Transcript: Live Q&A with Patrick Finley on Pac-12 basketball

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Transcript: Live Q&A with Patrick Finley on Pac-12 basketball

Patrick Finley chatted with Wildcat fans on college basketball as he sat courtside at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

Greetings from courtside at the Pac-12 Tournament, where ASU's team is being introduced amid a crowd of maybe 2,000 folks. It's a nice, big-league set-up here.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:03:46 PM
I'm ready for your questions. Please, fire away with anything you wanna know. We'll be here about an hour or so.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:04:09 PM
Well, what's your first impression of the new tournament site, better than Staples ?

by Tomcat 3/13/2013 7:04:14 PM
MUCH better. A lot more big-league. Fans staying at the MGM Grand can do what I did, and bump into Pac-12 players and coaches in the lobby all day. That's pretty cool. The arena itself isn't anything to write home about — it's a giant convention hall with temporary seating. But it works for this setting, totally. So far, a big win.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:05:43 PM
Which Pac-12 team is the most DISLIKED by the other teams? Not feared, necessarily, just disliked for whatever reason.

by JG 3/13/2013 7:05:53 PM
My feeling has always been that USC is the most disliked Pac-12 team, in every sport. In terms of THIS year's basketball squad, that's a good question. I know the Wildcats have typically had beef with Oregon State in recent years.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:06:48 PM
Better television: Waiting to find out who I am, or ASU-Stanford? Also, which Pac-12 coach would be the best representative of God on earth?

by Pontifex 3/13/2013 7:06:54 PM
Great, potentially blasphemous, question. I was at the Vatican in the fall, actually, so the TV stuff today was pretty powerful. Here's all I can say on that topic: the Devils are playing a team that shares a name with prominent Catholic figures today. Bodes well for the Cardinal on Pope day

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:08:06 PM
Should we expect to see more aggressiveness by Ashley in the paint going foreward?

by MC520beardown 3/13/2013 7:08:24 PM
Funny story — we were talking courtside during the Arizona State game about how Ashley had kinda disappeared lately, and then he started playing his butt off. Maybe he heard us. I can see the entire team being more aggressive at this time of year. Remember, this is Sean "Nastiness is Required" Miller

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:09:16 PM
Hey Pat what's the mood of the Cats? Which team should we expect?

by OKD 3/13/2013 7:09:20 PM
Confident. And they should be. All the smart guys, from the Vegas oddsmakers to Ken Pomeroy, have the Wildcats as overwhelming favorites to win this tournament. Pomeroy had the UA with a 30 percent chance to win the event; no other team was above 15. And MGM Grand has the UA at 9/5 to win it. UCLA is next-closest, at 3-1. Miller mentioned a few teams in the last week that the Wildcats would not be content when they arrived in Vegas, because they didn't win the conference title. I think that's something to look for, too.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:11:05 PM
Were there any players that you feel got robbed by not being named to the all conference teams (Defense and freshman including)...I feel that Nick should have been named to the all defensive team.

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:11:11 PM
Good question. I think Brock Motum shoulda been on the all-conference first team instead of either EJ Singler, Mark Lyons or Spencer Dinwiddie — in that order. Stanford's Josh Huestis was a stunner, for me, on the all-defense team. I think the Wildcats had a case for Johnson, but as Miller said the other day, his struggles (and the team's overall defensive struggles) the past month probably squashed that candidacy.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:13:40 PM
Jahii Carson and Dwight Powell have 7 points apiece early on here. Stanford's up 13-11

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:14:12 PM
Can hardly wait to see ALL the games. This PAC-12 channel is great! Oh wait, I have Directv. So I guess I won't see jack. Could you thank PAC-12 officials for me if you see any.

by oldapache 3/13/2013 7:14:23 PM
Will do. It's amazing: every single room in the MGM Grand has the Pac-12 Network. It's been on in bars and in the casino in the building. So apparently the best way to get Pac-12 Network at your house is to, well, host the tournament at your house.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:15:10 PM
If you've bumped into any of the Wildcat freshmen... do they seem anxious? excited? they have their game faces on? Are they relaxed? Joking around? Business as usual? etc.. Any impressions?

by clocker 3/13/2013 7:15:30 PM
Haven't seen any Wildcats in Vegas. I got here last night, and I don't believe they were coming in until today.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:15:59 PM
Why do you think we are the over whelming favorites to win the conference? I saw those odds and I was shocked...I know Vegas knows what they are doing...but what have we shown the last month for them to justify us as the favorites? Personally, I agree with Vegas. We have the depth, experience and athletes to do it.

