Lute Olson sighed. Then shook his head. Then shook it again.

Then he tried his best diplomatic approach, his best let-me-be-as-nice-as-possible-without-laughing-in-your-face response.

"Oh, boy," said the Arizona basketball coach. "I would have assumed UCLA was a unanimous pick, unless someone just varied from it for the sake of doing so."

Or?

"Or someone is out of step with reality."

PAC-10 PROJECTIONS

Here are ESPN.com's Pac-10 projections and previews of each team: 1. UCLA 2. Stanford 3. USC 4. Arizona 5. California 6. Arizona State 7. Oregon 8. Washington State 9. Oregon State 10. Washington ALL-PAC-10 TEAM G: Jason Gardner Arizona, Junior G: Casey Jacobsen Stanford, Junior G: Frederick Jones Oregon, Senior F: Jason Kapono UCLA, Junior F: Sam Clancy USC, Senior MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Casey Jacobsen, Stanford NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Doug Wrenn, Washington FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR Cedric Bozeman, UCLA

That's the majority opinion in and around the Pac-10 this season. UCLA is it, the Big Kahuna, the Main Man, the one and only sane choice as preseason favorite to win a conference title.

And yet there is this confident feeling, this source of strength oozing from others, and not just those who also received first-place votes.

Not just the Arizonas and Stanfords and USCs of the Pac-10 world.

The reason: A conference tournament lives for the first time since 1990.

Dates: March 7-9.

Site: Staples Center, Los Angeles.

Significance: Enormous.

Well, for some, anyway.

"It is going to give the have-nots like us in the conference an opportunity to be competitive late in the season," said Washington State coach Paul Graham, his team picked to finish ninth. "Only the top eight teams will qualify, but it allows you to really motivate your players at a time they might already be thinking about next year.

"You can keep them interested by telling them that if we can scratch and claw our way into the Pac-10 tournament, get hot and win three games, we'll be in the NCAA Tournament. It's great for people like us."

For some time, years in fact, the idea of re-introducing a conference tournament, which lasted only four seasons (1986-87 until '89-90) was kept buried because seven of 10 teams needed to support it and three did not. UCLA, Arizona and Stanford -- their NCAA berths clinched some time around Oct. 15 each year -- never felt the need to play more games immediately before Selection Sunday.

Their reasoning: Why risk hurting one's NCAA seed -- not to mention having players miss even more class time -- when it wasn't necessary to earn a bid? But then the Bruins changed their minds and a majority of their conference brethran (translation: presidents and athletic directors who want increased revenue and the television exposure from such an event) rejoiced.

Arizona and Stanford will play ... they just won't enjoy it.

"You know how I feel about a conference tournament," Olson said. "I don't think it sends the correct message in terms of class attendance. If we had one last season, we would have been on the road five straight weeks instead of four (while advancing to the Final Four). How can that be good for academics? I know the Pac-10 cringes every time I say it, but I'm just telling you what I think."

Said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, his words dripping with sarcasm: "Obviously, I'm thrilled to have a conference tournament. I'm really looking forward to it."

Many are looking forward to playing the Wildcats and Cardinal, period. Each were hit with key losses and each have had a chunk of their invincibility hammered away. Arizona returns just one starter (point guard Jason Gardner) from its national runner-up team and Stanford returns one (wing Casey Jacobsen) from an Elite Eight squad.

"Everyone is going to be gunning for us, even more so now," Jacobsen said. "The two big dogs -- us and Arizona -- are supposedly down. Teams on the bottom are just waiting to play us. One thing I think will happen is there will be fewer blowouts. My first two years here, we won a lot of games by 30. I think those days are over for the most part.

"I don't think others will be intimidated any more. They're not going to buy into the idea that us and Arizona and UCLA should win when they play us."

Who would the league's best player pick to win the championship?

"I would pick UCLA first and Stanford last," Jacobsen said. "That's all Coach Montgomery talking right there."

One team in L.A. is getting all the love (UCLA received 24 of 27 first-place votes in the preseason poll), but another is no longer the city's forgotten step-child. USC advanced to within a victory of the Final Four last season and returns three starters.

One, senior forward Sam Clancy, isn't yet ready to declare UCLA a champion.

"I understand why they are favored," Clancy said. "But what we did last year really gave us confidence for this season. Being the underdog is always kind of cool. I think a lot of teams are going to welcome that label this season.

"If we stay focused and play hard for 40 minutes each game and don't lose to teams we should beat like we did a few times last year, we will be right there."

Teams like Washington (more athletic than it has been in years) and Washington State and Oregon State (featuring some of the league's best freshmen) see a conference tournament as their chance to inherit magic in March, to somehow discover the secret of memorable upsets for desperate souls. Teams like Cal and Arizona State and Oregon are thinking a little bigger, as in they can finish high enough to be guaranteed an NCAA at-large bid before the tournament begins.

"I think it's going to be a grueling conference race," Oregon coach Ernie Kent said. "Some of the teams on top are a lot more closer now to some on the bottom. A lot of close games ... a lot of close games."

Said Arizona State coach Rob Evans, his team picked sixth: "I don't get too worried about where we are predicted to finish. At Mississippi one year, they picked us 11th out of 12 teams and we won our division. The next year, they picked us 11th again and we won it again.

	Mike Montgomery wasn't in favor of the Pac-10's decision to return to a postseason conference tournament.

"We have four guys back who started for us last year who might not start this year. We're much better and much quicker. We're a different team, a better team."

The Ducks and Sun Devils might have visions of cracking the top three. Cal might actually do it.

All of a sudden, those freshmen of a few years ago are juniors and Ben Braun has several skilled athletes who understand his system. Cal is the perhaps the best example of a team that can sneak up and win a conference tournament -- not great enough to claim a regular-season title over 18 games, but talented enough to win three times in three days.

"I understand why a few teams don't want a tournament," Braun said. "It can definitely hurt someone's NCAA seeding if they lose. But it's also exciting. It's a chance to show the country our conference, to showcase how good Pac-10 basketball really is."

Good? Definitely.

The Pac-10 is 58-33 in NCAA Tournament play the last eight seasons and last year advanced four teams into the Sweet 16 and three into the Elite Eight.

And when discussing this season, you must begin with UCLA.

Olson is correct. Others receiving votes in the preseason poll has everything to do with respect for a team's past and nothing to do with the present. The Bruins have no conference equal on paper, which means nothing in November. But it should -- health and the annual off-court soap opera plots not withstanding -- come late February.

"I'm one who thinks the race will be just like it has been the last 10 or 11 years," UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. "UCLA, Arizona and Stanford will always compete for a championship and two or three teams will rise up and surprise some people by making a run. Arizona and Stanford don't rebuild -- they reload.

"Being picked as a heavy favorite is nice for our players and fans and recruiting. And now, a conference tournament will bring the national media spotlight to Los Angeles and our league. It will be a good thing."

And this is conference will have some very good teams.

Yet again.

Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.