Busting Brackets
Fansided

WCC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

By Tuck Clarry

Mar 9, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) is defended by BYU Cougars forward Caleb Lohner (33) in the first half of the West Coast Conference Tournament championship at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) is defended by BYU Cougars forward Caleb Lohner (33) in the first half of the West Coast Conference Tournament championship at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 11
Next
WCC Basketball Shantay Legans James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
WCC Basketball Shantay Legans James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Portland Pilots

The Pilots were never able to make it work with Blazers icon-turned-head-coach Terry Porter. Over his five seasons, Portland averaged a KenPom ranking of 297 and won a total of five games in conference with four of them coming from his first season on the job. The Pilots have replaced Porter with up-and-coming coach Shantay Legans, who took Eastern Washington to the tournament last season.

Legans will have every opportunity to shape the Pilots into his vision, made easier perhaps by the fact that no scholarship player is returning to the school. That turnover forced Legans to be active in the portal, acquiring seven transfers, three of which being familiar faces from his stint at Eastern Washington.

Tyler Robertson, Mike Meadows, and Jack Perry should be major contributors for Portland and help offer some continuity for the rest of the team to build on. Robertson earned Big Sky Sixth Man honors last season, serving as a sharpshooting spark plug where he made 37.5% of his attempts from three. Meadows will be the favorite for the starting point guard position and offense initiator. Perry will be the second ball-handler off the bench, allowing for Legans’ system to be run by two veterans of it. Robertson and Meadows averaged 11.1 and 10.5 points respectively.

The Pilots bottomed out in the last five seasons, and Legans is an inspired and creative mind for the game so things should get better sooner than later in Portland. The Pilots should hang around in a lot more games this season. It’s just difficult to see this makeshift roster making a big step just yet.