Bear Down Wildcats

If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

Irish27 wrote:If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

That is a ton of bs. Sorry but without Rawle we were heavy favorites in game one and good favorites in game two with the crowd advantage. Rawle being hurt is no excuse for this failure. The committee will see that U of A still should have won big without Rawle and correctly punish the team

PHXCATS wrote:

Irish27 wrote:If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

That is a ton of bs. Sorry but without Rawle we were heavy favorites in game one and good favorites in game two with the crowd advantage. Rawle being hurt is no excuse for this failure. The committee will see that U of A still should have won big without Rawle and correctly punish the team

Agreed, plus overall the whole narrative of the committee looking at injuries in regards to seeds if pretty much BS. They look at the resume overall and our resume will always include these 2 and probably 3 losses. Honestly we're probably out of it for a 1 seed already.

A loss today and we'll be done as a 1 seed unless we finish the season 28-0

TatetheGreat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

PieceOfMeat wrote:It'll be good enough to win a bunch of games this year and reach the elite 8.

I think you're being sarcastic, but that would be an utter failure of a season with the talent we have. SM must break through this year because our chances of a FF decrease dramatically in 2018-2019. I will lead the Fire SM parade if he doesn't get it done in March. No one cares about regular season wins if the E8 is our ceiling. Give me a coach who can do more with less. I miss Lute.

That's just stupid. This whole post is just stupid and reactionary. I get the frustration of not getting a Final Four. But to even broach the subject of firing Miller if he doesn't get us a Final Four this season is asinine. This is the same kind of talk that was floated in the early 90's with Lute, right before the '94 season. On paper, the '93 team was loaded. A senior seven footer. A do it all 3-man who in Chris Mills. And a backcourt of Stoudamire and Reeves. And all that team did was flame out in the first round after a 17-1 run through the Pac.

The only reason I would even entertain the Fire Miller discussion is if he egregiously broke NCAA rules with total disregard. And I doubt that's the case.

I doubt it's Pitino-level bad, but Miller is responsible for keeping Book around. You don't work, travel, and socialize with a guy for over a decade and have no inkling of his character and recruiting "techniques." If Miller was oblivious to everything, his ability to lead a program should be questioned.

I don't think it's at all reactionary to fire a coach after nine seasons. We must have very different expectations/aspirations for Arizona BB because you acknowledge the lack of postseason success and the investigation yet ridicule the notion of him being on the hot seat. Unlike Lute in the early '90s, Miller has zero FFs. Lute had two (one at Iowa). As a program, we are not trending in the right direction.

We have a loaded roster, but might get swept by three teams who have no business beating us -- even in November. I hope it all turns around in March, but what gives you that impression? Miller's superior Xs and Os?

All told, we are underachieving at present, next year's class has gone to shit, the future is a huge question mark, and we're known as the team who chokes in March. You can ride or die with Miller, but I'm willing to move on.

I love the takes from some of the RR sycophant crowd...

This team is facing a lot of adversity right now & looks like shot - ALL of which is on Miller. But I am not willing to throw out 8 years of primarily consistent excellence because of a rough few months and a couple of dogshit performances.

Put the show on the other foot and it is "but we won that division Championship in Year 3" and "showed great improvement in Year 6 from a 3-9 campaign in Year 5".

If Miller is known as the Coach that chokes in March, what is RR known as? Realize, most of the world don't read from "3 & Out" at their Sunday worship services.

PHXCATS wrote:

Irish27 wrote:If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

That is a ton of bs. Sorry but without Rawle we were heavy favorites in game one and good favorites in game two with the crowd advantage. Rawle being hurt is no excuse for this failure. The committee will see that U of A still should have won big without Rawle and correctly punish the team

You certainly are qualified to offer expert testimony on a ton of BS...

Things look dire at the moment and if the immediate trend continues, we are in a world of hurt.

If this ship gets righted and the team loses 4 games all season, no one will give a shit about these 2 losses 4 months from now. And that includes the committee.

But even if it all falls apart and we go to the CBIT, we should all celebrate our grand success that would surpass the accomplishment of making a bowl game in the current CFB landscape.

