"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

By Anthony Gimino

You can listen to the entirety of Arizona coach Sean Miller‘s comments from the main podium at Pac-10 Media Day, but maybe you’re like me and would rather read than listen.

Anyway, I transcribed the whole thing and pulled a large chunk of it here for your reading pleasure … and then I added some of my own comments.

Here we go …

Miller on his team’s inexperience:

“It’s reality here at Arizona. We have five freshmen. In addition, we have four sophomores. We have nine scholarship players who are in their first or second year. I really look at three of the sophomores as being freshmen in that they really had a small role on last year’s team.

“Our most experienced player, Nic Wise … I’m his fourth coach in four years. Jamelle Horne, I’m his third coach in three years. We have a new staff; I’m a new coach, a different personality and way of doing things. That doesn’t bode well in a lot of ways for short-term success.

“The most important thing for our team to establish in our first year here is a way of doing things — how we play defense, how we conduct ourselves. It’s just really baby steps the right way, day by day, with this year’s team.

“I have found we have gotten a lot better in our first 10 days, but as I compare this year’s team, and this fall, to the last two where I came from, we’re clearly a lot further behind on the learning curve for many, many reasons.”

REACTION: For two years, I’ve worried more about the long-term future of the program that the short term. Switch that around this season. I’m not convinced UA is an NCAA Tournament team this season (the Cats have the look of a bubble team to me), but I’m about 99.9 percent convinced Miller has Arizona headed toward a 1990s’ run of success.

* * *

Miller on freshman guard Lamont “MoMo” Jones:

“Lamont Jones is somebody who is not a point guard, he’s not a 2, I think he is right down the middle. He can do a little bit of both. You will see him play with Nic Wise in the backcourt. I’m excited to have the ability to play him when Nic is out of the game.

“One thing I love about Lamont is that he has a confidence about him for a young player that is really unparalleled. Sometimes, it can be a negative, but he believes wholeheartedly in himself and his game.

“So many times, it’s not the physical talent that helps you, it’s just that confidence you bring in. He certainly has that.”

REACTION: This kid has fan favorite written all over him … especially because he can score on his own, which will be a valued commodity this season.

* * *

Miller on the leadership of Nic Wise, the team’s only senior:

“Nic being a point guard and the senior and our most experienced player, he has arguably one of the hardest jobs of leadership you can have as a student athlete. He is being asked to lead nine freshmen and sophomores, and he is being asked at the same time to learn a brand new system and style of play.

“To me, Nic has a great attitude right now. He is working very hard. … He is in great physical shape. One of the deeper meanings of asking him to have an outstanding year is to be able to be more vocal both on and off the court, and to not only worry about himself, but to bring his teammates along.

“It’s certainly a challenge for him, but being a true leader, on and off the court, in addition to his individual play, will be the expectation.”

REACTION: Wise hasn’t been a vocal leader, and a couple of the freshman at UA media day told me Wise leads most by example. Wise knew what he was getting into this season. Nothing about him indicates he won’t be up the challenge of saying the right thing at the right time.

* * *

Miller on freshman wing Solomon Hill:

“I’m very proud of him in that he has done what I think is the hardest to do for a young person, and that is to change your body. When he came to Tucson this summer, he was in the 240s, weight-wise, which is heavy for him. He’s under 230 right now, and really headed more toward 225. And as his body has changed, you can really see Solomon’s style and game. He can put the ball on the floor. He is a very good passer. He’s a smart player. To me, he is beyond his years, and that will help him a lot to establish early success as a freshman.”

REACTION: In the very fun parlor game “what will be UA’s starting five?” I think Hill has a chance to be a starter later in the season. My current guess is Nic Wise, Kyle Fogg, Brendon Lavender, Jamelle Horne and Kyryl Natyazhko … but that prediction could self-destruct in five seconds.

* * *

Miller on UA’s streak of 25 NCAA Tournament appearances:

“We’ve never been more vulnerable. Can that streak break this year under my watch? Absolutely. That’s not my goal, but the bigger picture for me as the new coach is to run a total program — and that is to improve, to do things in way that will help us be successful, not just this November, but two Novembers from now.”

REACTION: Miller has been stamping out expectations since the moment he arrived. Part of me wouldn’t mind a rah-rah coach who talks big and gets everyone fired up … but I admire his relentless focus on the future. This is a man with an unshakable plan.

Tags: Derrick Williams, Jamelle Horne, Kyryl Natyazhko, Lam, Lamont "MoMo" Jones, Nic Wise, Sean Miller, Solomon Hill

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 11:18 AM and is filed under Men's hoops 2009-2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.