Bear Down Wildcats

Miller always tightens up the rotations as they season goes along.

Penn, I wouldnt call AG and Rondae offensive liabilities. They had their limitations and made us a little easier to guard because they werent great outside shooters (though AG really came alive late after he hit that rough patch in the middle of the season). They also added a lot offensively w their offensivd rebounding.

Gumby is right about Simon. He stepped in when Trier was out. And like also mentioned, early in the season the rotation is larger, plus we had more comfortable leads in a lot of those games. Tolly gets the nod because of his length and ability to knock down shots. He doesnt kill you on the offensive end and helps w spacing too. Its clear our bread and butter is feeding the ball to Zeus, Anderson and Dusan, and Simon's offensive game right now makes that harder. Defensively, Tolly probably is a liability, but he does give some flexibility w his size.

As much as everyone likes Simon's D, he still has a ways to go there. If he were an elite lockdown defender already, it would be a different story, but hes not cuz he is still learning. Outside of his inability to hit an outside shot, he can still be erratic w the ball, rough around the edges and prone to make some poor freshman decisions out there. Id still like to see him get a few minutes out there in certain situations, like in a lineup w Parker, Gabe or Trier, Ryan and Zeus, but I can see Miller's hesitation when two minutes can swing a tough conference game.

Other than the fact you could foul him and he sucked at FTs in what world was AG an offensive liability. He shot just under 50% and scored more points than anyone other than Johnson. Even with the awful FT% he would draw so many fouls that 10 minutes into the second half every bigger guy on the opposing team would be in foul trouble and we would blow them away.

Miller coaching his a** off once gain this season!

baconus66 wrote:Other than the fact you could foul him and he sucked at FTs in what world was AG an offensive liability. He shot just under 50% and scored more points than anyone other than Johnson. Even with the awful FT% he would draw so many fouls that 10 minutes into the second half every bigger guy on the opposing team would be in foul trouble and we would blow them away.

The only time was when we played him and Rondae together. You need at least 3 guys the oppone ts need to at least respect from 3, and neither of them demanded that. Aaron wasn't so much a liability as a guy who got shoehorned into a role he wasn't yet suited for after Ashley went down.

baconus66 wrote:Other than the fact you could foul him and he sucked at FTs in what world was AG an offensive liability. He shot just under 50% and scored more points than anyone other than Johnson. Even with the awful FT% he would draw so many fouls that 10 minutes into the second half every bigger guy on the opposing team would be in foul trouble and we would blow them away.

rgdeuce wrote:Penn, I wouldnt call AG and Rondae offensive liabilities. They had their limitations and made us a little easier to guard because they werent great outside shooters (though AG really came alive late after he hit that rough patch in the middle of the season). They also added a lot offensively w their offensivd rebounding.

Gumby is right about Simon. He stepped in when Trier was out. And like also mentioned, early in the season the rotation is larger, plus we had more comfortable leads in a lot of those games. Tolly gets the nod because of his length and ability to knock down shots. He doesnt kill you on the offensive end and helps w spacing too. Its clear our bread and butter is feeding the ball to Zeus, Anderson and Dusan, and Simon's offensive game right now makes that harder. Defensively, Tolly probably is a liability, but he does give some flexibility w his size.

As much as everyone likes Simon's D, he still has a ways to go there. If he were an elite lockdown defender already, it would be a different story, but hes not cuz he is still learning. Outside of his inability to hit an outside shot, he can still be erratic w the ball, rough around the edges and prone to make some poor freshman decisions out there. Id still like to see him get a few minutes out there in certain situations, like in a lineup w Parker, Gabe or Trier, Ryan and Zeus, but I can see Miller's hesitation when two minutes can swing a tough conference game.

What is with people taking my statements out of context and running w it. Both RHJ and especially AG were clearly net positives for us on offense with what they did. Still it was noticeable at times how teams would pack it in the paint and give them as easy as 15 ft jumpers while allowing no room in paint. It was def an effective strategy to limit our prowess on the O glass that year. Having said all that, Gordon was still getting nearly double doubles every game and towards end of season he was even hitting some outside shots. But there's no denying our scoring output was not very good that year. We routinely had games in the 50s and 60s when we got beat.