Wondering if the team is feeling the pressure from the enormity of the expectations. Kind of thought they could just outscore people and once NCSt proved that wrong they have played tight?

No doubt we have issues but one would think they can be corrected. Lots of season left. Get a win today over a ranked Purdue team and get home and go to work

azcat49 wrote:Wondering if the team is feeling the pressure from the enormity of the expectations. Kind of thought they could just outscore people and once NCSt proved that wrong they have played tight?

No doubt we have issues but one would think they can be corrected. Lots of season left. Get a win today over a ranked Purdue team and get home and go to work

vs smu they jumped to a 7-0 lead then a 15-5 lead playing with high intensity

then hell broke loose, like they gave up and got demoralized after not expecting it to be close, intensity was completely gone

this team is soft, can't handle being punched in the mouth,

Yep, the cats are playing super soft. I’m not sure if they’re soft because they are not cohesive yet, playing timid, and still need weeks of defensive practice under Miller...or soft because they are literally soft and just not a good basketball team. I think it’s definitely the latter for two of our seniors, pjc and ristic. I don’t know how excited I can get for AZ hoops anymore as long as they are receiving significant minutes.

We definitely need Rawle back big time for additional scoring and some toughness on the wing and down low. He’s gotta be pissed off and chomping at the bit. As is, only Ayton (who is a true monster) and Lee are doing any legit rebounding/boxing out. Rawle is a tough dude capable of getting 10+ boards we need him in the mix as well.

Harvey Specter wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:

Irish27 wrote:If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

That is a ton of bs. Sorry but without Rawle we were heavy favorites in game one and good favorites in game two with the crowd advantage. Rawle being hurt is no excuse for this failure. The committee will see that U of A still should have won big without Rawle and correctly punish the team

You certainly are qualified to offer expert testimony on a ton of BS...

Things look dire at the moment and if the immediate trend continues, we are in a world of hurt.

If this ship gets righted and the team loses 4 games all season, no one will give a shit about these 2 losses 4 months from now. And that includes the committee.

But even if it all falls apart and we go to the CBIT, we should all celebrate our grand success that would surpass the accomplishment of making a bowl game in the current CFB landscape.

You are really obsessed. No one is calling for Miller to be fired. He has lots of equity. But I don't want to see him cashing in a lot of that now.

There are two reasons for failure. Execution and planning/adjustments. The two losses vs Wisconsin were execution. UA planned well just got unlucky. Xavier and these two losses this week are for lack of preparation and adjustments. The first you tip your hat and realize it just wasn't your day. The second is on the coach and you get better as a coach or you don't and you aren't that good.

Stop acting like Sean is Coach K and Wooden combined. He is good. Only about 5 coaches in the game I want over him and when factoring in age there aren't any. But he is far from a perfect coach.

I am not at this point yet or even close to it. But I just had the idea pop up. Something to be on the look out for the next few weeks. If this FBI thing is weighting on Sean too much and the team. If it is the best thing could be to have Miller take a bit of time off to reconcile things in his own head of it is not yielding proper results on the court. Not saying during him at all but having him walk away from the team for a few weeks or so to get his head right to where his message he delivers is sound and able to be executed by this year's team.

Harvey Specter wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:

Irish27 wrote:If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

That is a ton of bs. Sorry but without Rawle we were heavy favorites in game one and good favorites in game two with the crowd advantage. Rawle being hurt is no excuse for this failure. The committee will see that U of A still should have won big without Rawle and correctly punish the team

You certainly are qualified to offer expert testimony on a ton of BS...

Things look dire at the moment and if the immediate trend continues, we are in a world of hurt.

If this ship gets righted and the team loses 4 games all season, no one will give a shit about these 2 losses 4 months from now. And that includes the committee.

But even if it all falls apart and we go to the CBIT, we should all celebrate our grand success that would surpass the accomplishment of making a bowl game in the current CFB landscape.

I absoutely hate these sort of posts. Tossing out what happens if the current trend continues...there are over 1,000 minutes of regular season basketball left. This isn't some grand dynamic at play. We are not executing the things we need to be a good basketball team. Will that change?