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:17:17 PM
Lack of any other star team? UCLA, the conference champ, doesn't need to win this tournament to justify anything other than a slightly higher seed. Cal has zero depth. Oregon has been wildly inconsistent in the last month or so. Remember this: those three teams played five games last week, all with conference implications: and went 1-4. So no one's red hot.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:19:22 PM
Pope update: It's Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina. He'll be Francis I. First South American pope and first Jesuit pope.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:20:16 PM
Jahii and Dwight are putting on a show early. Do you think they are both leaving this year?

by Tomcat 3/13/2013 7:20:26 PM
Game update: ASU up SEVEN, 23-16

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:20:27 PM
I think Dwight Powell has been a mini-Derrick Williams this year — so big you have to guard him with a power forward or center, but agile, and skilled, enough to beat them one-on-one. I'd bet Carson stays another year, but who knows? Two weeks ago, his mom was trashing the team (other than her son) on Twitter.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:22:00 PM
what was our record in away- and neutral-site games? do you think we'll do as well, better or worse here at this tourney?

by clocker 3/13/2013 7:23:28 PM
Arizona is 7-4 in true away games and 3-0 in neutral site games, with two of those wins coming against Miami and San Diego State in Hawaii. 10-4's a pretty good number. I think Arizona's got a good chance to win the whole thing.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:24:30 PM
Who do you think wins this conference and why? Seems like there is a surprise team every year, who is that team this year?

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:24:57 PM
I think Stanford or Arizona State could be the wacky surprise team that makes it to the semis before running out of gas — in part because they'll play a UCLA team that might not be incredibly motivated. Oregon State's a lot more talented than they appear — but I've been saying that all year, and the Beavs finished 4-14. I don't think the teams in the late games — Utah, USC, UW, Wazzu — could put a run together.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:26:44 PM
How do Miller's high performing tournament teams at Xavier compare to this years team?

by The hammer 3/13/2013 7:27:56 PM
From 2004-09, Miller missed the NCAA tournament only once. He went to the Sweet 16 three times and the Elite Eight once. And he thought that, when he left Xavier, his team coming up could have been one of his best. So that's an absolute ton of success. Does his current UA team have higher-rated, more athletic guys? Totally. But it's hard to find any team that compares well to those successful Musketeers

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:30:31 PM
Where are all the fans ? There don't seem to be many in the stands.

by Tomcat 3/13/2013 7:30:32 PM
Good question. But they're spaced out well, so that bodes well for it being more full later (If that makes sense). It's such a smaller building than Staples that it feels like there are more folks here.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:31:11 PM
Which of the four freshman do you expect/think will make a huge jump this off season and have a huge season next year and flirt with POY and All-American? Why?

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:31:15 PM
Who will flirt with national POY? Or first-team All-American? None of them. (Conference POY? Maaaaybe?) Who will be the best? All are going to be a ton better than they are today. Jerrett intrigues me the most, but Tarczewski has shown to be the most consistent thus far.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:32:28 PM
I agree with Vegas, too, provided we play defense for the entire game and our point guard is more judicial with his scoring spots. Both have been maddening all season. They do those things and they can play with anyone in the country.

by oldapache 3/13/2013 7:32:37 PM
True. But if they had done that all season, they wouldn't be the No. 4 seed in their own conference tournament. The UA has the talent, which is the hard part. Now they just need to play better defense.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:33:33 PM
Realistically how far do you think this team can go? On paper they have all the elements. Size, Senior leadership and a quality point guard. It seems to me that Jones is going to be the key. He needs to settle down and lead this team and be more unselfish. Also what is the chance they match up with Iona in the first round?

