Bear Down Wildcats

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:What is that, now six straight years of a top 7 recruiting class by ESPN?

I looked at the 24/7 composites. The crazy part for me is our 2013 ranking.

http://247sports.com/Season/2013-Basket ... amRankings" target="_blank

Time for that check to be cashed.

PHX 2017.

this made me look it up and it's been the same teams in the top 3 in the top 3 composite rankings 2014-2016. UK Duke and us

btfd16 wrote:this made me look it up and it's been the same teams in the top 3 in the top 3 composite rankings 2014-2016. UK Duke and us

one of these three are due for a chipper.

Arizona pulls more 5-star recruits than anyone but Duke and Kentucky

Ricky O'Donnell @SBN_Ricky on Apr 18, 2016, 1:25p

Arizona basketball has been sneaky dominant at recruiting lately.

With the commitment of explosive 6'6 wing Terrance Ferguson last week, Miller locked down his fourth five-star recruit in the class of 2016. Ferguson joins a group that already included point guard Kobi Simmons, shooting guard Rawle Alkins and power forward Lauri Markkanen.

Arizona isn't just recruiting the West Coast. Ferguson is from Dallas, Alkins is from New York, Simmons is from Georgia, Markkanen is from Finland. In his seven years on the job, Miller has built this thing up to a national power with international reach. If a five-star star recruit isn't going to Duke or Kentucky, there's a good chance they're choosing Arizona.


Most importantly, he'll have to get everyone playing for Arizona and not for themselves. Ferguson, Alkins and Trier are all going to want touches and shots to show off for NBA scouts. It could be a dicey proposition, but Miller has done well to get super-talented teams to all buy in in the past.

Duke and Kentucky still stand above the rest of college basketball. Kansas has a way of attracting singular talents, from Andrew Wiggins to Josh Jackson to possibly the top player in the class of 2017, DeAndre Ayton. But Arizona is right there. This type of consistency on the recruiting trail should scare the rest of the country. From top to bottom, next season's team has the chance to be Miller's most talented squad yet.


http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketb ... e-ferguson" target="_blank

Time to cash in...

I know it is all speculation, but I really think we would have had that monkey off the back in 2014 without Brandon Ashley's injury. We were absolutely killing the desire of other teams to continue living up to that point. The "wear-down" was real...even the teams that stuck with us had a moment around the 4 to 6 minute mark remaining in the game where they just folded. Michigan was a great example of that...it was just too much to cover us.

2014 was the clear year to have it happen. Some of his early "highly ranked recruiting classes" were fool's gold, like the Josiah Turner/Sidiki Johnson/Angelo Chol class. But the 2012/13 classes combined to make up that 2013/14 team that was clearly the best team in the land prior to Ashley's foot injury. Grant Jerrett would have been really nice to have, but we had a double whammy of bad luck with a single digit scoring freshman on an NBA mission from god and a season ending injury at the same position. All the advantage we had running AG at matchup weaknesses at either the 3 or 4 was ruined, and we went from MASSIVE to a little undersized.

2015 was a very good team, a Final Four capable team, and it took a historic shooting performance from another very good team/1 seed to keep them from that. But that wasn't a huge letdown based on ability/expectations. The 2014 team is the one team that remains the "what could have been" team from the Miller era. 2011 was early and a thrill, 2015 was very good but ended the season right where their seed would suggest against a record-level 2nd half performance. But 2014...that is the one that got away.

2016 was what happens with teams that recruit at high levels...the early entries cause you to have a year where it can fall apart. You cannot always depend on the new class to save you. With one injury to the best player (Smith) and one miss (Simon), we were just kind of average. And dependent upon transfers to fill the gaps. That is how it works today...you either recruit for 4 year starters or you go after the best and take your chances. When you can get the best, you would be insane not to go after it. Calipari manages it as well as can be expected. Miller has, also, done a pretty good job of keeping us relevant and in the mix no matter who we lose early.

EVCat wrote:I know it is all speculation, but I really think we would have had that monkey off the back in 2014 without Brandon Ashley's injury. We were absolutely killing the desire of other teams to continue living up to that point. The "wear-down" was real...even the teams that stuck with us had a moment around the 4 to 6 minute mark remaining in the game where they just folded. Michigan was a great example of that...it was just too much to cover us.

2014 was the clear year to have it happen. Some of his early "highly ranked recruiting classes" were fool's gold, like the Josiah Turner/Sidiki Johnson/Angelo Chol class. But the 2012/13 classes combined to make up that 2013/14 team that was clearly the best team in the land prior to Ashley's foot injury. Grant Jerrett would have been really nice to have, but we had a double whammy of bad luck with a single digit scoring freshman on an NBA mission from god and a season ending injury at the same position. All the advantage we had running AG at matchup weaknesses at either the 3 or 4 was ruined, and we went from MASSIVE to a little undersized.

