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| Thursday, January 10 Fresno State moving fast foward with Ely, Sandy By Ed Graney Special to ESPN.com |
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Leave it to John Phillips to notice the point guard.
"I really think it is what they have needed the last three or four years to allow them to become the type of team they are capable of," said Phillips. "Now, they have that guard who is not real flashy, but who doesn't turn the ball over and who can shoot it when he needs to. They have all their parts now."
So true. Fresno State is whole again.
Do not suggest to Henry Bibby that his team's game on Thursday is any different from others on the schedule. "It's important, but it's just another Pac-10 game," said Bibby. "That's what it is you know. It's no more important than the ones we just played against Washington and Washington State." Maybe. Maybe not. Bibby and his USC team play cross-town rival UCLA for a very early place atop the conference standings. The Trojans are 12-2 overall and 4-0 in conference; the Bruins, ranked 14th, are 11-2 and 4-0. Just another game? Not really. "Hey, we're excited about playing a Top 25 team," said Bibby. For good reason. The Trojans have won eight straight and finally settled on the starting lineup many predicted all along -- Brandon Granville at point, Errick Craven at shooting guard, David Bluthenthal at small forward, Sam Clancy at power forward and Kostas Charissis at center. It is as good as any in the conference. UCLA is working freshman point guard Cedric Bozeman back into the lineup. Bozeman underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Dec. 3, and played a total of 20 minutes against the Washington schools last week. "Realistically, I think he'll be hitting on all cylinders by mid-February," said UCLA coach Steve Lavin, whose team has won nine straight. "By then, he should have his confidence, conditioning and timing all back. "One through eight, this is as competitive as the conference has been in 11 years. I won't be surprised if the conference champion is 14-4 or even 13-5. It's going to come down to the final week. "We have to be careful the (USC game) isn't over in the first five minutes. USC runs you off the floor. ... We haven't faced pressure like this since Duke. It's overwhelming. They're a monster." Consider: Lavin is 9-1 against the Trojans. More like something out of Monsters, Inc. Some Confident Ducks No disrespect to Arizona State, says Ernie Kent, but his Oregon team should have returned from its trip to the desert undefeated in conference. It didn't. "We left one on the floor (at ASU)," said Kent of a 95-88 loss to the Sundevils. "We let it get away. Our players are upset because they went down there to get a sweep ... We also feel very fortunate to be 3-1 in conference." The Ducks (10-4 overall), though, have reason to smile. They have already defeated Arizona twice and now get an opportunity to go 5-1 in league by hosting Cal and Stanford at rowdy McArthur Court this week. Games against Oregon State and the Washington schools follow, meaning there is a very real chance at Oregon putting together a run of victories. "It has been difficult building the program," said Kent, in his fifth season. "Coming in, we felt we needed to first bridge the talent gap, which forced us to go with junior-college kids and try to catch the Arizonas and UCLAs. But now, we have some continuity in the program. It has taken a while." Who's Hot Randy Holcomb: There is no better player in the Mountain West Conference right now than San Diego State's senior forward, who leads the league in scoring (18.1) and rebounding (9.9). Holcomb, who began his career at Fresno State, has eight double-doubles this season. Blake Stepp: As New Mexico worried about Dan Dickau, this Gonzaga sophomore guard went for a season-high 20 points in a 95-90 overtime win. The Zags -- looking as good or better than their three Sweet 16 teams -- have won 10 straight entering West Coast Conference play against Santa Clara on Friday and San Diego on Sunday. Who's Not New Mexico: Tie game at home against Gonzaga and you have two free throws and the ball in the final seven seconds of regulation. And you don't get it done. The Mountain West needed this game, desperately so. Utah-St.Mary's game: The only thing missing from this 41-35 yawner was a few peach baskets. Quote to Note "The teams we've played so far are cupcakes. Oh, I don't want to say cupcakes, but we haven't played anybody this season as good as the teams we're going to be playing." -- UCLA senior guard Billy Knight. Thought for the Day Knight said cupcakes, right? Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com. |
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