PICKS Continued from Page 13 recruiter. bad with Xs and Os That 's the rap on Frieder He may tiiivn unknowns on his team, but tie always finds a way to draw tal ent. If the Sun Devils want to finish any higher than sixth, though, they hotter get their m t together I hey lost to Northeastern Illinois and Saint l-ouis in the preseason It •» not talent that's questionable on this team, it's character (California: 2-1), !)-2 — (ill coach l odd Ho/eman did a phenomenal job last year after the controversial firing of conch l.ou (j»m panelli in February Bozeman led his team to a o-i meord during the last month of the regular season, and then picked up wins over I.SU and two-time defending i hainpi on Duke in the NCAA tourna ment. After opuning the 1003 season L-l, the Golden Hoars have put together a seven game winning streak and are off to a 2-0 start in the conference. The Hoars' leader is sophomore jnson Kidd, who has lived up to the incredible expec tations put upon him in high school. "jnson is more aware of situa tions on the floor and is control ling the floor a lot better and shooting the ball (letter." Ho/enian said. There is a lot of talent alongside Kidd ill Berkeley, particularly for ward l.amond Murray, who scored more than to points in cmisis utive gomes last wifk Mur ray leads the i onference in si tir ing (2-t Tl) and is seventh m rebounding (lit)) Alfred Grigsby and Rvan Jamison odd depth up front, along w ith Monty Buckley and Kandy Duck in the backcourt Mims’ Forecast — T he Bears have the top scorer and playtnak er in the conference in the dead ly combination of Murray and Kidd. More importantly, this team has the kind of confidence a fUE PMOTO California guard Jaaon Kidd has shown no signs of a sophomore Jinx, loading the Pac-10 In assists (9.1) and steals (3.5) par game young team can only get from winning m the big show This team is batter than last year, and the only question is, are past problems put away ' A lot of turmoil and criticism hit Berkeley last year when Cam panel I i was fired, but Bozeman put that aside in the best manner possible by winning Bozeman quickly pushed aside any talk of recurring problems during the preseason teleconference, but to prove it they must continue to win I'm a heliev er. Charbonneau's Forecast Knough about Kidd already! Yeah. ■COOKIE CO. he's a good player, but this team will live and die In how Murray perform*. Murray is the most com* plote front-line player in the con ference. anti if he plays the way he did during the second half of last season, Clal could t hallenge for at least the No l position in the conference Hut then there's the other prob lem with this team it seems as though Bowman is |ust a little tot) lackadaisical in his approach toward the team that got their coach fired last year Once a team of troublemakers, always a team of troublemakers This team did remarkable things when Bowman took over last season, but Boze man is no longer a savior He's the coach, and how well the Oil play • ers deal with that will have a lot to do with how well this team |**r forms Wishful thinking: I fie high and mighty Jason Kidd will do an interview that isn't after a game Simonson's Forecast — Forget about last year's performance in the tournament It was the kind of run fueled by emotion (SFF loy ola-Murymount, Gathers, Hank: I'**)) and a coaching change (SMI: Michigan; Fisher. Steve. 1et ter7 Sometimes Does he make them good enough to win the con ference7 Not this year (ill and t'GLA may end up in a tie for second place if Gal comes lo play night in and night out against quality opponents The Golden Bears will win a game in the NCAA tournament if they get a break from the selection com mittee* Oregon: 0-2, 4-7 — The Due ks have been inconsis tent, to put it mild <35^ ly* through the first V|) month of the sea son Oregon opened the year 1-4 liefon* improving at the Far West Classic: in Portland, followed by wins against St Mary's and Alas ka-Fairbanks Although the Ducks 0|>ened the Poc-10 season with a pair of losses, they looked respectable against Fifth-ranked l JCLA and grabbed a mi ond-hnlf lead at USC Oregon's six newcomers have all had their moments, but fresh man point guard Kenya Wilkins has looked the most comfortable on the floor, scoring VI ft points j*r game, and forward Jeff Potter has recovered from an elbow injury to contribute Mims' Forecast — Oregon showed its improvement in its recent losses to UC1.A and USC. hut problems still remain One problem is inside, where the bucks have had problems getting the ball on offense, and rebound ing it on either side of the court Compounding