Just reading this article, I was struck by the great camaraderie and chemistry on this team, which seems to have developed over the last few seasons. Dillon Brooks mentioned Joe Young helping mentor him, and he's trying to do that now for Keith Smith. That's good to see. And along with Dylan Ennis and Casey Benson, there is a level of maturity and experience on this season's team that bodes well going into a more competitive schedule than the Ducks have had in recent seasons, beginning with a scrimmage against Oklahoma in Las Vegas on Saturday October 29 in a closed-door, non-counting game, and the Maui Invitational, which should be a lot of fun to watch, and of course, the Pac-12 season. Top to bottom, the conference will be tougher this season than it was last season, in my opinion. The Ducks are favorites to repeat as conference champions, but now the expectations for the team are higher than they have ever been; it's a new role for them. I think they're ready for that challenge.