Pac-12 Basketball: Under-the-radar storylines heading into 2020-21 season

3. Every team in the Pac-12 has a big hole to fill on its roster

Although replacing key players happens in every conference every offseason, it is rarer that every team in a conference is charged with the task of replacing a big player in a single offseason, but that is the position the teams in the Pac12 find themselves in before the 2020-21 season. Every team from defending champion Oregon to the Washington Huskies who finished in last place all have significant shoes to fill on their rosters.

Seven of the conference’s 12 teams must replace their leading scorers (if Arizona State’s Remy Martin and Washington State’s CJ Elleby remain in the NBA draft) and two others must replace either their leading rebounder or assist man. UCLA, Stanford, and Utah are the only teams that won’t have to replace a leader of a major statistical category, but they still have a big hole on their rosters.

Both Oregon teams have to replace senior guards who did everything for their teams in the Ducks’ Payton Pritchard and Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle. Other teams, like USC, Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington have all (likely) had their leading scorers leave early for the NBA draft. Utah is a team that would be in a great position, and probably still are with such a young roster, just one returning senior, but were surprised by the decision of forward Both Gach to transfer to Minnesota and at UCLA with Prince Ali gone, only leading scorer Chris Smith returns as an upperclassman that saw significant playing time.

One of the most intriguing thing for me about the Pac-12 this season will be how each of them goes about filling such important holes on their rosters and which players can show that they are ready for those roles.