Nobody knows. It isn't a trend. This isn't the Tour de France where you start at a disadvantage based on the last game. We need to improve in some significant areas. That either happens or it doesn't. Forget trends, ifs or speculation.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Harvey Specter wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:

Irish27 wrote:If Rawlie does come back, the NCAA committee won't really put a lot of stock into these loses due to he did not play.

That is a ton of bs. Sorry but without Rawle we were heavy favorites in game one and good favorites in game two with the crowd advantage. Rawle being hurt is no excuse for this failure. The committee will see that U of A still should have won big without Rawle and correctly punish the team

You certainly are qualified to offer expert testimony on a ton of BS...

Things look dire at the moment and if the immediate trend continues, we are in a world of hurt.

If this ship gets righted and the team loses 4 games all season, no one will give a shit about these 2 losses 4 months from now. And that includes the committee.

But even if it all falls apart and we go to the CBIT, we should all celebrate our grand success that would surpass the accomplishment of making a bowl game in the current CFB landscape.

I absoutely hate these sort of posts. Tossing out what happens if the current trend continues...there are over 1,000 minutes of regular season basketball left. This isn't some grand dynamic at play. We are not executing the things we need to be a good basketball team. Will that change?

Nobody knows. It isn't a trend. This isn't the Tour de France where you start at a disadvantage based on the last game. We need to improve in some significant areas. That either happens or it doesn't. Forget trends, ifs or speculation.

Generally I think we have to hope the team absolutely didn't care about this tournament in the slightest; that they were out partying and elbow deep in it every night and just didn't care about their performance in the games during the day.

If that was them focused and fighting as hard as they can...well, we're in trouble as far as being a final four and national championship contender.

A zone isn't solving our issues. But sitting Ristic on the pine doesn't either.

I'm too shook to even put the effort into my explanation. Tonight is a massive game for our seeding out west, imo.

It isn't just about effort. You can try hard and suck at executing. Just running around really hard like a chicken with your head cut off will get you beat down.

You always want effort high, but I think we have more an issue with focus and execution than just raw effort. We're turning the ball over, looking bad on defensive rotations and just generally not having a plan when 3's aren't falling and the offense isn't rolling.

Bad coaches just yell to work harder. Good coaches get players to work harder and smarter. We are not working smarter right now.

TucsonClip wrote:A zone isn't solving our issues. But sitting Ristic on the pine doesn't either.

I'm too shook to even put the effort into my explanation. Tonight is a massive game for our seeding out west, imo.

We're bleeding. We need to stop the bleeding tonight. It is huge to leave the Bahamas with something to build on and we do not have it right now.

TatetheGreat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

PieceOfMeat wrote:It'll be good enough to win a bunch of games this year and reach the elite 8.

All told, we are underachieving at present, next year's class has gone to shit, the future is a huge question mark, and we're known as the team who chokes in March. You can ride or die with Miller, but I'm willing to move on.

We are still in November. We are without Alkins. We have what, six guys who had never played in an Arizona uniform getting minutes, five of whom are freshmen. And shitting the bed on back to back nights means we are underachieving?

This team still needs to become a team. Freshmen still need to learn how Arizona does things, the nuances and speed of the colllege game, etc.

In spite of all lack of evidence to support my prognosis I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest the bleeding is probably stopped, if no t it has definitely slowed down.

This team took a punch in the mouth after getting kicked in the nuts the night before and I think they might be at the point of seeing, "Basketball is hard"...

Came back to within winning just ran out of time...in spite of weird rotations they probably never play with (benching Ristic probably never happens in practice)

If I saw one area of improvement last night that was incredibly favorable going forward and that was Aytons motor issue seems to be a thing of the past, now its just a matter of conditioning for him which won't take long.

Trier and PJC did what they always do, and it brought the usual mixed results.

Akot showed up and I think the stat line will move in his favor...Barcello choked, which he probably is not used to.

Ira Lee tasted some blood in the water and he will improve.

Pinder did what Pinder does, he defends and fouls and misses free throws.

