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Transcript: Q&A chat with the Pac-12 Pundit on Pac-12 basketball

Arizona Daily Star sports reporter Patrick Finley answered questions from Wildcat fans about Pac-12 basketball.

Hey everybody! Welcome to our weekly Pac-12 and Arizona Wildcats chat. Fire away with questions, and I'll answer every one I can over the next hour or so. Hope you're having a great Wednesday. HUGE Arizona-UCLA game on top tomorrow.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:02:01 PM
What does your midseason all-Pac 12 team look like right now? Just a five-man team.

by BobWeir 1/23/2013 7:02:40 PM
Bob Weir! Loved you with the Grateful Dead. Hmmm, five guys. How about: UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad, Arizona's Solomon Hill, Cal's Allen Crabbe, Arizona State's Jahii Carson and WSU's Brock Motum.. (We're going small). And because I love stuff like this, here's my bench: Aziz N'Diaye (Washington), Kyle Singler (Oregon), Andre Roberson (CU), Roberto Nelson (OSU), Mark Lyons (Arizona), Larry Drew II (UCLA) and Jason Washburn (Utah).

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:06:24 PM
How do you rank the Pac-12 nationally this year? Which conferences do you place above?

by Memories88 1/23/2013 7:06:30 PM
It's MUCH better than last season, but not elite. It's not the best league in the West, actually: the Mountain West is deeper. The Sagarin Ratings have the Pac-12 as the sixth-best league, behind the Big Ten, Mountain West, Big East, Big 12, and ACC.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:07:33 PM
How many teams from the PAC-12 do you think will get in to the NCAA Tournament this year? I am thinking about 4 or 5.

by Jordan 1/23/2013 7:07:47 PM
As of this second, four sounds right: Arizona, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Colorado has a strong RPI (No. 19, as of Jan. 21), and might get a sniff at the tournament if it can put together a few victories. At 12-6 (2-4), the Buffs need to find a way to finish the season at least 10-8. Home games against the Bay Area schools are a good place to start this week.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:09:42 PM
It looks to me that Oregon has the inside track to the Pac12 title. Not having to make the Arizona trip or having to face Ucla again really gives them a great shot. Your opinion.

by Sam 1/23/2013 7:09:55 PM
I agree with you 100 percent. Wrote about that in today's paper. Because of the league's unbalanced schedule, the Ducks don't have to face UA or UCLA again — and because they won both games earlier this year, they own the tiebreaker. The Ducks' remaining schedule features two games apiece against Washington, Wazzu, Stanford, Cal, Colorado and Utah. They could be favored to win all but two of those, minimum. (I like the Huskies and Buffs at home).

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:13:27 PM
How many teams in the Pac-12 can be final 4 teams this year?

by Jordan 1/23/2013 7:13:50 PM
I think UCLA or Arizona has the firepower to, conceivably, get there. Oregon's balanced attack is impressive, though.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:14:16 PM
Zeus seemed to really frustrate Bachynski, do you think Zeus is finally starting to get it?

by Tomcat 1/23/2013 7:14:28 PM
A little bit of both. Bachynski is a very limited offensive player, but I thought Tarczewski did a good job with him

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:15:15 PM
Thanks for doing these chats! I really enjoyed your big brother Ryan's football chats, too. Who's the better basketball player of you two?

by Slim Pickens 1/23/2013 7:15:21 PM
Depends on if he gets hot from three-point land. But it's fun to play on the same team, too — we've been playing together our whole lives, so have a little bit of intuition going on.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:16:11 PM
Who's Pac 12 coach of the year? Gotta be either Miller or Altman.

by tom henry 1/23/2013 7:16:14 PM
Altman has surpassed expectations by far. If the Ducks remain near the top of the league, he'd get my vote. He's done more with less. Miller's up there, sure, and Howland might get some begrudging kudos for changing his style from man defense and a plodding offense to more zone and running to fit his personnel

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:17:18 PM
At what point does the rest of nation give us the respect we deserve ? 16-1 and it feels like we're given a 6th rating by the polls out of pity....I just wish the rest of the nation would see what I see, a damn good team, with team players who embrace the TEAM concept..here's to a conference championship !! BEAR DOWN ARIZONA !!

by jonathan stone 1/23/2013 7:17:38 PM
Borrowing a line from one of my favorite chats (U-T San Diego's Padres chat), I'm writing that down as a RANT and not a question

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:18:08 PM
Who would you rank as the best coaches in the Pac-12?

by Memories88 1/23/2013 7:18:11 PM
Long-term, I think most every school in the league would trade their coach for Sean Miller. But all Dana Altman has done since coming into the league is surpass expectations. Mike Montgomery is a freaking Hall of Famer. Tad Boyle, I think, will coach at a top-tier program one day. And Howland, let's not forget, went to three-straight Final Fours at UCLA

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:19:42 PM
Give Zus a year or two on the court and in the weight room and he savage. Do you agree?

