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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Herb Sendek walks across Santa Claras campus from his Leavey Center office to the iconic Mission church and stops for a moment at his favorite landmark. Its a special spot for a brief respite from the fundamentals-focused basketball preparation with his Broncos.While Sendek is busy rebuilding mens basketball at Santa Clara, Damon Stoudamire and Terry Porter have brought some serious NBA pedigree to coaching in the mid-major West Coast Conference trying to get their programs on track. Add to the list of new faces first-year San Francisco coach Kyle Smith, fresh off an impressive six-year run at Columbia.The league, still largely unheralded despite its decades-long run of postseason success, is suddenly boasting some high-profile coaching names to go along with the old staples of No. 14 Gonzagas Mark Few and Randy Bennett at 17th-ranked Saint Marys, which might have one of its best teams yet after a 29-win season . The Zags and Gaels shared the WCC regular-season crown last season and are picked by the coaches to go 1-2.I have a very healthy respect for the West Coast Conference and I really believe its on the verge of exploding, said Sendek, back on the bench following a year away after his dismissal at Arizona State . Clearly you have the top tier that has been dominant for the last many years but you also sense a renewed commitment from the other schools to be even more competitive. Its a terrific basketball league.In Portland, Porter sometimes points to examples of NBA players emerging from the WCC to make big impacts at the next level.Smith, who went 101-82 at Columbia with a Collegeinsider.com Tournament title and 25-10 record last season, is hardly new to the WCC yet now takes on a storied program determined to be a regular contender again. A former top assistant under Bennett at Saint Marys who also worked at San Diego, he has connections to several programs and most of the other coaches.I coached in the league for 17 years and Ive always thought its really the one league I know, so I think its a great time, Smith said. Over the last five years youve had three programs that have emerged and theyve been good, theyve kind of gotten to the top, and it looks like some other programs are really trying to regain some of their past glory and make it interesting. I think they will, and I think it will be healthy for the league with these new coaches. Its a big investment trying to make the league better.Porter rarely speaks of his own playing experiences while chuckling and noting, theyre so young and wont remember him anyway. Rick Adelman has stopped by Pilots practice to provide another set of eyes on things, and Porter speaks to his former coach with the Spurs, Gregg Popovich, on occasion for any tips on starting something new and building a system -- and family atmosphere.Its personal core values and me being on championship-caliber teams sharing what do we hold true and what helped us be successful, Porter said.Smiths ties to Bennett are just a start in the close-knit conference.Porters son, Franklin, played for Bennett in the suburban East Bay hills of Moraga.Bennett is thrilled to see the WCC generate more attention with all the change.I knew Terry because of Franklin. Hes just a class act, Bennett said. Ive known Damon Stoudamire since he was about 15 and always considered him a really good guy, and a guy thats a friend. Ive known Herb and have a lot of respect for him as a coach. Weve gotten to know each other because hes been out West. Obviously Kyle, I have a long history with and a really good friend.All four of them I know, its pretty cool that way ... good, talented people. Its going to help the league. The leagues going to get stronger.Sendeks own coaching tree is strong: He has watched 12 of his former assistants or other staff members become Division I head coaches. He has found a good fit.I do feel refreshed, he said.All of the new coaches are realizing challenges with starting fresh.Porter accepted the job right before his players took finals, then they went their separate ways for the summer. So he has spent much of the preseason finding a groove.Being around them and talking about some of our team identities and trying to build some of those things, it was something weve had to get into a little bit later, he said. The guys have really embraced it.New Golden State Warriors top assistant Mike Brown played at San Diego for Bennett and also knows Smith, Few, Porter and Stoudamire. Browns allegiances will stay in Southern California with the Toreros and coach Lamont Smith, an ex-USD player and another former Saint Marys assistant.Brown is eager to watch Bennett -- who has been turning up at Golden State practices this fall -- face off with good friend-turned rival Kyle Smith.This is a big-time conference, Brown said. This conference is not an easy conference. It will be interesting to see how both those guys do. Im sure theyll do great. Im glad Im so close to be able to pop in and catch a game. Its going to be a fun year for the West Coast Conference.The WCC sent three of its then-eight teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 for the first time then again in 2012 once BYU joined the 10-team league.The coaching and the turnover this year has changed dramatically but you still have the two major staples in Mark and Randy, Porter said. Its going to be fun to see the conference get after it. Kevin Kiermaier Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Ryan Yarbrough Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1756i-joe-maddon-jersey-rays.html . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Charlie Morton Rays Jersey . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Joey Wendle Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Every offseason, Football Outsiders compiles a list of unheralded players who have the chance to become stars or major contributors. We use certain criteria to find the best young players who werent high draft picks and still havent had too much playing time but could be on track to become significant contributors.What would that list look like now, as opposed to in the next offseason?What follows is our list of top 25 prospects, based on players who would qualify right now. Some of these players could play their way off the list as their snap counts rise over the final eight weeks of the season, while others might still be fairly unknown when we get to next years training camp. But all of them are players to watch in the NFL going forward.The criteria:Third-round pick or lower (or undrafted) from the 2014-16 classes500 or fewer offensive or defensive career snaps through Week 10No signed contract extensionAge 26 or youngerIn the past, weve found players such as Arian Foster, Geno Atkins?and Jamaal Charles on our list. Our 2016 offseason list already has graduates including David Johnson, Danielle Hunter, Jordan Hicks?and Grady Jarrett making big impacts.Heres who we like now:1. Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins436 offensive snaps | Fifth-round pick (2015)Nothing spellls out the roller-coaster nature of NFL life better than Ajayis past two seasons.dddddddddddd He went from looking like a first- or second-round pick to dropping out of the first two days of the draft due to a lack of cartilage in his knee. He finally had a chance to be a starter when Lamar Miller left Miami, but the Dolphins immediately blocked him with an aging Arian Foster. When Ajayi pouted about it, he was left behind for Week 1 in Seattle.Then the Dolphins figured out what draftniks knew: Ajayi was actually good. He rolled over the Steelers for 204 yards and two touchdowns in Week 6, and since then, the Dolphins have made him the centerpiece of their offense, rolling to four straight wins as theyve limited Ryan Tannehills snaps behind a bad pass-blocking line. Right now, Ajayi leads the NFL in rushing value,?according to Football Outsiders DVOA and DYAR metrics. The past five weeks, Ajayi is third in the NFL with 21 broken tackles, even though Miami has played only four games in that time. Ajayi is a victory for believing in an individual players talent because despite all the jibber-jabber around his career, his talent won out. ' ' '