Arizona basketball drops in AP Poll & Anu Solomon an immediate impact

• With a 17-2 record and coming off a split against the Los Angeles schools at home, the Arizona Wildcats slipped from No. 6 to No. 8 in the NCAA rankings this week. It's a further indication that they're laying low while teams like Louisville, Michigan, Duke and Indiana remain in the "Who's the best team in the nation?" conversation. Kansas is No. 2 behind the Wovlerines, and a Florida team that the Wildcats beat has pushed to fourth. Overall, the Wildcats are remaining quiet, even in their own league where they're in third place. This isn't all that much of a bad thing. We all know how Sean Millers teams tend to peak at the right place at the right time.

Pac-12 Standings

• UCLA has taken much of the Pac-12 hype away from Arizona, and Oregon leads the league currently. But what is the Bruins' identity? ESPN's Dana O'Neil asked that question after watching Ben Howland's team in Arizona this past week. The usually-defensive-minded Howland has resigned to pushing the tempo and playing to his team's strengths. That makes you wonder about Arizona's identity.
• Miller's imprint is on this squad already, but the talk has often been about the offense being crazy-good at times save for the turnover issues. It's important to remember, however, that Miller's teams will win with their defense. The USC game was evidence of such writes the Daily Wildcat's Cameron Moon. Against the Trojans, the Wildcats didn't shoot that great from the field yet never looked more in control.
• The blowout against USC on Saturday gave ample playing time to Angelo Chol and Gabe York, two uniquely-talented guys who haven't cracked the rotation yet. And so Miller talked much about the duo to the media, including Bruce Pascoe, after the game. That all is worth a read. While calls for York to get playing time in front of Jordin Mayes are legitimate -- his crisp shooting made that clear -- it's just another example of Miller pulling the right strings with his players. Like Mayes did his freshman season, there's always a chance York doesn't get his minutes until the postseason. When and if he does, expect him to be ready. Because despite not playing much at all, he appears ready now.
• Much like the Wildcats quietly going about their business on the court, football recruit Anu Solomon could quietly become a big grap for coach Rich Rodriguez on the football field. Sports Illustrated's Ben Glicksman calls Solomon, top-100 recruit according to Rivals.com, the best immediate impact freshman quarterback in the nation. That has to do with what Glicksman calls the "ideal confluence of opportunity and ability.