Mark Few takes pride in Gonzaga’s strong academic reputation, but when asked if Bulldog coaches have been forced to “dumb it down” in preseason workouts for the team’s 10 newcomers, Few quickly answered in the affirmative. “Absolutely,” he says. “We’re eons behind where we were last year.”

So is Gonzaga’s long run of NCAA tournaments and West Coast Conference dominance in jeopardy? If Few is concerned, he’s not showing it — particularly after WCC coaches voted Gonzaga to repeat as champion. “The expectations are nothing new up here,” he says.

What is new is the arrival of nine freshmen (three saved a year of eligibility by redshirting last year), plus sophomore transfer Bol Kong from Canadian small-college power Douglas of Vancouver.

Asked which newcomers figure to play the most minutes, Few says, “At this point, it would probably be a better question which ones won’t see a lot of minutes. They’re all ready to play. They can all help us in different ways.”

Few is already fretting about how to spread out the minutes among all the talented newcomers.

“We have a lot of options… they play hard all the time,” junior guard Steven Gray says.

German forward Elias Harris was the only freshman in the starting lineup in Gonzaga’s lone exhibition game. Canadian forwards Mangisto Arop, Kelly Olynyk and Bol are other promising freshmen, along with center Sam Dower from Osseo, Minnesota, and point guard G.J. Vilarino from McKinney, Texas. Also joining the squad is a skinny kid from Gonzaga Prep, just up the road from Gonzaga University. Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s the way John Stockton arrived on campus back in 1980; this time it’s his son, David, who’s going from bullpup to bulldog.

Few chooses to apply a positive spin to the arrival of so many new players at one time: “We can really stress execution and maybe go in some areas we haven’t been as far as what we’re doing offensively and what we’re doing defensively,” he says. “It’s going to be kind of a work in progress.”

Gonzaga Bulldogs

CBSSports.com ranking: 28th out of 347 NCAA Division I teams

Predicted finish: First in West Coast Conference (WCC coaches poll)

Last season: 28-6 overall, 11-1 WCC (first), won WCC tournament, advanced to Sweet 16 round in NCAA tournament

Coach: Mark Few (64-66, 10th year)

Season opener: Home vs. Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 5 pm (KHQ 6/FSN, KGA 1510)

Tickets: 313-6000 (But season ticket holders and GU students use virtually all tickets.)

Outlook: The Bulldogs lost four of the top five scorers off one of the best teams in school history. However, a talented backcourt returns in senior Matt Bouldin, junior Steven Gray and new starting point guard Demetri “Meech” Goodson, a cat-quick sophomore. Bouldin, a well-rounded player who was second on the team in scoring last season with 13.6 points per game, is a leading candidate to win Player of the Year honors in the WCC. Center Robert Sacre, injured last season, provides a much-needed big body at 7 feet and 247 pounds.

What’s scary: The Zags need a handful of their nine freshmen to contribute right away.

What’s really scary: Gonzaga’s second game is Tuesday, Nov. 17, at second-ranked Michigan State.

Coach Few says: “I think Matt is one of the best players in the country. I feel Steven has the potential to be an All-WCC guy and a very good player at the national level. I think Meech, for a point guard, can hold his own defensively with his quickness, and he’s shooting the ball much better this year.”

Bonus round: Few clinched quote-of-the-year honors with his response to Washington’s proposal to resume playing Gonzaga, but only if the games are all played at Seattle’s KeyArena, a few miles from the UW campus. “The chances of that happening are about the same as Bigfoot having my baby,” Few said.

Washington State Cougars

CBSSports.com ranking: 89th out of 347 NCAA Division I teams

Predicted finish: Eighth in Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10 media poll)

Last season: 17-16 overall, 8-10 Pac-10 (seventh), lost in first round of National Invitation Tournament (NIT)

Coach: Ken Bone (first season)

Season opener: Home vs. Mississippi Valley State on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 pm (no TV, KXLY 920)

Tickets: (800) GO-COUGS

Outlook: The Cougars might be more athletic than the two WSU teams that won 26 games and advanced to the NCAA tournament a couple years back, but they are extremely young (with only one upperclassman), inexperienced and lacking in size down low. Sophomore forward DeAngelo Casto, the former Ferris High School standout, is the heaviest player on the team at 6-8 and 231 pounds. “We’ve got to go with quickness,” Casto said. “We’re going to outwork people.” Freshman point guard Reggie Moore, a late signee by Bone, is preposterously quick. “A huge get for our program,” Bone said.