Basically I think last night was an off night after a flu like gut punch from the night before.

My prognosis is, we still win the Pac 12 maybe dropping 2 games...we clean up the rest of the schedule and once we hit our groove with rawle back in the line up twe steam roll with a chip on our shoulder.

You guys can circle the wagons with rise and befired or the other naysayers but I am changing my tune now before its popular.

I say we don't simply survive this, we thrive through it in spite of the loses...its a wake up call to our guards.


p.s. This is also the perfect storm of different refs and a terrible floor condition, low crowd attendance...it's the closest thing to a high school venue we will get until we go play ASU.

rgdeuce wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

PieceOfMeat wrote:It'll be good enough to win a bunch of games this year and reach the elite 8.

All told, we are underachieving at present, next year's class has gone to shit, the future is a huge question mark, and we're known as the team who chokes in March. You can ride or die with Miller, but I'm willing to move on.

We are still in November. We are without Alkins. We have what, six guys who had never played in an Arizona uniform getting minutes, five of whom are freshmen. And shitting the bed on back to back nights means we are underachieving?

Yes

I'm shocked and greatly disappointed, but I'm still "All In!"

rgdeuce wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

PieceOfMeat wrote:It'll be good enough to win a bunch of games this year and reach the elite 8.

All told, we are underachieving at present, next year's class has gone to shit, the future is a huge question mark, and we're known as the team who chokes in March. You can ride or die with Miller, but I'm willing to move on.

We are still in November. We are without Alkins. We have what, six guys who had never played in an Arizona uniform getting minutes, five of whom are freshmen. And shitting the bed on back to back nights means we are underachieving?

This team still needs to become a team. Freshmen still need to learn how Arizona does things, the nuances and speed of the colllege game, etc.

Yes. The last two games have been unacceptable. Funny Duke isn't losing embarrassing games when they are huge favorites and they have less established leadership from the players

rgdeuce wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

zonagrad wrote:

TatetheGreat wrote:

PieceOfMeat wrote:It'll be good enough to win a bunch of games this year and reach the elite 8.

All told, we are underachieving at present, next year's class has gone to shit, the future is a huge question mark, and we're known as the team who chokes in March. You can ride or die with Miller, but I'm willing to move on.

We are still in November. We are without Alkins. We have what, six guys who had never played in an Arizona uniform getting minutes, five of whom are freshmen. And shitting the bed on back to back nights means we are underachieving?

This team still needs to become a team. Freshmen still need to learn how Arizona does things, the nuances and speed of the colllege game, etc.

Anyone who talks about moving on from Miller is a moron. This is 48 hours. It's a bad 48 hours, but talking about changing the future of your program over two losses is beyond ridiculous.

We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

So is Brandon Randolph just not good?

A lot of NBA guys were praising him as a sleeper candidate for the 1st round after this year. I've heard that his family is similar to Kobi's and he will leave no matter how bad he is.

luteformayor2 wrote: I've heard that his family is similar to Kobi's and he will leave no matter how bad he is.

If that's the truth, we probably shouldn't have recruited him but instead looked at someone else to fill that spot.

luteformayor2 wrote:So is Brandon Randolph just not good?

A lot of NBA guys were praising him as a sleeper candidate for the 1st round after this year. I've heard that his family is similar to Kobi's and he will leave no matter how bad he is.

Where have you heard that?

There was an odd post on here one time implying that but I've never seen anyone who generally knows those things go there.

Randolph is a sleeper based on his physical profile. If he continues to produce like this, he will continue to snooze.

Spaceman Spiff wrote: We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

Merkin wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote: We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

I agree with everything you've said here up to a point...there is a small area where you change just for a few moments to "reset" and remind yourself that you have options...

I see going to a zone FOR LIMITED minutes as a good thing once in a while...

It does several things...

