Zona Basketball '06

[Chaplin]

Radenovic needs to ride the bench. I cannot stand his weak defense, pathetic shooting, and poor rebounding anymore. He has a good game once in a while, but other than that he is useless. Not only does he think he can shot but he just might be the ugliest human being I have ever seen. Get this peice of trash off the floor.

That's a little extreme. He is a decent decision-maker on offense and takes some good chances--mainly knowing when to drive to the basket. Pretty good for a 6'10" guy.

 

[Lefty]

Radenovic needs to ride the bench. I cannot stand his weak defense, pathetic shooting, and poor rebounding anymore. He has a good game once in a while, but other than that he is useless. Not only does he think he can shot but he just might be the ugliest human being I have ever seen. Get this peice of trash off the floor.

When does McClellan get back? Please tell me he is passing all of his classes.

I'll give Ivan a break because he is playing with a bad thumb/wrist. Great news will be when Jawann comes back for the Oregon trip in two weeks. I see him eventually taking Chris Rodgers place.

 

[Renz]

Pacific-10 Conference Standings

TEAM CONF W-L TOTAL W-L
Arizona 2-0 9-3
California 2-0 8-3
Oregon 1-0 7-6
#7 Washington 1-1 11-1
#11 UCLA 1-1 11-2
USC 1-1 10-3
Washington State 1-1 8-3
Oregon State 0-1 7-5
Arizona State 0-2 6-5
Stanford 0-2 4-6

 

[Lefty]

Nice article about how Lute is still full of energy. It's amazing, he is 71 years old and still has that hunger and fire.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/109458

Animated Olson a key to big win
Opinion by Greg Hansen
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.01.2006
SEATTLE
Lute Olson was so worked up, so feeling it, that when Arizona's locker room was opened to the media Saturday afternoon, he was posting up Ivan Radenovic.
Putting a shoulder into Radenovic's midsection, Olson bulled the 245-pound Radenovic into a row of lockers.
"You've been soft; you just can't play scared," said Olson, his voice rising with each syllable. "You've got to be the aggressor."
Olson had sweated through his light blue dress shirt, turning it to a darker shade of blue long before the first of two overtimes at Bank of America Arena. He was especially edgy at halftime, releasing his club from the locker room an unusually long time (five minutes) before play was to resume. He accompanied them to the court, watching closely as they went through a warm-up routine.
Olson never does that. He customarily returns to the court in the final 30 seconds, paying no attention to the attendant buzz.
"C'mon!" he yelled, clapping his hands, standing close enough to the layup line that he could've been part of it. "Let's get going!"
He never does that, either.
Do you think Olson wanted to beat the Huskies or what? He understood more than anyone what it would mean to beat the nation's No. 7 team, to snap a 32-game home turf winning streak and return to national consciousness.
"He really got on us," said Hassan Adams. "Big time."
Arizona trailed 40-27, having missed 14 of 15 three-point attempts. By then, after 20 minutes, it was clear that the Huskies were no super team, home winning streak be damned. Yet the Wildcats had shot poorly, failing to react properly to the UW's intensity.
Olson accused his team of playing scared, the worst indictment in college hoops.
"He said we were timid," said center Kirk Walters. "He was probably right."
But after the game, after his exhausted team cut through the drama to change the complexion of Pac-10 basketball — and beating the Huskies 96-95 — Olson appeared fresh and eager. Perhaps it is because, on Saturday, the Wildcats again became the team to beat.
Oh, how Olson relishes that role. Oh, how he hates being the underdog.
When his squad entered the old arena for a Friday afternoon workout, it did not take long to notice that a large banner on the wall incorrectly identified the Huskies as "2005 Pac-10 champions."
Final 2005 standings:
1. Arizona 15-3.
2. Washington 14-4.
"It was one thing to drop out of the Top 25 after we won by 30 at Utah and broke their long home-court winning streak," said UA associate head coach Jim Rosborough. "But to see that banner? It got our attention. We had some good motivation; everybody was counting us out."
Everything changes now. The Salim-less, Frye-less Wildcats swept what is possibly the Pac-10's most feared road trip of 2005-06, refusing to give in after Washington seemed determine to win if it took all day.
"You gotta keep throwing blows," said Adams, who played the game of his career, making five three-point baskets when the Wildcats absolutely, positively could not have won with anything less. "The biggest thing I tried to stress was that the toughest team was going to win."
Almost predictably, the Huskies' 11-0 start to the season was camouflaged by a string of walkover opponents. While Arizona had engaged UConn, Michigan State and Kansas, and won impressively at Wazzu two days earlier, the Huskies had no real idea how they would stand up against quality opposition minus 2004-05 regulars Nate Robinson, Will Conroy and Tre Simmons.
Conroy's replacement, freshman point guard Justin Dentmon, scored seven points and committed four turnovers. Freshman power forward Jon Brockman, advanced in most dailies as the league's top freshman, is, instead, more of a plugger, a hustler, than an NBA-to-be player. He made two baskets.
The best newcomer on the floor was Arizona's Marcus Williams, who for the first time publicly was compared by Olson to Sean Elliott as a freshman.
Williams' 16-point, nine-rebound game gave him a superb opening week in the Pac-10 (31 points, 14 rebounds). Having lived the first 18 years of his life within walking distance of the UW campus, he understood the ramifications of Saturday's victory.
"They don't lose in the Dawg House at all," he said, his homecoming a rewarding success. "They reminded me of that all summer."
Williams listened as his veteran teammates spoke about the UW's 2005 "championship banner" and about what it means for Arizona to be unranked. He saw how much Olson wanted to win. Rather than shrink from the pressure, he thrived.
"We wanted it really bad," he said. "We deserve respect, and we weren't getting it. We took it kind of personal."
An hour after the game, Williams walked with some Seattle friends through his hometown arena. He stopped at the press box, bent down and picked up a copy of the final statistics.
On the top line, it read "Arizona 9-3."
A few weeks ago, 6-6 might have been a reasonable projection for Arizona entering the New Year. Everything has changed.
"I don't think you can say they're not as good as they've been," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar "They're very good."

