Official 2006 Arizona Wildcats Basketball Thread

[Lefty]

Counting down the days until Mustafa exhausts his eligibility.

Ivan has been a big disappointment in the second half also. Looking forward to Bayless and Horne next year.

 

[Mrh182]

Counting down the days until Mustafa exhausts his eligibility.

 

[Skkorpion]

Counting down the days until Mustafa exhausts his eligibility.

Ugh. I know the feeling. Under Matt Dougherty, Notre Dame had a four year starter at point guard who got worse each year and more selfish. His name escapes me. The coach wouldn't bench him or work on correcting the guy's mistakes.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Ugh. I know the feeling. Under Matt Dougherty, Notre Dame had a four year starter at point guard who got worse each year and more selfish. His name escapes me. The coach wouldn't bench him or work on correcting the guy's mistakes.

Chris Thomas?

Shakur is a good kid who works hard, but he's a headcase with zero confidence. He goes into the fetal position in crunchtime and listens too much to his support in Philly who still remember him as the dominant high school guard instead of the mediocre collegiate one. Arizona's offense requires a PG that can shoot and be strong with the ball, neither of which applies to Shakur.

 

[devilfan02]

Kinda funny coming from the same guy who only a week ago used "Mustafa Shakur" and "Great Point Guard" in the same sentence.

Shakur has never been and never will come close to being a great point guard. If I could only get that point across to some dillusional Suns fans who want us to pick him with the Suns pick.

 

[devilfan02]

Arizona's offense requires a PG that can shoot and be strong with the ball, neither of which applies to Shakur.

Exactly why I don't understand why certain Suns fans want to draft him. He can't shoot and I hardly believe he could handle running the most prolific offense in the history of the NBA (even if he's a backup). He makes Banks look like Nash

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Exactly why I don't understand why certain Suns fans want to draft him. He can't shoot and I hardly believe he could handle running the most prolific offense in the history of the NBA (even if he's a backup). He makes Banks look like Nash

Same reason Chris Henry's name has been brought up on the Cardinals board and Ryan Torain's will next draft no matter how many RBs are on the roster. It's why certain people wanted us to use a second round pick on Derek Hagan despite having Boldin and Fitz and to trade a pick for Andrew Walter when we already have Matt Leinart on the roster. Homerism runs rampant amongst fans.

Shakur is not a good PG nor will he ever be, anyone who views him objectively can see that.

 

[Skkorpion]

Yes, thanks Mao. It was Chris Thomas.

 

[Russ Smith]

Yes, thanks Mao. It was Chris Thomas.

I would say he should have gone to UCLA(they recruited him hard) but he would have been stuck playing for Lavin so he wouldn't have gotten any better.

I always liked Thomas, just a good college player, just not big enough or a good enough shooter to be any better. At that size to really be great you have to be an exceptional shooter(like Tajuan Porter at Oregon) or blazing fast (like Collison at UCLA or Brooks at Oregon). Thomas was good, but I'd agree he never got better.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Still counting down the days until Mustafa exhausts his eligibility.

 

[SO91]

Still counting down the days until Mustafa exhausts his eligibility.

 

[Lefty]

Still counting down the days until Mustafa exhausts his eligibility.

Next year's team will be better just because Mustafa won't be on it. I can't see any NBA team taking him. He is not a very smart player. Looking forward to Bayless next year.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Looking forward to Bayless next year.

No kidding. There will obviously be freshman growing pains, but the guy is the anti-Shakur when it comes to *cue Bill Walton voice* competitive greatness and confidence. He put up 37 last night to knock off #1 Desert Vista and advance to the State finals.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/articles/03015aIbhoopsb0302.html

Lesson No.1: Never try to get under Bayless' skin.

The bigger the game, the greater the enemy crowd, the more poised he is.

 

[Renz]

Whew! Cats blow a 19-point halftime lead, but beat Stanford in OT. Huge game by Radenovic with 37 points.

That makes 20 straight years with at least 20 wins and soon will be 23 straight NCAA tournament bids. Congrats, U of A.

 

[Skkorpion]

Whew! Cats blow a 19-point halftime lead, but beat Stanford in OT. Huge game by Radenovic with 37 points.

That makes 20 straight years with at least 20 wins and soon will be 23 straight NCAA tournament bids. Congrats, U of A.

Concur. Congratulations UA. Lute has been superb.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

I cant wait to see Bayless, but this year is our chance to make a legit Final Four run. I am not so sure we can make that type of run next season. We are going to be very young, Chase and Bayless are going to have to play like All Pac-10 players, and we need Walters to give us something if we want to make a nice run next year.

Who knows how the freshman will turn out, but they are going to be counted on to produce next season.

 

[Mrh182]

That makes 20 straight years with at least 20 wins and soon will be 23 straight NCAA tournament bids. Congrats, U of A.

Just about the only thing that's kept me going this season after what happened following our 12-1 start...

 

[Lefty]

I cant wait to see Bayless, but this year is our chance to make a legit Final Four run. I am not so sure we can make that type of run next season. We are going to be very young, Chase and Bayless are going to have to play like All Pac-10 players, and we need Walters to give us something if we want to make a nice run next year.

