By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

When pondering the upcoming West Coast Conference men’s basketball season, it’s impossible to ignore the 500-pound gorilla in the room that is defending champion Gonzaga, which starts the season ranked No. 3 nationally.

Even with stellar forward Killian Tillie expected to miss up to eight weeks with a leg injury, the Zags are loaded with such players as likely NBA lottery pick Rui Hachimura, point guard Josh Perkins, sharpshooter Zach Norvell Jr. and forward Corey Kispert.

However, in that room along with Gonzaga are other WCC teams to be reckoned with. All told, five of the conference’s 10 teams made post-season tournaments in 2018. Gonzaga advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. San Francisco made the finals of the CBI. Saint Mary’s season ended in the quarterfinals of the NIT. BYU was another NIT participant. And San Diego won two games in the CIT, making it to that tournament’s quarterfinals.

As coaches around the WCC know well, the top half of the conference is highly competitive. Gonzaga posted a 17-1 record, Saint Mary’s 16-2 and BYU 11-7, followed by three teams that finished 9-9 in San Diego, USF and Pacific.

“You can’t overlook any team in our conference,’’ BYU star Yoeli Childs said. “They can beat you on any night. It’s a matter of being consistent.’’

New for WCC men in 2018-19 is a reduction in conference games from 18 to 16, a move designed to give teams more flexibility in scheduling quality non-conference opponents to better position teams for at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament.

But once conference play begins on Jan. 3, nine teams will mark on their calendars their games against that 500-pound gorilla.

“Obviously, a team like Gonzaga has an ‘X’ on their chest,’’ Childs said. “That’s a game everyone gets fired up for.’’

Gonzaga’s senior point guard, Perkins, sounds ready for the challenge of being every WCC team’s rival game.

“We don’t really pay attention to the preseason stuff,’’ Perkins said. “It’s our job to give it every day, play hard, play for each other. If we do that, everything will take care of itself.’’

Individually, Perkins said, “I have the most experience. I’m the leader, if I want to be or not. My role is to bring the best out of my teammates. It’s my job to put my guys in the spot to be most successful.’’

Perkins is joined in the backcourt by Norvell Jr. They will have the luxury of dishing off to probable Hachimura, a 6-foot-8 junior with crazy skills. Once Tillie is ready to return, he gives the Zags a 6-10 presence in the front court. And then there’s Kispert, a sturdy 6-6 sophomore with a versatile skill set. That’s a lot of skills.

Of Hachimura, Perkins said, “He’s unbelievable, a guy who’s real comfortable and confident in himself now. It’s going to be a breakout year. People are going to find out about Rui Hachimura. We know. We know.’’

As ever, the Zags have a challenging non-conference schedule that includes Illinois and possibly Arizona in the Maui Jim Invitational, and then Washington, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Saint Mary’s, ever tilting at the windmill that is Gonzaga, was picked to finish second in the conference based on coach Randy Bennett’s sterling resume and last season’s 30-6 record, the first 30-win mark in school history. However, the Gaels return only two starters, guards Jordan Ford and Tanner Krebs to go with five freshmen and four sophomores.

“We lost some seniors,’’ Ford said. “Just because we’re young doesn’t mean we won’t be good. I don’t expect a drop-off from last year. I definitely see my role as a leader this year, which is different from the last two years. I’m a junior now. I feel it’s my duty to lead the other guys.’’

The Saint Mary’s roster features the most international players in men’s Division I this season with 10 foreign-born student-athletes, five of them Aussies, as to be expected. Other players hail from Estonia, Latvia and England, along with such exotic U.S. ports of call as Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and Peoria, AZ.

“It’s kind of refreshing being around different cultures,’’ said Ford, from the Sacramento suburb of Folsom. “Every other team I’ve been on has been all Americans. It’s cool to have people from all these cultures. We have a great group of guys, easy to be around.’’

BYU, picked to finish third in the WCC, will go as far as the superbly talented Childs will take them. The 6-8 junior might test his NBA potential after this season, although he is coy on the subject. As a sophomore, Childs was third in the conference in scoring (17.8) and second in rebounding (8.6) to go along with 1.8 blocked shots per game.

The Cougars will welcome back high-scoring guard Nick Emery, who left school last season because of a personal issue and will join the team later in the non-conference schedule. He’s a threat to erupt for 40 points on any given night.

“I’m very confident in this year’s team,’’ Childs said. “The biggest thing that gets me excited is our experience. We have a lot of guys who can bring it every night.’’

Like Gonzaga, BYU will be put to the test in non-conference play with such opponents as Nevada, San Diego State and Mississippi State on the road, a neutral-site game vs. UNLV and Houston at home at cozy McKeon Pavilion.

