Jon Crispin hid the injuries. That's what little brothers do if they want to stay in the game with older kids. They suck it up. They squint hard enough that it's impossible for tears to escape. They endure all the elbows and knees and cheap shots. They play on.

They tough it out.

"It was that way my whole life growing up," says Crispin. "You learn to develop both a mental and physical toughness. But it paid off for me in the end. I'm always going to play hard and not complain. I'm going to fight for everything, and I think that will rub off on the entire team."

Pac-10 Projections

Here are ESPN.com's Pac-10 projections and previews of each team: 1. Arizona 2. Oregon 3. UCLA 4. California 5. Stanford 6. USC 7. Arizona State 8. Washington 9. Oregon State 10. Washington State All-Pac-10 Team G: Jason Gardner Arizona, Junior G: Luke Ridnour Oregon, Junior F: Jason Kapono UCLA, Senior F: Luke Jackson Oregon, Junior F: Luke Walton Arizona, Senior Most Valuable Player Jason Gardner, Arizona Newcomer of the Year Brandon Brooks, USC Freshman of the Year Ike Diogu, Arizona State

It could be just what UCLA needs.

The Bruins aren't favored to win a Pac-10 title -- that label belongs to Arizona -- and you will receive differing opinions on where Steve Lavin's team will finish. But in Crispin, they might have found a necessary piece that has been missing from a recent puzzle dominated by high-flying, fundamental-lacking athletes.

A little grit, a little grime, a little attitude.

Crispin is a 6-foot-2 junior transfer guard from Penn State who, along with older brother Joe, helped lead the Nittany Lions to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2001. Jon grew up in Pitman, N.J., a three-sport prep standout who sat out at UCLA last season. He is expected to immediately add another 3-point threat -- Crispin shot 36 percent on 3s at Penn State -- alongside senior wing Jason Kapono.

"Jon is an East Coast kid who played in the Big Ten," says Lavin, entering his seventh season as head coach. "He comes from a very competitive environment, from a family of competitors. He has played in some very tough arenas and big games at the highest level.

"You see (toughness) on a daily basis in practice, just from a will to win or a competitive spirit or a desire a kid brings to each drill. It's not something you can just turn on in games like a light switch. Basketball is a game of habits, and that includes developing both mental and physical toughness. Jon Crispin has all those things."

And, in many ways, so does his head coach.

It's the beginning of another season, which means it's time for many in and around UCLA's program to predict Lavin's fate. There is a new athletics director (former Bruins baseball player Dan Guerrero by way of UC Irvine) and with him a new assortment of expectations, not that they differ much from the usual hopes for Final Fours and national championships.

Paper -- the kind that says sophomore forward Andre Patterson is at a junior-college trying to become academically eligible and that McDonald's All-American Evan Burns is now at San Diego State after being denied admission by UCLA -- says the Bruins will have a difficult time advancing beyond a regional semifinal.

Kapono (16.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg last season) will again be the main offensive threat, but he will also concentrate more on rebounding with the inside now absent a departed Dan Gadzuric. You might not see 40 minutes of pressing to begin the season, but there won't be a problem -- is there ever? -- finding quality athletes. The biggest key remains how sophomore point guards Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Walcott direct things.

"We have some insane athletes on this team," says Crispin. "The key will be sticking together and staying on the same page, not worrying about who's getting their points and stats. Look at Indiana reaching the Final Four last year. Those guys were all mentally tough, all willing to do whatever it took to win."

	Penn State transfer Jon Crispin brings a blue-collar toughness to the Bruins.

It might be tough for the conference to offer the same top-heavy parity of recent seasons, given the fact Arizona and Oregon seem a few steps (if not more) ahead of the field. The conference tournament returned for the first time since 1990 last season, returned to a league where the top six teams were separated by just three games.

The guessing game this season comes after those Wildcats and Ducks, where five teams (UCLA, USC, Cal, Arizona State and Stanford) all have a chance for a top-five finish. Each has specific holes to fill that might not allow a legitimate shot at Arizona and/or Oregon.

USC, for instance, lost, among others, bruising forward Sam Clancy and forward David Bluthenthal, who combined for 16.5 rebounds per game. Someone -- notably sophomore center Rory O'Neil and junior forward Jerry Dupree -- needs to replace those numbers. Suddenly, USC doesn't seem so blue-collar any more.

"This is college and you have to move on," said Trojans coach Henry Bibby. "(Clancy and Bluthenthal) took us to another level and now we're going to have to go on. I'd like for us to become a defensive team and an aggressive team, one that can utilize its athleticism."

ASU thinks it has a chance to make that elusive top five in conference, but heralded freshman forward/center Ike Diogu must bring his own sense of attitude.

How different might Stanford have looked this season? If not for some studs leaving school early, the Cardinal would have started Jason Collins, Casey Jacobsen, Curtis Borchardt and, well, would the other two names have mattered?

They are not under-shooting goals at Washington, where first-year coach Lorenzo Romar ("I think we are a sleeping giant," he says) is challenging the Huskies to finish in the top half and make the NCAA field.

Cal needs some of that newfound UCLA toughness if it expects to hold its own on the boards this season, although the Bears are skilled enough to finish third.

There is a new coach (Jay John) at Oregon State and one who is likely feeling some pressure (Paul Graham) to win more at Washington State.

"You want to put together a team of competitors, and then put them in situations to be successful," says John, the former Arizona assistant. "We have things in place that will allow us to improve and be successful."

It's not an easy mountain to climb, not with Arizona and Oregon so far ahead, not with UCLA getting tougher, not with so many others in pursuit.

It's the same old Pac-10.

Same old dogfight.

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