 

[Renz]

When the Cats didn't get a shot off at the end of regulation, Lute came unglued! He looked like he was going to strangle someone.

I hope Lute coaches 'til he's 80.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Awful game. Just awful.

I can't even watch it anymore. Just pathetic.

 

[Lefty]

Cats have tied the game. Wow!!!

 

[boondockdrunk]

Nice of this team to make a comeback and then lose.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Unacceptable. We're a much better team than OSU and to even fall into that sort of hole is embarrassing. And Lute needs to catch hell for failing to recruit any sort of decent frontcourt player in the last five years.

 

[arthurracoon]

*sigh*

 

[boondockdrunk]

Unacceptable. We're a much better team than OSU and to even fall into that sort of hole is embarrassing. And Lute needs to catch hell for failing to recruit any sort of decent frontcourt player in the last five years.

There are people here in Tucson calling for Lute to resign or be fired.

It is a sad day.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

There are people here in Tucson calling for Lute to resign or be fired.

That's obviously ridiculous and quite reactionary. It was a bad loss and I'm very disappointed in the coaching staff for not bringing in or developing any sort of legitimate inside presence, but firing a HOF coach when you'd still be in the Tourney if the season ended today is just plain moronic.

 

[boondockdrunk]

That's obviously ridiculous and quite reactionary. It was a bad loss and I'm very disappointed in the coaching staff for not bringing in or developing any sort of legitimate inside presence, but firing a HOF coach when you'd still be in the Tourney if the season ended today is just plain moronic.

Right. I do not agree that Lute should be fired this year. What I see as a big problem for this team is the individual players affecting the overall team. Whenever Rodgers or Adams have the ball they usually attempt to score even if they have a bad look.

True we really lack an inside presence and that affects us greatly, but other teams have proven that you can win without a big guy in college.

 

[Russ Smith]

Right. I do not agree that Lute should be fired this year. What I see as a big problem for this team is the individual players affecting the overall team. Whenever Rodgers or Adams have the ball they usually attempt to score even if they have a bad look.

True we really lack an inside presence and that affects us greatly, but other teams have proven that you can win without a big guy in college.

I actually think Lute should be fired. He's a joke, can that guy.

I can agree with Mao no bigman is on Lute, but let's face it until the new rules on going pro, all the good bigmen go pro, so it puts a premium on finding late bloomers and developing them. And Lute plays almost exclusively 3 guard lineups so its a lot easier to convince guards to go there, than Centers.

now the rule change will force the Oden's and Love's of the world to go to college for a year so things should change a bit.

FYI here's a link to a video clip of Kevin Love, if UCLA gets this kid you can forget the Pac 10 title his freshman year, if Duke gets him, NCAA title. ove is #42, most of the clip he's in black, at the end he switches to white. He's about 6'10" his shooting touch, passing skill, and ballhandling is staggering for his size. Not nearly as athletic as Oden is but this kid is amazing.



http://www.hssmtv.com/Players/Kevin Love.htm

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Right. I do not agree that Lute should be fired this year. What I see as a big problem for this team is the individual players affecting the overall team. Whenever Rodgers or Adams have the ball they usually attempt to score even if they have a bad look.

True we really lack an inside presence and that affects us greatly, but other teams have proven that you can win without a big guy in college.

Yeah, i think we need to take it down a notch. Lute could lose every game from this point on and we would still let him leave when he wanted. It was a bad game and we are having a disapointing season, but that happens, even to Coach K (Duke missed the tournament a few years back)....

Lute has done so much for this school to say anything like he should resign is blasphemous and uninformed. Let's ease up and see if this team ends up developing by the tournament. The title game team of a few years back was disappointing during the season.

