Miller once again does it again!

[Russ Smith]

Apparently Dorsey is out at Bosco although not confirmed. Missed 2 games in a row, dad said it was academics, now the claim is he's transferring and will change AAU programs too. He nearly went to Findlay before last season so I'm guessing he winds up there and on the Soldiers AAU roster.

 

[Russ Smith]

Sounds like PJC's situation will result in him graduating from a public school now that his parents have decided Loyola's punishment wasn't fair.

 

[overseascardfan]

Sounds like PJC's situation will result in him graduating from a public school now that his parents have decided Loyola's punishment wasn't fair.

Any concern that his academic situation will cause him to be ineligible? Any chance this kid becomes the next Josiah Turner? I haven't heard of him being a problem kid but this doesn't sound good.

 

[Russ Smith]

Any concern that his academic situation will cause him to be ineligible? Any chance this kid becomes the next Josiah Turner? I haven't heard of him being a problem kid but this doesn't sound good.

not that I've heard but who knows. All I know is that it's VERY likely he got caught cheating because that's essentially the only thing that would result in him being disciplined in that way.

There's some rumor that it wasn't his first incident in fact I've seen the claim it was his 3rd but who knows, it's pretty easy for anybody to say their kid goes to a certain school and the rumor is X, with no idea what's true.

I know the dad is a serious helicopter parent, that AAU movie that's coming out made that perfectly clear. So it doesn't surprise me the dad tried to control the situation and when he wasn't happy with the punishment he pulled the kid from school.

I haven't heard anything to suggest he's anything like Turner though, the older brother went to Penn and by all accounts was a terrific student.

 

[TJ]

not that I've heard but who knows. All I know is that it's VERY likely he got caught cheating because that's essentially the only thing that would result in him being disciplined in that way.

There's some rumor that it wasn't his first incident in fact I've seen the claim it was his 3rd but who knows, it's pretty easy for anybody to say their kid goes to a certain school and the rumor is X, with no idea what's true.

I know the dad is a serious helicopter parent, that AAU movie that's coming out made that perfectly clear. So it doesn't surprise me the dad tried to control the situation and when he wasn't happy with the punishment he pulled the kid from school.

I haven't heard anything to suggest he's anything like Turner though, the older brother went to Penn and by all accounts was a terrific student.

Yeah, I doubt they would have kicked him out for one act of cheating, unless it was some sort of major school-wide scheme (i.e. copying the test for the entire class). I'm sure he is a repeat offender; however, Arizona has already come out in support of PJC. Also, everything I've heard is that PJC is genuinely remorseful, so I hope he's learned his lesson.

 

[Russ Smith]

Yeah, I doubt they would have kicked him out for one act of cheating, unless it was some sort of major school-wide scheme (i.e. copying the test for the entire class). I'm sure he is a repeat offender; however, Arizona has already come out in support of PJC. Also, everything I've heard is that PJC is genuinely remorseful, so I hope he's learned his lesson.

THe source of the 3rd time rumor is actually a comment in the LA Times which prompted people to look at Loyola's website. In the student handbook which is apparently online it clearly outlines that a student will be kicked out of school after 3 violations of the academic conduct policy.

The assumption out there is that Loyola kicked him out but allowed him to announce he withdrew just like companies fire execs but publicly announce they resigned. Who knows if that's true or not, it's not what the dad is saying but again who knows.

I really like that he ignored his dad and went and apologized to the team, he gets that he let his whole team down they have a very good shot at a state title and without him that chance greatly diminishes. He's on a team with 2-3 other college prospects(Thomas Welsh and a guard whose name I'm blanking on that can jump out of the gym among them). I like that he owned up to his actions and apologized to the team, exact opposite of what Turner did.

 

[Russ Smith]

LA Times says PJC is enrolling at Sierra Canyon HS but will not play HS. Interestingly the dad had said he would simply attend the local public HS near his house, which is not Sierra Canyon.

Sierra Canyon has their own highly regarded PG class of 2016 Devearl Ramsey.

 

[Lefty]

Can't have enough big men.
http://zagsblog.com/articles/7-footer-nba-prospect-ristic-is-arizonas-to-lose/#more-111079

 

[Lefty]

Kadeem Allen article.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20140301/ARTICLES/140309987/1005?p=all&tc=pgall

 

[TJ]

Kadeem is one of the best juco players in the Nation. Curious to see what role he plays for Zona. If Johnson leaves, he'll be in the rotation for sure.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Johnson is gone.

