Mail:
Where is the Wildcats’ pride?
Yet again the Wildcats are setting records, but unfortunately, they’re the records no one wants broken! In what has been an up and down, rollercoaster season for the 17-9 Wildcats, my question is where is the Wildcats’ pride or heart? I was disappointed to hear that ex-Wildcats and current NBA standouts Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton and Channing Frye were in attendance at the UCLA game on Saturday (Senior Day), mainly because they had to witness what many other Wildcat fans had to witness, another disappointing home loss. With only three games left (Cal, Stanford and ASU), the high stakes of completing another 20-plus win season and making yet another appearance in the highly anticipated NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats need to BEAR DOWN and play defense (but even that might be a stretch)!
Eric Townsend
undeclared freshman
Olson to blame for defense
I am going to cross the line and say the men’s basketball team flat-out got out-coached Saturday against UCLA. Many of you Lute Olson fanatics refuse to believe it, but Lute blew a game we could have won.
I am referring to his decision to stick with the zone for the majority of the second half when it was getting torched left and right. I give him credit, the 2-3 zone surprised UCLA in the first half, but how did he not expect Ben Howland to make the adjustments at the half? UCLA came out of the locker room and hit its first two 3-pointers and got an easy dunk, all uncontested.
Olson, however, still stuck with the zone for the majority of the second half, which is where I believe the game was lost. UCLA is a great shooting team and shot 47 percent from behind the arc against us. I am no coaching genius, but if a team is hitting almost half of every 3 it jacks up, I am going to go out on a limb here and say the zone isn’t a smart decision. With all the talent on this team, I point the finger at the head coach for this poor season.
I think players respond better to younger coaches these days, and I think Arizona needs a coach who stresses defense, not a lousy 2-3 zone against one of the best shooting teams in the country.
Thomas Peterson
business management senior
Blog:
Second guessing
It’s easy to look back and ask why Olson didn’t stick to the man-to-man defense. But there are two main reasons why he stuck to the zone defense the Wildcats have employed for much of the year. 1. The man-to-man defense was not working. The Bruins got out to an easy 6-0 lead against the man-to-man, and when the Wildcats went back to it in the second half, UCLA scored on five of six possessions, according to Olson. 2. UCLA has been a notoriously bad team against the zone this year. Usually the idea of a zone is to make the opposing team shoot contested outside shots. For the most part, that’s what UCLA got. The problem for Arizona – UCLA made them. Just like a good team is supposed to do.
Horne takes official visit to Tucson
Jamelle Horne, a 6-foot-7 forward from San Diego who’s part of Arizona’s 2007 recruiting class, was in Tucson for his official visit over the weekend and attended Arizona’s game against No. 4 UCLA.
Horne has been compared to former Wildcat Richard Jefferson, but could not speak with Jefferson during the visit because of NCAA rules, according to assistant coach Josh Pastner.
Horne has made several visits to Tucson before, so “”this one was more of a laid back approach,”” Pastner said.
Although Jefferson and Horne were both in the Arizona locker room, NCAA rule 13.6.6.1, which says “”contact by representatives of the institution’s athletics interests during the official visit are prohibited,”” made sure Horne would have to wait till after the visit to pick his mind.
– Roman Veytsman
