Sportscaster

As of this week the Pac-10 has the most representatives in the AP top 25 with 5: #22 USC, #19 Arizona, #15 Oregon, #10 Washington State, and #5 UCLA.  In fact, last week it was six.  Stanford dropped out of the top 25 because of a loss to another Pac-10 team not even in this discussion, Washington.  Clearly the conference houses the most competitive group of teams in the nation with seven likely to make the tournament his year. 

Do you realize how little attention is paid to the Pac-10 considering those numbers?  Those of you who are avid college basketball fans and aren’t out to lunch are aware this years best conference by a significant margin is the Pac-10.  Don’t you wonder why more people aren’t aware of this?  There are plenty of reasons why, from the three-hour time difference to the lack of national television coverage.  Either way most are unaware of how talented the teams and their players out west really are.   

I know, I know… you are telling yourself what about the other big time conferences like the Big East, SEC, ACC and so on?  Well, here is where my title lives up to it’s name.  The fact is, here on the east coast, regardless of talent elsewhere, the western conferences and their players get no recognition.  Think about it, who do you hear about on ESPN every day, Duke, UNC, Florida, Ohio State, Pittsburgh…East coast, east coast, east coast and east coast.  Even teams at the top like UCLA aren’t even discussed…they are shrugged off during roundtable discussions on ESPNs GameNight.  “Oh yeah, UCLA is good, but WHAT ABOUT GREG ODEN?!!”  What about him?  He’s … tall…what about Aaron Brooks, probably the best point guard in the nation, what about Aaron Afflalo, maybe one of the best players in the nation, what about Chase Budinger, one of the best freshman in the nation…hell if you include Gonzaga’s Matt Bouldin you could make the argument the two best freshman in the country are no-names because they are on the west coast.  I am aware of Kevin Durant so don’t get upset…I’m just saying you could argue.   But that is just it, do you know those names: Bouldin, Budinger, Brooks…proabably not.  Instead, you know Durant, Oden, Hansbrough, McRoberts…ever ask yourself why? 

Listen all I’m saying is if you’re a college basketball fan, make sure you are aware of the facts.  Research on your own , find new ways to follow the conference season, and when you check how Oden is doing, don’t forget to check out how Washington’s own big Frosh Spencer Hawes is doing, I think you’ll be surprised.  Their scoring average is pretty much the same and while Oden beats up on teams like Iowa (29 pts) and struggles against solid opponents like Wisconsin (7 pts) Hawes is more consistent putting up numbers even against the best, 21 against UCLA and 20 against Gonzaga.  I’m not saying players like Hawes are better I’m just trying to get them a little more recognition so when March Madness gets here I don’t have to say “I told you so.”  You’ll already be aware that Oregon is a final four team and Washington State is going to “shock” someone in the tournament. 

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