by UARuby 3/13/2013 7:33:39 PM
You mean Mark Lyons? I think his confidence and experience will be a great help in the postseason. Still, swagger be damned, you can't turn the ball over so much and continue to struggle with assists. And you're right: Momo made the tourney with Iona. I can't imagine they'd see each other early. I'm guessing Iona stays East-ish and Arizona West-ish.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:36:31 PM
Who is the true floor leader on this team.. Lyons,Hill NJ,Parrom ??

by Tomcat 3/13/2013 7:36:39 PM
Hill. Though it's not an all-or-nothing prospect.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:37:36 PM
Do you suspect that Nick is passed this slump? I know he had a great game vs ASU, but he always plays well vs ASU.

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:37:42 PM
He looked like a more energized player to me. I think the week of practice helped a lot. He's not as bad as he played in February, so I think he'll be better by default. I'll be curious to see how his legs handle playing 3 times in 3 days, though that admittedly is a nice problem for the UA to have.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:38:51 PM
By this time next year, Arizona is.....

by The hammer 3/13/2013 7:38:53 PM
In the top 10 or 12? With fans thinking they should have been in the top 4 instead?

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:39:27 PM
Smart-ass answer. Sorry. I think Arizona's freshmen can only get better going forward. Replacing Lyons and Hill (and maybe/probably Parrom) isn't as easy as it looks though

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:40:09 PM
totally meant Lyons, now I appear uneducated about the team. Operating on five hours of sleep. Sorry

by UARuby 3/13/2013 7:40:15 PM
You get a pass, UARuby

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:40:30 PM
The PAC-12 TV announcer for the ASU/Stanford game is clueless, he is calling the scummies AZ and wildcats. Can some one throw something at him and wake he up!

by theagroboy 3/13/2013 7:40:32 PM
Maybe he's operating on 5 hours of sleep, too. :) I grew up in the West, so I've never confused the two. But apparently this is a pretty common deal. It shouldn't be on the Pac-12 Networks though.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:41:21 PM
Is Arizona and KP applying for a fifth year wishful thinking? Or do you think he gets granted a medical redshirt? Why would they grant him another year of eligibility? Didn't he play in too many games his Freshman and Junior year?

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:41:39 PM
The Wildcats would hope the committee would look at Parrom's season last year — between the shooting and the death of his mother — as a special case. By the letter of the law, no, he wouldn't get the medical redshirt.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:42:31 PM
It was nice to see Ashley finally being a presence in the paint - been waiting all season for that!

by MC520beardown 3/13/2013 7:42:47 PM
Dude's got an NBA body, doesn't he?

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:43:04 PM
But my son is wearing his ua tshirt for his spirit day at school today and we live in the burbs of chicago...he insisted on an arizona t-shirt.

by UARuby 3/13/2013 7:43:09 PM
Tell him to tell his friends that "Bear Down Arizona" came long before "Bear Down Chicago Bears."

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:43:39 PM
Isn't McConnell going to be un upgrade over lyons? I havent seen him play, but seems like he will be more steady

by UARuby 3/13/2013 7:43:47 PM
He will be a purer point guard. But Lyons finished 11th in the league with 14.9 points per game. McConnell won't do that.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:45:51 PM
I know they have to beat Oregon State first, but how is Andre Roberson doing? Do you suspect he will be a factor against us?

by Andre 3/13/2013 7:45:51 PM
Roberson has a viral illness and missed last week. He was cleared by the doctor yesterday and is expected to start today against OSU. I suspect he'll play limited minutes today, and will struggle with back-to-back games, should they win. But still, he's a wonderful player. CU would rather have a weakened version of him than none at all, I think

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:47:16 PM
I friend and I actually debated that while in college. Both of us grew up in chicago and went to ua and bear arizona is about 20 years before bear down chicago bears

by UARuby 3/13/2013 7:47:54 PM
That seems like a good way to end this. Pride and Joy of Illinois, and all that. Thanks for following along, guys. ASU up 35-33 at the half.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:48:35 PM
Have a great week, everybody.

by Pat Finley 3/13/2013 7:48:44 PM