 

[jw7]

Kadeem Allen article.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20140301/ARTICLES/140309987/1005?p=all&tc=pgall

but Arizona coach Shawn Miller led the recruiting push

Who the hell is Shawn Miller and why is he recruiting for the U of A?

 

[Russ Smith]

Things suddenly get much better for UA with Stephen Zimmerman who apparently just switched to the Oakland Soldiers for AAU. Good to be a Nike school.

Zimmerman is interesting there have been very few white kids on the Soldiers, one of the co founders actually says they started the program to keep inner city youth out of trouble and he sees them as a modern day Black Panthers.

 

[Lefty]

Kadeem Allen named Juco player of the year. With Nick leaving, I think Kadeem will see plenty of time coming off the bench next year.
http://azstarnet.com/sports/blogs/p...cle_33c6fd36-c3f6-11e3-b8d3-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Russ Smith]

Kadeem Allen named Juco player of the year. With Nick leaving, I think Kadeem will see plenty of time coming off the bench next year.
http://azstarnet.com/sports/blogs/p...cle_33c6fd36-c3f6-11e3-b8d3-001a4bcf887a.html

UA has a guard problem they have too many good ones and I think that's why the York is leaving rumors are so apparent right now. By the end of last season it was apparent that Pitts was a better defender than York and a pretty darn good shooter too. Allen is supposed to be extremely quick to the rim, iffy shooter but terrific off the bounce. TJ is the prototype PG and improved his shooting during the year. If you assume Rondae comes back then Stanley Johnson is the likely starting 2, big strong kid, plays hard, got better every year in HS. There's just very little chance that York is going to see much time and with PJC and Allen coming in almost no chance he sees any time as a backup PG which was his ultimate plan.

I'm actually interested in seeing how much PJC plays, from what I've read, Allen himself says he played PG all through HS and even in JC, he scored a ton because his team needed it but he considers himself a scoring PG. TJ is a major minutes kind of kid and a senior. So it's quite possible PJC is going to have a very tough chance getting minutes his first year and then be competing with Allen for the PG spot as a soph.

Nice depth problem to have.

 

[TJ]

Barring sudden change:

Gordon: Gonzo
NJ: Gonzo
RHJ: Back
Tarc: Back

Haven't heard any York transfer rumors, but Pitts figures to be in the mix more and York is severely limited in his skill set. It makes sense that he leaves.

 

[Russ Smith]

Barring sudden change:

Gordon: Gonzo
NJ: Gonzo
RHJ: Back
Tarc: Back

Haven't heard any York transfer rumors, but Pitts figures to be in the mix more and York is severely limited in his skill set. It makes sense that he leaves.

All over the scout boards about york but then he was supposed to leave LAST year and didn't then. I've never been a fan of his game like I said before I have no idea why he played so much in the Wisconsin game he's a one trick pony.

hard to tell on UA. They lost 2 of the 3 best defenders on the roster(along with Rondae) and their leader and clutch guy(Nick) and their best rebounder and 2nd best shot blocker, and a surprisingly good passer(gordon, amazingly Rondae led UA in blocks). I think Ashley is a big step down from Gordon defensively, but a better shooter to stretch the court and he can rebound and block shots too. Doesn't pass the ball anything like Gordon but Rondae does and will play even more next year.

I think Stanley is a better prospect than Nick, but unlikely as a freshman he'll be as good as Nick was as a junior. Obviously you would expect Tarc, Ashley, Rondae and TJ to all improve, along with Pitts. Possible UA is better, they should be better on offense, but I suspect they will have a tough time replacing those 2 on defense.

 

[Lefty]

All over the scout boards about york but then he was supposed to leave LAST year and didn't then. I've never been a fan of his game like I said before I have no idea why he played so much in the Wisconsin game he's a one trick pony.

hard to tell on UA. They lost 2 of the 3 best defenders on the roster(along with Rondae) and their leader and clutch guy(Nick) and their best rebounder and 2nd best shot blocker, and a surprisingly good passer(gordon, amazingly Rondae led UA in blocks). I think Ashley is a big step down from Gordon defensively, but a better shooter to stretch the court and he can rebound and block shots too. Doesn't pass the ball anything like Gordon but Rondae does and will play even more next year.

I think Stanley is a better prospect than Nick, but unlikely as a freshman he'll be as good as Nick was as a junior. Obviously you would expect Tarc, Ashley, Rondae and TJ to all improve, along with Pitts. Possible UA is better, they should be better on offense, but I suspect they will have a tough time replacing those 2 on defense.

