What'd we learn in the Arizona Wildcats' 69-68 loss to Seattle Pacific on Thursday evening? For one, I shouldn't assume things, like previewing the game with a headline that lets us know who I assume is going to win. That's a personal problem, though I wouldn't say my guesstimate of a Wildcat blowout of the Falcons is as bad as Kirk Herbstreit calling UCLA a darkhorse to win the Pac-12 football's South Division.
For the Wildcats themselves, we learned (we did learn something from this game -- Arizona has a lot of work to do) that this team is searching for a go-to guy. The loss of Derrick Williams to the NBA and Momo Jones obviously makes that a 'No-duh' statement, but the most interesting part of this team's growth comes in how that develops and who develops.
Guard Kyle Fogg scored three points on the evening. And much of that has to do with who Fogg is and how key he was last season in working with Williams.
Remember, Fogg was an adept passer, and Williams was the target at the end of most of his assists -- smart to get the best player the ball, right? It was Fogg, after all, running a pick-and-roll with Williams on a Sean Miller play-call to end the second-round NCAA tournament contest against the Texas Longhorns.
And aside from being a spot-up shooter, Fogg's identity is uncertain, now. Will he become more aggressive and take it upon himself to be more assertive? He shot only five times Thursday, four of which came from beyond the arc. Will those numbers increase?
And does Fogg's game include a slashing element? Getting into the paint would open up his jump-shooting game, and provide the ability to gain confidence should he jumpers continue to clank off the rim.
Fogg's role changes this year not only from a leadership aspect, but schematically as well.
Between Fogg, Solomon Hill and even Kevin Parrom after his return, someone will need to pick up the slack. Nick Johnson's 7-for-11 game that led the team shows that he's the most college-ready player out of Arizona's four-man freshman class, but to think Johnson can keep that up throughout the season is something that's too assuming and too much of jumping ahead of ourselves.
And I, more than most people now, know that jumping to conclusions isn't a bright idea.