Busting Brackets
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Pac-12 Basketball: 3 biggest storylines of 2020 offseason

By Sydney Chesser

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 07: Ethan Anderson #20 of the USC Trojans defends David Singleton #34 of the UCLA Bruins as he drives to the basket during the game at Galen Center on March 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 07: Ethan Anderson #20 of the USC Trojans defends David Singleton #34 of the UCLA Bruins as he drives to the basket during the game at Galen Center on March 7, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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OS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Remy Martin #1 of the Arizona State Sun Devils while playing the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on February 27, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 27: Remy Martin #1 of the Arizona State Sun Devils (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

NBA Draft impact on Pac-12 Basketball

The NCAA has extended the deadline for players to withdrawal from NBA consideration in order to maintain NCAA eligibility. More than half of the Pac-12 teams have at least one player declaring for the draft, but whose decisions will have the biggest impact on their team?

The Arizona Wildcats seemed to take the hardest hit to the NBA draft process after losing the freshman trio of Nico Mannion, Josh Green, and Zeke Nnaji. All three are expected to remain in the draft, but this is where the strength of Arizona’s upcoming recruiting class has kept them in conversation to compete for the Pac-12 title.

Arizona State’s Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge Jr declared for the NBA draft in April, which came as a surprise to many. With conversations surrounding the possibility of the pair returning, along with the addition of Joshua Christopher, and Marcus Bagley, the Sun Devils could possibly have the most dangerous team in the Pac-12.  Martin averaged 19.1 points as a starter and Verge averaged 14.6 points coming off of the bench for the Sun Devils. Without Martin and Verge retuning, Bobby Hurley will have to make serious adjustments after also losing Romello White, who transferred to Ole Miss earlier this month.

Stanford is another team waiting on the final decision of key player, Tyrell Terry. With Stanford’s highly ranked incoming class and returning players, Terry has a great opportunity to help Stanford complete a record season. Terry averaged 14.6 points, his freshman year. Alongside Oscar Da Silva, Daejon Davis with the addition of Ziaire Willams, Terry’s return would make Stanford an even bigger threat to win the Pac-12 and a real national title contender.

UCLA and Colorado are also anticipating final decisions from key players that may dictate how their season is played. Chris Smith is the only UCLA underclassmen to declare for the draft after Jalen Hill removed himself from NBA draft consideration. Smith averaged 13.1 points last year and if he chooses to return, he will join a majority of last season’s core players to help UCLA pick up where they ended last season as one of the most feared teams in the conference.

McKinley Wright from Colorado played an integral role in Colorado’s regular-season success last year. Wright averaged 14.4 points last season and with the loss of Tyler Bey, Colorado would fare significantly if Wright decides to stay, and may struggle if he does in fact leave for the NBA. Wright has the potential to have a breakout senior year and lead the Buffalos to another NCAA tournament.

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