2015 was a very good team, a Final Four capable team, and it took a historic shooting performance from another very good team/1 seed to keep them from that. But that wasn't a huge letdown based on ability/expectations. The 2014 team is the one team that remains the "what could have been" team from the Miller era. 2011 was early and a thrill, 2015 was very good but ended the season right where their seed would suggest against a record-level 2nd half performance. But 2014...that is the one that got away.

2016 was what happens with teams that recruit at high levels...the early entries cause you to have a year where it can fall apart. You cannot always depend on the new class to save you. With one injury to the best player (Smith) and one miss (Simon), we were just kind of average. And dependent upon transfers to fill the gaps. That is how it works today...you either recruit for 4 year starters or you go after the best and take your chances. When you can get the best, you would be insane not to go after it. Calipari manages it as well as can be expected. Miller has, also, done a pretty good job of keeping us relevant and in the mix no matter who we lose early.

Excellent post, EV.

So with all of that said, how are you feeling about 2016-17? Is it another situation where we're going to be overly reliant on a new class, albeit a very, very good new class? Or are there enough returning pieces to provide foundation and depth?

Trier is the only returning piece worth mentioning, along with Chance and his high ceiling. Allen and PJC have shown they aren't really Arizona good, and Ristic never took the freshman to sophomore jump. He actually regressed as the season went along.

Merkin wrote:Trier is the only returning piece worth mentioning, along with Chance and his high ceiling. Allen and PJC have shown they aren't really Arizona good, and Ristic never took the freshman to sophomore jump. He actually regressed as the season went along.

I don't feel that way about Allen. I feel like I don't know how good he could be off the ball where he belongs, and I lean toward him being very good there.

Merkin wrote:Trier is the only returning piece worth mentioning, along with Chance and his high ceiling. Allen and PJC have shown they aren't really Arizona good, and Ristic never took the freshman to sophomore jump. He actually regressed as the season went along.

I think Ristic could have a lower ceiling than some have acknowledged. He's quite slow. I doubt he'll even be a great rebounder or defender. His value seems to be mainly on offense, where he has some nice moves around the basket.

Trier is a star, and if he's even marginally improved next season, that will be big for us.

I like KA and wonder what his role will be next year with so many guard/wing types arriving.

And yeah, we need CC to be a factor next year, hopefully on defense.

On paper, this team looks very good, but most of that "good" is with guys who haven't played a single college game yet.

I don't feel that way about Allen or Ristic. Ristic was very very good on offense before Tarc came back and then regressed towards the end of the season, but there was a time when he would consistently get doubled in the post which will be very dangerous for teams to do to us next year. If Ristic can improve on defense, he will be solid. Allen had a terrible last game and was inconsistent at times, but he was good overall last year and will improve.

Longhorned wrote:

Merkin wrote:Trier is the only returning piece worth mentioning, along with Chance and his high ceiling. Allen and PJC have shown they aren't really Arizona good, and Ristic never took the freshman to sophomore jump. He actually regressed as the season went along.

I don't feel that way about Allen. I feel like I don't know how good he could be off the ball where he belongs, and I lean toward him being very good there.

Allen needs to be a good defender. If he can do that, the remainder is straightforward. If he was paired with Alkins (who has a good handle) on the second unit, the offense is fine.

We don't need him to be a true pg. We need better D and competent ballhandling.

People here are too harsh on Dusan. He produced a rebound every 4 minutes. Except for his senior year, that's basically what Kaleb produced. Defensively, he is effective in the lane and struggles in the pick and roll. He can score, but has black hole tendencies. He can be a solid player, and most people forget the beginning of Pac play when we all thought he was a star. He won't be Kaleb, but he can be a solid post option on a good team.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:What is that, now six straight years of a top 7 recruiting class by ESPN?

I looked at the 24/7 composites. The crazy part for me is our 2013 ranking.

http://247sports.com/Season/2013-Basket ... amRankings" target="_blank

Yea I saw that too. Which is dumb. You mean to tell me two four stars and two three stars is better than a top 3 guy (Gordon), a top 15 guy (Rondae) and a 3 star guy?

No California recruits. Slipping.

gumby wrote:No California recruits. Slipping.

Was it sort of a weaker year in CA?

Getting ready for his move to UNC

gumby wrote:No California recruits. Slipping.

How many licks to the center of a lollypop?

Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

gumby wrote:Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

Alford? Wait. Steve Alford? The one who just finished 10th? I doubt he's even employed much longer.

Beachcat97 wrote:

gumby wrote:Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

Alford? Wait. Steve Alford? The one who just finished 10th? I doubt he's even employed much longer.

"Raining cats & dogs?? What? I've yet to see a single feline fall from the sky, let alone multiple cats and canines to boot!"

Chicat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:

gumby wrote:Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

Alford? Wait. Steve Alford? The one who just finished 10th? I doubt he's even employed much longer.

"Raining cats & dogs?? What? I've yet to see a single feline fall from the sky, let alone multiple cats and canines to boot!"