this problem is that scoring is not coming from the outside either Williams and junior Jordv I.vden were count ed on to hit the long shots, hut have not done that so far. Oregon is shooting just more than 42 |wr cent from the floor, and that will not win many Pac-10 games. The Ducks showed signs of improving these percentages late in the pre season. but will need to do even more, Charbonneau's Forecast — Iasi year I picked the Ducks to go V)-V> in the Pac-10. Oops. This season, the Ducks defi nitely have more talent, but it's young talent, whereas last season they had a lot of players that just didn't lielong in the Pac-10. or the NCAA for that matter. flow well Oregon does this sea son will depend on how the new - comers adjust to the rigors of playing consistently tough teams night m and night out A few play ers like Kenya Wilkins and Hen ry Madden have shown the maturity it takes to hold their own in the Pa< -10. Others, like Darryl Parker and Zach Sellers, are just starting to adjust and contribute to the team. This team will not win many games if they have to rely on Williams, Runyon. Potter and Johnson to do ail the work. They proved that last year More than any team in the Pac-10. the Ducks must have a balanced attack if they want to win some games I'm a firm believer in Green's system. LOWEST PRICES on CRNPIIS Beer • Over 90 brands Domestic L2I Specialty L99 ON TAP Weinhard’s Ale Coors Light Glass Pint Pitcher .90 U» 3.90 .90 LZ9 3.90 Full Sail Amber Ale 1.29 1.99 9.99 Widmer Hefeweizen 1.79 2.90 6.99 OPEN lk HOURS 595 E. 13th 0 Pattonon 342-1727 bul this leain is still getting to know each other The quicker they do that, the sooner they can start winning. One promise Oregon will beat either Arizona or UCLA at Mi Arthur Ciourt this season Simonson's Forecast — The Out ks are only one player away from making the NCAA tourna ment. but that player's name is Glenn Robinson and he's a little busy in Indiana right now. Oregon needs two things to hap pen in order finish higher than ninth in the conference this sea son First, the Ducks need to loam how to win. The Ducks are capa ble of Ix'ing in most of the games they play, but they won't over whelm anyi>odv with their talent Oregon needs to prove it's capa ble of playing smart by keeping its poise and not beating itself. Second, Oregon needs to find some consistency The Ducks do a good job of taking shots; they need to do a Ixitter job of making them Oregon needs to find two or three players who can shoot the hall consistently and can he count ed on to score in double figures every game. Oregon Stale: 0-2. 4-7 — The Beavers suffered a seri ous blow to their I chances this year when one of their top returnees, tor- U ward Mustapha HofT, ( and their best new (AJiitt.'r, iruMUiiun ouiuiy ikjii|«iiiiih, were both lost for the season because of injuries. How much Benjamin would have meant to the team is unknown, but Hoff was expected to lx; a team leader and improve on his 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game of a year ago. “(Hoffs injury) was the biggest blow we had because he was our best returnee statistically. Ore gon State coach Jimmy Anderson said. “His loss will hurt us in all aspects of our game." Thu early season got embar rassing for the Beavers when they were beaten soundly by NA1A Oklahoma Baptist. Oregon State turned it around in time to con tinue its dominance of the Far West Classic, but the Pac-10 sea son got off to a rough start with a 104-71 loss at UCLA. The Beavers need a big year from guard Brent Barry to do much. Barry, a fi-foot-f*. 185 pound junior nicknamed "Bones” because of bis slim build, lias tremendous passing and dribbling skills, but his outside shot is still suspect. Mims' Forecast — Oregon State fans have reason for hope, the season is over in just more than two months. That is when Beaver fans can look forward to the 1994-95 season, which is much more promising. Only one problem, will Anderson Ire around to see iff Oregon State will win its share of games this year, but next year they return practically the whole team intact, in addition, Hoff, Ben jamin and forward J.D. Vetter should return from injuries. So. Beaver fans, look for continued improvement from the young sters and J.C. transfers, because with a few additions, the 1994 95 group should repay your loy alty for wading through this year. Charbonneau's Forecast — It's very refreshing to see the Beavers have as bad of a team as Oregon and have virtually no chance of making it into the postseason. But it took a guggle of injuries to put Oregon State in that position. Turn to PICKS, Page 15