Here are three positive things about not signing Smith:

1. There’s no need to examine the possibility of changing the entire offense for a back-to-the-basket post player. An interesting chart in ESPN’s College Basketball Preview issue showed that Spencer Hawes was one of the rare, recent one-and-done players to have a negative effect on his team’s results. With their current makeup, post guys like Jon Brockman or Tyreese Breshers may be better suited to thrive at UW. That’s not to say Josh wouldn’t have put up spectacular numbers here, but maybe it would’ve been to the detriment of the program as a whole. Maybe.

2. “One-and-done” guys are a mixed blessing. Yes, the results bear out that teams generally have success in the years that one-and-done players attend their schools. Carmelo Anthony at Syracuse is the best example of a guy coming in for a single season and, basically, delivering a national championship all by himself. But, is there a more icky part of following the sport than seeing a guy unapologetically use a season of college ball as nothing more than a pro audition?

I know, I’m naive. A lot of the players we watch will stay in school only as long as they need to in order to land an NBA job. There’s just something that doesn’t sit well when it’s so obvious from the very start. (I know: there’s no guarantee that Josh leaves school after his freshman year. But, the “one-and-done” tag has been applied to Josh for months, so I’ll bet he is.)

3. It’s going to be even sweeter whooping UCLA’s butt next season. There’s an old saying that goes, “the best revenge is living well.” I’m thinking we’re going to live very well next year, even without Josh, while UCLA may be in year two of what looks like a semi-rebuilding phase.

Montlake Madness truly wishes Josh well: no injuries, a basketball career as great as he’s willing to work to make it, etc. Everything but victories at the college level.

Sure, it hurts to lose a blue-chip, hometown guy. But, if it should turn out that the Dawgs are busy making a run through the Tournament long after Josh and UCLA have finished their season?

We’ll send a postcard, and you can bet it won’t say “wish you were here.”

UCLA's Malcolm Lee gets more than he bargained for going to the hoop against NAIA school, Concordia.

While some teams still have an exhibition game left to play, the majority of the Pac-10 has already finished its preseason schedule, and is looking ahead to their season openers.

Here’s a look at how the rest of the league has fared so far:

Arizona: Beat Augustana College 92-76, behind a 19-point, 10-rebound, three-block performance by forward Jamelle Horne. Star guard Nic Wise had 12 points and five assists coming off an ankle injury.  Here’s a link for more on the game.

Arizona State: Didn’t schedule an exhibition game. The best way to get a feel for what’s been going on around the Sun Devils so far (Ty Abbott’s injury being the biggest news)  is to read Doug Haller’s AZ Central blog — he covers ASU, but also adds a great notes column on the whole Pac-10 pretty frequently.

Cal: Defeated Chico State 84-42. Senior guard Patrick Christopher led all scorers with 16 points. Player-of-the-Year candidate Jerome Randle had a poor shooting night, going 2-8 from the field, scoring seven points to go with four assists. Here’s the box score and here’s the game story from Cal’s website.

Oregon: Was led by two newcomers in their win over Concordia, 99-61. Freshman wing Jamil Wilson had 17 points, three rebounds and four steals, while junior transfer Malcolm Armstead (read our interview with him here) had 14 points and four assists in his effort to win a starting role. Here’s the game recap and here’s a box score. The Ducks play a second preseason game against Lewis and Clark on Sunday.

Oregon State: Defeated Southern Oregon, 94-53, last weekend, and play Western Oregon Sunday afternoon at home in their final exhibition contest. Against Southern,  every starter except center Roeland Schaftenaar scored in double figures. Freshman big man Angus Brandt had five points, six rebounds and four blocks. Here’s the game story, and here’s the box score.

Stanford: Won their lone exhibition game on Friday night against Sonoma State, 82-61. Landry Fields led with fifteen points and eight rebounds for the Cardinal who played without two projected starters, Jeremy Green (suspended indefinitely) and Josh Owens (undisclosed medical condition). Here’s the game recap and box score.

USC: Had to come from behind to beat Cal State-Dominguez Hills, 64-47. Missing two key players, transfer Alex Stepheson and sophomore Nikola Vucevic, the Trojans only played eight men. Dwight Lewis led all scorers with 17 points, and freshman Davis Rozitis had 14 points and nine boards off the bench. Here’s the game story and box score.

UCLA: Needed a late three-pointer to bear Concordia (a different school than the one Oregon defeated last weekend), 62-61. Still plagued by injuries, most notably to starting point guard Jerime Anderson, the Bruins were not able to get anything out of their highly touted freshman class to help the effort, with Mike Moser, Tyler Honeycutt, and Reeves Nelson all being held scoreless. Forward Drew Gordon led UCLA with 17 points and 11 boards. Here’s the game story and box score.

Washington State: Plays their only exhibition game on November 9th against Lewis-Clark State.

For my observations from the Huskies exhibition victory over Central Washington, click here. And, for my game story at UDubSports.com, click here.

Thanks for coming!