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Transcript: Q&A chat with Bruce Pascoe on UA basketball

Bruce Pascoe chatted with readers in a live Q&A chat on UA basketball.

Thanks for joining everyone. we'll start with a statement from ... d1945k, who has some points that might be hard to argue with.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:02:22 PM
Cats have trouble with 2 things on a recurring basis: (1) 3 pt shooters with a quick release, and (2) running a 1/2 court zone offense. Conversely, the cats are a standing 3 pt shooters who must be wide open to be successful.

by d1945k 2/11/2013 7:02:22 PM
The UA offense seems throttled back, intentionally built to survive clothes games. Does not have the killers instinct explosiveness, or the desire, it seems, to crush apponents by 20 +
points.

by edward gonzales 2/11/2013 7:02:47 PM
The evidence would suggest that's possibly true. There isn't a real go-to killer instinct guy, though Lyons, Hill and Johnson have been that in stretches.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:03:42 PM
The ua offense seems built intentionally to survive close games. It doesn't have that killer instinct, win by 20+ mentality that long time wildcat fans are used to

by edward gonzales 2/11/2013 7:04:20 PM
well, you also have to consider that the Pac-12 is pretty good 1-10 this year so blowouts are not easy. and UA did mostly blow out the easy teams on its nonconference schedule.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:05:02 PM
Why do you think this team is not improving? It's not too late for this team to get it together, but most teams improve more during the season than this team has. Just curious why you think that is. Thanks.

by dpateaz 2/11/2013 7:07:12 PM
You can argue that they haven't improved much since Hawaii and certainly the lack of ball movement is a bad sign this late in the season. But they actually did show a lot of good signs in Washington and against Stanford so i don't think they have totally stagnated. It's not clear yet if Cal game was a one-off or not, though.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:09:00 PM
Do you think we'll lose an underclassman this offseason? If so, who?

by dpateaz 2/11/2013 7:09:01 PM
As of now, probably not. Maybe Ashley could make a case for leaving early if he suddenly blew up because he's got big NBA potential but as of now, he'd probably go higher if he came back and proved himself with a bigger role as a sophomore.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:10:54 PM
WHAT happened to our House,,,Lute needs to give this team a talkin too, about our House,, This is not acceptable,this team doesnt seem hungry enough to go very far!! They will end up like last year, if someone doesn't lite a fire...

by MEANLITTLEBOY 2/11/2013 7:11:30 PM
I think the upperclassmen, Johnson included, have shown plenty of desire to win. I agree with what Miller has been saying -- if anything they are trying too hard in some of these home games. This is just not a dominant team against good competition and, really, it was not expected to be. I did not expect them to be 20-3 and Top 10 at this point of the season.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:13:29 PM
All I ask from the Tucson reporters is to hold the coaches accountable and ask them tough questions. Do we prepare against the zone in practice? Why not use it ourselves since it is so effective? Are you not worried that constant man to man is wearing out our players? Why do we have such trouble passing inside the post? Are you recruiting any big guys, since we seem to be deficient in that area? Why do you allow the guards to pressure the ball so far out when they typically cannot stay in front of their man? Are you going to hire a coach to specifically work with the big men?

by AZAllTheWay 2/11/2013 7:13:50 PM
All of these questions have been answered over the course of this season. We have stories every day on this team Nov. 1- April 1. Short answers: They do prepare against zone in practice and did before Cal (but were a bit thrown off by the unconventional 3-2 zone and Parrom's TOs). They won't use it themselves except in certain short circumstances because Miller is committed to man to man. They have trouble passing inside sometimes because they don't have great skills in that area and because (at times) there has been a lack of trust with the inside guys so there's a hesitation to go inside. They are recruiting big guys, and would love to get Aaron Gordon this spring.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:17:43 PM
What was with the hoodies during warmup? Reminded me of Lute's comments years ago banning the headbands.

by Rick Unklesbay 2/11/2013 7:17:49 PM
Nike gave them new warmups and UA wore them. It's a contract.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:18:31 PM
Mr. Pascoe, what do you make of Hill making the comment that he should have been guarding the big scorer instead of Johnson? Why didn't the coach make that change?

