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At Pac-12 men’s basketball media day, Arizona faces two real questions

Brandon Ashley is hoping for a productive return with Arizona after missing the second half of last season because of injury.
(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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The last question during the Pac-12 Conference’s men’s basketball media day came from a woman sitting at the back of the room.

“I’m Brandon Ashley’s mom,” the woman said. Ashley, the Arizona forward whose foot injury knocked him out near the end of last season, sat at a podium next to Arizona Coach Sean Miller.

“My question is, are you taking your vitamins? The second question is, are you ready to go for this season?”

It was a humorous moment, and also fitting. There are few real questions about the Wildcats, who are prohibitive favorites to win the Pac-12 and are considered potentially better than last season’s team, which reached an NCAA tournament regional final and spent a stretch as No. 1 in the nation.

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Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon left for the NBA but Arizona might run even deeper in talent this season. T.J. McConnell returns to run the point; having Ashley back is a boost — the team was 21-0 before his injury last year; and freshman Stanley Johnson, the former Santa Ana Mater Dei star, headlines a top-10 recruiting class.

“I think we have the makings of a team that can go on and do some great things,” Miller said.

He’s not alone. In the Pac-12’s preseason media poll, Arizona received 31 of 32 first-place votes.

UCLA to be tested

UCLA was picked fourth in the preseason poll, but received the only first-place vote that didn’t go to Arizona.

The Bruins are inexperienced and are thin in the backcourt. They also didn’t crack the top 25 in the first USA Today Coaches Poll, so maybe their lone supporter actually just filled in the wrong bubble.

Or maybe the person was projecting how UCLA might look by season’s end.

Coach Steve Alford is preaching patience because the Bruins have an unforgiving nonconference schedule that includes a stacked Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, a home game against Gonzaga and a game against No. 1 Kentucky in Chicago on Dec. 20.

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Alford said his team could look very different in February than it does in October. “Are we ready to play the likes of Kentucky today?” Alford said. “No. I hope we’re a little bit better ready for that when we get to mid-December.”

McLaughlin’s group

USC was picked to finish 10th, two spots up from its last-place finish last season. The forecast called for the Trojans to finish ahead of Washington State and Oregon State.

Whether the Trojans can be a factor in the conference race will heavily depend on how quickly freshman point guard Jordan McLaughlin develops.

“We’re expecting big things from him,” Coach Andy Enfield said. “I think he came to USC for that opportunity, to be relied upon as a freshman. He’ll have that opportunity. We’re excited for him.”

Questions for Altman

Oregon Coach Dana Altman faced questions about why three Ducks players accused of rape were allowed to remain with the team during the 2014 postseason.

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On March 9, Oregon said it learned Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson and Brandon Austin had been named in a report in which they were accused of raping a female student. Artis and Dotson were allowed to continue to play in the postseason. Austin was sitting out as a transfer student.

In May, the three were kicked off the team and suspended from the university for four to 10 years, though they were not charged with a crime.

“At the time I was not aware of the extent of any of the charges against the young men,” Altman said. “... The decision was made by the [university] president on how to handle the situation.”

zach.helfand@latimes.com

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