Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Dean Juipe: West Coast teams conspicuous by their tournament absence

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.

Something in the water, perhaps?

Or maybe it's something in the air.

Either way, the West as a region of the United States is not producing much in the way of collegiate basketball talent.

Have you noticed: Nevada-Reno is the only remaining team in the NCAA men's tournament that is based on this side of the Rockies? Of the 16 teams left standing, only the Wolf Pack plays its home games in the Pacific time zone.

And there are no Mountain time zone teams still playing.

Furthermore, the most recent West Coast team to win the NCAA tournament was Arizona in 1997.

It's something for new UNLV coach Lon Kruger to consider as he begins a recruiting process that he says will focus on the closest coast. Given the results at the national level, maybe he should be looking to pick off some guys from his old haunts in the East or Midwest because the players on the Left Coast are habitually going home early.

It didn't used to be this way, of course. UCLA won seven consecutive national championships and 10 in 12 years during a run that ended in 1975.

Since then, the only West Coast teams to take the title were UNLV in '90, UCLA in '95 and Arizona seven years ago.

This seems to be more than random chance or pure luck. In all probability, it's a sign that the standout East Coast players who once were pulled to warm and fuzzy programs such as those at John Wooden's UCLA have since decided to stay closer to home.

Yet it's puzzling that the West, with its abundant sunshine and year-around potential for play, is unable to match East Coast players when it comes to talent and championships.

While the West was bolstered by Stanford finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 (in the USA Today poll) and Gonzaga No. 2, not only they but the two other ranked teams from the West Coast -- Arizona at No. 18 and Utah State at No. 22 -- have been eliminated from the tournament.

In the final Sagarin statistical ratings from the regular season, only Gonzaga (at No. 3) and Stanford (No. 6) cracked the top 25.

This lack of a Western presence extends to the country's final individual statistics as well, as the West Coast did not have a player in the top nine in scoring, nor in the top six in rebounds, nor in the top six in assists; Ike Diogu of Arizona State finished 10th in scoring and two UNLV players, Odartey Blankson and Jerel Blassingame, finished seventh in the nation in rebounds and assists, respectively.

Given this stockpile of evidence and statistics, it's a wonder UNR hasn't joined its West Coast brethren cowering in a corner. But there it is, ready to play Georgia Tech on Friday in St. Louis with a 13-man roster that includes five players from California, two from Nevada and one each from Washington, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and New York.

For all of its spirit and bravado, however, the Wolf Pack is unlikely to break the run of East and Midwest teams that appear to have a hold on the NCAA championship. Last year's final (between Syracuse and Kansas) was typical of those in recent years, where the closest the West Coast had to a presence was the Java Juice stand back on the concourse.

It's almost monotonous, as teams from frosty posts in Maryland, Michigan and Connecticut routinely vie for championships that were once celebrated in all but tropical climes.

UNR's outside shot aside, this year is more of the same. A team whose members own fur-lined coats and boots and who are adept with snow shovels will feel the euphoria of victory when the final is played April 5 in San Antonio.

Our only consolation: We can sit by the pool and watch it unfold.

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