Pac-12 media day notes: Commish takes shot at LA schools, UA's Jade Loville gets All-America votes

SAN FRANCISCO — While saying the Pac-12 remains open to expansion “that makes sense for the conference at the appropriate time,” commissioner George Kliavkoff took a shot at the deal-making that will lead to USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten in 2024.

“I lament the fact that there were there some decisions being made for short-term financial gains,” Kliavkoff said Tuesday, during opening remarks at Pac-12 women’s basketball media day, then adding quickly: “I’m not even sure there is a financial gain.

“It may be OK for football athletes who have to travel a few times across the country. But I really, really worry about the student-athletes in other sports who will have to travel and miss academic days on campus and put their bodies through the stress of going across multiple time zones to play conference games.”

While UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close said of the travel ahead that “I don’t know how that’s all going to go,” Kliavkoff said he’s heard concerns from both coaches and players at the Los Angeles schools. During the Big Ten seasons starting in 2024-25, their men’s and women’s basketball players appear likely to face multiple-stop trips across the country every other week or so.

“There are very, very few people at UCLA and USC who are happy with this decision,” Kliavkoff said. It was “short-term economics and personal ambition rather than what’s good for student athletes, unfortunately.”

Kliavkoff declined to detail the ongoing media rights negotiations he said the Pac-12 is now in the middle off, but indicated men’s and women’s basketball may have some leverage behind the scenes.

Probably not much, but Kliafkoff said they are at least part of the discussion.

“Football, obviously is the biggest economic driver of the rights. Basketball is next,” Kliavkoff said. “We’re not talking to anyone who hasn’t mentioned both men’s and women’s basketball as part of the discussion. And we have folks who are interested in our broader Olympic sports. Some are not, but everybody’s interested in men’s and women’s basketball in addition to football.”

Still, that doesn’t mean the basketball coaches were even aware of the discussions. USC associate head coach Beth Burns said she heard about the news “about 10 minutes before you did,” while Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said she thought “someone was playing an April Fools’ joke” when the news spread suddenly on June 30 the Los Angeles schools would be leaving.

“I couldn’t believe it,” VanDerveer said. “We have a great rivalry. We’re going to enjoy the next two years of playing against USC and UCLA and see what happens. But I know that the women’s basketball coaches really had no choice in it.”

Once the coach at Ohio State in the 1980s before beginning her long run at Stanford, VanDerveer closed her remarks with a comment that elicited laughter from the assembled 50 or so media members.

“For me, the way it is right now, I competed in the Big Ten,” VanDerveer said, “and I’m really excited to be in the Pac 12.”

Loville picks up All-America votes

A week after being named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list, Arizona senior guard/forward Jade Loville received votes for the Associated Press preseason women’s basketball All-America team.

Stanford senior Haley Jones was the only Pac-12 player named to the six-player AP all-American team, along with Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Caitlin Clark of Iowa, Ashley Jones of Iowa State, Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech and Annesha Morrow of DePaul.

A 5-foot-11-inch guard/forward, Loville was the Pac-12’s second-leading scorer last season at ASU, where she averaged 16.6 points per game. Loville joins fellow transfers Esmery Martinez (West Virginia) and Lauren Fields (Oklahoma State) on Arizona’s 2022-23 roster.

Of the Pac-12 players, Loville and Stanford’s Cameron Brink received AP all-American votes. Brink was the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Also receiving all-American votes: Rori Harmon of Texas, Hailey Van Lith of Lousiville, Oliva Miles of Notre Dame, Angel Reese of LSU, Maddy Siegrist of Villanova, Azzi Fudd of Connecticut, Jordan Horston of Tennessee, Deja Kelly of North Carolina and Tamari Key of Tennessee.

Pueyo opens up

Not only has senior guard Helena Pueyo progressed on the court during her three previous seasons with the Wildcats, but UA coach Adia Barnes noted that the native of Spain also went through the Pac-12 media day “car wash” of events without trouble.

“She’s been amazing,” Barnes said. “When she first came to Arizona, she could only say, ‘Thank you.’ She barely said it but now, in this moment … I’m watching here at media, talking comfortably. You don’t understand how much she’s changed. So I think you guys can give her a round of applause.”

In previous seasons, Barnes said, Pueyo might have opted out of an invitation to go to the Pac-12 media day, where coaches typically take their best players and/or best communicators.

“She would have acted like she had COVID,” Barnes said. “Back then she would have said, ‘No, I have COVID; I can’t go.’ Just to see this after four years … we talk about why we love coaching, and it’s for moments like this. It’s just awesome.”

Homecoming for ex-Cat Yeaney

Having tried to recruit star high school guard Bendu Yeaney out of St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, only to see her play collegiately at Indiana and Arizona, Oregon State coach Scott Rueck finally broke through last spring.

“I kept hitting ‘refresh’ on the portal… when I saw her name, the next thing was to contact Bendu,” Rueck said. “For us to have her now, I couldn’t be happier. She’s been nothing short of a dream to add to this team.”

Yeany said earlier in her career that she wanted to “spread her wings” but realized she wanted to come home.

“It’s a dream come true,” she said.