When Eric Reveno became one of the three finalists for the head-coaching vacancy at Stanford 18 months ago it seemed to indicate Cardinal athletic director Bob Bowlsby could not attract a top-flight coach.    How in the world could a guy — even a good guy like Reveno, who was a Stanford alumnus and former Cardinal assistant — be considered for a Pac-10 head-coaching job when his entire resume as a head coach consisted of two 9-23 seasons for a Portland team mired at the bottom of a lesser conference, the West Coast Conference?

Now, though, some may be second-guessing the decision by Bowlsby to take Johnny Dawkins and pay him nearly $1 million a year rather than go with Reveno. 

The results of this week’s WCC coaches preaseason poll are mind-boggling to anyone who knows anything about Portland hoops.   A year ago at this time, if a basketball analyst had said Portland would, as of Oct. 22, 2009, be considered a serious threat to Gonzaga’s hold on WCC supremacy,  the guy would have been fired — unless, of course, he were writing for one of the hundreds of blogs that has no credibility.  (No, no, we’re different; we have credibility, honest.  Just ask anyone.  Well, not anyone, but ask by wife.  No, don’t ask mywife, ask my dog.  If he looks at you and wags his tail, that’s his way of confirming people believe what I write.)

But take a look at the coaches’ voting.   Gonzaga is indeed picked to win it again, but the Zags, with 48 votes, finished a mere four points ahead of the Pilots, who, more significantl, received two-first-place votes.    It is one of the great underpublicized turnarounds in college basketball.

When Reveno took the job in April 2006, most thought no one could ever win at Portland.    It had not finished better than 5-9 in the conference since 1998, and it had had a winning WCC record only once in the past 26 years.   Hey, the WCC isn’t even that good.

Somehow, some way, the Pilots went 19-13 last year and finished third with a 9-5 record.   They return all five starters from that team, and every one of them was brought to Portland by Reveno.   With Gonzaga and St. Mary’s both losing a lot of talent, Portland could pull off a conference title.