via upload.wikimedia.org

Sporting News 21
NBC Sports 24
Ringer Sports 18
CBS Sports Line 16
ESPN 19
Rivals.com (Yahoo) 23

Recruiting Class Ranking:

• ESPN – Not Ranked;
• Bleacher Report – Not Ranked;
• CBS – Not Ranked

via upload.wikimedia.org

Sporting News Not Ranked
NBC Sports Not Ranked
Ringer Sports Not Ranked
CBS Sports Line Not Ranked
ESPN Not Ranked
Rivals.com (Yahoo) Not Ranked

Recruiting Class Ranking:

• ESPN: #17;
• Bleacher Report – Not Ranked;
• CBS – Not Ranked

via upload.wikimedia.org

Sporting News Not Ranked
NBC Sports Not Ranked
Ringer Sports Not Ranked
CBS Sports Line Not Ranked
ESPN Not Ranked
Rivals.com (Yahoo) Not Ranked

Recruiting Class Ranking:

• ESPN: #6;
• Bleacher Report – Not Ranked;
• CBS – Not Ranked

Let me start out by saying that pre-season rankings mean absolutely nothing when it comes to winning games after the season starts. They represent,opinions, hopes and an attempt by sports writers to keep you engaged with College Basketball even though there is nothing happening at the present time.

Pre-season rankings do represent recognition for a body of work in the past. Some basketball programs have a history of consistently producing teams that perform well. These programs are a good 'bet'. A sports writer cannot go wrong backing a team that performed well in the previous year and is returning a substantial part of that successful team.

Other programs do not perform consistently. It may be true that these programs produce a remarkable team from time to time, but these programs have been unable to sustain a level of play that consistently produces the kind of results a sports writer seeks.

Its always great to OOOH and AHHH about great recruits but until that recruit steps on the floor against D-1 competition, and we see that recruit playing on the floor as part of a team, you never really know how that young man will perform on the ''big stage".

Now if I had been right about all this, it would come as no surprise that UCLA is ranked in the top 10 despite two years of dismal play and losses to middling WCC opponents. UCLA is a legendary program headed by a coach that has a history of success (if we discount the past two seasons). UCLA has amassed a fantastic new crop of players (#1 recruiting class??) and appears to be poised for greatness once again!

Seems to me we heard something like that last year didn't we? Fact of the matter is, in recent years, Howland has not been relating well to his young recruits. In recent years he has lost many talented front line players -- and not to the NBA.

Lets take a look at BYU for minute. Here's a program that consistently produces highly successful teams and (according to some) is bringing in the #6 recruiting class in the country! The team is lead by a well respected coach with a solid track record for success! Last year they beat PAC-12 Oregon; they beat PAC-12 Utah; posted wins against WCC Gonzaga and St. Maries -- all better teams than UCLA. A substantial part of last years very successful team is returning. The BYU faithful claim they can only be better and are predicting another dominating season! Yet . . . not ranked in anyone's preseason polls. Welcome to the WCC BYU. No matter what you do, you get no respect from the sports writers -- especially those located in an Eastern time zone.

St. Marys may be a poor step child in this discussion but can make similar arguments about the potential of their team. Proven performance, good coach, great recruiting class. Now in the defense of the sports writers, St. Marys tends not to play a tough pre-season schedule which can be a reason to question the potential of a team.

But if we were to accept that argument, why does U-Dub get a pass? True they have talent (St. Marys has talent) and they did win the PAC-12 regular season (St. Marys won the WCC regular season and tournament), but they never play anyone in the pre-season (just like St. Marys). Bleacher Report has them checking in at #25? St. Marys gets not a mention. There is this about it, at least St. Marys and BYU have the brass to step on the floor at the Kennel. Cannot say the same for Romar and his team.

What has all this to do with Gonzaga?

Well folks, even though these polls mean nothing, they do indeed mean something. If you beat a ranked team, that is a 'quality win' come tournament time. If you beat an unranked BYU or St. Marys . . . not so much. If you lose to a ranked team, its a loss but its almost never a 'bad loss'. Lose to an unranked team . . .

I strongly suspect Gonzaga, St. Marys and BYU will all find their way to the Big Dance this year. There is no question that two or more of these teams will have losses to WCC opponents.

If those opponents were ranked, we might be looking at a 4, 6, and 10 seed.

If those opponents are unranked, we might well be looking at a 11, 14, and play-in bid.

Tell the truth, who's really the better pre-season team? BYU, St. Marys, or the Huskitties . . . or UCLA for that matter?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLXy70ONUV4