What I was saying was that despite that aspect of their limitations and liabilities on O which caused teams to dare them to shoot the 15 footer and pack the paint, those liabilities pale in comparison to Simon's on O right now. Simon can't shoot, he can't dribble, he can't finish at the rim unless by himself on a break, he is out of control when he does get to the rim, he's loose w the ball, he has yet to show strength or a big enough vertical to finish over anyone at the rim (yes I know his vertical is great, it just hasn't translated to game when u have guys bumping and hanging on u), he has no midrange game to speak of. Now most of these things can come w repetition and muscle memory but he clearly has a long ways to go and I don't mind Miller squeezing him out. He could easily have a Gabe York/Solomon Hill type 4 year career and trajectory ...... Except he may end up as a mid first rounder w the base tools he possesses

PennZona20 wrote:Because he is a complete liability on offense at this stage. More so than RHJ or AG ever were.

How was anyone taking that out of context and running with it.

Jeffrey Dahmer is a complete psychopath. More so than Ted Bundy or Charles Manson ever were....

I'm saying Simon is a complete and full liability. Way more than those two ever were. Aka the way teams were able to pack the paint w them was a huge reason we routinely scored in the 60s, notably after Ashley went down and They both had to start (sophomore York wasn't quite ready other than a flash or two).

Those two could do so much w offensive rebounds, outbacks, fast break dunks, handles (at least AG had them) , that it negated the somewhat liability of having guys pack the paint and daring us to shoot. Justin Simon does nothing of the sort offensively. He's about as raw as a top 30 prospect can get.

Next 4 on ESPN/ESPN2 and our final game is on CBS. National Spotlight!

AZ back on top of the PAC12

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3543173-15 ... -on-top-in" target="_blank

Crazy. Just two games ago he told someone I know directly he was coming back soon. Guess that is that here at Arizona

Not sure we'll ever know what's been going on. Hope EP is alright.

Beachcat97 wrote:Not sure we'll ever know what's been going on. Hope EP is alright.

Yeah, this is without a doubt the strangest Wildcat Bball story I can recall. Hope he works out his issues but I suspect we'll never see him back in a Wildcat uni.....just speculation on my part.

Too bad but we can't wait around indefinitely for him to get his act together......wish him all the best.

Next man up.

rgdeuce wrote:Crazy. Just two games ago he told someone I know directly he was coming back soon. Guess that is that here at Arizona

That is very strange.......time to move on for both sides now. Best of luck EP. Opens up another schollie for next year though.

Hazzard per 40 mins: 18.9pts

Best scrub ever? Needs more time!

Bangkok Wildcat wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:Not sure we'll ever know what's been going on. Hope EP is alright.

Yeah, this is without a doubt the strangest Wildcat Bball story I can recall. Hope he works out his issues but I suspect we'll never see him back in a Wildcat uni.....just speculation on my part.

Too bad but we can't wait around indefinitely for him to get his act together......wish him all the best.

Next man up.

really bizarre situation. hope EP is ok, too.

also hoping it doesn't affect chemistry or distract the team. you could tell that pitts was well-liked by the other players.

Pitts did have the best seat in the house for a spectator, not sure why he would give that up so close to the end of the season even if he didn't want to play any more. If they can find a seat for Trey Mason they can find one for Pitts.

Hurley after last night's loss: "There's people out there that think [Arizona] is not a final four team. They need to wake up."

rgdeuce wrote:Hurley after last night's loss: "There's people out there that think [Arizona] is not a final four team. They need to wake up."

I sorta like being under the radar. Completely different from the past couple seasons.

I don't think it matters really. We show up to the tournament with an Arizona jersey and Sean Miller as our coach and teams know. Teams are going to have watched film til their eyes bleed and know they have to bring their A game because it's Arizona. We are one of those teams no matter what we do in the regular season or where we are in the polls. I'm not sure we will ever have another "sneak up on people" game like we had against Duke in the Sweet 16 in 2011 as long as Miller is our coach.

rgdeuce wrote:I don't think it matters really. We show up to the tournament with an Arizona jersey and Sean Miller as our coach and teams know. Teams are going to have watched film til their eyes bleed and know they have to bring their A game because it's Arizona. We are one of those teams no matter what we do in the regular season or where we are in the polls. I'm not sure we will ever have another "sneak up on people" game like we had against Duke in the Sweet 16 in 2011 as long as Miller is our coach.

We should wear ASU jerseys to sneak up on people.

rgdeuce wrote:Hurley after last night's loss: "There's people out there that think [Arizona] is not a final four team. They need to wake up."

Hurley's right. Not many teams have twin tower 7 footers that can score and play D like Tarc and Dusan. Then throw in P12 POY candidate Anderson at PF...who else has a bigger, better, more experienced frontline? This team is solid, I love our chances come March.

pokinmik wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Hurley after last night's loss: "There's people out there that think [Arizona] is not a final four team. They need to wake up."

