Dec 13th, 2009
Two notable conclusions can be reached following St. Mary’s 81-76 victory over Oregon in Eugene on Saturday:
Omar Samhan -- Photo by Tod Fiemer
1. The West Coast Conference is better than the Pac-10 this season. Sure, that can be debated, but what can’t be debated is that the WCC is 7-2 in games against the Pac-10 this season. You read that right, 7-2. A 5-4 advantage would be one thing, but 7-2? And it’s not just the top WCC teams beating up on the Pac-10 weaklings. Six different WCC teams have wins over Pac-10 teams, and only two of the nine games were played on the WCC team’s homecourt. True, the Pac-10′s best two teams, Washington and Cal, have not faced any of the WCC teams, but put them against Gonzaga and Portland on neutral courts, and those games look pretty even from here.
2. St. Mary’s 6-11 center Omar Smahan is the best big man on the West Coast and one of the best in the country. Let that sink in for a moment, because it seems impossible. But who’s better from one of the five Western Conference’s? Arizona State’s Eric Boateng? Oregon State’s Roeland Schaftenaar? New Mexico State’s Hamidu Rahman? Gonzaga’s Robert Sacre? Come on.
It may say as much about the dearth of big men in the Pac-10 as it does about Samhan, who gets the job done despite limited quickness. But look across the country, and not many big men measure up to Samhan. Kansas’ Cole Aldrich, South Florida’s Augustus Gilchrist, Baylor’s Ekpe Udoh, Mississppi State’s Jarvis Vernado and Connecticut’s Jarvis Edwards may be better, but none come close to matching Samhan’s numbers — 19.9 ppoints, 11.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 60.2 shooting percentage. Iowa State’s Craig Brackins, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, North Carlina’s Ed Davis and Deon Thompson, Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson are more athletic and skilled, but those five all consider themselves forwards.
So who else is Samhan’s competition at center? Radford’s Artsiom Parakhouski, Lipscomb’s Adnan Hodzic, Tulsa’s Jerome Jordan and Oakland’s Keith Benson are probably next in the big-man line, and I am pretty sure Samhan could hold his own in that crowd.
Granted, the best big men leave for the NBA after a season or two of college prep work, making a high-scoring 6-11 senior a rarity in Division I ball. But the scoreboard doesn’t know or care what year he is.
A little more responsibility has been placed on Samhan because starting guard Wayne Hunter missed the Oregon game and will be out for the season after tearing a ligament in his knee. That is a significant loss for the Gaels, who will have to reconfigure its lineup like it did after losing Patty Mills for a while last season. Against Oregon, coach Randy Bennett put 6-7 forward Clint Steindl in the starting lineup, giving the Gaels three Australians in their starting five.
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