Maybe you should worry more about UCLA instead what the UofA is doing. The Cats are going to be a top-5 team and have a legit shot at the Final 4. Pitts is going to be ahead of York and there is a lot more depth than Miller has ever had.

 

[Russ Smith]

Maybe you should worry more about UCLA instead what the UofA is doing. The Cats are going to be a top-5 team and have a legit shot at the Final 4. Pitts is going to be ahead of York and there is a lot more depth than Miller has ever had.

I spend a hell of a lot more time on UCLA boards than I do here. I'm just saying it's hard to know on UA.

On paper they're deeper and you would expect the 4 key guys returning to all be better, TJ, Rondae, Ashley and Tarc. Lots of UA fans think York is gone because he knows he's going to be behind TJ, Pitts and Allen, Johnson is probably playing the 2 so he's behind him too, and then PJC.

I agree it's a deep team, I like Pitts, said so repeatedly I wanted UCLA to recruit him. I think York is a one trick pony and when he's not making open shots he's sort of useless and that's why he might leave.

The question on UA is they have to replace their best player, Nick, and a very good college player in Gordon. I think Gordon is significantly better than Ashley despite his shooting issues, I think Nick as a junior was better than Stanley as a freshman will be.

I think the offense will be better, I think the defense won't be as good, so it's hard to say what UA will be like this year. One of the keys is Nick used to have to slide over and play some PG because York couldn't and Mayes wasn't playing. This year they'll have options of putting Allen or PJC at backup PG, they won't be asking Stanley to do what Nick had to do so Stanley can just concentrate on scoring which is what he does best.

As for Final Four I agree, it's pretty early UK looks absolutely loaded until we know who goes pro. There are some others but I agree on paper UA has a FF potential roster.

No idea on UCLA until we know if Adams stays, and until I know if Hamilton plays the 1 or Alford does, which will take months to be revealed.

And people wonder why less people are posting on ASFN these days.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

It's really not hard to know Russ. UA will be a top 10 team and have a legit chance at cutting down the nets. No team is perfect out there, but they should be as good if not better than the post-Ashley Cats of this year. Likely not better than the pre-Ashley injury Cats which by the metrics was a historically good team.

 

[Russ Smith]

It's really not hard to know Russ. UA will be a top 10 team and have a legit chance at cutting down the nets. No team is perfect out there, but they should be as good if not better than the post-Ashley Cats of this year. Likely not better than the pre-Ashley injury Cats which by the metrics was a historically good team.

again it's always hard to know how a team reacts to replacing it's best player.

Look at the close games this year, Michigan, UCLA the first time, Drexel, Duke what do they all have in common? Nick Johnson in the 2nd half or late in the 2nd half coming through with big shots or big plays or both to win the game.

Look at the UA losses last year and how Nick struggled in most of them. This year in every close game almost without fail Miller put the ball in Nick Johnsons hands at the end of the game. UA has lots of talent, but who is going to take the big shot this coming year, TJ, Ashley, Rondae, Tarc, Stanley? Nobody has any idea yet.

UA will have lots of talent, but until you see in games who replaces Nick and how effectively it's tough to know how good they are going to be. Stanley is terrific but he's a freshman, very difficult to expect him to be as good as a junior Nick was.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

again it's always hard to know how a team reacts to replacing it's best player.

Look at the close games this year, Michigan, UCLA the first time, Drexel, Duke what do they all have in common? Nick Johnson in the 2nd half or late in the 2nd half coming through with big shots or big plays or both to win the game.

Look at the UA losses last year and how Nick struggled in most of them. This year in every close game almost without fail Miller put the ball in Nick Johnsons hands at the end of the game. UA has lots of talent, but who is going to take the big shot this coming year, TJ, Ashley, Rondae, Tarc, Stanley? Nobody has any idea yet.

UA will have lots of talent, but until you see in games who replaces Nick and how effectively it's tough to know how good they are going to be. Stanley is terrific but he's a freshman, very difficult to expect him to be as good as a junior Nick was.

We lost our best player the year before in Solomon Hill and got better.

There's simply too much talent for Arizona not to be really good. I love Nick Johnson's game but we're not talking about Kevin Durant here, his production can be replaced rather easily if Hollis-Jefferson makes the jump into his projected lottery status and Stanley Johnson lives up to his high school rep. Yeah, I suppose nobody has a crystal ball but it's not that hard to read the tea leaves here Russ. How often are teams with four likely NBA first rounders not top 10-ish teams?