Hurley's right. Not many teams have twin tower 7 footers that can score and play D like Tarc and Dusan. Then throw in P12 POY candidate Anderson at PF...who else has a bigger, better, more experienced frontline? This team is solid, I love our chances come March.

Not to mention Chance and Tolly.

How many other teams in the nation can boast a frontline rotation of 7'0", 7'0", 6'11", 6'10", 6'9"?

Chicat wrote:

pokinmik wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Hurley after last night's loss: "There's people out there that think [Arizona] is not a final four team. They need to wake up."

Hurley's right. Not many teams have twin tower 7 footers that can score and play D like Tarc and Dusan. Then throw in P12 POY candidate Anderson at PF...who else has a bigger, better, more experienced frontline? This team is solid, I love our chances come March.

Not to mention Chance and Tolly.

How many other teams in the nation can boast a frontline rotation of 7'0", 7'0", 6'11", 6'10", 6'9"?

Can't remember who said it, Pasch or Simon, but at one time the UA's wing (Tolly) was taller than the ASU center.

AZCatGirl wrote:

I was actually gonna post this image. I LOVE this, especially coming from the AD, not the Zona Zoo or even the basketball account. I've seen some fans calling it petty, but I have to think asu's official account has done (and would do) something similar that Arizona Athletics didn't forget.

Shots fired... and it's awesome! Especially since the curtain is the ONLY thing asu has in basketball. Now we've beat them at their house (with a half-empty student section) and THROTTLED them at McKale, so they got nothing to fire back with. Savor it.

BEAR DOWN!

If it was to a non rival it would probably come across as petty, but this is ASU. It's pretty similar to Miller's "no one comes to a UCLA game" comment from earlier in the season. Talking smack to your rival is part of sports.

Which teams from each conference have the pieces for a Final Four run?

Pac-12
Team with the best shot in 2016: Arizona
Most recent Final Four appearance: UCLA 2008

Since he arrived in 2009, Sean Miller has led the Wildcats to three Elite Eight appearances. For some, it's not enough. They want a trip to the Final Four. That's fair. But Arizona lost to UConn, the eventual national champion, in 2011's edition of the Elite Eight. In 2014 and 2015, Arizona lost to a Wisconsin squad that featured Duje Dukan and two other NBA athletes. That's a necessary consideration that critics ignore. This year, Miller does not have the NBA talent he has flourished in recent seasons, and injuries have been a problem. But Ryan Anderson, Gabe York and Allonzo Trier could lead Arizona to a Pac-12 championship in the most underrated coaching effort of Miller's tenure. His team looks ready to make a run next month. No Pac-12 squad is as equipped for postseason success.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... final-four" target="_blank

Come tomorrow this team will end up where most predicted the Cats to end up; a top 15-20 team. It has not been a disappointing year. This team lost 4/5 of its starters, and 66% points scored last year. (I included Pitts.) Pretty remarkable this team has 20+ wins.

Though it has not been disappointing, it has been a frustrating year. Every time I think the team has put it together, I'm left scratching my head and wondering WTF?

Sure this team lacks PG play. This team doesn't need anything special from Allen or PJC. This team needs Zeus, Anderson, and York to perform like seniors and be leaders. Those 3 playing like they should plus an elite scorer in Trier and average PG play is sufficient enough.

I want to see how this teams perform in a single elimination tournament. Can they play an inspired 40 minutes on both ends of the court? Is the where the 3 Seniors carry the team?

I may be a dreamer but I am going to keep holding out hope that something clicks and this team gets hot like UConn seems to do. Go Cats!

The team lacks for nothing on paper. It just is hollow with intangibles, particularly leadership and character.

These kids work hard, and Zeus has gotten hot, but he can only do so much with his arms in the softest Power 5 conference in America for big men. No tolerance of physicality whatsoever, and I think that has gotten to Ryan Anderson on certain nights as well.

In the Pac-12, you live and die by your guards and wings. If they aren't the total package, your team will struggle, because this conference will not allow its big men to be the stars unless you're UCLA. And so sorry, but on the court, Gabe York is the softest, most disappointing senior I've seen in this program since Ed Stokes.

catgrad97 wrote:The team lacks for nothing on paper. It just is hollow with intangibles, particularly leadership and character.

These kids work hard, and Zeus has gotten hot, but he can only do so much with his arms in the softest Power 5 conference in America for big men. No tolerance of physicality whatsoever, and I think that has gotten to Ryan Anderson on certain nights as well.

