Wildcat Notebook: Wildcats rediscover thrill of the ‘Chase’

Finally, some good news for UA basketball fans.

After weeks of doomsday scenarios and “sky is falling” proclamations, the once-dominant Wildcat basketball program received a major boost on Monday.

Chase Budinger opted to withdraw his name from the NBA draft just hours before Monday’s deadline, electing to return to Tucson for his junior year.

“Over the last several weeks I have experienced the NBA draft process, attended several workouts with a variety of NBA clubs and received much positive feedback from those teams. However, it is my decision to return to the University of Arizona,” said Budinger in a UA press release. “The opportunity to play again for Coach Olson in my mind best prepares me to have a successful NBA career. I want to enter the NBA with great certainty of my future potential and believe the chance to develop further under Coach Olson enhances that opportunity.”

The news of Budinger’s withdrawal surprised many in NBA scouting circles. Aran Smith, President of NBADraft.net, said last week that Budinger was “essentially a lock for the first round.”

During the past two weeks, Smith said Budinger had impressed a number of teams during pre-draft workouts, but he didn’t blow anyone away.

“He had some solid workouts but nothing that pushed him into the lottery or merited any type of guarantee,” Smith said. “The Phoenix Suns had previously been thought to be a team interested in him, but it turned out they were not going to consider him at 15 had he stayed in.”

Despite averaging 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game and securing a spot on the All-Pac-10 third team, Budinger’s sophomore season was widely seen as a minor step back from his terrific freshman campaign.

After nabbing Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors and landing the coveted preseason conference Player of the Year nomination, many expected Budinger to dominate.

However, he still drew a great deal of criticism for his man-to-man defense and was frequently overshadowed on offense by flashy freshman Jerryd Bayless — a likely top-five pick in this year‘s draft.

In addition, former interim coach Kevin O’Neill’s buttoned-down offensive philosophy didn’t lend itself to Budinger’s open-court skills.

But with Olson returning to the sidelines, Nic Wise backing off of his transfer comments and high-profile recruit Brandon Jennings joining the fold, it appears as if Budinger will have a much better opportunity to succeed this upcoming season.

Since returning from his lengthy leave of absence, Olson has spent a great deal of his time and energy re-recruiting Budinger. New associate head coach Mike Dunlap also collected as much information as possible in order to convince Budinger that a return to Arizona would increase his long-term earning potential.

“I’m thrilled that Chase has decided to come back,” said Olson. “Selfishly, I feel the decision is in Chase’s best interest. I feel that in a year he will be a top-10 pick. With guards like Nic (Wise) and Brandon (Jennings), he’ll have two great passers getting him the ball. Our style of play next year will be much more conducive to Chase having a great year, much like he did when he was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2007.”

Had Budinger opted to stay in the draft, he likely would’ve battled Donte Green, Brandon Rush and Chris Douglas-Roberts for positioning among teams in need of an athletic swingman.

While Smith said it was unlikely that Budinger would slip out of the first round this year, he will definitely find himself in a better position for the 2009 draft with a strong junior season.

“I think it will end up being a great decision for him,” Smith said. “He really is not ready for the NBA and can work on his game and become a top 10 pick for next year’s draft. Jennings is more of a facilitator than Bayless, so that should work in his favor as well.”

Currently, Smith has Budinger listed No. 8 on his 2009 mock draft.

Budinger was one of 12 Wildcats to declare early for the NBA Draft during the Olson era: Brian Williams (1991), Mike Bibby (1998), Gilbert Arenas (2001), Jason Gardner (2001), Richard Jefferson (2001), Michael Wright (2001), Andre Iguodala (2004), Chris Rodgers (2005), Mustafa Shakur (2006), Marcus Williams (2007) and Bayless (2008). Of that list, only Gardner, Rodgers, Shakur and Budinger returned to school.

With this unexpected piece of good fortune, Wildcat basketball fans can be seen cracking a smile for the first time in weeks.

Of course, that could all evaporate if Jennings doesn’t get to work in the classroom.

Rumors of his academic eligibility have been floating through Southern Arizona for a while now, but those close to the situation say Jennings will get his grades straightened out in time to suit up for the Wildcats.

Budinger will be one of the main benefactors from a Jennings-Wise backcourt. What they lack in size (Wise is 5-foot-9, Jennings is 6-foot-1) they make up for in quickness and passing skills.

“I really have high expectations for Budinger,” Smith said. “The thing he’ll need to focus on is not just starting strong but maintaining his level of consistency. He can be a first team All-American if everything falls into place for him.”

Look for Olson to play Wise and Jennings at the same time, with Budinger on the wing, Jordan Hill in the middle and a platoon of Fendi Onobun and Jamelle Horne at the four, with Zane Johnson and freshman center Jeff Withey possibly working into the playing rotation.

Considering how many talented players other Pac-10 schools will lose to the 2008 NBA draft, the Wildcats expect to finish much better than 8-10 in conference play this upcoming season.

Budinger’s return might not result in a national championship, but it signals that the rumors of the Wildcats’ demise have been greatly exaggerated — as long as someone finds Jennings a tutor.

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