UA Basketball 2014-2015 Discussion

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:35 pm

UTEP should be interesting since it's on the road. Good tune up for Jan.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:30 pm

Titus’s Top 12 NCAA Power Rankings: Looking for Heartbreak? Play Arizona.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/titus ... -jayhawks/

3. Arizona

Three things about the Wildcats:

1. Sean Miller deserves applause for Arizona’s nonconference schedule.

Bill Self is the undisputed king of nonconference scheduling, but Miller is also doing a hell of a job. Arizona played in the Maui Invitational, it played Gonzaga and Michigan at home, and it’ll play back-to-back road games leading into conference play. It might not be the toughest schedule in the country, but there are a lot of coaches who would stay as far away from San Diego State and Gonzaga as they possibly could, since Arizona has little to gain in those games. But to his credit, Miller’s team will have played the Aztecs and Zags along with UNLV this year. If the basketball gods truly love us, this will become a tradition. How great would it be to know that every year we’re guaranteed Arizona games against San Diego State, Gonzaga, and UNLV? And what if the Cats rotated between playing BYU, New Mexico, and another Mountain West/WCC team as their fourth big nonconference game every year? Loading up on must-see games like that is how you combat the East Coast bias.

2. Zeus “Zeus” Zeuszeuski has been great.

It’s easy to see that Zeus’s numbers are down from last year and wonder what went wrong with him, but the truth is that he’s just fine. Zeus has played only one bad game this season (San Diego State) and it’s little surprise that he’s rebounding less with Brandon Ashley back and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s role expanding. If you expected Zeus to be Jahlil Okafor or Willie Cauley-Stein, that’s on you. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get nastier on defense, but he’s been great as a space-eater who plays physical, cleans up the glass, and doesn’t force shots. He’s given everything Arizona needs from him.

3. Stanley Johnson is still my favorite freshman.

In five games against power conference teams and ranked teams, Johnson is averaging 14.8 points, 6.6 boards, and 1.6 assists while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. He’s 6-7 and 245 pounds, yet he regularly hits floaters. He was named the MVP of the sport’s most prestigious early-season tournament. He wears a T-shirt under his jersey, he has an Afro, and he has stripes shaved into the side of his head. He quotes JFK on Twitter and apparently has a bromance with Frank Kaminsky. That is all.

9. Gonzaga

I watched the Gonzaga-Arizona game for the first time yesterday. I knew that Arizona had won in overtime, which I probably could’ve guessed anyway, given Arizona’s penchant for grinding out close games. Yet even though I had the box score right in front of me, I couldn’t accept that the Wildcats actually won until I saw Byron Wesley air-balling his first free throw with three seconds left in overtime. As I watched the game unfold, I couldn’t believe that Gonzaga would eventually let it slip away. The Zags outplayed the Cats for 40 minutes and ended up losing only because Arizona was put in the college basketball world to let opponents get the taste of an upset before ripping out their hearts. If this happened against any other team, I’d accuse Gonzaga of choking in a game it should have won. But it’s Arizona. If I start criticizing teams for losing close games to Arizona, I may never sleep again.

By the way, let’s not gloss over some breaks that went against the Zags. They outplayed the third-ranked team on the road without a great game from their best player (Kevin Pangos). Plus, the Zags shot just 23.5 percent from the 3-point line4 and dealt with foul trouble through most of the game. If you’re looking for proof that it just wasn’t Gonzaga’s day, consider this: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley, Stanley Johnson, and T.J. McConnell all made a 3 in the same game that Sean Miller was never shown coughing on the sideline. For Arizona, this is like seeing Halley’s Comet, finding a cure for cancer, and Kenny Chesney putting out a song about something other than the first 25 years of his life all rolled into one. We were a McConnell dunk away from the entire universe ceasing to exist.

If Gonzaga plays defense like it did against Arizona, then it is a Final Four–caliber team. It proved this against Arizona and reaffirmed it a week later when it beat up a decent UCLA team on the road. Do yourself a favor and watch Gonzaga play at BYU on December 27. As long as Tyler Haws is able to return from an ankle injury, the over/under on points scored for that game will be something like 700 points.

Olsondogg · Post by **Olsondogg** » Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:51 am

So after tweeting at Goodman the other day, pointing out his baseless opinions not based in reality....

He blocked me. hahahhaha

azcat34 · Post by **azcat34** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:32 pm

Bilas is running with the narrative as well.

