Arizona Wildcats defeated by Washington Huskies
by uofafanatic on Jan 21, 2011 5:56 AM PST
in Arizona Wildcats Basketball
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PrintIf anybody was wondering what the Arizona Wildcats' biggest weakness was going into the game against the Washington Huskies, that should be fairly obvious by now. Point guard play. No, I'm not suggesting that Arizona's Lamont 'Momo' Jones and Jordin Mayes should be playing at the level of Washington's Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas was electric, accounting for 22 points and 10 assists. Say what you will about his flops and his mouth, Thomas understands what makes a good point guard. To use an old cliche, you must be the 'quarterback' of your team. You must distribute the ball to your teammates. You must create shots for your play-makers. You must make your entire team better when you're on the court. Thomas was effective in all of these areas. Which made Arizona's PG play look that much worse.
Momo Jones and Jordin Mayes had just 4 assists. Combined. Momo in particular, looked more concerned with getting inside and scoring himself than getting the ball to somebody that was open. His comments echoed comments that I've heard all season. Momo is not a point guard. He is a shooting guard. "It's a tough transition every game," Said Jones. "It's just tough being a guy that wasn't a point guard and being brought into that. It's tough night in and night out. It wasn't harder or less harder than any other game."
"It's just tough going through those ball screens," Jones said. "We set a lot of ball screens, but not like that. It just wears you down, especially when you're going against 7-footers and guys who weigh 270 pounds hitting you constantly."
Arizona fans, we are now facing a precarious position. With varying reports having Derrick Williams as a top-10 NBA draft pick, it is very possible that he will bolt. We will absolutely need him back next season for this program to be able to be a real threat to any above average team. Perhaps more disconcerting, is the recent behaviour of Arizona commit Josiah Turner, the projected starter at point guard next season. One week, everything's fine. Then he's transferring high schools. Then he's staying at his school, but is off the team. Now, he's transferred to a prep school. This all makes me very nervous.
Arizona desperately needs a decent PG, and Josiah is supposed to be that guy. I can only hope that nothing else happens to jeopardize him wearing the red and blue next season, but we'll all have to wait and see.
Bear Down, Wildcat fans. There is a long season ahead.
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While last night's point guard play was concerning,
we have to remember that the PAC 10 is a pretty weak conference in terms of guard play. Most of the better players in the conference are wings or big men, so it’s not like we’re going to get exploited every night.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Jan 21, 2011 9:50 AM PST via mobile reply actions
This is true...
But I would also argue that our interior defense is seriously lacking as well, so there are definitely more problems than just guard play. With that said, we took terrible shots, didn’t get into a rhythm, and got little to no production from our guards last night, yet we were still within striking distance with 5 minutes to go @ Washington. That’s a very good sign.
Tomorrow is huge.
by coloradocats on Jan 21, 2011 10:26 AM PST up reply actions
I do agree about our interior defense lacking. Perry is almost useless on the defensive end of the floor, and DWill has to be careful with his fouls.
Horne and KN could be good, but they’re so erratic on offense and it’s hard to keep them on the floor.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Jan 21, 2011 12:41 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
If you are satisfied with just playing in the upper half of the Pac-10
then this season will be satisfying for you. They will be in the upper half, possibly up to the #2 team in the Pac-10. But that isn’t saying much, because the Pac-10 is not really very strong. UA will be able to beat some teams, but even if they get a bid, they do not seem to have the quality of play that will help them advance.
Hoping that an incoming freshman is going to save them is a disaster waiting to happen. UA needs their current players to develop. Without Williams [and he is gone after this year], they are really small.
This is the first time since 2005-2006 that we’ve had the same head coach for consecutive years. Being in the upper half of the PAC 10 is just fine for me this year.
As for relying on freshman, it’s not like we’re counting on scrubs to fill in next year. Josiah Turner and Nick Johnson are both 5-star guards who are among the best in the country. We’ll be just fine.
And there’s no truth at all to Williams leaving after this year. He could very well come back for his junior season. He’s a very young sophomore, and there’s a lot of improvements that he’ll need to make in order for him to make it at the next level.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Jan 21, 2011 12:38 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Well...
There have been a couple ‘mock drafts’ that have Williams in the top 10 overall picks. It will be very hard to convince him to pass on the millions to develop for another year.
