They have enjoyed front-row seats for his entire rise to basketball prominence, first during his high school days and then in college at Washington and now Gonzaga.

For this, Dan Dickau is thankful.

	Dan Dickau usually saves his best games for Gonzaga's biggest games.

"I've been able to do all this in front of my family and close friends, which is great," said Dickau. "They have supported me at every level. They have always been at my side. It's nice to be able to do this in my home state."

And yet he is hardly a well-kept secret.

The best player out West this season resides not among the giants of Pac-10 ball, but rather in the quaint existence of the West Coast Conference, where arenas are more gyms and sound coaching often takes precedent over knock-you-off-your-seat athleticism.

It's unlikely Dickau will earn any national player of the year honors coming from the eight-team league, but it won't be for the lack of numbers or importance to one's team. He has all that, as much as anyone shooting and dribbling at the collegiate level.

An All-America season? Without question.

"I think he is playing better than any senior in the country," said Zags coach Mark Few. "I also think Dan is playing as well as any point guard in the country, and I'm as big a Jason Williams fan as anyone. But (Dickau) has just been phenomenal. His consistency has been remarkable.

"His name is the first one up on a chalkboard for who teams have to stop. They're sending one or two guys at him every trip. He's getting just a sliver of a look and still knocking down shots, as well as creating opportunities for others. It's hard for me to think of a bad game he has played this season."

Tough to find, this.

Gonzaga is 24-3 overall, 11-1 in conference and ranked seventh nationally. Dickau averages 20.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists. His shooting numbers: 45 percent from the field, 48 percent on 3-pointers and 87 percent from the line.

More impressively -- and this goes directly to Few's statement about defenses designed to slow Dickau -- the point guard is shooting a league-best 55 percent on 3s in conference play.

Even more impressively, he has played his best at the most important times. Take the first-place rematch against Pepperdine on Saturday, when Dickau scored 26 and the Zags rolled 91-78.

"I'm pretty happy with the way I have played," said Dickau. "There might be a shot or to I'd like to take back or a play or two I would have liked to make, but I've been able to do the things that help us become a better team each day. I knew what the expectations were coming into the season, but tried not to think about all that.

"I've said all season I think this team is more versatile than last year's. We've had different people step up when we needed a big rebound or shot or loose ball. And I think when we get to the (NCAA Tournament), we have guys who will know what to expect in terms of the media attention. We'll be handle all of that well."

It's a tough act to annually follow, the three straight Sweet 16 appearances Gonzaga has made. But with such a high national ranking should come the best NCAA Tournament seed the Zags have enjoyed.

It's the kind of recognition the 6-foot-1 Dickau sought when transferring from Washington after two seasons.

"It feels great to be part of something like this," said Dickau, from Vancouver, Wash. "But I don't think we're satisfied right now because there are a lot more things to do and games to play. We have a chance to do something special.

"I don't want this to end. We're having too much fun. I want us to finish this out the right way."

Who comes after Dickau as the best in the West? Several players are enjoying fine seasons. Consider these names from conferences on the Left Coast.

Pac-10
Luke Walton and Jason Gardner, Arizona: The Wildcats lost four starters off last year's national runner-up team, but have remained among the Pac-10s elite because of these two returners. Walton is a junior forward who averages 15.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists, who is about to become the first non-guard in conference history to lead the league in assists; Gardner is the junior point guard who averages 20.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

Casey Jacobsen, Stanford: Talk about a player on fire. The junior wing leads the conference in scoring (22.5 ppg) and is averaging 30.3 his last six games. "He is more relaxed now and is letting the offense come to him," said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. "At the beginning of the season he was pressing and forcing things. Now he is relaxed and is not straining. He looks good and is playing well. This is something that just happens during the course of the season. His scoring is great, but that is only one aspect of his game. He also wants to make other players better as well."

Mountain West
Randy Holcomb, San Diego State: His team has struggled at times with consistent play, but the 6-8 senior forward has not. He leads the conference in scoring (17.3) and rebounding (9.3), while shooting 52 percent.

WAC
Pedrag Savovic, Hawaii: He missed the first seven games due to an NCAA imposed suspension, but the senior guard has responded with averages of 20.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.

Greg Harrington, Tulsa: On a team that dominates others from the guard position, this 6-2 senior leads the conference in assists (5.5) and free-throw shooting (88 percent).

Melvin Ely, Fresno State: The Bulldogs have been a disappointment on the scoreboard, but you can't deny Ely's dominance. The senior center scores a WAC-leading 25.9 points and ranks second in conference history with 347 blocks. He leads the WAC in shooting at 58 percent.

