Collison in running for Pac-10 Player of Year
 

UCLA sophomore Darren Collison is making a stretch run for Pac-10 Player of the Year in what had been a two-man race between his teammate, Bruins shooting guard Arron Afflalo, and Oregon playmaker Aaron Brooks.

"You can't underestimate the value of Collison," Southern California coach Tim Floyd said Tuesday in a conference call. "He might be the best point guard in the country."

As so often happens, a real appreciation of Collison became evident in his absence on Feb. 10 when a shoulder injury sidelined him in UCLA's 70-65 loss at West Virginia

The No. 2 Bruins are 4-0 since Collison's return, which began with one big shot after another in victories at Arizona State and Arizona.

Since his role as an understudy last year to Jordan Farmar, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, Collison has developed an accurate jumper to complement his quickness.

Pac-10 coaches, who vote for the award, continue to talk about Afflalo and Brooks as leading contenders. USC's Nick Young gets an occasional mention.

With votes due after this week's final regular-season games, nobody forgets Collison.

"Collison would have to be looked at," UA coach Lute Olson said.

Time for a change
Olson never has liked anything about the Pac-10 Tournament, including its annual location, the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

If the postseason tournament must go on, Olson said the conference should rotate it among its five major markets - Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles.

Next week's tournament, now in its sixth year, has grown stale in LA, Olson said.

"Frankly, I don't think the enthusiasm in Los Angeles was there last year," he said.

Oregon coach Ernie Kent also favors alternating cites. He says UCLA and USC enjoy an unfair edge at Staples Center, although the Trojans were eliminated last year in the second round of a tournament won by UCLA.

"It really becomes a home-court advantage for UCLA and USC," Kent said.

Free throws

Stanford sophomore Anthony Goods won't play Thursday night at home against ASU because of a dreaded high-ankle sprain, Cardinal coach Trent Johnson said.

He has been undergoing rehab in the swimming pool.

"His workouts in the pool have been good, but we're not going to play Arizona State in the water," Johnson said.

• There's an opinion that attention on the NCAA Tournament in March has turned college basketball into a one-month season. But don't tell that to Olson.

"Anyone who would say that is not very intelligent," he said.

• Washington State is sitting in second place in the Pac-10 after it was picked to finish last by the media in an annual preseason poll. Any surprise?

"None, none whatsoever," said Johnson, a former Nevada coach who warned his Wolf Pack successor, Mark Fox, about the Cougars.

"Fox was thinking about scheduling Washington State. I told him: 'You better stay away from the Cougs.' "

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