by SkyCoop 2/11/2013 7:18:41 PM
That was a very interesting remark. Miller responded by saying that it didn't matter much because they switched a lot on Cal's handoffs, so a lot of guys were bound to guard Crabbe. It wasn't clear whether Hill was questioning Miller's judgment or if Hill was just saying he needed to carry the load because that's the way he is. It may have been a little of both, though Hill has mostly been very supportive of Millers' strategy.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:20:40 PM
For the first time, I think I now agree with some other posters on thsi website that UA needs to incorporate some kind of zone... not to be used extensively, but out of need when the man-to-man has no answer for a guy like Crabbe just shooting lights out. I know you've said Miller won't do it, but do you think it could be useful in short bursts in times of need like this?

by Bluto 2/11/2013 7:21:06 PM
two things. 1 Miller really just does not believe in the zone, though he has used it on some very rare circumstances. 2 i'm not sure a zone wouldn't help against Crabbe. Maybe some sort of gimmick defense would be worth a shot but Miller is even less likely to try that. And even if they did box and one or something like that Cobbs was also very good.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:22:43 PM
If you look at the other top teams around the country, they aren't really "blowing out" teams. Other than Florida, and whoever plays Texas Tech, South Florida (to name a few bad teams), nobody is blowing out anyone. We were blowing out Wazzu and OSU, but you could tell we got bored. We crushed USC who beat UCLA and Washington

by Andre 2/11/2013 7:23:06 PM
True. Also, USC has gotten a lot better since it played here, when Bob Cantu had just taken over.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:23:30 PM
UA guard play is terrible. Offense seems to consist of 1 pass and long 3 majority of time. Even on fast breaks, whoever has ball first drives all the way down to shoot. Expect UA to lose by 20 in Boulder this week. Hill probably best ball handler, or Parrom.

by COLORADOCAT 2/11/2013 7:23:45 PM
It's been a source of concern for sure. One good game there (stanford) and one bad game (cal). I'm sure coaches would like more consistency. Johnson did have 5 assists and no TO vs Cal though.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:25:18 PM
Are you worried about the Colorado game on Thursday? I am....Honestly, I think we lose because Colorado will be fired up and ready to go. However, we seem to play much better on the road than at home, is that normal?

by Andre 2/11/2013 7:25:39 PM
I think Colorado will be a great game. Both sides will be wired for sure. Colorado feels it was robbed last month, UA lost by a point last year in Boulder. Buffs are aiming for a top four finish in Pac-12 and certainly are looking better for the NCAA tournament. Etc.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:28:35 PM
UA does play better on the road. I talked a lot about this in a story I did on Sunday (link here: azstarnet.com )
if you missed it. It's not normal but also not terribly unusual. UA has had a few times like this in the past 15 years. But some of the time it's because they feel like they have a safety net at home; this team just seems to be overly anxious, at least during the UCLA game.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:30:39 PM
Can you talk a little bit about Aaron Gordon? What makes him so special/elite? Does Arizona "need" him? What would he bring to the team next year if he did commit? What do you think Arizona's chances are? I watched Rondae Jefferson last night before the Arizona game and the kid is a stud.

by Andre 2/11/2013 7:31:05 PM
I saw Gordon a couple of times in Las Vegas last summer. Although he was nursing injuries he was dominant when he did play -- a scary combination of size, strength and athleticism. He has the potential to be a go-to force pretty quickly if he did come to UA, though he'd have to make some adjustments and beat out some also talented sophomores next season. As for his chances, it's tough to say because he's kept it close to the vest. He recently added Oregon to his list of finalists which is a bad sign. Washington and kentucky are also there. I'd guess UA's chances are less than 50 percent but a lot of folks are optimistic.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:33:25 PM
Have you (or any other reporter that you know of) asked Miller directly about Daniel Bejarano's comments? If not, do you plan to?