What folks around the WCC are learning is that USF’s Kyle Smith can coach a little bit. More than a little bit, in fact. He’s recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons on the Hilltop for the first time since 1981-82. He coached the Dons to the finals of the CBI tournament at the end of the season, losing 2-1 to North Texas in a best-of-three format.

Smith will take comfort in a veteran roster that includes seniors Frankie Ferrari, Matt McCarthy and Nate Renfro, with perimeter shooter Jordan Ratinho and sophomore Charles Minlend, returning from injury. As part of the WCC’s enhanced non-conference schedule, USF will face Arizona State, Stanford, Harvard and Cal State Fullerton on the Hilltop.

“Frankie and Nate are two years in as we’re trying to build a program,’’ Smith said. “I think we have nine guys who have started games. A pretty solid group. We’re trying to elevate our program.’’

There are two new coaches in the WCC this season. Make that one new coach and one old-new coach.

At San Diego, Sam Scholl takes over for Lamont Smith with the responsibility of coaching at his alma mater. He’ll have one of the best players in the conference in senior forward Isaiah Pineiro, an all-conference selection who led the Toreros in scoring (15.7) and rebounding (6.2).

Scholl took over days before the WCC Tournament in an unexpected development and said, “It was very, very challenging … the emotions that came with that, how our guys were able to perform. Every single day they came to work. We grew stronger as a program. We’re much more tight-knit and connected.’’

Pineiro is one of four starters returning at USD along with Olin Carter III, Tyler Williams and that other Isaiah, Wright.

“That’s an unbelievable luxury,’’ Scholl said.

The other new coach in the conference is not really new at all. Lorenzo Romar returns to Malibu after 15 years at Washington. His first head coaching job was at Pep in 1996-97, where he stayed for three seasons. Nearly 20 years later, he’s back, wiser and richer in experience. He’ll need all his coaching acumen to resurrect the Waves, who crashed to 6-26 last season.

“I have more of an understanding of what’s important, what’s required,’’ Romar said. “It was very appealing because I’ve been here before. It’s on the West Coast, where I’m from.’’

Romar’s best players are Colbey Ross, Kameron Edwards and Eric Cooper Jr. Ross averaged 14.0 points per game, Edwards 14.7.

At Pacific, picked to finish 6^th in what figures to be a highly competitive group in the middle of the conference, coach Damon Stoudamire has perhaps the most versatile player in the WCC in 6-5 point guard Jahlil Tripp. The Tigers took off when Stoudamire, who understands a thing or two about the point guard position, settled on Tripp as his man. Tripp responded with 10.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game as Pacific’s Swiss Army knife.

Other returning players include center Namdi Okonkwo and forward Anthony Townes. Pacific has seven newcomers this season, including four JC transfers.

Noting his team lost five games by six points or fewer last season, Stoudamire said, “We have to finish games. That will add a lot to our team. We have one of the most physical teams in the league.’’

In year five at his alma mater, Loyola Marymount coach Mike Dunlap will rely heavily on guard James Batemon and towering, as in 7-3, center Mattias Markusson. Batemon was the only player in the WCC last season to finish in the top five in scoring (17.8) and assists (4.7). Dunlap took his team to Australia in August and finished 3-1 vs. pro teams, the loss coming to Melbourne United.

“We played smart, we had a low turnover count and our field goal percentage was up,’’ Dunlap said. “Those are the things we have to home in on in this league.’’

Santa Clara will try to move up in the WCC standings after posting an 8-10 mark last season. Coach Herb Sendek has three returning players from his rotation a year ago in senior guard K.J. Feagin and forwards Henrik Jadersten and Josip Vrankic. Feagin is a two-time All-WCC selection. The Broncos will have eight newcomers this season, including five freshmen.

At Portland, coach Terry Porter begins his third season with nowhere to go but up after struggling through a 10-22 season, 4-14 in conference. His best player is perimeter-shooting forward Josh McSwiggan, who hit on 43.5 percent from 3-point range. Porter’s sons, guards Malcolm and Franklin, will be in the rotation, although dad promised them nothing more than that. The Pilots have four redshirts and five additional newcomers to draw from.

John Crumpacker spent more than three decades working at the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. During his career he has covered the full gamut of sports from prep to professionals. In addition to covering 10 Olympic Games, Crumpacker served as the beat writer for the San Francisco 49ers and covered Cal Athletics. He is a two-time winner of the Track & Field Writers of America annual writing award and has several APSE Top 10 writing awards. Crumpacker has been covering #WCChoops since the 2014-15 season.