WSR Full Court Report

I now expect 1st in the Pac, a high seed an at least a sweet 16 appearance. However, I all I wanted next year was what Brad is saying above and I think that is doable now.

Miller means business that is for sure. We now have the guys here and in the pipeline to assure a smooth running program.

File under: counting chickens before they hatch

The debate at this time last year was whether we'd only make the sweet 16 or advance to the final four with Sidiki's ready to play as a big man ability and Turner's remarkable leadership and Johnson's sharp shooting that was supposed to be better than Salim's. If just one of these three had been true or even 1/2 accurate, we'd have at least made the tourney. Based on the evaluation of last years class by board pundits here (not the staff, the rest of you), I expect nothing from this years class until they can actually beat teams with dismal RPI's and get to the tournament.

I am ecstatic that Miller did not rest on his perfect 4 man class, went and found two transfers, then a high profile walk on and then another transfer! Seems to me that he addressed our needs and in fact maybe doubled up on some positions because such a small percentage actually stay more than a year or two. That's awesome and a job well done. I'd score it a 92 on 100 point scale because it was obvious that we were desperate and needed players. It was ALMOST AS OBVIOUS that we needed more than 4 warm bodies as is it was that we needed a zone defense at ASU.

Consider that at the beginning of the season after this, we have no idea who our starting PG will be and that in 3 seasons and 1 day, he will have had 5 starting PG's (Momo, Mayes, Turner, Lyons and whoever replaces Lyons). And that's if no one gets injured, shot in the off season, decides to transfer at the last possible/worst possible moment and if Lyons isn't a total bust. Actually that's probably Mayes as a senior, so it may only be 4 - hardly anything for PG U to brag about though.

So, yes, Miller and co. have done an amazing job this off season, but as noted, he has a lot to prove and little margin for error. Another loss to RPI #251 and missed tournament and, IMO, he's done as the head coach at at Arizona. It's also May and in May of last year we were counting on five high level players that played very little and had almost no impact last year (Turner, Parrom, Knat, Momo, Sidiki), not just any 5, but 5 that might well have constituted a starting line up according to some evaluations. Our all world recruiting class last year didn't get the job done, and the year before's class provided little help, so forgive me if I'm a little cynical, but at the very least everyone should be cautious about expectations based on the past decade of AZ basketball.

92 out of 100 on recruiting. Could be higher if he can manage to keep all of them more than a year and if they are actually not busts. I'll go 110 out of 100 if we wine the national championship behind this class, someday. Right now we have to figure out how to keep players here, how to beat crappy teams and how to make the tournament - no easy task given our dearth of talent, poor character and talent evaluations (Sidiki, Turner, Johnson, KNat) inability to keep starters here (Momo, Turner), inability to develop key players (KNat, Johnson), rotten luck (Parrom), inability to beat very average teams like Washington and UCLA and stubborn idiotic refusal to play a zone D when necessary.....

Actually wine, Arizona was exactly what I thought they would be from a record standpoint. What I did not expect was the Pac-12 to suck so bad. I thought they'd win between 22-25 games. I thought they'd sneak one or two out from the Miss State, SDSU, Florida and Gonzaga swing and could not envision them losing to ASU.

I truly thought they were a first weekend NCAA team who had a chance to make teh Sweet 16. In almost any ohter year 23 wins and a Pac-12 touranment finals appearance gets you into the NCAAs.

AS for this year's class, Miller about hit 1.000. Miller wanted Tarc, Jerrett and Ashley and got them. Maybe they liked Bennett as much. York was not his top guard choice, but after they re-evaluated him, they made the push and got him. Not sure how many guards they'd rrather have.

At one time they really wanted Shabazz, but I am not sure they are not better off without him.

Miller wanted McConnell and Lyons and got them. The only "reach" may be Korcheck and he is more an insurance policy for the future.

Making classic mistake again. This time last year we just went to the elite 8 so many people assumed we would be right back in the thick of things. This year we missed the tournament so people assume we are a bubble team next year. In college basketball a lot can change season to season, we have only 2 starters returning from last year and one of them was our best player. Look at next years roster and I don't see how we don't get a protected seed and contend for the Pac. I did not share that optimism last year, I thought we were a bubble team that might make a run. This year we are tournament lock and will be playing in the second weekend.

