Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Arizona, Arizona St.
Sun Devils very experienced; Wildcats should also compete
Dec 1, 2008
In the wake of a less than stellar football season, fans of the Pacific-10 Conference gladly turn their eyes to basketball. Conference play begins on Jan. 2. From now until then, expect a number of conference teams to stand out nationally.
After all, football isn't everything.
In the first of a five-part series, the two conference schools from Arizona will be examined.
University of Arizona: Olson's retirement stuns Wildcats
Despite all the great players who have played for Arizona, Coach Lute Olson is the icon of Wildcat basketball. He stunned basketball-obsessed Tucson with the announcement of his decision to retire in late October.
Olson took a leave of absence for medical reasons last season but said he was excited to return. His doctor said he advised Olson to reconsider continuing his coaching career, though, and Olson relented.
What is left behind is a team with talent if not an abundance of experience. The Wildcats went 19-15 in Olson's absence a year ago and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the school's 24th consecutive year in the tourney, the longest current streak in the nation. North Carolina holds the all-time record at 27 straight appearances.
Olson's stunning decision and questions about who will guide the team after this season put their streak of tournament appearances in doubt. But the talent, particularly from a trio of talented young starters, certainly seems to be there.
The Wildcats are off to a 3-1 start under interim head coach Russ Pennel. They have been led by three players who started as sophomores last season in point guard Nic Wise and forwards Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill. Budinger and Hill are a great inside-outside duo and arguably the top forward tandem in the conference.
The 6-foot-7 Budinger, second on the team in scoring (17.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.4) a year ago, appears to have taken over the role as go-to guy on offense. He is averaging 23.5 points a game so far. A great long-range threat, Budinger made 73 3-pointers a year ago, the sixth best mark in the Pac-10. He is 12 for 20 from long distance this year.
The 6-10 Hill, who was third on the team in scoring a year ago at 13.2 points per game, brings the muscle up front. He led the team at 7.9 rebounds per game last year, and he is averaging 12.8 rebounds in the early going this year, including more than five per game on the offensive end.
Wise averaged 9.2 points and a team-high 4.4 assists a year ago. He has bumped those numbers to 12.5 and 7.9 this year, and -- despite the fact he stands just 5-10 -- added 3.8 rebounds a game.
The only other key member returning from last year's roster is 6-6 sophomore forward Jamelle Horne, who averaged 3.0 points per game while starting nine of the 26 games in which he played. He has contributed in many ways this season, with averages of 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Arizona State: Enjoying role as state's top team.
The Sun Devils have long lived in the shadow of Olson and the Wildcats, but that began to change a year ago, when second-year coach Herb Sendek led them to a 21-13 record.
The Sun Devils won 10 straight games at one point, including an overtime win over the Wildcats and a two-OT thriller against California, but they were surprisingly left out of the NCAA Tournament field after winning just three of their final eight games. ASU went on to play in the NIT, where it lost in the quarterfinals to Florida.
This year promises to be even better as all five starters -- and eight of their top nine scorers -- return from last year's team.
ASU is ranked in the Top 20 nationally in the early going with a 4-1 record. James Harden, a 6-5 sophomore guard who led the team at 17.8 points per game a year ago, has bumped the figure to 24.4 this season. That included a 33-point outburst against Charlotte.
Sophomore Ty Abbott and junior Derek Glasser also return in the backcourt in Sendek's three-guard offense. Abbott averaged 9.9 points and 3.6 rebounds a year ago while sinking 76 3-pointers. Glasser contributed 6.1 points a game and led the team with a 3.9 assist average.
Jeff Pendergraph, a 6-9 senior, and Rihards Kuksiks, a 6-6 swingman from Latvia, are the other starters back in Tempe. Pendergraph was second on the team in scoring (12.4) a year ago while leading at 6.4 rebounds per game. Kuksiks averaged 5.4 points a year ago.
Jerren Shipp, Eric Boateng and Jamelle McMillan are also back after making major contributions last season. Shipp was a key, starting 16 times and ranking fifth on the team in scoring (5.9 while grabbing 3.3 boards.
Click on the following link for part two of the series:
http://college-basketball.suite101.com/article.cfm/pac10_basketball_preview_california_stanford
