This has everything you want in a college basketball intro video: old highlights, current NBA players and Jason Terry in an amazing two-tone Wildcats jersey.

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Elite college basketball programs all have unique identities carved by their head coaches’ visions of what championship basketball leans upon. Defense wins championships, but offense has a more delicate balance of what’s right and what’s wrong. Does the system have restrictive bounds? Or is freedom important to a certain extent?

The answer lies within a thin grey-area of allowing players to utilize their own strengths and talents within an organized playbook. Balancing those two schemes defines winners. Who’s job description fits that? The point guard. Read More »

Barring an undefeated run through the Pac-10 tournament, the Arizona Wildcats (14-14, 8-8) are poised to miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a quarter-century. In a down year for the entire Pac-10, one of its signature programs isn’t even in the “bubble” discussion.

A transition like this is commonplace when one legendary coach retires (Lute Olson) and a younger coach takes over. But for first-year AZ boss Sean Miller — who made the Big Dance field in four of his five years at Xavier, including an Elite Eight — it’s not something he’s used to. Read More »

With a 74-72 double overtime loss to UNLV last night – setting its record at 3-3 – it’s an understatement to say that Arizona is not run by flash and big names this year. With Lute Olson thrice removed and the Encinitas Enigma, (coined by yours truly; shirt orders to my Twitter…) Chase Budinger, and Jordan “Coach’s Decision” Hill both gone to the pros, the ‘Cats aren’t the national draw they once were. Add into the mix a Pac-10 conference that is seeing its lowest production in years and an influx of untested youth, and you have a recipe for bland, mistake-riddled basketball. In a region dominated largely by guard play, most of the attention has surrounded Cal’s Jerome Randle and Washington’s Isaiah Thomas – and deservedly so.

Someone forgot to relay the message to ‘Zona’s Nic Wise. Read More »

As much as I applauded Brandon Jennings for thinking outside the box, taking a risk and playing pro ball in Europe before coming to the NBA, the Pac-10 fan in me was kind of hating that I wouldn’t get to see “Young Money” rip it up for a year at Arizona.

The 12th-seeded ‘Zona squad that made an unexpected run to the Sweet Sixteen last spring would have been a national title contender with Jennings distributing the rock to Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger and Nic Wise. He might have been reason enough for Lute Olson not to retire. Read More »

This year’s draft class has the potential for a number of gems to come out of the second round. I think Dejuan Blair, Sam Young, Dajuan Summers and Marcus Thornton will all make an immediate impact this season. But another guy to keep an eye on is someone that we’ve all known about for years: Chase Budinger. Cue the eye rolls. Read More »

Of all the scenes that Al Pacino steals/owns in The Devil’s Advocate, one of my favorites is the rooftop job interview with Keanu Reeves:

Pacino: “I know you’ve got talent. I knew that before you got here. It’s just the other thing I wonder about.” Read More »