What’s scary: Bone, who guided Portland State to its first NCAA tournaments the past two seasons, is bringing his up-tempo offense to a program that enjoyed considerable success as a slow-down, defense-first outfit under Tony Bennett (who’s now at Virginia).

What’s really scary: Sophomore guard Klay Thompson, who averaged 12.5 points per game last season, is the only Cougar who has ever scored more than 4.6 ppg in college.

Sophomore guard Marcus Capers says: “I don’t see why we can’t be in the top five in the Pac-10, probably the top three. It ain’t going to be easy. All the freshmen have got to understand that. We’re a really young team. That’s the only thing everybody knocks us for. No one said we don’t have good players.”

Bonus round: Lindy’s magazine named Thompson the top NBA prospect in the Pac-10.

Idaho Vandals

CBSSports.com ranking: 141st out of 347 NCAA Division I teams

Predicted finish: Fourth in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC coaches poll)

Last season: 17-16 overall, 9-7 WAC (third), lost in first round of WAC tournament, advanced to second round of CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament

Coach: Don Verlin (17-16, 2nd year)

Tickets: (888) 8UIDAHO

Season opener: At Utah on Friday, Nov. 13, at 6 pm (no TV, KVNI 1080)

Outlook: The Vandals return their top five scorers, led by senior point guard Mac Hopson. After sitting out a year following his decision to transfer from WSU in search of more playing time, Hopson put together one of the greatest seasons in Vandal history. The All-WAC first-teamer led Idaho with 16.4 points, 5.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 43 percent shooting on 3-pointers. The Vandals picked up a nice addition in Pacific transfer Steffan Johnson. The former Kent-Meridian High School standout, a senior guard, averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals at Pacific two years ago.

What’s scary: Despite making their first post-season tournament in 19 years and snapping a nine-year string of losing seasons, the Vandals averaged just 1,741 fans at home.

What’s really scary: The Vandals play their first three games on the road, then play three of their first four home games in tiny, beat-up Memorial Gym.

Coach Verlin says: “I feel we have a great group of guys, and I will be shocked if this team does not have a good work ethic and chemistry.” (HS)

EWU Eagles

CBSSports.com: 245th out of 347 NCAA Division I teams

Predicted finish: Eighth in Big Sky (Big Sky coaches poll)

Last season: 12-18 overall, 6-10 Big Sky (tied for sixth), no post-season

Coach: Kirk Earlywine (23-37, 3rd year)

Tickets: (866) 4GO-EAGS

Season opener: Home vs. Portland on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1:05 pm (SWX, KEYF 1050).

Outlook: The Eagles will be just fine if they can find someone to lift the lids off the baskets. Eastern shot a frosty 42 percent from the field last year, including 32 percent on 3-pointers. Mighty-mite guard Benny Valentine finished third in the Big Sky with 15.2 points per game, but he wore his arms out doing so, hoisting a whopping 13.5 shots per game and canning just 39 percent (though he hit 35 percent from 3-point range). “We need Benny to be more judicious with his shot selection,” Earlywine understated. Eastern has a solid inside-outside combo in the 5-7 Valentine and 6-9, 250-pound center Brandon Moore, who averaged 11.2 points last season and ranked second in the Big Sky with 6.8 boards.

What’s scary: The Eagles could miss the Big Sky tournament for the fourth straight year (even though six of the conference’s nine teams qualify). Eastern played in the tournament the previous nine years.

What’s really scary: Eastern is 6-27 on the road the past two years, including 3-13 last season.

Coach Earlywine says: “We do have speed and quickness on the perimeter. We are going to get out and try to run and play faster.” (HS)