In the Pac-12, you live and die by your guards and wings. If they aren't the total package, your team will struggle, because this conference will not allow its big men to be the stars unless you're UCLA. And so sorry, but on the court, Gabe York is the softest, most disappointing senior I've seen in this program since Ed Stokes.

NAILED IT EXACTLY catgrad97!!! Post of the day, week and month. +1,000

catgrad97 wrote:. And so sorry, but on the court, Gabe York is the softest, most disappointing senior I've seen in this program since Ed Stokes.

Wow. Well, not sure you were saying this when he saved us against Gonzaga back in December. But I get it. We've needed him to come through in ways that he hasn't. He's got a few weeks left to his college career, and for better or worse, Gabe is our guy. CSM doesn't have another option. KA and PJC aren't good enough to get Gabe's minutes and shots. So either Gabe turns it on and has the best March of his college career, or we're gonna be one or two and done.

New kid in the rotation

Miller took Chance when Anderson's defense dipped

8 hours ago Bruce Pascoe

Miller started little-used freshman Chance Comanche over Anderson in the second half of Saturday’s game and, in case that didn’t say enough all by itself, he explained why afterward.

“Ryan has been a godsend for us with his ability to score points and rebound,” Miller said. “I think it’s easy to see he’ll be an all-conference player. But you have to be able to do it on the defensive end because there’s so many good players that rebound and score, but it’s degraded because of their defense.

“We’ve been on him for a long, long time and it hasn’t changed. He’s got to play better defense for our team to have a chance down the stretch of finishing strong. He knows that and that’s the way it is.”

Anderson finished with 11 points and eight rebounds but only played 26 minutes while Comanche logged 11 minutes, collecting four points, two rebounds and two steals.

“Chance was really the silver lining today,” Miller said after Saturday’s game. If you “give these
young players an opportunity, with the stakes where they are, you learn a lot about them.

Although Miller typically doesn’t expand his rotation this late in the season, he indicated he was pretty serious about doing so this time. Comanche has not only improved in practice, but has also been able to play both the power forward and center spots.

That gives him much more opportunity than when he started the season as strictly a center who played behind Kaleb Tarczewski and Dusan Ristic.

“We’ve been watching him develop all year and when he was in there he just gave us more balance,” Miller said. He “made things happen, did a good job, and depth this time of year is really coveted, it’s priceless, because to be able to rest good players for three or four minutes and sometimes while they’re resting, (reserves) play really well.

“I think Chance has to be with us for the long haul. We can play him at either spot the four or the five and he can guard a four or five. He gave us a boost at the beginning of the second half that we
really needed.”

Comanche entered the season amid speculation that he would redshirt, since he was expected to only play one position behind Tarczewski and Ristic, needing time to develop his size and agility to handle power forward.

Yet Miller said before UA’s season began in November that Comanche was “the furthest thing from overwhelmed,” and played him regularly off the bench at center when Tarczewski was hurt in December.

Then, on Saturday, there Comanche was, starting the second half of an ESPN-televised, Top 25 showdown … at power forward.

“When we recruited him, we didn’t envision him being able to play both spots this early but we’ve seen this coming,” Miller said. “It’s just a matter of do you add another player to the rotation?

“We almost went with him in Colorado. I made my mind up (Saturday) to get him in there and I’m
really glad that we did that.”

http://tucson.com/sports/basketball/col ... c55b3.html" target="_blank

Very interesting, thanks HiCat......I'm intrigued by Chance's development and being a 4 & 5 right now......just wish we could get better / more consistent at the 1 - 3

Bangkok Wildcat wrote:Very interesting, thanks HiCat......I'm intrigued by Chance's development and being a 4 & 5 right now......just wish we could get better / more consistent at the 1 - 3

"Comanche logged 11 minutes, collecting four points, two rebounds and two steals..."

I like this kid from what little I've seen. He's playing smart, defends, rebs and got 2 steals, and 2 block shots. Seems very smart and quick. He could be good off the bench in March.

Comanche also defended Poetl well.

