By Joel Flom
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 26, 1998

Wildcat likely to be Pac-10's top player

As the conference season winds down, the choices for Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Year begin to thin out. To limit things more, it seems the award will find a home in Arizona.

An argument can be made for any three of the Wildcat Ms - seniors Michael Dickerson and Miles Simon and sophomore Mike Bibby. Dickerson and Simon are tied for sixth in conference scoring, each averaging 18.6 points a game. Dickerson is also sixth in the league in field goal percentage. Simon is 10th in the Pac-10 in steals and field goal percentage, while seventh in assists.

Bibby may just be an inch ahead of his teammates in voting. He is averaging 17.6 points a game, which is good enough for 10th in the conference, while leading the conference in steals and placing third in assists and eighth in field goal percentage.

"No question, I think he is the key member of the team," Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. "I think he will be very successful at the next level."

A Pac-10 title could also sway voters toward any three of the Wildcats' candidates. Also making a run for the award is Arizona State's Jeremy Veal. The senior is averaging a league-high 21.4 points a game while guiding a Sun Devil team that was suppose to contend for the conference's basement finish into legitimate NCAA Tournament hopefuls. Veal is also eighth in the league in steals.

Living up to preseason hype is UCLA's J.R. Henderson. A preseason favorite for a lot of people, Henderson has found himself in the top 10 of several offensive categories. Battling with Henderson is teammate Kris Johnson, the conference's third-leading scorer.

Debate continues...

With Arizona, Stanford, and UCLA as locks for the tournament, the question arises as to who else from the conference will get an invitation to the Big Dance.

Washington is currently fourth in the league, holding a half game lead over Arizona State and California. The Golden Bears' overall record of 11-12 is not likely to impress the selection committee, making the Huskies and Sun Devils the most likely possibilities.

"I think with three teams being ranked, you would think that they would take four or five teams," ASU interim head coach Don Newman said.

Should it come down to four teams and Washington and Arizona State are deadlocked, it would be hard not give the nod to the Sun Devils. The Huskies, 15-9 overall, went untested in nonconference games, facing no team that was nationally ranked. In fact, they have lost all the games they played against ranked Pac-10 opponents.

The Sun Devils, on the other hand, played in competitive early games, which included a road defeat over Cincinnati and a close double overtime loss to Kansas. To their credit, they also defeated Stanford on the road.

Arizona State and Washington split their head-to-head matchups this season.

Marks picks up weekly award

California senior Sean Marks was named Pac-10 Player of the Week after he came off the bench to aid the Golden Bears in a weekend sweep of the Washington schools. Marks averaged 13.5 points and seven rebounds a game over the two home wins.

"Sean has been really coming on," Cal head coach Ben Braun said. "When he was injured we cut back some of his practice time. I think that has paid off."

Marks was sidelined in the early part of the month because of a bruised right foot.

"When you see a healthy Sean Marks, you see a good player," Braun said.

Besides providing scoring and rebounding for Cal, the 6-foot-11 New Zealand native is a leader for the young team.

"Being a lone senior, Sean has really taken pride in that," Braun said.

The award was the first of Mark's career.

Daniel continues to impress

A bright spot for woeful Washington State, currently fighting with Oregon State for the conference cellar at 2-13 marks, has been the play of senior Carlos Daniel.

"He is a key player," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "He may be the most improved player in the league, in terms of freshman to senior year."

Daniel leads the conference in rebounding (10.8 a game), while placing third in block shots and 11th in scoring (17.1 a game).

"He has had to step into a position where he is more central offensively," Lavin said.