Who knows how the freshman will turn out, but they are going to be counted on to produce next season.

Disagree. Next year they should be better. Lute has always said the biggest improvement made by players is from their Freshman to sophomore year. Chase and Jordan will be better. Bayless will be better than Mustafa and the big if is the health of Jawann. Horne will definitely help, especially with his athleticism.

Bayless has so much talent, just like Bibby and Mike led the Cats to a national title in his first year. These kids play basketball all year, it's not like 20-25 years ago. They come in with a lot of experience.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Disagree. Next year they should be better. Lute has always said the biggest improvement made by players is from their Freshman to sophomore year. Chase and Jordan will be better. Bayless will be better than Mustafa and the big if is the health of Jawann. Horne will definitely help, especially with his athleticism.

Bayless has so much talent, just like Bibby and Mike led the Cats to a national title in his first year. These kids play basketball all year, it's not like 20-25 years ago. They come in with a lot of experience.

I think they will be better in some ways, but if you think we have a better shot at making the Final Four next year over this year, then I completely disagree with you. Next year we are going to be counting on too many unknowns.

Bayless and Budinger are the go-to, sure thing, guys.

How does Jordan Hill progress? We need him out there and if we have to take him out of the lineup next year to match up with teams that isnt good for Jordan or Arizona.

What do we get from Nic Wise? I like Wise and think he will be a good PG here. I didnt throw him under the bus like some fans did, but everyone expected him to be the next freshmen sensation.

Jamelle Horne... He is the x factor next season. We need some production off the bench and he needs to produce in his role.

Dillon... He is our defender, but we need more then that from him. He is now an upper classmen and hopefully he plays like one.

Finally, Jawann McClellan... I have no idea what we are going to get from him. His knees arent going to get much better, the only thing that Lute or the staff can do is manage his minutes better during the OOC schedule. If he is healthy he is a HUGE asset to the team. If not, it could be another frustrating year.

Again, I am basing success on which team can go further in the tournament. If I had to pick which team would make the Final Four, it wouldnt be next year's team.

 

[Lefty]

I think they will be better in some ways, but if you think we have a better shot at making the Final Four next year over this year, then I completely disagree with you. Next year we are going to be counting on too many unknowns.

Bayless and Budinger are the go-to, sure thing, guys.

How does Jordan Hill progress? We need him out there and if we have to take him out of the lineup next year to match up with teams that isnt good for Jordan or Arizona.

What do we get from Nic Wise? I like Wise and think he will be a good PG here. I didnt throw him under the bus like some fans did, but everyone expected him to be the next freshmen sensation.

Jamelle Horne... He is the x factor next season. We need some production off the bench and he needs to produce in his role.

Dillon... He is our defender, but we need more then that from him. He is now an upper classmen and hopefully he plays like one.

Finally, Jawann McClellan... I have no idea what we are going to get from him. His knees arent going to get much better, the only thing that Lute or the staff can do is manage his minutes better during the OOC schedule. If he is healthy he is a HUGE asset to the team. If not, it could be another frustrating year.

Again, I am basing success on which team can go further in the tournament. If I had to pick which team would make the Final Four, it wouldnt be next year's team.

What scares me most about next year is not the players, it's the schedule. The Cats will once again have the hardest schedule in the country, and next year's is more brutal than this year.

They have to go to North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas, Illinois, UNLV. They also get Virginia at home. You then factor in the Pac-10 teams(UCLA, USC, Stanford, Washington, Oregon & WSU) and it is one of the hardest Lute has ever had.

The plus side is the non-conference schedule will definitely have them prepared for Pac-10 play.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Next season could be eery simliar to the 2000 season when Arenas and Gardner stepped up as freshman and led us to some huge wins early in the OOC schedule.

 

[Lefty]

The Cats are one of four schools wearing new uniforms from Nike. They will start wearing them on Thursday against Oregon. I don't mind the top but the shorts are too long. I have a feeling the UofA must be getting some big bucks from Nike to wear these in the NCAA tournament. I'm hoping they don't wear them next year.
http://systemofdress.com/

 

[Mr. Boldin]

Dont count on them going away anytime soon unless something happens with them at the Pac-10 tourney or NCAAs.

Lute pretty much helped Nike design them. He told them what they were and were not allowed to change/add.

 

[green machine]

The Cats are one of four schools wearing new uniforms from Nike. They will start wearing them on Thursday against Oregon. I don't mind the top but the shorts are too long. I have a feeling the UofA must be getting some big bucks from Nike to wear these in the NCAA tournament. I'm hoping they don't wear them next year.
http://systemofdress.com/

Here is a photo from the web site listed above. I'm not a fan of these jerseys, apparently the red is completely gone.

You must be registered for see images attach

EDIT: Original photo was WAY too big..resized it for everyone.

 

[Espo]

I think these are great. Thank god the red is gone they were an eye sore. These are clean, nothing flashy yet classy. I'm glad the Cats made the switch and according to Ryan Finley of the Star they are here to stay.