This Week In The Pac-12: NBA Draft Aftermath

Most importantly, the deadline to declare for the NBA draft has passed. So, if you've been busy paying attention to sports that are currently playing games (you weirdo), here's an update on the latest basketball doings:

Gone, to the NBA

Allen Crabbe, California
Andre Roberson, Colorado
DeWayne Dedmon, USC
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Notable non-entries

Kyle Anderson, UCLA
Jahii Carson, Arizona State
Dwight Powell, Stanford
C.J. Wilcox, Washington

Gone, via transfer*

Jeremy Adams, Colorado
Angelo Chol, Arizona (to San Diego State
Glen Dean, Utah (to Idaho)
Evan Gordon, ASU (to Indiana)
Willie Moore, Oregon
Justin Seymour, Utah
Ahmad Starks, Oregon State (to Illinois)

*List not exhaustive - I focused on players who actually saw the court in some capacity last year. Here's an exhaustive list if you're even more obsessive than me.

Arrived, Via Transfer

Kory Alford, UCLA (via New Mexico, not eligible in 2013-14)
Brandan Kearney, Arizona State (via Michigan State, mid-year transfer)
Mike Moser, Oregon (via UNLV, eligible 2013-14)
Zach Peters, Arizona (via Kansas. mid-year transfer)

All in all, an average year for early entrants. Shabazz Muhammad is gone, just like everybody knew from the start. Allen Crabbe and Andre Roberson were both juniors who didn't have much room to improve their draft profile as seniors. DeWayne Dedmon earns the yearly "Wait, that guy declared for the NBA draft?" Jamal Sampson memorial award.

And the transfers headed out are mostly limited contributors - Evan Gordon and Ahmad Starks are the only two who played more than 50% of available minutes for their teams. I would wonder why Starks and Gordon decided to use their final year of collegiate eligibility elsewhere, except they are headed to Illinois and Indiana respectively, both clear upgrades in terms of visibility and likelihood of team success.

Biggest Winner: Arizona State

One can quibble with just how efficient Jahii Carson and Arizona State were last year, but either way it's tough to argue that without him, the Sun Devils would have been condemned to another rudderless, 4-14 type of season in the Pac-12. Instead they were dangerous and entertaining despite lacking much support for their freshman phenom.

Carson's return hardly guarantees an NCAA at-large spot, but if he had left for the draft I would have immediately dropped ASU to the bottom of my predicted standings, all the while wondering who ASU would hire when Herb Sendek got the axe. Instead, ASU might be considered a dark horse Pac-12 contender. Not so much by me, but probably to somebody.

Biggest Loser: Colorado

I'll be the first to admit that I was disappointed with Andre Roberson's lack of growth after a stunning sophomore season. But outsized expectations shouldn't overshadow how important he was to Colorado's success last year. He was simply one of the best rebounders and interior defenders the conference had to offer. Even with Roberson, Colorado struggled to score. Take him away, and I suspect you will still have a team that struggles to score, except they won't have somebody to lock down the paint on defense or earn extra possessions on offense.

Worse, there doesn't really seem to be another solid power forward on the roster. Who is going to play next to Josh Scott on the post? Will Tad Boyle play small ball by having 6'6'' Xavier Johnson play the 4? Will Shane Harris-Tunks provide anything off the bench? It's either that, or 3 star forward Dustin Thomas needs to be able to step in and play major minutes quickly.

Biggest sigh of relief: UCLA

No, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams probably aren't ready for the NBA. But they were highly rated recruits playing for UCLA and the coach that recruited them got fired. We've seen plenty of players make odder NBA decisions under more normal circumstances. And if one or both decided to leave UCLA - either for the NBA or as a transfer - the Bruins would be left with a smoking shell of a roster that wasn't amazing in the first place.

Losing Shabazz will diminish the Bruins, but Adams and Anderson are a better duo to build around than most other Pac-12 teams can claim. If Steve Alford finds a reasonable replacement for Larry Drew at the point, UCLA should, alas, be fine.

Biggest continuation of the status quo: Oregon

One year of Devoe Joseph. One year of Arsalan Kazemi. Now one year of Mike Moser. I don't know how I feel about Dana Altman's approach to winning in the Pac-12. On one hand, I would love if Mike Montgomery had any of those three players. On the other hand, it must be frustrating as an Oregon fan to watch a team in a constant state of flux and rebuilding, knowing that a player only has one year to learn a new system and integrate with his teammates.

Earlier in this article I linked to CBSsports.com's handy transfer tracker. There are 4 or 5 different transfers actively considering the Ducks. Perhaps Oregon's legislature has secretly decided to turn UO into a junior college, and Altman is preemptively preparing for the reality of two years or less from every player on his roster?