 

[TJ]

We lost our best player the year before in Solomon Hill and got better.

There's simply too much talent for Arizona not to be really good. I love Nick Johnson's game but we're not talking about Kevin Durant here, his production can be replaced rather easily if Hollis-Jefferson makes the jump into his projected lottery status and Stanley Johnson lives up to his high school rep. Yeah, I suppose nobody has a crystal ball but it's not that hard to read the tea leaves here Russ. How often are teams with four likely NBA first rounders not top 10-ish teams?

We also lost 16ppg in Mark Lyons prior to last season, along with Parrom's defense and leadership.

Elite programs like Arizona reload, not rebuild. Looking at next years roster, this team appears to be able to go even deeper. I see 11 players who could make a contribution, but most likely, the rotation will go 8 deep. Last season, especially after the Ashley injury, we struggled to go past 6 deep.

Even if Stanley Johnson is only average, which is highly unlikely given his skill set and accolades, this team promises to be a contender. Too much depth, talent, and leadership to fail.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

We lost our best player the year before in Solomon Hill and got better.

There's simply too much talent for Arizona not to be really good. I love Nick Johnson's game but we're not talking about Kevin Durant here, his production can be replaced rather easily if Hollis-Jefferson makes the jump into his projected lottery status and Stanley Johnson lives up to his high school rep. Yeah, I suppose nobody has a crystal ball but it's not that hard to read the tea leaves here Russ. How often are teams with four likely NBA first rounders not top 10-ish teams?

Am I missing something here? Arizona is listed as preseason #1 or 2 and many of those took into account NJ being gone.

Arizona will be Top 3 preseason, PAC 12 favorite, and likely 1 or 2 seed.

Losing two key defenders is tough but this is a Sean Miller team. They played great defense the year before and had Mark Lyons and Sol Hill for Fs sakes. They may take a slight step back but you won't see a bad Sean Miller coached defensive team maybe ever. It's just too ingrained into his system and the expectations of the program.

And this should be the best team Miller has had offensively. You say Gordon is better then Ashey but that's kind of a simple comment Russ. Gordon is more athletic and a better defender but no where near the refined offensive player and I expect Ashley will average close to 6 more ppg then Gordon had this year.

And maybe I'm crazy but I think TJ will be the difference next year. I expect him to end the year as on of the All American PGs be much better offensively and the heart and soul of the team. Would not surprise me to see him take over NJs late game heroics role much like Aaron Craft this past year.

 

[Russ Smith]

Am I missing something here? Arizona is listed as preseason #1 or 2 and many of those took into account NJ being gone.

Arizona will be Top 3 preseason, PAC 12 favorite, and likely 1 or 2 seed.

Losing two key defenders is tough but this is a Sean Miller team. They played great defense the year before and had Mark Lyons and Sol Hill for Fs sakes. They may take a slight step back but you won't see a bad Sean Miller coached defensive team maybe ever. It's just too ingrained into his system and the expectations of the program.

And this should be the best team Miller has had offensively. You say Gordon is better then Ashey but that's kind of a simple comment Russ. Gordon is more athletic and a better defender but no where near the refined offensive player and I expect Ashley will average close to 6 more ppg then Gordon had this year.

And maybe I'm crazy but I think TJ will be the difference next year. I expect him to end the year as on of the All American PGs be much better offensively and the heart and soul of the team. Would not surprise me to see him take over NJs late game heroics role much like Aaron Craft this past year.

I said Gordon was a better player, specifically he's a MUCH better defender than Ashley unless Ashley improves quite a bit. Ashley was a very poor defender as a freshman and IMO was the weakest defender in the starting 5 before he got hurt. He's not a poor defender now but Aaron Gordon is going to be a mid to late lottery pick largely on defense and rebounding. I'm not a fan of Gordon's game overall NBA wise, but he's a better player than Ashley. Frankly I think Rondae is too.

I think UA will be the conference favorite and will start the season ranked top 5. I don't think they will be as good defensively as they were this past season, I do think they can be better offensively. I think it will be interesting to see in late game situations who steps up, the best natural scorer in the starting lineup is probably going to be freshman Stanley Johnson.

Ashley is a much better shooter than Gordon, Johnson has similar range to Nick although he's not the playmaker Nick was and again he's a freshman. I would expect improvement from the other 4 starters so I the offense is better.

I haven't even once said I don't think UA is going to be good, all I did is say it's hard to say HOW good because they lost their best player and the go to guy. Nick was the POY in the conference, you might get similar play out of a freshman but it's impossible to know until it happens.