To me this team lacks heart and mental toughness, especially up front and at the PG. I read some quotes from McClellan that were encouraging this morning. Maybe his fire is what this team needs.....

 

[Lefty]

There are people here in Tucson calling for Lute to resign or be fired.

It is a sad day.

I live in Tucson and have not read or heard on the sports talk shows anyone asking for Lute to resign or be fired. I would like to hear who actuallyt thinks this because I would tell him he is a fool.

 

[boondockdrunk]

I live in Tucson and have not read or heard on the sports talk shows anyone asking for Lute to resign or be fired. I would like to hear who actuallyt thinks this because I would tell him he is a fool.

There were a couple of articles in the Daily Wildcat about how we should get rid of Lute.

Also, I heard on a radio station, but do not remember which one it was.

 

[Renz]

This year's team just isn't very good. They can't shoot or rebound, which is a bad combination. Unfortunately, this could be the year that the NCAA streak comes to an end.

 

[Dback Jon]

UA has now lost three of the last four, swept in Oregon.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

They're just like the team two years ago except the bench players have scholarships for some ungodly reason. Sory to say it, but Lute blew it with his frontcourt recruiting and certain coaching decisions in the last year. But they have some elite talent coming in with some already in the system so they'll be back.

 

[ajcardfan]

UA has now lost three of the last four, swept in Oregon.

Who would've thought ASU would win a game in Oregon, but not UofA?

Crazy stuff.

 

[Russ Smith]

The whole conference is nuts, Stanford started horribly and is now a half game out of first place.

UCLA not only blew a lead and lost to UW yesterday, they lost Alfred Aboya for at least 2 weeks with a hyperextended knee(had surgery on both this offseason). They literally can't get through a game without a major injury now, Farmar said after the game the idea of him sitting out to rest his ankle is not viable because his doctor said he'd need at least a month to recover fully. So he continues to tough it out on one leg.

This is the weirdest year I can recall in ages in the Pac 10.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

This is the weirdest year I can recall in ages in the Pac 10.

Not only the Pac-10 but all of college hoops. Comparatively speaking Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky are all struggling right now. Both Kansas and Kentucky probably would be NIT-bound right now.

And while the news is still down on the court for the Cats, Lute is still raking in the recruits. Another Top 25 from SoCal just committed to Arizona and Jerryd Bayless just tore up Brophy on regional TV. I guess all those UCLA and USC fans who predicted Howland and Floyd "owning" Southern California were pretty off base.

 

[Russ Smith]

Not only the Pac-10 but all of college hoops. Comparatively speaking Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky are all struggling right now. Both Kansas and Kentucky probably would be NIT-bound right now.

And while the news is still down on the court for the Cats, Lute is still raking in the recruits. Another Top 25 from SoCal just committed to Arizona and Jerryd Bayless just tore up Brophy on regional TV. I guess all those UCLA and USC fans who predicted Howland and Floyd "owning" Southern California were pretty off base.

I'm happy UK is struggling, I still can't believe the NCAA let Randolph Morris back. All offseason on ESPN insider you could read articles from Bucher and others about how Morris was the poster child for stupid because he was working out for NBA teams and NOT paying his expenses, which by rule means he can't go back to school. He even had an agent arranging the workouts, but said he hadn't signed any contract with him. He goes undrafted, appeals, and they give him a 1 year suspension. Then Tubby Smith miraculously "finds" a fax on his desk that had been missing for months, the fax is a letter from Morris to UK saying he was pursuing the draft but would not retain an agent so that he could return to UK if he wanted to. Using that fax, the NCAA cut his suspension and reinstated him. Complete farce.

Haven't heard who the new UA recruit commit is.

FYI UCLA is saying Aboya tore his meniscus and is probably out for the year given he's had 2 surgeries in the last 9 months and this will be his third.

Brutal.

 

[Dback Jon]

I'm happy UK is struggling, I still can't believe the NCAA let Randolph Morris back. All offseason on ESPN insider you could read articles from Bucher and others about how Morris was the poster child for stupid because he was working out for NBA teams and NOT paying his expenses, which by rule means he can't go back to school. He even had an agent arranging the workouts, but said he hadn't signed any contract with him. He goes undrafted, appeals, and they give him a 1 year suspension. Then Tubby Smith miraculously "finds" a fax on his desk that had been missing for months, the fax is a letter from Morris to UK saying he was pursuing the draft but would not retain an agent so that he could return to UK if he wanted to. Using that fax, the NCAA cut his suspension and reinstated him. Complete farce.

Haven't heard who the new UA recruit commit is.

FYI UCLA is saying Aboya tore his meniscus and is probably out for the year given he's had 2 surgeries in the last 9 months and this will be his third.

Brutal.

Agree 100% on UK - Vandy's win at Rupp last week was very sweet, given it was Morris' first game back. The FireTubbySmith.com site is getting very busy.