An early review of UA hoops

TUCSON -- Through two exhibition games, what are we to make of these young Arizona Wildcats?

Judging these Cats by the final scores against Augustana (92-76) and Western New Mexico (96-55) is useless. Clearly, these two opponents don’t possess anywhere near the talent or athleticism of the teams Arizona will face during the regular season.

But UA fans should definitely be encouraged by the amount of improvement this young team displayed from a sloppy first game to the blowout we saw last night. The ball movement was crisper (30 assists on 37 made baskets), the defense was tighter (31 percent shooting for WNM) and the fouling was much less rampant (24 fouls versus Augustana, 17 versus WNM).

With the season opener against Northern Arizona taking place on Sunday (3 p.m.), here’s an early review on how this roster is shaking down.

THE LEADER: For all the uncertainty and growing pains Wildcat fans are likely to endure through the early part of this season, Nic Wise will remain a constant.

He saw limited of action in UA’s first game because of a lingering ankle injury, but he looked to be in midseason form against WNM, notching 21 points, eight assists and three steals.

Health permitting, Wise will challenge for the Pac-10 Player of the Year award. He’s one of the most entertaining players to watch in college basketball and he’ll give the Cats a puncher’s chance against anyone on their schedule.

THE WILD CARD: If the Wildcats hope to finish in the top half of the Pac-10 standings, it’ll be up to Jamelle Horne.

The uber-athletic junior will be asked to do a lot under Sean Miller’s system, and it looks like Horne is ready to deliver. He’s been Arizona’s most complete front-court player (by a mile) in the exhibition season.

Horne’s success will be predicated on his assertiveness. The more he crashes the boards, blocks shots and drives to the rim, the better he’ll be. But if he stands around the perimeter hoisting threes, the Cats are sure to struggle.

Here’s a rule of thumb, Wildcat fans. Compare his nightly free-throw attempts to his three-point attempts. I’ll bet anything Arizona is far more successful this season when Horne’s trips to the line double his forays behind the arc.

THE SOPHS: Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Garland Judkins and even Alex Jacobson are vital to this team’s success.

Fogg missed a week of action with the flu, but transformed Arizona’s perimeter defense last night. A surprise honorable mention on the All-Conference freshmen team, Fogg is a pitbull on the defensive end and one of those ideal fill-the-blanks guys that Miller is sure to love.

Lavender started each of the two exhibition games and appeared much more confident than he did last year, when he spent most of the season pinned to the bench. Lavender is at least two inches taller than last season and has developed a consistent shooting stroke.

Judkins missed most of his freshman season with a variety of unspecified discipline-oriented suspensions under Russ Pennell. When he’s playing under control, he’ll be a viable option to back up Wise at the point.

As for Jacobson, there will be games when Kyryl Natyazhko and Derrick Williams get into early foul trouble and Miller will need to call on him to give the Cats quality minutes. He’s slimmed down significantly and looks much more comfortable in the paint, although he needs to move his feet better on defense.

THE FROSH: Natyazhko, Williams, Lamont “MoMo” Jones, Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom won’t have the luxury of easing into the system. Each of these five will be thrown right into the fire.

At this point, Williams (the most athletically gifted of the bunch) appears most ready to contribute right away, but all of them bring a lot to the table offensively (Parrom’s shooting, Hill’s passing and basketball IQ, Natyazhko’s size and hands, Jones’ ball-handling and intensity).

However, all of them need serious work on defense, with Natyazhko needing particularly close attention. For everything he does well, Natyazhko is still struggling to box out and doesn’t attack the defensive glass with the intensity this squad needs from him.

THE COACH: Miller is this squad’s ace in the hole.

He took solid (but not spectacular) talent at Xavier and turned that program into a perennial powerhouse, qualifying for Sweet 16s and Elite 8s during his five-year tenure. As a result, these Wildcats are clearly responding to Miller’s teachings.

Miller has coached these two exhibition games with the intensity of someone diagramming the final play in a tie game at the Final Four. That dedication is sure to rub off on this year’s roster.

While the ride might be rocky at times this year, Wildcat fans should feel confident that the man behind the wheel knows exactly what he’s doing.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747