by Frank 2/11/2013 7:33:51 PM
Miller was asked to comment by the newspaper that published that story and did not. I asked a UA official about it and was told Miller had no response because he didn't want to dignify the comments. The odd thing about the comments is that Bejarano appeared to leave on relatively good terms -- I have talked to his family several times since he left and never sensed these feelings. Also Miller kept Bejarano's quasi-brother, Robert Arvizu, on the team last season after Arvizu left. Hard to imagine that would have happened if there were hard feelings with DB.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:38:04 PM
This is a team of new players - the freshmen (all of whom need major development) - and Lyons. This team might become a really good team but it isnt yet. A good team is consistent. This team isnt that. The players on this team arent consistent. The freshmen bigs cant handle D1 caliber post passes (and if they dont remedy that, they will never be really good D1 post players). Ashley hasnt learned to get the 'all american' calls from the refs yet. Until he does he wont be an impact player like Williams or Elliot. Lyons isnt a point - waiting for TJ who is. .... If the bigs get hands, and Ashley makes better decisions (good energy) and the team actually plays consistently they may become a good team. Against cal and others we saw that the true NBA prospects were on the other team. As a note - Miller is a good program builder and its unfair to overly criticize the freshmen. They are freshmen after all. It is also worth noting that Mike Montgomery was a better game day coach than Olson and is a better game day coach than Miller. Some things never change.

by JImB 2/11/2013 7:39:12 PM
Many good points there. Montgomery has long been respected regionally as one of the best in-game coaches around.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:40:21 PM
Hi Bruce, There was some type of salty fighting between Monty and Richard Solomon. What was that about? Monty benched him for the game, afterwards...

by Display Name:JessieWildcat 2/11/2013 7:41:52 PM
Didn't see that. Montgomery said Friday basically that Solomon hasn't been what was expected of him, and shouldn't have generated high expectations.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:43:12 PM
Do you actually believe this team is a top 10 team?

by Profcje 2/11/2013 7:43:39 PM
I figured they'd be top 15-20 at the beginning of the season and that's what they are. they probably should be ranked in the top 10 because of their accomplishments but ranking and how good you are are not always the same thing. So yeah they're probably a little overrated. but not by much. there really isn't much dominance anywhere in college basketball this year.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:45:02 PM
Any insight on the "words" between Coach and Hill near the end of game? I'm sure Hill was frustrated. The "last shot" possession at the end of the half had to have been disheartening - could have been up by 9 instead of by 5 if we did not turn over the ball.

by svb_AZ 2/11/2013 7:45:31 PM
Didn't see any exchange with them but my head is in the computer sometimes and I don't have access to replays. But no question that last possession in first half was a killer. That's a point that I wasn't able to get into my story today but was really telling.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:47:10 PM
Our big men are very skilled once they get the ball. Like Bruce just said, it's clear that Lyons, Solo, kp and nj don't have a lot of confidence in passing down low. Especially if Tarc fumbles a lot of passes. To give the big men credit, a lot of those passes have a lot of speed on them. They are just not use to it.

by Andre 2/11/2013 7:47:36 PM
Yes Tarczewski has noted several times that the speed of the game has been his biggest adjustment -- and he's seeing that speed in defenders and the ball, everywhere. It's just not easy for all but the rarest of 7-footers to make that adjustment quickly and he has made some.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:49:00 PM
Any thoughts on the Daniel Bejarano comments that made it in the paper on Sunday? Airing a grudge or valid criticism of Miller?

by native cat 2/11/2013 7:49:19 PM
I addressed it below somewhat. Some of his comments had some inconsistencies, though the comment that "you will never play DI again" I could see happening if Miller was yelling at him about something he did wrong. Miller did keep Arvizu around and was apparently friendly with Bejarano in the Bahamas last August, though I wasn't there. So hard to imagine it was that bad. but it is odd that Miller really never did play DB almost at all.

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:53:07 PM
Is Hill getting too many minutes? This is the second time Hill has looked tired and lazy. That loose ball . He did not dive for it. And it was a 4 point swing. Then again against Stanford...failing to defending the 3point shooter. Any less minutes for him? Keep him fresher.

by Display Name:JessieWildcat 2/11/2013 7:53:39 PM
I would not say lazy. Hill is anything but. Tired, maybe. he logged 38, more than Crabbe and Cobbs (and Cal played a walk on and former walk on just to give its guys some rest)

by Bruce Pascoe 2/11/2013 7:54:35 PM