Jeff Withey guards former Arizona standout Channing Frye during a scrimmage between professional and UA players in August.

jill torrance / arizona daily star 2008

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LOS ANGELES — Unlike many past UA basketball transfers, freshman center Jeff Withey is not leaving over playing time issues.

A Top 50 center from San Diego, Withey would have at least been the first player off the bench for the post positions this season, and junior forward Chase Budinger said he probably would have even started.

"Jeff would have got a lot of minutes," Budinger said at Thursday's Pac-10 media day in Los Angeles. "It's just too bad he made that decision to leave."

Withey's mother, Debbie, confirmed Thursday that her son had made the decision but otherwise declined to comment. UA interim head coach Russ Pennell said he turned the matter over to athletic director Jim Livengood, who can decide if Withey will get a release from his scholarship.

While Jeff Withey was unavailable for comment, Budinger, a former workout partner in the San Diego area, said it is likely that he was looking ahead. As a freshman, Withey faced either the prospect of playing for a new coach next season, or sitting out a year as a transfer to another program.

Already, Withey has seen five coaches exit the UA program since his recruitment began: Jim Rosborough, Josh Pastner, Kevin O'Neill, Miles Simon and Lute Olson.

"I think Jeff was thinking more of the future, and you can't be doing that as a player," Budinger said.

"You've got to think about what you're doing tomorrow, what you're going to be doing today as far as being better, instead of thinking, 'Oh, what's going to happen next year.'

"You can't do that as a player."

UCLA ended up with all but one first-place vote in the Pac-10 media poll despite losing three NBA draft picks. That's the way it should be, several coaches indicated Thursday.

"They're the measuring stick right now," said USC coach Tim Floyd, whose Trojans were picked third. "They've got a different system to play against and outstanding guard play. They've had the best perimeter players in the league for three years now."

Washington State coach Tony Bennett said UCLA coach Ben Howland has a lot to do with it. He knew that from the moment he asked his father, former WSU coach Dick Bennett, about the best coaches he's ever faced.

"Two names that came off his tongue right away were Charlie Spoonhour and Ben Howland," Tony Bennett said. "The league has become more physical and a little more half-court-oriented because of him."

ASU received its highest-ever prediction in the media poll, second.

"It is what it is. No more. No less," ASU coach Herb Sendek said. "No less from the standpoint of it's a good thing because it signifies we've made progress. No more because we obviously haven't played a game this year and still have an enormous amount of work to do."

In a league shredded by the NBA draft, the Sun Devils managed to keep virtually their entire roster intact, including NBA prospects James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph.

Guard Percy "Romeo" Miller might not be one of USC's best incoming players this season, but the hip-hop star is proving valuable for Floyd.

"We had some recruits over for the Ohio State (football) game, and we were in Santa Monica shooting pool and Percy was going to host some of the players," Floyd said.

"He looked at me and said, 'Which ones do you really want?' I said, 'This one and that one.' He said, 'Consider it done.'

"I said, 'Percy, don't buy these guys.' I think that's the first time a coach has ever said that to a player."