1. It sends a message to every fucking coach in college basketball that Miller WILL change and you can't bank on his stubbornness all the time, he's "crafty"
2. It gives a small break to the smaller guards and younger players and rewards Dusan and the "system" of staying with the program which is an important lesson especially if the one and done rule goes away...rewarding four year players is a strong recruiting message in the next few years that needs historical precedent.
3. It keeps the fouls down and perhaps shakes up the other team by mixing it up just a little, takes away the momentum of the three's raining on us and killing our mojo like Wisconsin or Oregon or "_______insert name of team that never hit threes until they played UA"
4. I can think of quite few games where the zone at the very last possession would have changed the outcome in our favor.

One or two possessions occasionally of zone IS going to be lazy for the new guys but they are kids and this will be the last time time they ever see zone..EVER.

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

I agree with everything you've said here up to a point...there is a small area where you change just for a few moments to "reset" and remind yourself that you have options...

I see going to a zone FOR LIMITED minutes as a good thing once in a while...

It does several things...

1. It sends a message to every fucking coach in college basketball that Miller WILL change and you can't bank on his stubbornness all the time, he's "crafty"
2. It gives a small break to the smaller guards and younger players and rewards Dusan and the "system" of staying with the program which is an important lesson especially if the one and done rule goes away...rewarding four year players is a strong recruiting message in the next few years that needs historical precedent.
3. It keeps the fouls down and perhaps shakes up the other team by mixing it up just a little, takes away the momentum of the three's raining on us and killing our mojo like Wisconsin or Oregon or "_______insert name of team that never hit threes until they played UA"
4. I can think of quite few games where the zone at the very last possession would have changed the outcome in our favor.

One or two possessions occasionally of zone IS going to be lazy for the new guys but they are kids and this will be the last time time they ever see zone..EVER.

If you're going to use zone as a true mixup, I think it goes much better with an experienced team later in the year.

Right now, you're young, some of the young guys clearly aren't ready for high level D and we're just trying to shore up the base D. Now is the time for building the base.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote: We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

I
Obviously with zero final fours Miller can just keep doing what he does and not change anything

luteformayor2 wrote: A lot of NBA guys were praising him as a sleeper candidate for the 1st round after this year. I've heard that his family is similar to Kobi's and he will leave no matter how bad he is.

No. Nothing remotely true about that at all.

Do you all see what the difference is between Bahamas and games prior?
Is it just quality of opposition or do you see a change in the team?



Also, I wonder how the concussion and week off because of it is affecting Randolph

PHXCATS wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote: We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

I
Obviously with zero final fours Miller can just keep doing what he does and not change anything

Final Fours are a poor measure. Prior to last year, they eould tell you John Brady was better than Mark Few.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote: We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

I
Obviously with zero final fours Miller can just keep doing what he does and not change anything

Final Fours are a poor measure. Prior to last year, they eould tell you John Brady was better than Mark Few.

They are the only thing that actually matter to a program of Arizona's nature

Saying Final Fours are all that matters is a very limited point of view.

Repeatedly being in contention for a FF is driven by many things. Recruiting, solid regular seasons, teaching, player improvement and program management. Miller has done all those things exceptionally well after starting in a tough spot.

Going results only and saying the only result that matters is in the most unpredictable tournament in all of sports...well, I disagree strongly. You generate results through a consistent, strong process, which Miller has. Or you can sell your soul to Shaitan like UConn and suck for years, then suddenly make a huge run.

Postmaster wrote:Do you all see what the difference is between Bahamas and games prior?
Is it just quality of opposition or do you see a change in the team?



Also, I wonder how the concussion and week off because of it is affecting Randolph

Little of both I think. They are playing other men in these games, less wiggle room and holes actually get exposed. I think the biggest reveal has been how soft this team is right now. Before they were just hitting the heavy bag and now they have a sparring partner that actually hits back.

Uconn the last 15 years has been far better than Arizona. Only final fours and titles matter.

Miller has not got it done. Great that he has been close but he has not got it done and is not above questioning and adjusting

PHXCATS wrote:Uconn the last 15 years has been far better than Arizona. Only final fours and titles matter.

Miller has not got it done. Great that he has been close but he has not got it done and is not above questioning and adjusting

If only you thought this way about football...

We have all questioned and asked RR for adjustments so......

PHXCATS wrote:We have all questioned and asked RR for adjustments so......