I am looking at tie breakers and remaining schedules and standings. Unless Cal is swept this weekend and the Cats sweep (obviously they play each other making it a bit easier) U of A a is the four seed in the tournament. If U of A loses to Cal and Colorado beats Utah, U of A will play on Wednesday. Gotta sweep and hope for some luck

Did I hear Kadeem lost 17lbs while sick? Put back on some but not all

we have not beaten a same/higher seeded team in the NCAAs since 2011 with Duke and Texas. If we're a 5 or 6 seed we would need to buck that trend to get to just a sweet sixteen

RiseAndFire wrote:we have not beaten a same/higher seeded team in the NCAAs since 2011 with Duke and Texas. If we're a 5 or 6 seed we would need to buck that trend to get to just a sweet sixteen

I'm not too concerned about this. This is just a crazy, crazy year. No outcome would surprise me. Kansas seems to be separating itself from the pack a little these past couple weeks, but do you really trust them to roll through to the FF? I don't. AZ is among a sizable group of teams who could be in the S-16. Sure it's concerning that Gabe is in a slump, PJC is shaky as hell, and CSM still seems a little frustrated with his rotations. But who knows? Maybe this teams finds its footing and gets its swagger in Vegas and it carries into the Dance. Probably unlikely, but in a year with so much parity, we've got as good a chance as most others.

RiseAndFire wrote:we have not beaten a same/higher seeded team in the NCAAs since 2011 with Duke and Texas. If we're a 5 or 6 seed we would need to buck that trend to get to just a sweet sixteen

Interesting line of really bad thinking:

2013: #6 lost to #3 tOSU in Sweet Sixteen
2014: #1 lost to #2 in Elite Eight
2015: #2 lost to #1 in Elite Eight

Point A: We had two opportunities to beat a higher seeded team since 2011. We failed both times. Is that a trend? No, R&F, two does not make a trend. It becomes even less of a trend if you recall that UA beat higher seeds in the previous two tournament appearances.
Point B: As a six seed you do not need to upset a higher seed to get into the Sweet Sixteeen. See 2013 above for an example. Seeding doesn't always hold.

It's difficult to beat a higher seeded team when you are a #1 seed.

Hell has frozen over...I completely agree with Puerco on this.

RiseAndFire wrote:we have not beaten a same/higher seeded team in the NCAAs since 2011 with Duke and Texas. If we're a 5 or 6 seed we would need to buck that trend to get to just a sweet sixteen

This might be the worst post on this site, and it's from the author of a lot of really trollish, bad posts. It's a brilliant combination of wrong and dumb.

It does the following:

1. Point out Miller is 2-3 against higher seeds here, which is actually pretty good.
2. Ignore that it's hard for extremely high seeds to beat higher seeds, and the overwhelming probability as a 2 that you will lose to a lower seeded team.
3. A 1 can't beat a higher seed (as pointed out).
4. As pointed out, you don't have to beat a higher seed to get to the Sweet 16 if you are a top 8 seed.

Blah blah blah blah...

Puerco wrote:

RiseAndFire wrote:we have not beaten a same/higher seeded team in the NCAAs since 2011 with Duke and Texas. If we're a 5 or 6 seed we would need to buck that trend to get to just a sweet sixteen

Interesting line of really bad thinking:

2013: #6 lost to #3 tOSU in Sweet Sixteen
2014: #1 lost to #2 in Elite Eight
2015: #2 lost to #1 in Elite Eight

Point A: We had two opportunities to beat a higher seeded team since 2011. We failed both times. Is that a trend? No, R&F, two does not make a trend. It becomes even less of a trend if you recall that UA beat higher seeds in the previous two tournament appearances.
Point B: As a six seed you do not need to upset a higher seed to get into the Sweet Sixteeen. See 2013 above for an example. Seeding doesn't always hold.

OSU was the #2 seed in 2013...........the 3/6 seeds are always paired to meet in the 2nd round.

dmjcat wrote:

Puerco wrote:

RiseAndFire wrote:we have not beaten a same/higher seeded team in the NCAAs since 2011 with Duke and Texas. If we're a 5 or 6 seed we would need to buck that trend to get to just a sweet sixteen

Interesting line of really bad thinking:

2013: #6 lost to #3 tOSU in Sweet Sixteen
2014: #1 lost to #2 in Elite Eight
2015: #2 lost to #1 in Elite Eight

Point A: We had two opportunities to beat a higher seeded team since 2011. We failed both times. Is that a trend? No, R&F, two does not make a trend. It becomes even less of a trend if you recall that UA beat higher seeds in the previous two tournament appearances.
Point B: As a six seed you do not need to upset a higher seed to get into the Sweet Sixteeen. See 2013 above for an example. Seeding doesn't always hold.

OSU was the #2 seed in 2013...........the 3/6 seeds are always paired to meet in the 2nd round.

Good catch. UA basketball page on Wikipedia lists them as #3, but the 2013 season tournament wiki page lists them as #2.