Arizona football team in a bye week… How about some Basketball?

The University of Arizona Basketball team is set to kick off the 2009-10 season in just 6 weeks against Northern Arizona University! What are the expectations and what are your thoughts? Hit the link for more including a poll…

November 15^th is the date many basketball fans in Arizona will be awaiting with the first regular season game. Mainly Wildcat fans will be eager to see what new head coach Sean Miller will put on the court and how he will handle the new challenge. It will be interesting to see if this team can contend in a tough conference but what will probably dictate this year as being a big success will be to see if Miller can keep the Wildcats NCAA tournament streak alive.

After the recruits from this years class bolted for other schools upon Lute Olson’s departure, Arizona fans were left with a feeling that this could be the next "Indiana". Miller has come in, filled some gaps, and perhaps put together a team that can at least contend. For me personally if the Cats can make it for the 26^th season in a row then it will be a showing of a successful season and perhaps how great Sean Miller can be. Is Sean Miller "Great"? That is to be decided but as an Arizona Basketball fan you have to be excited about the upcoming season and more importantly what Sean Miller and his staff can build for the future. This will be a tough season with the Pac-10 up in the air but we know it will be fun to watch!

Also breaking news: Daniel Bejarano, one of the state of Arizona’s brightest basketball talents, has de-committed from Texas and is now focusing on Arizona and Arizona State! Link...

QUICK SASON PREVIEW

What to watch for?

If the Cats can continue the quest for 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament bids and if Sean Miller will show Wildcat fans that he is a true successor for the great Lute Olson.

Mark your calendar for a few key games to watch:

Wisconsin at the Maui Invitational, Nov. 23^rd 9PM pst on ESPN 2

@ Oklahoma, Dec 23^rd

BYU, Dec 28^th

UCLA: @ UCLA Jan 1^st , March 4^th at home

UW: Jan 10^th at home, @ UW Feb 4^th

CAL: Jan 31^st at home, @ Cal Feb 25^th

ASU: @ ASU Jan 23^rd, Feb 21^st at home

Which Sean Miller recruit will break out?

Prediction: Solomon Hill

Which team will win the Pac-10?

Prediction: Cal

Which Pac-10 teams to watch?

Washington: Abdul Gaddy left AZ for UW and they will be a good Pac-10 title contender

USC: Kevin O’Neil is their new coach and is recruiting well

ASU: Our rival is putting up a good challenge for top AZ recruit Daniel Bejarano

Which NCAA teams with UofA ties to watch?

Memphis: Josh Pastner is the new coach and recruiting like a champ

Gonzaga: Mark Few was an Arizona coaching hopeful that will be challenged this year

Kansas: Jeff Withey left the Cats to join Kansas as a 2010 national title contender

Pac-10 Standings Predictions (this is tough and likely wrong!):

Cal

Washington

UCLA

Oregon State

Arizona

USC

Washington State

Arizona State

Oregon

Stanford

Arizona Starting lineup predictions:

PG Nic Wise

G Kyle Fogg

F Jamelle Horne

F Solomon Hill

C Kyryl Natyazhko

O	NAME	POS	HT	WT	YR-EXP	Hometown/High School
21	Kyle Fogg	G	6-2	175	SO-1L	Brea, Calif./Brea Olinda
44	Solomon Hill	F	6-6	195	FR-HS	Los Angeles, Calif./Fairfax
42	Jamelle Horne	F	6-6	209	JR-2L	San Diego, Calif./San Diego
50	Alex Jacobson	C	6-11	253	SO-1L	Brea, Calif./Mater Dei
12	Lamont Jones	G	5-11	190	FR-HS	Harlem, N.Y./Oak Hill (Va.) Academy
4	Garland Judkins	G	6-3	195	SO-1L	Humble, Texas/Christian Life Center Academy
24	Brendon Lavender	G	6-3	205	SO-1L	Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View
1	Kyryl Natyazhko	C	6-10	250	FR-HS	Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine/IMG Academy (Fla.)
3	Kevin Parrom	G/F	6-6	200	FR-HS	Bronx, N.Y./South Kent (Conn.)
33	D.J. Shumpert	F	6-6	177	SO-1L	Tucson, Ariz./Santa Rita
23	Derrick Williams	F	6-7	210	FR-HS	La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada
13	Nic Wise	G	5-10	177	SR-3L	Houston, Texas/Kingwood