And what of his final fours and titles?

SCCats wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:We have all questioned and asked RR for adjustments so......

And what of his final fours and titles?

Been close but no cigar just like Miller. Next year maybe close

PHXCATS wrote:

SCCats wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:We have all questioned and asked RR for adjustments so......

And what of his final fours and titles?

Been close but no cigar just like Miller. Next year maybe close

So he has no final fours? No titles?

SCCats wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:

SCCats wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:We have all questioned and asked RR for adjustments so......

And what of his final fours and titles?

Been close but no cigar just like Miller. Next year maybe close

So he has no final fours? No titles?

Yep just like Miller. But Arizona is on the right track right now as it appears in football. Hopefully Miller can adjust and get one for basketball this year. Justneed to adjust to the roster

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote: We need to improve. That's it and that's all.

And no one knows that more than coach Sean Miller.

Miller is as pigheaded stubborn as RichRod, but at least Miller can bring in the recruits.

Saw a blurb where Miller said he might try some zone defense, to get another scorer like Ristic on the court along with Ayton and Trier. That is a major step there. Has to be baby steps with Miller.

I'm not sure it's a major step in the right direction. I've been fairly direct in my dislike for the idea that goes around on here that switching defenses is a boon. Most often, it diverts from the learning curve that needs to occur, IMO.

Right now, we have no reliable perimeter defender. That is a necessity to change in the long term or the rest of it just doesn't work. PJC and Trier should be solid and Randolph and Akot should be pushed to be plus defenders. Zone is a band aid that stunts the long term development that needs to happen.

Opportunity cost is real with a young team. Ayton, Akot and Randolph all have much higher ceilings than they are currently operating at. Get them there instead of spending time on a defense that gives us a second type of defense to disappoint in.

It doesn't take 5-6 months to learn to play man defense, they have been playing it their whole lives plus it is kinda a simple concept. For a person that has seen many teams struggle with a zone it's weird you wouldn't see the benefits of it being an option.

Harvey Specter wrote:I love the takes from some of the RR sycophant crowd...

This team is facing a lot of adversity right now & looks like shot - ALL of which is on Miller. But I am not willing to throw out 8 years of primarily consistent excellence because of a rough few months and a couple of dogshit performances.

Put the show on the other foot and it is "but we won that division Championship in Year 3" and "showed great improvement in Year 6 from a 3-9 campaign in Year 5".

If Miller is known as the Coach that chokes in March, what is RR known as? Realize, most of the world don't read from "3 & Out" at their Sunday worship services.

I'm not opposed to firing RR if we regress next season with Tate. I've only said it would be hard to find anyone capable of doing more since our football program is not a destination for most coaches. We found RR on the coaching scrap heap and he has been better than Stoops, no?

I'm taking everything into consideration with Miller. If after nine seasons we are without a FF and return to pre-Lute dark ages because of the FBI probe, will you still back Miller? I've said I won't.

Done talking about this for now.

I think the wheels would have to be blown completely off for Miller’s job status to be in question. They’d have to finish lower than 3rd in the Pac and/or miss the NCAA tourney.

When were 25-3 will we all Relax? Beardown

CatHoops wrote:When were 25-3 will we all Relax? Beardown

This team has major problems. We're going to have a lot more than three losses unless things get fixed.

AZCatGirl wrote:

CatHoops wrote:When were 25-3 will we all Relax? Beardown

This team has major problems. We're going to have a lot more than three losses unless things get fixed.

This team has major problems. We're going to have a lot more than three losses BEFORE things get fixed.
Fixed it for you. I do believe that Miller will right the ship, but probably not tonight. I AM surprised that Miller and Romar together haven't figured it out yet.

PHXCATS wrote:

SCCats wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:

SCCats wrote:

PHXCATS wrote:We have all questioned and asked RR for adjustments so......

And what of his final fours and titles?

Been close but no cigar just like Miller. Next year maybe close

So he has no final fours? No titles?

Yep

Yeah I didn't realize that. I agree with you, we should fire RR.

This is going to be a very ugly next few months.