Katzenfreund · Post by **Katzenfreund** » Mon Dec 22, 2014 2:16 pm

Frybry02 · Post by **Frybry02** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 5:41 am

Here are the topp 10 teams and their 3p%:

1. Kentucky - 31.4
2. Duke - 37.1
3. Arizona - 37.8
4. Louisville - 27.5
5. Virginia - 39.2
6. Wisconsin - 34.3
7. Villanova - 35.0
8. Gonzaga - 39.6
9. Texas - 35.7
10. Kansas - 39.2

Sure do I wish we were higher? Yes. I believe it should be higher because we miss a lot of wide-open 3p shots. I am not worried whatsoever. If we supposedly can't shoot from the perimeter, I guess the same goes for Duke, Texas, kentucky, Villanova, and Wisconsin. The only outlier of the group is Louisville and they are struggling from 3p land.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:53 am

Frybry02 wrote: 3. Arizona - 37.8
10. Kansas - 39.2

According to enfuego 1.4% difference makes Kansas a great perimeter shooting team and Arizona a horrible one.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:11 am

The team attempted a season low 5 threes last night, hitting 2, and won going away on the road by shooting 49% and for the most part taking high percentage shots.

I feel like the team is really buying in to fixing their deficiencies and fine tuning their roles. If RHJ can start pulling up for mid-range jumpers and Zeus can apply something secretly sticky to his hands, this team could become elite offensively.

qwertyus · Post by **qwertyus** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:35 pm

Chicat wrote:The team attempted a season low 5 threes last night, hitting 2, and won going away on the road by shooting 49% and for the most part taking high percentage shots.

I feel like the team is really buying in to fixing their deficiencies and fine tuning their roles. If RHJ can start pulling up for mid-range jumpers and Zeus can apply something secretly sticky to his hands, this team could become elite offensively.

Could Zeus maybe come out with some WR gloves? Or would that be "illegal"?

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:42 pm

23-26 FTs!!! That's very Lute-like.

luteformayor2 · Post by **luteformayor2** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 4:11 am

#1 and #2 in KenPom are undefeated.

We are #4 and we've beat #3 and #5.

I like.

Main Event · Post by **Main Event** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:12 am

First look at Giants that could fall

Arizona Wildcats
Projected Seed: 2
Giant Rating: 83.4

Arizona is certainly a lion, not a gazelle. But if it wanders into the path of the wrong herd of feisty buffalo, it just might get hurt. The Wildcats’ Giant Rating is solid at 83.4, but that’s not quite up to the standards of a typical top-two seed. This year, for instance, Virginia checks in at 93.6, Duke stands at 94.0, and Kentucky sports an absurd 99.3 rating.

So why is Arizona somewhat more vulnerable? It comes back to an old GK standby: offensive rebounding. As big and athletic as the Cats are with Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley, Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards. Per Kenpom.com (all data through Tuesday), they grab 32.4 percent of their missed shots, which ranks 127th in the nation. That matters because these Wildcats are not an offensive juggernaut. Although they rank 13th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (115 points per 100 possessions), they have shown that they can go cold at inopportune times. In their loss to UNLV in December, the Cats shot just 42.6 percent yet grabbed only seven of 39 available offensive rebounds (17.9 percent). It was the same story in a two-point loss at Oregon State: poor shooting (37.8 percent) compounded by a weak effort on the glass (19.4 percent).

It’s virtually impossible to shoot well for six straight tourney games. So a team has to find other ways to win, and the safest route for a Giant typically involves creating additional chances by taking advantage of its superior size and athleticism. Arizona has the skills to do that, but the Wildcats’ emphasis on transition defense means they don’t have the scheme to match. Over the season’s final month, it might make sense for Sean Miller to turn his guys loose to track down their own missed shots. Chances are they’ll end up mauling their prey.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/giant-k ... ost?id=597

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:22 am

Main Event wrote:First look at Giants that could fall

they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards.

Apparently he hasn't watched two many games where PAC-12 refs were involved. As Miller was saying, going up for an offensive rebound is an automatic foul in PAC games.

PieceOfMeat · Post by **PieceOfMeat** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:49 pm

Merkin wrote:
Main Event wrote:First look at Giants that could fall

they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards.
Apparently he hasn't watched two many games where PAC-12 refs were involved. As Miller was saying, going up for an offensive rebound is an automatic foul in PAC games.

Better get used to hearing that we suck at rebounding. Once the tourney rolls around, all the pundits who haven't watched us play, or more specifically haven't watched any pac12 games at all, are going to point at our O-boarding stats as a huge weakness. Never mind the fact that if we tried to board more we'd end the game with 3 eligible players.

azcat34 · Post by **azcat34** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:52 am

Merkin wrote:
Main Event wrote:First look at Giants that could fall

they are only slightly above average on the offensive boards.
Apparently he hasn't watched two many games where PAC-12 refs were involved. As Miller was saying, going up for an offensive rebound is an automatic foul in PAC games.