Take pity Chi

Haha when did Beachcat turn into a message board bot incapable of detecting emotion, sarcasm, or humor? I thought he was a normal dude many, many years ago, who just weirdly obsessed over UCLA for whatever reason. Now he is slowly turning into a Jessie-like creature. He's like Goldblum mutating into a fly.

gumby wrote:Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

Got to remember this next fishing trip. Gumby shows how to put the line out there and snag one every time. Classic.

gumby wrote:Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

I don't think Alford has ever violently seized control. I think he just condoned the actions of someone who did.

Fishclamps wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:

gumby wrote:Have to recruit Cali or were doomed. Alford taking control.

Alford? Wait. Steve Alford? The one who just finished 10th? I doubt he's even employed much longer.

"Raining cats & dogs?? What? I've yet to see a single feline fall from the sky, let alone multiple cats and canines to boot!"

Take pity Chi

In honor of 4-20.... maybe

Cali is all about the Mary Jane and hoops. And Alford is bogarting the recruits.

Moms For Miller

Sons For Steve

Worries for BeachCat.

Miller “was very resourceful with the recruitments that did open up,” Scout analyst Josh Gershon said. “He realized if he wasn’t going to get Josh Jackson (the 2016 five-star forward who chose Kansas), there were still a number of guys left, and with Terrance Ferguson, there were rumors he would open it up. Once he did, Arizona was right there.

“And Kobi happened quickly. He was planning to attend UNLV if not for the shakeup. Book (Richardson, UA assistant coach) kept in touch with Kobi and when UNLV (fired Rice), they were right there.

It also helped Miller that there was initially plenty of playing time to offer. UA lost three starters off last season’s team and nearly a fourth until Trier announced earlier this month he was coming back for his sophomore season.

Still, there was that matter of closing the deal.

But even if it didn’t look that way at times over the past year, Miller has proven himself there.

Miller makes hay, so sun shines on UA's 2016-17 team

By Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star 6 hrs ago


“Sean Miller is a great recruiter,” Gershon said. “No question about it.”

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... 6642e.html" target="_blank

Reads like Miller knew for some time he wouldn't get Jackson.

Merkin wrote:Reads like Miller knew for some time he wouldn't get Jackson.

What I thought too.

But Miller's excellent at contingency plans. I really think the class we ended up with (sans JJ) is better than the one we'd anticipated for months (w/JJ).

Possibly on the final backstretch, but you don't put that much effort into a guy you know you aren't going to get, even if it is Josh Jackson and you are doing your due diligence. It looks like Miller was going hard til almost the very end. Think Miller just saw it was a toss up with his kid and wanted something big just in case he wasn't on the right side of a coin flip.

"Hay is in the barn."

New concern: Does Mrs. Miller have hay fever?

Anyone else wondering if Sean Miller is sitting at home watching Billy Donovan in the NBA Playoffs, causing him to consider an NBA job?

nope. just you.

No

Billy won himself a couple of championships first.

Puerco wrote:Billy won himself a couple of championships first.

Yep.

CalStateTempe wrote:nope. just you.

I'm sure he gets that a lot.

I bet Sean Miller is sitting in his living room thinking, "Wow, it must be nice to fall into a job with two of the top 5 players in the NBA, one of them being white hot at the right time."

That type of dream job is the only type he was leaving gators for.

And it's easier to do when you've been to top of mountain a few times.

No one destroys press conferences like CSM.

It's a blowout everytime u hear him speak. Wouldn't trade for any coach in the country.

Thanks ME!

PennZona20 wrote:No one destroys press conferences like CSM.

It's a blowout everytime u hear him speak. Wouldn't trade for any coach in the country.

Yep

Main Event wrote:

Thanks for posting this. Good stuff.

With chaotic spring over, Miller, Wildcats begin too-short offseason

By Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star Updated 6 hrs ago

“When you guys say, ‘What have you been doing this spring?’” UA coach Sean Miller said, “I mean, I’ll do the math here: Six and five, eleven, and seven.... that’s 18 players we’re moving in or out or welcoming back.”

Another calculation: Six, six and seven. Six returnees. Six departures (four seniors and two transfers out). Seven newcomers (four freshmen and two transfers in), six of whom were signed in the past two months.

Plus a ton of phone calls and texts. A lot of travel. A lot of nervous waiting.

A lot of stress.

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... e0e2c.html" target="_blank

CSM on the hot seat!

Arizona had Pac-12’s worst offseason

http://www.todaysu.com/pac-12/arizona-w ... offseason/" target="_blank

I almost posted that Merk.

That is one of the dumbest articles I have ever read.

It only talks about Ferguson, then says Coach is on the hot seat?

UAEebs86 wrote:I almost posted that Merk.

That is one of the dumbest articles I have ever read.

It only talks about Ferguson, then says Coach is on the hot seat?

Agree, Eabs----non-objective article.

Guy professes perspective, then puts concentrated focus on "losing" Ferguson? Weird.

By any measure, that article gets an 'F' and its contributor should be on the hot seat.