Official 2006 Arizona Wildcats Basketball Thread

[Mrh182]

I dont care what those choose to say about Lute being too old... I think he's still a great coach and U of A wouldn't be where they are without him.

I just hate so much seeing him lose. He's got so few years left and I want him to get as many wins as possible so coach K doesn't just blow his record by.


PS... From AZCentral...

The three-game skid in the Pac-10 is so remarkable it hasn't happened since Lute Olson's first season at Arizona (1983-84). Olson said he doesn't remember how it feels like to lose three straight in the conference.

 

[Lefty]

The UofA has lost to three very good teams that will be in the NCAA tournament. It's not like they were blown out in any of their five loses. The bench is very thin and Breilmeir should be back for the Washington games. Lute said on the radio yesterday they thought Marcus had broken his wrist, but fortunately it wasn't. You can see the wrist did affect his game yesterday.

The next two games will be against ASU and UNC. The UNC game should be a fun game to watch. If the Cats lose to ASU on Wednesday, then I will be worried about the rest of the year.

 

[devilfan02]

Sadly for you though, even past his prime Lute and his band of loyal yes-men (Miles Simon, Jim Rosborough, Josh Pastner) are still better than every coach ASU has ever hired.

No one's doubting that. If any ASU fan is, they need to remove their maroon and gold tinted sunglasses.

Don't worry, your PAC-10 losing streak will end soon. I believe ASU is next on the schedule

 

[Skkorpion]

Yeah you can, it's called the last four years. Sadly for you though, even past his prime Lute and his band of loyal yes-men (Miles Simon, Jim Rosborough, Josh Pastner) are still better than every coach ASU has ever hired.

PS - It's pathetic I'm comparing Arizona, one of the elite programs of the last twenty years with a laughingstock like ASU but right now that's the reality of Arizona basketball. We're only a 'good' program and have only been one since late March 2003 when we were undoubtedly one of the top 5 programs in the country. It's unacceptable.

That's pretty arrogant. Things can change fast. Once Lute goes, and he's not young, Arizona's program might take a big leap backward for a long time.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I dont care what those choose to say about Lute being too old... I think he's still a great coach and U of A wouldn't be where they are without him.

No question, Lute is Arizona. The problem is that he is getting older and has decided to surround himself with green assistants instead of experienced guys and it's reflecting on he court.

That's pretty arrogant. Things can change fast. Once Lute goes, and he's not young, Arizona's program might take a big leap backward for a long time.

What's arrogant? That I have expectations for the basketball program or my commentary about Lute compared to every coach ASU has ever had? Both are true.

Arizona will be fine as long as they bring in a good replacement (and we'll have a choice of some big names), they have the tradition, facilities, and solid connections in some of the best recruiting bases in the country. Most great programs that faded into obscurity resulted due to NCAA violations of some sort.

 

[ajcardfan]

Arizona will be fine as long as they bring in a good replacement (and we'll have a choice of some big names), they have the tradition, facilities, and solid connections in some of the best recruiting bases in the country. Most great programs that faded into obscurity resulted due to NCAA violations of some sort.

Arizona will be hurt by a couple of down seasons far more than the other elite programs though. High school basketball in Arizona is dreadfully weak. They can't count on local players to keep the program playing at a high level. Whoever pulls the trigger on the next hire can't blow it.

 

[Russ Smith]

Arizona will be fine as long as they bring in a good replacement (and we'll have a choice of some big names), they have the tradition, facilities, and solid connections in some of the best recruiting bases in the country. Most great programs that faded into obscurity resulted due to NCAA violations of some sort.

Absolulutely, here's hoping they hire Steve Lavin to pick up right where Lute left off.



As long as UA makes a good hire they'll be ok after Lute retires, if they promote one of the young guys they better make damn sure he's not going to do what Lavin did and just flat out not put in the work.

 

[Russ Smith]

Arizona will be hurt by a couple of down seasons far more than the other elite programs though. High school basketball in Arizona is dreadfully weak. They can't count on local players to keep the program playing at a high level. Whoever pulls the trigger on the next hire can't blow it.

Pastner gives them all sorts of ties in Texas(his dad is an AAU coach there) and they have been highly successful in LA recruiting for years. So yes recruiting just in Arizona won't get it done but they do have lots of recruiting bases to work with.

With the big year by Oregon odds are they stick with Kent instead of hiring Montgomery so that's one less school to worry about recruiting wise for the next few years. Looks like ASU's recruiting is on an upswing, USC's is, but there's so much talent in LA and the key is more and more kids are staying on the West Coast right now.Interesting to see how UW fares in recruiting with the collapse this year, they were considered to be in the lead for 2 top juniors Jrue Holliday in LA (they signed his older brother Justin) and Drew Gordon from San Jose, nobody is quite sure if that's going to hold true if their collapse this year continues. Both those kids are high on UCLA and Arizona recruiting lists so UW's demise could help one or both schools.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Pastner gives them all sorts of ties in Texas(his dad is an AAU coach there) and they have been highly successful in LA recruiting for years. So yes recruiting just in Arizona won't get it done but they do have lots of recruiting bases to work with.