Seems strange to me he would mention Arizona's supposed inability to get offensive rebounds without mentioning that Arizona is the best team in the nation statistically at preventing offensive rebounds.

Olsondogg · Post by **Olsondogg** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:54 am

I never knew that some of those teams were giants. Also, the giant rating...can we please have "More bullshit metrics that mean nothing for $200, Alex."

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:16 am

That Giant Rating gets a 100% on the ODogg Bullshit ESPN Metrics metric.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:34 am

Olsondogg wrote:I never knew that some of those teams were giants. Also, the giant rating...can we please have "More bullshit metrics that mean nothing for $200, Alex."

Hey, there are no more metrics that say Arizona is a poor-shooting team anymore, so Bristol has to think of something to bolster its sacred college hoops cows.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:58 pm

How effing awesome are are two five-star mcdonalds all american Juniors!

Its goddamn sad when a freshman wing is leading the team in rebounds. These two underperforming clowns rebound like guards, Zeus leaves about 10 easy pts a game on the floor because of missed bunnies and hands of steel, and Bash has the weapons to be a 16ppg guy but is complacent as hell and cant guard my sister. These dudes needs to step the F up.

UAGreg · Post by **UAGreg** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:00 pm

Zeus should probably look into apartments in Tucson for next year...

NETSFAN4HASSAN · Post by **NETSFAN4HASSAN** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:02 pm

1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!

FreeSpiritCat · Post by **FreeSpiritCat** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:05 pm

NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!

I was thinking of Kryl. Even though Tarc may have gained a lot of muscle in the gym, he hasn't seemed to develop into a center. I think he's actually regressed. BAsh has never been the same since the injury. I highly doubt either one gets drafted to the NBA. Maybe BAsh will develop into a good player in Europe.

NETSFAN4HASSAN · Post by **NETSFAN4HASSAN** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:09 pm

Catintheheat wrote:
NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!
I was thinking of Kryl. Even though Tarc may have gained a lot of muscle in the gym, he hasn't seemed to develop into a center. I think he's actually regressed. BAsh has never been the same since the injury. I highly doubt either one gets drafted to the NBA. Maybe BAsh will develop into a good player in Europe.

I was thinking about the last annoying kid we had that couldn't catch a fucking a thing coming at him and Kryl just popped up! Remember Kryl's voodoo hands? Infinitely better than Tarc's. Was interesting to see no one even say much to him when he missed a point blank pass from TJ. It's like they've resigned themselves to it.

Bash...I feel bad for him. He STILL has the tools; he just mentally can't put stuff together and I agree; that injury might've slowed down his already suspect feet.

I love my Cats but I am so disappointed with these two at the moment.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:18 pm

Yea ur right Hassan. If i recall he should have been but there was an issue w reclassification or somethibg. Regardless though, these dudes should be what separates us from everyone except a kentucky

Main Event · Post by **Main Event** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:25 pm

The rare times he catches it clean in the post, he's not terrible in the post, mid range is decent. It's everything else that's the problem.

And I still want that gif of him eating that pass from TJ in the face

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:44 pm

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:48 pm

They forgot to mention the "Vegas effect" as well. It will be seen next week

Bangkok Wildcat · Post by **Bangkok Wildcat** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:53 pm

Chicat wrote:

Thanks Chicat! Awesome stats...

P.S. Larry Scott request: fix the damn scheduling and ensure we play each team twice! Seriously, if this is the sacrifice that has to be for adding two teams to the Pac, I wish we'd drop CU and UTAH and go back to 10 Teams.

This 'super-conference' fad is so lame.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:27 pm

And will never go away. $$$$$$$>everything else

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:21 am

That Arizona State bump is ridiculous. Should be used with their "fans" in every single debate. Nearly 80 percent...

UAGreg · Post by **UAGreg** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:14 am

Chicat wrote:

The ASSU numbers made be laugh out loud, especially seeing how I'm sure the majority of that 79% increase were U of A fans.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:51 pm

Chicat wrote:

Awesome graphic. Thanks.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:23 pm

Nice article on Brandon Ashley.

http://www.foxsports.com/arizona/story/ ... ote-030415

"Brandon has been a big part of our success," Miller said. "He's a double figure scorer most of the year. If he were making free throws at a better rate -- that's something we're working with him on, and he's working on it himself -- he might be our leading scorer. That says a lot about how important he is to our team."

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:27 pm

Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:32 pm

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

#clickbait

Katzenfreund · Post by **Katzenfreund** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:43 pm

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:49 pm

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:56 pm

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

She was all right ...

Katzenfreund wrote:
rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

Umm... that's not a girl, it's Matt Moreno from TOS.

