Gonzaga Bulldogs preseason: Yahoo! Sports ranks Zags best of the WCC

The preseason accolades of the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball team continue on Tuesday as Yahoo! Sports ranked the Zags as the top team in the WCC.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports notes that despite losing the losing the conference title for the first time in a long while last year, the Zags should be able to top the upstart challengers of Saint Mary and BYU because neither team lacks the front court depth that the Bulldogs have.

Even with the graduation of Robert Sacre, no other team has the frontcourt depth the Zags possess. Elias Harris is a capable scorer and the league's best rebounder. Sam Dower has all-league potential and should blossom with increased playing time. Kelly Olynyk can be a valuable third big after redshirting last season. And then there's the wildcard, mammoth Polish 7-footer Przemek Karnowski, who some analysts say is McDonald's All-American good.

He predicts that Matthew Dellavedova will be the WCC's player of the year, and also pegs him has the conference's best NBA prospect. Gonzaga forward Elias Harris seemingly held that crown his freshman year, but injuries in his sophomore year limited his production. Although he put up solid numbers his junior year, the potential that NBA scouts dream of seemed to tail off.

Yahoo! Sports WCC projections:

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs

2. Saint Mary's Gaels

3. BYU Cougars

4. Loyola Marymount Lions

5. San Diego Toreros

6. Santa Clara Broncos

7. Pepperdine Waves

8. Portland Pilots

9. San Francisco Dons