2014 Arizona Basketball

[TJ]

Losing POY I can see, losing out on COY I can see and losing out on DPOY isn't a shocker. But losing out on all 3??? That is a shocker and screams pettiness IMO. You could easily make the case we should have won all 3.



Steve

Miller could win COY every season. It's like with Michael Jordan--he should've won MVP every season he played in the league, but the committee felt obligated to give it to someone else every once in a while.



Joseph Young is a fine talent, but he doesn't make his team better the way Wright and McConnell do. Should've been between Wright and TJ, IMO.



DPOY----that's garbage. If Gary Payton II's name was Gary Smith, he would not have won the award.

 

[Lefty]

Payton winning over Rondae is an absolute joke. Rondae plays man-to-man while Payton mostly plays zone. A complete joke.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Payton winning over Rondae is an absolute joke. Rondae plays man-to-man while Payton mostly plays zone. A complete joke.

And RHJ can defend almost anywhere on the court. Payton has incredible hands but he just isn't the defensive presence that Rondae is.

Steve

 

[SO91]

Bummed that our guys didn't get any awards, but I'm hoping they meet in the P12 tourney and they thrash them convincingly after taking this as a slight.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Bummed that our guys didn't get any awards, but I'm hoping they meet in the P12 tourney and they thrash them convincingly after taking this as a slight.

That would work.

Steve

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Delon Wright should have been POY. Altman winning COY after the assault thing is a joke.

 

[overseascardfan]

I was up all night so I passed the time by re-watching our recent games against Cal and Stanford. Lots of fun but one thing stands out to me. I think I'm going to miss TJ as much as any player I can remember. And I never saw it coming when he transferred in from Duquesne.

Steve

What a difference a true pass first PG can make to balance out a team.

 

[Russ Smith]

Coach of the year - Dana Altman over Larry K and Miller

Defensive Player of the Year - Gary Payton II over Rondae

Yep. Makes sense.

It depends on what the award is for. I think Payton is hard to defend because they play so much zone, I'd have voted Rondae.

Preseason the media picked Oregon 8th, they finished 2nd and basically had one bad loss, to WSU. Considering how they appeared to be cratering in the offseason with all the attrition and the sexual assault scandal, finishing 2nd was pretty amazing.

If the award is for the whole thing including building the roster, obviously Miller wins it, but I think people tend to vote on best job during the season and then it's defensible to give the aware to Altman.

 

[Russ Smith]

Miller could win COY every season. It's like with Michael Jordan--he should've won MVP every season he played in the league, but the committee felt obligated to give it to someone else every once in a while.



Joseph Young is a fine talent, but he doesn't make his team better the way Wright and McConnell do. Should've been between Wright and TJ, IMO.



DPOY----that's garbage. If Gary Payton II's name was Gary Smith, he would not have won the award.

I like Wright and McConnell but how exactly did Oregon finish 2nd if Young doesn't make the team better? He draws so much attention, other guys get better shots.

He's not a guy who gets tons of assists, but he always has the defense keyed on him and that makes other guys better.

We had the debate on a UCLA board I'm on, if you traded McConnell for Bryce Alford, I think UCLA wins 2-3 more conf games and Arizona loses 2-3 more. I'm not sure that's not true of Young for Alford too though, having a guy that everyone worries about helps an offense.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I like Wright and McConnell but how exactly did Oregon finish 2nd if Young doesn't make the team better? He draws so much attention, other guys get better shots.

He's not a guy who gets tons of assists, but he always has the defense keyed on him and that makes other guys better.

We had the debate on a UCLA board I'm on, if you traded McConnell for Bryce Alford, I think UCLA wins 2-3 more conf games and Arizona loses 2-3 more. I'm not sure that's not true of Young for Alford too though, having a guy that everyone worries about helps an offense.

As I mentioned, I don't have a problems with any of the 3 choices but all 3? How often does a team dominate a conference and get shut out of the big awards?

Steve

 

[Lefty]

I like Wright and McConnell but how exactly did Oregon finish 2nd if Young doesn't make the team better? He draws so much attention, other guys get better shots.