by Julius 1/23/2013 7:20:09 PM
I think big men take years to develop. Just look at Jeff Withey at Kansas. Tarczewski can only get better. Size isn't a major problem for him right now, but an offseason of weights will certainly help

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:20:45 PM
Who has the inside track on Blake Griffin clone Aaron Gordon? Arizona, Washington or Kentucky? And what do you know of Kentucky's late push for Gordon?

by Matt N. 1/23/2013 7:20:56 PM
I've said this before: the whims of a high schooler are not my expertise. Kentucky tends to get what they want in these cases, but who knows.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:21:36 PM
What is Arizona's biggest concern for the UCLA game?

by Andre Veres 1/23/2013 7:21:42 PM
The easy answer is stopping Shabazz Muhammad. Though the Wear twins will be a tough test for Arizona's bigs, and Larry Drew II is essentially the anti-Mark Lyons: a wonderful assist man who doesn't turn the ball over, but isn't much of a scorer. Arizona must limit its turnovers, though — UCLA will run every time they cough the ball up

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:24:06 PM
How much can Gabe York help next year?

by Julius 1/23/2013 7:24:17 PM
I don't know. He was obviously well-thought-of before he came here, and Miller seems to praise him whenever he can. But he's not playing now because Miller trusts others more, namely Jordin Mayes. I don't understand fans' infatuation with the playing time of either he or Chol. Right this second, I don't see whose minutes you'd take away to play them more. Now, the Wildcats haven't suffered an injury or really any kind yet — maybe that opens something up if it happens

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:26:10 PM
Will Chol be on this team next year?

by Tomcat 1/23/2013 7:26:19 PM
Don't know. He's one of the more special guys, personality-wise, to come to Tucson in a long time. Coaches absolutely adore him off the floor. But could he play 30 minutes somewhere else? Would he want to, at a smaller program? These are good questions

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:27:07 PM
Who is going to get the shabazz defensive assignment and who do you see the matchup going

by josh 1/23/2013 7:27:21 PM
My assumption is Solomon Hill. Howeva (said in Stephen A Smith voice), the Wildcats seemed to confuse Carrick Felix a bit by putting Brandon Ashley on him. Wouldn't be surprised if at some point the UA tries the same, in spurts

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:28:20 PM
I watched basketball all day last Saturday, starting with the Cats game and ending with Butler/Gonzaga and as much as I love the Pac12, the league won't get the recognition nationally until night in, night out the fans create amazing atmospheres like the one in Hinkle. Do you think that is part of the reason the rest of the media and fans scoff at the Pac 12? The only truly tough places to play in the Pac 12 because of the fans are McKale and at UW.

by CDO82 1/23/2013 7:28:33 PM
Yes and no. I think, across all sports, Pac-12 fans are generally a bit more laid back. (The one exception, and this could be a sociology paper, is Autzen Stadium). Does that contribute to attendance/environment differences compared to, say, a Big Ten hoops game? Maybe. The national view of the league and a bias toward its teams? That's a tougher leap to make. I will say this: UCLA is considered one of the best five programs, ever, and is eternally relevant, and it's not because Pauley gets loud.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:31:11 PM
Arizona wins by more than 10 at home against UCLA!

by Jordan 1/23/2013 7:32:11 PM
Ken Pomeroy, the guru or Ken-Pom.com, has the Wildcats with an 85 percent chance of winning tomorrow. So there's that.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:32:34 PM
Florida vs cats tomorrow neutral court. Who wins?

by josh 1/23/2013 7:32:36 PM
Florida absolutely destroyed my alma mater, Missouri, on Saturday. So maybe I'm a bit biased. But Pomeroy has Florida as America's best team right now, and I'm not sure I disagree

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:33:25 PM
Can our bigs stand up to the others in the PAC 12

by Julius 1/23/2013 7:33:39 PM
As a group, pretty well, I think. Arizona fans are quick to be critical, but I'm not sure that I'd trade Arizona's frontcourt as a whole for too many in the country, because they have room to grow. This will be an interesting week, though — the Wears are tough, but USC also brings in a front line with legitimate NBA size and bulk

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:34:50 PM
Do you think PAC 12 officials still call things too tight, while other conferences let 'em play more.? I'm thinking of things like al those fouls on ball screens at ASU.

by Greg 1/23/2013 7:34:58 PM
I noticed a difference when Arizona played in Hawaii. Seems like there were fewer whistles.

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:35:35 PM
Do you think Mark Lyons ever turns around his turnover/assist ratio?

by Josh 1/23/2013 7:35:39 PM
No. That's not his game. Lyons is a proven scorer and an adequate assists guy. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.1, which is 10th-best in the league. Could he inch it up to 1.3 or 1.5? That would be a giant help. But you can't expect him to turn into Larry Drew II (who leads the league with a 4.7 ratio) overnight

by Pat Finley 1/23/2013 7:37:31 PM