I hope he’ll stay, but it doesn’t look good.
Patrick Evans (uofafanatic)
by uofafanatic on Jan 21, 2011 12:55 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I think you misunderstand where I come from
I like UA and hope they do well.
You have to understand that I am not criticizing the Cats. In fact, I like where they are headed and what Miller has done with them. They certainly are a much more likable program/product than what was there under the previous regime[s]. Even Lute’s last few years were teams and players that focused on the wrong things and had attitudes not conducive to a team environment.
I really like guys like Kyle Fogg for example. He seems to work hard, plays unselfishly and has improved every year. Unfortunately his ceiling is limited and they need an infusion of guys with his attitude, but a little more talent. Even Williams, as talented as he is, doesn’t play selfishly. In fact, I think he is too unselfish at times. But overall, I personally have a much better feeling about the program, yet their talent level and depth is lacking to be considered a upper tier team nationally.
I do believe they will get there. They have some talent coming in. But again, whether guys are rated in the top 25 as recruits or not, you can’t rely upon them to turn your fortunes around immediately. Look at Bejarano. He was rated in the top 30 or so and hasn’t even got on the court. Look at Harrison Barnes, the #1 ranked recruit. While he is starting for UNC, he certainly isn’t producing like a sure-fire lottery pick, and UNC is in a similar boat to UA when it comes to where they fit nationally. [However, I would claim the UNC has far more talent on their team]
Expecting Turner or either Johnson to come in and make an immediate impact is setting yourself up for disappointment. More likely they come in and add depth to this team and contribute off the bench, although Johnson will be needed for his size right away.
As for Williams, I haven’t heard or read anything regarding him saying that he might leave. However, I am a practical person and the writing is on the wall. His play is such that NBA personnel see his potential and talent and will not let him slip out of the lottery. In fact, I would bet after workouts, Williams will be a top 5 pick. This year’s draft stock is fairly weak, and Williams is absolutely a talent. If he were 6-10, he would be a lock for the #1 pick. But his tweener status might drop him a few spots. However, I am conviinced he can play a 3/4 in the NBA – he has a good stroke to 20 feet, has good ballhandling skills and is a creative face-up scorer. Bottom line is, he is more than likely gone, unless he pulls a Tyler Hansborough or a Kyle Singler. But I don’t see that happening. Only way he stays is if there is a lockout, which is a possibility.
Ok, everybody pray for a lockout!
Andfor whatever it’s worth, the talking heads seem to think that an NBA lockout is very likely.
Patrick Evans (uofafanatic)
All good points.
Let’s all just hope Miller and Co. can keep it moving forward. We don’t want to turn into Indiana.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Jan 21, 2011 2:38 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
they will be fine
although don’t count out indiana in a few years. they have Zeller coming in next year, have 4 top 100 guys in 2012, 2 in 2013 and 2 in 2014 [although we all know those sometimes decommit].
They would probably be where UA is now if not for the sanctions.
The Cats got flat out beat last night.
I am surprised though that there is no mention of the utter abortion that was the officiating last night. I counted four occurrences last night where the Cats had potential game changing momentum that was snuffed out by bogus calls or inexcusable non calls. Officiating like that ruins games and makes me turn off the TV.
It is difficult to beat a team like Washington when all things are equal. When you have to overcome the refs it is damn near impossible.
For the thirteen time in 3 or one evers, I found myself toothlessly thinking about Manny Ramirez.
I loved when Isaiah Thomas — a 73% FT shooter — hurried to the line to shoot Amaning’s free throws, but after he missed the first one, they acted like, “Oh whoops. The sharp-shooting guard Thomas wasn’t the one who got fouled…the 6’10, 270LB, 55% FT shooting big man was!”
That was absolutely the biggest bunch of BS I’ve ever seen.
"That guy mvhsbball is really an insufferable schmuck." - FuquaManuel
by Scott Coleman on Jan 21, 2011 2:41 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I agree. There were several calls and non-calls that made my eyebrows pop up.
Patrick Evans (uofafanatic)
Miller should have lost his shit after that.
They got three chances to make 2 FTs.
For the thirteen time in 3 or one evers, I found myself toothlessly thinking about Manny Ramirez.
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