Wise’s omission from team more than his three-day performance
Nic Wise
The first reaction to Nic Wise getting cut from the U.S. World University team is to be irate, but this is not all that bad because he can go back to being Nic Wise for a bit before the fall semester starts in late August.
USA Basketball announced the team this morning through a press release.
First of all, Wise played almost 37 minutes a game in every of the UA’s games this season. And ever since the end of the season, Wise has tried to impress many NBA scouts in numerous workouts. He had to be fatigued, from physical and mental exertion, by the time he arrived at Colorado Springs last weekend for the trials.
Furthermore, he had only three days to impress coaches he did not know other than Washington’s Lorenzo Romar.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, the coach of the U.S. team that will compete July 2-11 in Belgrade, Serbia, said it was not easy trimming the roster from 16 players to the 12-player roster limit.
“I don’t want to take anything away from the guys who didn’t make it, but the 12 who are on the final list are the ones that if you look at the overall picture – offense, defense, rebounding, things like that – this was the 12 that stood out,” Ryan said. “I thought the selection committee did a very good job of evaluating.”
Of course, in situations like this, it can come down to politics also.
The selection committee includes Jim Boeheim, head coach at Syracuse University; Romar;Bruce Weber, head coach, University of Illinois; and Roy Williams, head coach, University of North Carolina; and athlete representative Jay Williams, a member of the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship team.
The only West coast product on the team is Quincy Pondexter of Washington, who plays for Romar (not a chance Romar would cut his own player). Ryan coaches in the Big Ten so naturally that enhanced the chance Penn State’s Talor Battle to be picked ahead of Wise. What if, say, Ben Howland or Mike Montgomery was the coach of the team. Would Wise have been cut?
This is not sour grapes. It’s just a way to try to reason why Wise, who will be easily one of the top 10 point guards in the country next year, would not make a U.S. national team. A lot of factors are involved, including his performance at the trials. But three days?
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June 18th, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Javier, Have you heard any specifics about why Nic was cut? The coaches blew it! Nic’s leadership, playmaking abilities and experience in extremely adverse situations will hurt the team. Nic knows how to play a number of roles. He can ensure getting the ball to others or taking over a game with his scoring. I can’t believe Battle was taken over Wise.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
I meant to say losing Nic’s abilities will hurt the team.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
It was BIG TIME politics.
One thing is for sure, the Team better WIN.
The UofA fans should also view Miller’s visit as a CLASSY move by the Head Coach.
For the HC to fly out ,before the cut announcement.
Bear Down.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Jonathon Givony of Draft Express told the Star’s Bruce Pascoe that Wise did not play well and had a “hard time.” You must remember that in the last three months all of Wise’s concentration has been on his own game to try to impress scouts. He has not been in a team setting or a team frame of mind. It’s been a whirlwind for him. That’s why the blessing in disguise is he can take a deep breath now and reload for a very important senior season. He certainly has all the motivation in the world: NBA future, prove his worth to Bo Ryan and Co., 26 straight NCAA tourney appearances for UA, All-Pac-10, Pac-10 Player of the Year, All-American status, etc. It would have been nice for him to win a gold medal. But it’s time for him to move on and get to know the incoming recruits, who will report to Tucson the first week of July.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Total BS!!!
Nic was the best point guard on the Roster…but as Javy said, this really is a blessing in disguise!
As if Nic needed anymore motivation…Nic is going to kill it next year!!!
June 18th, 2009 at 2:12 PM
Javier, thanks for the info. I agree that this may be a blessing in disguise for Nic and the team.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Romar is an a-hole.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:54 PM
C’mon now Jim, no need for name calling. Romar’s a good coach and Olson or Miller would’ve done the same, and picked his own.
This is Nic’s destiny. He was not meant to play on this particular team. That’s that.
What he needs the most is R E S T…and probably some R.I.C.E. too.
Recoup Nic, then turn your attention and focus to your final year preparations.
June 18th, 2009 at 3:11 PM
I second that Az_Cat_in_Cali. Romar is a class act and a good coach. Of course he will stump for his own player to make the team. Plus, Pondexter is a SF. The big factor here is that Battle made it over Wise for the PG spot. Whether that has more to do with Battle outperforming Wise during the camp, or Bo Ryan simply going with a player that he knows better from his own conference, we likely won’t know. Who knows, maybe Ryan wants Battle there so he can tire him out before conference play! Kidding, of course. In any event, no need to throw Romar under the bus. Good coach, good program.
June 18th, 2009 at 6:12 PM
Any place we can see the stats for the 3 games?
June 18th, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Swish: The three days were filled with scrimmages, drills, etc., not games where stats were kept and released.
June 18th, 2009 at 6:48 PM
gotcha … oh well … would’ve been interesting to see those numbers.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:58 AM
Well Sean Elliot was cut from the 88 Olympic team and then won player of the year so we can only hope Wise uses it as fuel to help Carry the Wildcats this year.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:03 AM
This is a homer article if I have ever seen one. Not every coach who does not take an Arizona player is doing so because they are not from our conference. People, please get a grip on this homer thing and try to be objective from time to time.
Even Nic’s father said that he did not have a good practice once he bumped knees with another player. But the guy from the Draftexpress who has nothing against Arizona stated that he did not have a good camp and was not one of the top two point guards.
And all the players got three days to make an impression and not just Nic.
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December 19th, 2009 at 11:04 AM
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