I will officially go on record now and predict that if KP returns to full health and if we get average to good production from 3 of the newcomers and combine that with all the other parts of the machine that are coming back - we are going to be at least an elite 8 team. Let the chips fall where they may........but this upcoming season could be one to remember in a big way. I am counting on NJ and Chol to increase their contributions by about 20% each. Add Hill and a healthy KP and you will have magic. I am not even going to count Mayes or any of the new guys coming in except to say that via good addition this team should be producing in all aspects of the game. Good D, shooters, rebounders, and energy. They will also have a damn good coaching staff behind them. Simply put we are going to be very very good. No triangle of doom this year to worry about.

last years class would have been an A had one of the big men been usuable. because of that, it's a B.
this year, all needs were addressed, and since we can only speculate on how a player is gonna play at the college level, he gets a 100 out of 100 with Mark Lyons addition
2 top 10 big men, a top 20 wing, and a 4star shooter. only missing a PG, and we got that now. This will give Mayes, NJ, York, and Mc more time to learn to play the point until one stand out above the rest.

This year's class is definitely a grade A for CSM. We had a seriously lack of front-line talent and depth heading into next year, and that need was addressed by getting 3 of the top big guys in the country. Also... we lost our starting PG and CSM got a 5th year senior who averaged 15 ppg to come in to take his place. A kid who has experience operating in a system similar to what we run here. Seems like it has the makings to be a great fit (at least I hope so!). Also... he was able to grab a traditional transfer PG who will be our PG of the future after sitting out the required year.

There is no crystal ball, and there is no way of knowing if these kids are going to flame out like DB, Sidiki, or Josiah Turner but from what the coaches currently know, and from the information we currently have, it seems like it would be awfully tough to pull in a better class that what we've got. Especially considering our team's areas of need. Definitely an A. If not an A+.

FERAL FELINE
GREAT NAME WELCOME TO WSR

One of our contributing writers Steve Buchanan recently saw Angelo Chol at one of the local Tucson markets and chatted him up. When asked if he was worried about all of the young bigs entering the program, Chol basically said "they should be worried about me."

Steve said Chol looks like he's added about 8-10 pounds of muscle and was in great shape.

*Interestingly, I was sitting and talking to some high major division I coaches two weeks ago (not UA coaches) and each of them said they were stunned with Josiah Turner. One actually said, "He was my top, sure-fire PG out of last year's class."

Brad Allis is right, though, not sure how many times we have to go over this but if you're reading someone's evals beside those of me and Brad than do so at your own peril. At a minimum, at least look for and read the work of analysts that give you both sides of the coin.

You must have missed the posts... EVERYONE said our class was all world and we'd be in the final four. Cautious posters said elite 8 or sweet 16. Turner was a one and done. Sidiki was the next lottery pick and Nick Johnson was a sharp shooting master.

The experts put our class in the top 10 nationwide. From BlkMtn's preseason contest, I think I was the only one who had us going to the Final 4, but then again I ALWAYS have us going to the Final 4 at a minimum. National experts were projecting Turner one and done so you can't fault anyone else for believing the hype. Of course the man you think is unqualified to coach at AZ said Turner would not be going NBA that soon. If Sidiki gets his head screwed on straight he could end up a lottery pick, just not going to be from Arizona. And NO ONE ever said Nick Johnson was a sharp shooter. He is a freak of an athlete, has a good BB IQ and plays great defense coming in were the comments and he lived up to those.

Everyone WK...everyone?

To be fair, Liver and myself were the closest in the basketball pre-season prediction thread and I admit that most of my formulation of the final season record was based on what I saw in the exhibition games. Kind of a "we are effed moment".

Right now, I'm publicly stating that I agree with Brad that we will play in the second weekend. All the pieces are in place, its undeniable. You can bring this up a year later if you wish.

But it's not about what I think, it is about what you think. So, wineknow, based on what you have read and seen, what is your pre-season prediction for the Wildcats?