Arizona Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Nic Wise didn’t come back to Arizona to lose basketball games.

The senior point guard, who tested the NBA draft waters last spring, is convinced the Wildcats will be a much more prominent player in the Pac-10 Conference than others believe.

“The Pac-10 isn’t going to be loaded with powerhouse teams. By Christmas, we’ll be together and we’ll be tough to deal with,” he said. “It’s exciting how it all came together so fast.”

New coach Sean Miller, expected to provide stability to former coach Lute Olson’s suddenly shaky foundation, landed five high-level recruits in a span of 91 days after getting the job last spring. Miller has landed three more top-notch recruits for future classes.

The Cats may not be Final Four material in Miller’s first season, but they won’t be pushovers as they strive for their 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.

Miller, the former Xavier coach, said Wise provides a good foundation for a young team.

“Nic’s our most experienced player; you can make the case that he may be our best player,” Miller said. “He certainly has the most at stake, coming back for his senior year, and I certainly wouldn’t trade him with any point guard.”

Wise and power forward Jamelle Horne provide the most returning experience, but at least two of the five newcomers could wiggle their way into the starting lineup early.

Forward Derrick Williams is given a good shot at winning a spot, and teammates were impressed early with the potential of Kyryl Natyazhko, a 6-10 center from the Ukraine by way of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

“Kyryl has made a huge jump. He’s getting a lot better,” sophomore guard Kyle Fogg told The Arizona Daily Star.

Added Horne, “Kyryl, you see what you get—6-10 and 250. He’s huge in the lane and once he starts learning to use his body, which he is, he is going to be a terror.”

For most of the 1980s and ’90s, Arizona was a terror in the Pac-10, often on the national scene. That won’t be the case this year, but don’t expect the Wildcats to be gone for long.

NOTES, QUOTES

• PG Nic Wise was named to the preseason watch list for the Wooden Award, given to the nation’s top player.

—Sophomore SG Kyle Fogg scored in double digits seven times last season, and the Wildcats won six of those games.

• Over the past 25 years, during which time the Cats have qualified for the NCAA Tournament every season, Arizona has finished at least tied for first in the conference 11 times, was second six times, third four times, fourth once, fifth once and, in 2007-08, got an NCAA bid despite finishing seventh in the Pac-10.

Last Year:   21-14 overall, 9-9 in Pac-10; lost in regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach:   Sean Miller (career 120-47); first year at Arizona.

Quote To Note:   “We’re just trying to recruit people who want to win, that when they come to Arizona, it’s not just about them, it’s about winning.”—First-year Arizona coach Sean Miller on his recruiting approach.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Sean Miller wasted no time restocking the shelves, signing five players, all rated among the top 25 nationally at their position. C Kyryl Natyazhko, who impressed his teammates in fall drills, is penciled in as the starter on a team short of true posts. F Solomon Hill, the most-hyped of the five newcomers, is battling Derrick Hill at a wing spot, and each can play the 4 in a small lineup.

Lamont Jones, a 5-11 guard out of Oak Hill Academy, figures to be Wise’s understudy, and could play alongside Wise in a quick, albeit short, backcourt. Kevin Parrom, a 6-6 guard/forward from the Bronx, is expected to bring a New York state of mind to the Wildcats. He has an edge to his game and is adept inside and shooting from mid-range. He is the kind of long, perimeter player that Miller put to good use at Xavier.

Key Early-season Games:   The Wildcats typically have played the most challenging non-conference schedule of any Pac-10 team, and that won’t change in Sean Miller’s first season. Arizona opens the new era at home against Northern Arizona on Nov. 15. Things get tougher when the Cats venture to the Maui Invitational, where they will face Wisconsin in the Nov. 23 opener, then could face Gonzaga in the semifinals. Arizona visits Oklahoma on Dec. 6, and has home dates against North Carolina State (Dec. 23) and BYU (Dec. 28) before the start of Pac-10 play.

Program Direction:   After a couple of tumultuous seasons, featuring high drama on the coaching front, Arizona figures to get some stability with the arrival of Sean Miller, one of the nation’s bright young coaches. This could be a challenging season because of so much youth on the roster (a total of nine freshmen and sophomores on scholarship), but Miller has recruited well for 2010, so the Cats should quickly return to their usual place near the top of the Pac-10.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Nic Wise, SG Kyle Fogg, SF Derrick Williams, PF Jamelle Horne, C Kyryl Natyazhko.

Roster Report:  

• PG Nic Wise finished his junior season with a flourish, averaging 19.2 points over the final 10 games. He averaged 15.7 points and 4.6 assists for the season, earning second-team All-Pac-10 honors.

• PG Nic Wise’s younger brother, Dondre, who played point guard at Pima (Ariz.) Community College, has joined the Wildcats. He will be on scholarship this season.

• The Wildcats had two verbal commitments from 2010 recruits by mid-October, landing Phoenix shooting guard Daniel Bejarano and 6-8 small forward Rod Odom of Concord, Mass., both four-star prospects, according to Rivals.com.