Aren’t we glad basketball is finally here?
With the UCLA football team struggling to breath in the deeper
waters of the Pac-10, the desire for basketball season in Westwood
is at a feverish pitch.
And this Saturday, the doors to the hardwood floors on college
campuses around the nation will finally swing open for the first
day of basketball practice.
At some schools, in fact, the doors will actually open on the
first minute of Oct. 15, as several Pac-10 teams will put on a show
for the fans in their first practice session, in a ritual known as
"Midnight Madness."
Arizona State, California, Oregon and Washington will conduct
open practices at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, with the usual
promotional giveaways, slam dunk contests, etc …
UCLA will open camp on Saturday, while Arizona will wait until
Monday to get things started.
And at USC, where head coach George Raveling is still recovering
from severe injuries suffered in a car accident a few weeks ago,
practice will likely begin at its usual time  6 a.m.
* * *
The Pac-10 has been given nods of approval from assorted
preseason publications. Basketball Times says Arizona, fresh off
its 1994 NCAA Final Four berth, is the best in the country, while
Athlon picked UCLA to beat Arkansas in the NCAA Championship Game
come April 1995 in Seattle.
The first game for the Pac-10 will be an exhibition on The Farm,
as Stanford will host some kind of wacky team called the Blue &
Gold Fleet. The Athletes in Actions and the Marathon Oils of the
world will also make their swing through the preseason, before the
first game that will actually count  New Mexico State at USC,
Nov. 16. UCLA’s first game will be against the Perth Wildcats of
Australia, Nov. 16 at Pauley Pavilion.
* * *
Washington tailback Napoleon Kaufman repeated as Pac-10
Offensive Player of the Week. The senior from Lompoc, Calif.,
scored three touchdowns and piled up a career-high 254 yards
rushing in a 34-20 Husky victory over San Jose State.
"He just took the game and won it for us," Washington coach Jim
Lambright said.
"When you talk about speed," San Jose State coach John Ralston
added, "that is the ultimate in speed."
Kaufman may very well be the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, as
he leads the nation in both rushing (184.8 yards per game) and
all-purpose yardage (224.2 yards per game).
He is also making his way up the Pac-10 career rushing chart.
Currently, Kaufman stands seventh at 3,640 yards, just 29 behind
Ricky Bell of USC (’73-’76). Kaufman has 924 yards on the season
already, and should he surpass the 1,000-yard mark (and he might
just do that on the first play this week against Arizona State), he
will become only the fifth back in conference history to post three
1,000-yard seasons. Russell White (Cal), Darrin Nelson (Stanford),
Charles White (USC) and Anthony Davis (USC) are the others.
* * *
Pac-10 games to catch this week …
"Desert Swarm" vs. "Palouse Posse": Arizona (4-1 overall, 2-0 in
the Pac-10) is coming off a loss to Colorado State in which the
vaunted Desert Swarm defense gave up 21 points to undefeated Rams
of the mighty WAC.
Led by Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week Mark Fields,
Washington State may have taken over as the best defensive team in
the country, as the Cougars lead the conference in every major
defensive category and lead the nation in both total defense (202.4
yards per game) and scoring defense (5.8 points per game).
The Battle of the Private Schools: USC (3-2, 2-1) and Stanford
(1-3-1, 0-2) are the only private schools in the Pac-10 and this
weekend they face off on national television. Guess where the money
is …
The Trojans lead this series 49-20-3. The game also features two
of the top quarterbacks in the nation. USC’s Rob Johnson, who is
recovering from a sprained ankle, is playing against former El Toro
High School teammate Steve Stenstrom of Stanford. During
Stenstrom’s senior year at El Toro, Johnson was moved to wide
receiver before reclaiming the quarterback position after
Stenstrom’s departure.
Stenstrom is on his way to breaking every major passing record
in the Pac-10. He is first in passing yards (9,662 yards) and he
trails Erik Wilhelm (OSU) and John Elway (Stanford) in total
offense. He is 11 touchdown passes away from surpassing Elway’s 77
career TD mark.
* * *
For volleyball fans, the Pac-10 will be featured on Prime Ticket
this week, beginning with USC at UCLA, 4:30 p.m. today. The Oct. 15
match between Stanford and Arizona will be shown on a national
delayed telecast Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m.
* * *
The UCLA women’s volleyball team will play host to a couple of
the struggling teams in the conference this weekend at the Wooden
Center, beginning with the Oregon Ducks, Friday, Oct. 14.
The Ducks (6-10 overall, 0-7 in the Pac-10) are 1-19 vs. the
Bruins. Oregon last beat UCLA at MacArthur Court in 1987. Since
then, UCLA has taken 12 straight.
The Ducks are led by senior opposite Angee Henderson, who leads
the team in kills (3.73 per game) and hitting percentage (.254).
Injuries to outside hitter Amy McNeel and middle blocker Dani
Cordova have not helped the Ducks, who are now in the conference
cellar.