He's not a guy who gets tons of assists, but he always has the defense keyed on him and that makes other guys better.

We had the debate on a UCLA board I'm on, if you traded McConnell for Bryce Alford, I think UCLA wins 2-3 more conf games and Arizona loses 2-3 more. I'm not sure that's not true of Young for Alford too though, having a guy that everyone worries about helps an offense.

If UCLA had Parker Jackson-Cartright, I think they would have 2-3 more wins this year.

 

[Russ Smith]

As I mentioned, I don't have a problems with any of the 3 choices but all 3? How often does a team dominate a conference and get shut out of the big awards?

Steve

Well UA is a balanced team.

I think Rondae should win DPOY.

I think TJ was the best player on the best team but not sure that's what POY award means.

I wouldn't have complained if TJ won it, I just have no issue with Young winning because Oregon was expected to be bottom half of the conference and finished 2nd largely because of him, good coaching, and other teams not performing.

 

[Russ Smith]

If UCLA had Parker Jackson-Cartright, I think they would have 2-3 more wins this year.

Not even close.

I like PJC, but he played the right role at UA this year coming off the bench, he's just not physically strong enough to start in the Pac 12 yet.

And let's not ignore the would UCLA's admissions have been as benevolent as UA's were when the truth about his situation at Loyola came out? I'm still amazed he didn't have to sit out a year.

 

[Russ Smith]

Congrats on the win. Hoping UCLA showed enough to get an at large but not sure they did.

 

[GatorAZ]

Time for Oregon and Utah to wear each other out!

 

[AzStevenCal]

Time for Oregon and Utah to wear each other out!

Quadruple overtime?

Steve

 

[TJ]

Congrats on the win. Hoping UCLA showed enough to get an at large but not sure they did.

They deserve one, but are gonna get snubbed. Tony Parker out for the Oregon trip killed UCLA

 

[TJ]

Games like this remind me of why I hate playing UCLA, especially in the PAC Tournament. Regardless of the talent disparity, UCLA always plays us hard. I think the team was reminded of that when it decided to take a nap after going up 11-2.

Now please, sweet baby Jesus, win the damn tournament for the first time since I was a sophomore in undergrad

 

[TJ]

Quadruple overtime?



Steve

I wouldn't mind if they played until 2:30am

 

[Russ Smith]

Games like this remind me of why I hate playing UCLA, especially in the PAC Tournament. Regardless of the talent disparity, UCLA always plays us hard. I think the team was reminded of that when it decided to take a nap after going up 11-2.

Now please, sweet baby Jesus, win the damn tournament for the first time since I was a sophomore in undergrad

They had to play you hard it was their best chance to get a bid.

I thought the zone changed the game, the odd thing was UCLA made a run in the 2nd half while in man. And then lost the game in a combination of man and zone when Miller finally decided why don't we just attack bryce alford on defense.

That and the offensive rebounding was the game, TJ blowing by Bryce over and over either to score or kick out for a big 3 from York or Johnson. At one point even Steve Alford pulled his son aside to yell at him to guard someone. So frustrating, I sure hope they let Aaron Holiday play next year so that stuff stops happening.

Ashley was huge, best game I've seen him play.

 

[GatorAZ]

#2 seed regardless of the outcome tonight?

 

[jw7]

#2 seed regardless of the outcome tonight?

I think so. I remember in the late 80s when AZ was a #2. Played a #15 seed Santa Clara, who happened to have a PG named Steve Nash. They won.

 

[Lefty]

I think so. I remember in the late 80s when AZ was a #2. Played a #15 seed Santa Clara, who happened to have a PG named Steve Nash. They won.

It was actually in 1993 and Nash came off the bench for Santa Clara. The turning point in that game was when Mills picked up his 4th foul early in the 2nd half and had to sit. That is when Santa Clara took the lead and held on at the end. A year later the pain from that loss was lessen thanks to the Cats reaching the Final Four.

 

[Lefty]

Cats played extremely well. If they can make their outside shots, they will be tough to beat.

 

[TJ]

Cats played extremely well. If they can make their outside shots, they will be tough to beat.

Indeed. Should stay in the West, but could draw WISC in our bracket. Oy....