WCC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

2 of 11

SPOKANE, WA – JANUARY 11: Malcom Porter #1 and Josh McSwiggan #11 of the Portland Pilots box out Corey Kispert #24 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs after a free throw in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center on January 11, 2018 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Portland 103-57. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

After finishing second-to-last in the WCC last season, Portland could find themselves in a worse spot in 2018-19. While the Pilots keep six of their top eight scorers, the lack of any significant upgrade means their season will rely heavily on the development of their young core.

Although only a 5.6 points-per-game scorer, Philipp Hartwich may be one of the biggest losses in the WCC. Without Hartwich, who contributed 24% of the team’s rebounds, Portland will most likely remain the worst rebounding team in the conference. Hartwich was also perhaps the best interior defender in the conference, recording 2.3 blocks in WCC play.

All is not lost for the Pilots, as Head Coach Terry Porter returns a young core with pretty good talent. Guard play will be key to the Pilots’ success, led by Marcus Shaver, Josh McSwiggan and the Porter brothers. JoJo Walker will be a big factor off the bench, and could be one of the best three-point shooters in the conference.

The frontcourt is a big question mark, with Tahirou Diabate carrying most of the load. Joining Diabate will be freshmen Hugh Hogland, Josh Phillips and Theo Aukland, as well as JUCO transfers Jacob Tryon and Tymoryae Glover. If the Pilots get production out of their frontcourt, they could potentially surprise the WCC, but for now it appears that they will be a backcourt reliant team.

This Pilots team has a lot of potential, but Terry Porter will need to convert that talent into wins, which could be difficult without a strong frontcourt. This may not be a do or die season for Porter, but a third straight bottom-three finish for Portland may warm his seat a bit more.