Uh, never mind.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:25 am

rgdeuce wrote:Ive always wanted to bang that fox sports girl on the left.

She's from ASU, so there's not much else you could do with her.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:09 am

At least we know she can take all of it.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:39 am

NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:
Catintheheat wrote:
NETSFAN4HASSAN wrote:1.) Tarc wasn't a Mickey D

2.) I agree with everything else you said. Tarc, is NOT a basketball player. He's just 7 feet. I mean, Kryl had better hands. Bash has an issue. These teams go at him because they know he is unable and maybe unwilling to focus on defense. He doesn't move is feet and plays extremely soft. He just doesn't get it!
I was thinking of Kryl. Even though Tarc may have gained a lot of muscle in the gym, he hasn't seemed to develop into a center. I think he's actually regressed. BAsh has never been the same since the injury. I highly doubt either one gets drafted to the NBA. Maybe BAsh will develop into a good player in Europe.
I was thinking about the last annoying kid we had that couldn't catch a fucking a thing coming at him and Kryl just popped up! Remember Kryl's voodoo hands? Infinitely better than Tarc's. Was interesting to see no one even say much to him when he missed a point blank pass from TJ. It's like they've resigned themselves to it.
Bash...I feel bad for him. He STILL has the tools; he just mentally can't put stuff together and I agree; that injury might've slowed down his already suspect feet.

I love my Cats but I am so disappointed with these two at the moment.

Jesus, this is a stupid take. What a difference a month makes, before or after a slump.

Olsondogg · Post by **Olsondogg** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:58 am

I just agreed with Puerco again. Either it's March or hell is again freezing over.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:17 pm

Quite the Bash tonight.

3goggles · Post by **3goggles** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:50 pm

Pull the starters

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:58 am

Why was his comment a stupid take? Bash has a huge night and all of a sudden that's stupid? You can get on people for being reactionary from one or two bad games, but you can be reactionary when Bash has one huge game? He still has multiple games in recent times where his defense has been bad, where he has dissapeared on offense, and missed big free throws. And when that post was made, Tarc had been struggling, it was a pattern.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:30 am

Err, check the time of my post. It wasn't in response to the Cal game. That's just icing on my point, er, cake.

Tarc is, at the very least, a good player on this year's team. He's good for 9 and 5, which is useful by any estimation, and he's got the highest shooting percentages on the team, actual or effective. But that's just by the box score. If you have any faith that Miller is truthful, then Tarc becomes more than just a good player. He become dominant. I've watched the few games that make it on TV over here, and I have never seen Tarc out of position on defense. The guy plays magnificent help defense, and he's always in the right place at the right time otherwise. He may not be dominant at protecting the rim, but he does a hell of a lot to keep opposing players from getting anywhere near it in the first place.

Comparing Tarc to Kreal is just asinine. Apologies to anyone who might be offended by that statement, but I'm pretty confident that it's true.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:32 am

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:41 am

Puerco wrote:Err, check the time of my post. It wasn't in response to the Cal game. That's just icing on my point, er, cake.

Tarc is, at the very least, a good player on this year's team. He's good for 9 and 5, which is useful by any estimation, and he's got the highest shooting percentages on the team, actual or effective. But that's just by the box score. If you have any faith that Miller is truthful, then Tarc becomes more than just a good player. He become dominant. I've watched the few games that make it on TV over here, and I have never seen Tarc out of position on defense. The guy plays magnificent help defense, and he's always in the right place at the right time otherwise. He may not be dominant at protecting the rim, but he does a hell of a lot to keep opposing players from getting anywhere near it in the first place.

Comparing Tarc to Kreal is just asinine. Apologies to anyone who might be offended by that statement, but I'm pretty confident that it's true.

Didn't check your post time, but I was paying attention to his. Trust me, I am part of the team that fully grasps Tarc's importance on just size and what he brings on the defensive end alone. He has also turned the corner offensively with some very nice to beastly games; but that turned corner came after his post. Before that, absent a few games, it wasn't a stretch to say he had been disappointing, at least looking at offense too. The numerous missed opportunities due to fumbled passes, fumbled boards, bringing the ball down, etc, count as misses in my eyes. Not too long ago, it wasn't uncommon for Tarc to leave 6-8 points on the floor because of that. That is grounds for disappointment, no?

And yes, comparing Tarc to Kreal is asinine, but comparing his hands (which have improved lately, somehow) to Kreal's, that alone, I don't think that is THAT crazy. That's how I read what he said.

Olsondogg · Post by **Olsondogg** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:45 am

Comparing any decent player to Kreal is ridiculous.

Unless we are talking dance moves.

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