Arizona has always had that Mater Dei connenction to go along with Houston Hoops. When Lute retires things will hit a lull for a couple seasons especially if they hire from outside and have to go through a systemic change. However if the replacement is qualified they will be fine. Winning at a school with tradition and facilities is not that difficult.

 

[Russ Smith]

Arizona has always had that Mater Dei connenction to go along with Houston Hoops. When Lute retires things will hit a lull for a couple seasons especially if they hire from outside and have to go through a systemic change. However if the replacement is qualified they will be fine. Winning at a school with tradition and facilities is not that difficult.

The Wear twins will put the Mater Dei connection to a test. I read that they talked to Lute after the game Saturday(the Wear twins). UCLA has several angles on the Wear family(they are freshman at Mater Dei and both are already 6'9"). First off their dad played with UCLA assistant coach Donny Daniels either in HS or college(forget which). One of their uncles apparently has known Howland for years. And then this year UCLA hired a Mater Dei guy(Gary McKnights son Clay) as film coordinator. Clay attended UCLA at one point (don't think he graduated from UCLA not sure).


USC is the interesting team they're clearly getting recruits it's just a question of how many of them make it on campus and for how long. They could become a real factor in the future recruiting in LA, or Floyd could get them on probation and bury the program, very interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[Russ Smith]

On UA I gotta admit what surprised me the most about this game was how easily Josh Shipp neutralized Budinger? Shipp himself was quiet on offense but defensively I was really concerned that Chase would light him up since he's not a great defender and is about 3 inches shorter than Chase, but he had no trouble at all staying in front of Chase. That was my big concern with Luc out that we couldn't matchup with Chase. Chase did a nice job on the boards but I also noticed that UCLA just attacked him mercilessly when UA was in man to man including several occasions where Afflalo posted him up and scored against a kid 4 inches taller who can really sky?

I really wanted Chase at UCLA and still think he's a very good player but it would appear that he absolutely needs to stay another year at UA because he's got to improve his defense and ball handling?

 

[devilfan02]

Congrats on your win tonight. Yes, we're 0-9 in the PAC and you beat us once again. We suck

The game starts in an hour and a half

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Marcus might not play.

ASU will keep it close, holding the ball for 33 seconds and then shooting prevents blowouts.

 

[devilfan02]

ASU will keep it close, holding the ball for 33 seconds and then shooting prevents blowouts.

True, the Rob Evans and Herb Sendek School of Offense makes watching basketball very boring. When you watch the Suns you wonder why a college basketball coach wouldn't grasp that system. Hopefully Sendek will when he gets his shooters (Harden, Polk hasn't seen a shot he doesn't like). Then again, he probably won't. No matter how much you guys are struggling, at least you can count on it being a fast paced, run oriented offense. We play freakin hot potato around the perimeter till the shot clock goes off

 

[Lefty]

Marcus might not play.

ASU will keep it close, holding the ball for 33 seconds and then shooting prevents blowouts.

Rumor is Marcus has been suspended. If true, this game will be a close one.

 

[Lefty]

Cats pregame report says Marcus is not playing tonight.

 

[devilfan02]

Rumor is Marcus has been suspended. If true, this game will be a close one.

Did he get suspended or is his wrist bothering him? What'd he get suspended for?

 

[Lefty]

Did he get suspended or is his wrist bothering him? What'd he get suspended for?

They just said he was given a one-game suspension for violating team rules. Lute will address it after the game.

 

[Lefty]

Wow, Cats playing a bunch of guys who rarely play and they are up 11 at the half. Jordan Hill looks like a guy who can contribute down the stretch. Still, without Marcus, this game is not over.

 

[Lefty]

Tangara needs to have surgery. Looks to be serious.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/166162

 

[Russ Smith]

Tangara needs to have surgery. Looks to be serious.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/166162

Yeesh I hope he comes out ok, talk about bad luck he's the kid that really hurt his back his freshman year and has never been the same. Apparently he took an elbow from Jordan Hill.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Now I know what cheering for an NIT team feels like. Look slike the clock might be ticking on Lute Olson or at the very least the clowns he chose to ride into the sunset with.

 

[Lefty]

Now I know what cheering for an NIT team feels like. Look slike the clock might be ticking on Lute Olson or at the very least the clowns he chose to ride into the sunset with.

I'm not giving up on this team. Sure they lost but I believe if they can get 19+ wins, they are in. Their strength of schedule is in the top-10 and that will benefit them. Saturday's game against Washington is a must.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I'm not giving up on this team. Sure they lost but I believe if they can get 19+ wins, they are in. Their strength of schedule is in the top-10 and that will benefit them. Saturday's game against Washington is a must.

Who cares? If just getting in was enough and competing for championships both on the conference and national level was out of the question then I'd save myself the two hour drive and be an ASU Football fan.

 

[Lefty]

Who cares? If just getting in was enough and competing for championships both on the conference and national level was out of the question then I'd save myself the two hour drive and be an ASU Football fan.

I care and many UofA fans care. I don't even think about the NIT. It's the NCAA tournament or nothing. This team has talent, they just are not playing together like they did earlier. Of course we Wildcat fans have been spoiled since 1985, but I'm not giving up on the season.