Games of the Week

USC at Stanford Thursday And so it begins, the final two weeks of Pac-10 games that will decide who wins the conference title. The Trojans (18-6, 10-4) are tied for first with the Cardinal (17-6, 10-4) and Oregon (18-7, 10-4). Here, conference Player of the Week David Bluthenthal leads USC after averaging 26 points and 9.5 rebounds in a sweep of the Arizona schools. Stanford counters with junior Casey Jacobsen, who is averaging 27.2 points over the last nine games and 40.3 over the last three Thursday night games. Tulsa at Hawaii Thursday This could ultimately decide the WAC's regular-season champion and which team gets a No 1 seed in the conference tournament. Tulsa (22-4, 13-2) leads Hawaii (21-4, 12-2) by one-half game. But the Rainbows beat the Golden Hurricane 90-82 earlier this season and have won 10 straight at home. Each team had five players score double figures that first meeting. Did you know?: Over the last three seasons, Tulsa has won 80 games, second in the nation only to Duke's 87. Utah at BYU Saturday The first-place Utes managed to beat New Mexico at home Monday, despite having just one basket and one free-throw the final six minutes. Now, they must deal with BYU's 34-game home win streak. A victory by the Cougars would assure Steve Cleveland's team at least a .500 finish in conference play, impressive for a team picked sixth in preseason polls. UCLA at Stanford Saturday The Bruins (17-8, 9-5) are a game back in a conference where only four teams in the previous 23 seasons won the title with four losses. UCLA, which begins the road trip at Cal on Thursday, has won at Stanford the past two seasons. Each time, the Cardinal was ranked No. 1. Stanford junior center Curtis Borchardt has six straight double-doubles, averaging 18.8 points and 14.3 rebounds during the streak.

An Even Mountain
It is playing out as most expected, this parity-driven conference known as the Mountain West.

Two weeks of the regular season remain, and first place will be decided between Utah (19-5, 9-2) and Wyoming (17-6, 8-2).

But look further down the standings.

Two games separate four teams -- BYU, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State and New Mexico -- in the pursuit of third place and a decent conference tournament seed. Look even further.

Who really wants to play seventh-place Air Force on a neutral court?

The hottest team today: SDSU.

The Aztecs (16-10, 5-6) have won three straight and ended Wyoming's 11-game home win streak on Monday. Finally, the team every MWC coach suggests has the most talented starting lineup is playing as one offensively and with intensity and passion defensively.

"And now we should be on the board for (the NIT)," said Aztecs coach Steve Fisher. "They should look hard at us as a team that, if we continue to play well and win games, is very appealing. And yet the way we're playing, I'm not so sure any team in our league would say, 'We want to play them first' in the conference tournament. I agree that our kids won't (concede) anything right now."

Nor will, or should, those from UNLV.

The Rebels host the conference tournament and are rolling along at 15-9 overall and 6-5 in league. It took some time, but players have obviously bought into new coach Charlie Spoonhour's system, which means they have accepted the notion of defending.

Consider: UNLV ends the regular-season with home games against SDSU, Air Force and New Mexico. The inside track to third place resides in Vegas.

"We're playing hard," said Spoonhour. "We've just got to correct the same mistakes we keep making."

Do that, and UNLV will be a tough out come a few weeks from now.

But in this league, who won't be?

Who's Hot
Sam Clancy, USC: Casey Jacobsen and Luke Walton are earning most of the media attention out of the Pac-10, but this senior center has also put up Player of the Year type numbers. Clancy has 10 straight double-doubles, averaging 23.2 points and 11.5 rebounds in those games. He has scored double figures in 20 straight and in all but one game this season. He needs 15 points to become the school's No. 3 all-time scorer.

Utah State: The Big West Conference team that advanced to the second round of NCAAs last year has won seven straight entering the week and sits alone atop the standings at 20-4 overall and 12-3 in league. This, after losing four starters off a 28-6 team. Utah State has two of the league's top five scorers in Desmond Penigar (17.4 ppg) and Tony Brown (15.9).

Who's Not
Colorado State: You knew the rebuilding project would cause some pain this season and an overall record of 10-15 (including 1-9 in the Mountain West) proves the point. But even the youngest teams, when leading by three at home, don't foul on a desperation heave from midcourt with no time left on the clock. But that's what the Rams did Monday and they paid for it with an overtime loss to UNLV.

Texas-El Paso: The definition of a forgettable season: The last-place Miners of the WAC have lost six straight for the first time under coach Jason Rabedeaux. The 18 defeats are third-most in school history and UTEP is 0-11 on the road. It is averaging 68.7 points after a school-record 80.3 last year.

Quote to Note
"That was stupid."
-- UNLV guard Lou Kelly on Colorado State freshman Jon Rakiecki fouling him at the end of regulation and the Rams up three.

Thought for the Day
This, we know about improper benefits and Fresno State: They don't include anything to do with an offense.

Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.