Pundits (thus far) aren't giving the Pac-10 much attention. Conventional wisdom is that the league doesn't have a true national title contender, so it's been slotted 6^th in most conferences rankings I've seen. That's from ESPN, Fox, Lindy's and yours truly.

But it'd be foolish to sleep on the Pac-10.

California is going to be a Final Four contender and UCLA's always tough. But the most entertaining team could be Washington.

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This may be the only way to stop Isaiah Thomas and Washington in 2009-10.

A Seattle Times Q&A with Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar had some nice tidbits on his expectations for the season. He's pumped about the freshmen, notably five-star prospect Abdul Gaddy and shooting star C.J. Wilcox. Romar won't cave to pressure surrounding Quincy Pondexter (who won a bronze with the U.S. at the University Games this summer) and play him at power forward. And he won't shy away from using a four-guard, perimeter-oriented line-up.

Which sets up the key to the Huskies for 2009-10: Opponents will be chasing them all over the court.

"We're quick. We're very quick. We got a lot of quickness and our guys get along really well. I think we got pretty good chemistry."

For those who hated math, that's three quicks and two chemistries. Romar must have a huge grin on his face at practice.

I have visions of the Huskies whipping the ball around the court, shooting 3s, driving the lane and running around taller, slower teams. At least, that's what I'm hoping to see. Not enough teams put on that kind of show.

And remember, Romar's done this before. His 2004-05 team that finished 29-6 and nabbed a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance didn't start anyone taller than 6-8 AND brought Brandon Roy off the bench.

If this group is anywhere near that good, the Pac-10 is going to surprise.