of a concussion he suffered when UCLA senior forward Matt Barnes shoved him, causing him to hit his head on the arena floor. Barnes was
suspended for one game (UCLA's win against Stanford) and is expected back
against the Oregon schools this weekend. ... California is ranked for the
first time in four seasons (Jan. 4, 1998). It comes in at No. 21, it's
highest ranking since being No. 20 on Jan. 9, 1995. ... Oregon likely break
the school record for points in a season. It needs 49 more to break its old
mark of 2,415 set three years ago. Oregon State junior
Brian Jackson quit the team last week, but after talking
with McKay he returned to the team Friday. He
helped spark OSU to 91 points, the most the Beavers have scored in a Pac-10
game since beating Stanford 90-71 on March 2, 1995. Jackson had 13 points. ...
UCLA's Kapono needs six 3-pointers to break the
school's long-range mark of 84, which he set last year. ... Clancy's
double-double streak has ended. He had 11 consecutive before getting only 11
points and six rebounds in an 83-64 loss to California. ... USC senior guard
Brandon Granville's next game will be a record breaker. With the game,
he'll have played in 119 games, the most ever for a USC player.
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