Big men in UA hoops?

Dear Arizona Daily Wildcat sports writers and editors, I really appreciate all of your great articles supporting UA men’s hoops, and I enjoy reading all of the articles online. You keep me connected to the campus vibe even when I’m at work! However, I think more of your articles should focus on the mishaps and the lacking points of our great program. In order to improve it, they have to feel the pressure after a loss. I have not once, ever, read an article about the UA’s lack of “”big men”” or a story about our lack of a power post presence. I graduated from the UA in ’02, and even then the last great big man with a post presence at the power forward position was Michael Wright. I’m talking about a guy who is tough, can wipe up on the boards and score with his back to the basket. We haven’t had a player like that for a very long time. Even then, Wright still didn’t make the NBA. Who was the last power forward from UA to make the NBA? Michael Dickerson? Every team knows we are weak in the front court. Every big man in the Pac-10 can score on us with ease, and that’s a big problem. Ivan Radenovic is a great player, and he is a hard matchup for any big man. But he’s not the bruising, shot-blocking type of big man that I’m talking about. I know Arizona is known for its great point guards and wings, but why can’t we ever develop a great big man with obvious strength, a guy like Spencer Hawes at the University of Washington or a guy like Ike Diogu, or even the Lopez twins? We are obviously lacking in a huge part of the game, and it will be extremely hard for us to win another championship until we ante up in the big-man department. I hope you print this and Lute Olson reads it, because we need to focus some of our recruiting on “”big men.”” Not 6-11, 220-pound guys, I’m talking 6-9, 250 or so. With a post-game. Thanks again.

Matt Wexler
San Francisco

Mini-blog

I hope you bought your ASU/North Carolina basketball tickets, because if you didn’t the Zona Zoo will bombard you with snowballs just like it bombarded you with such a ridiculous number of e-mails last week. I thought my mailbox would explode. And somehow they (13 by my count) were sent to my non-Arizona e-mail address in addition.

Maybe if the Zona Zoo spent less time sending e-mails and more time fundraising, it would have more money to spend on security so students would have a chance to camp out for the UNC game. You know, kind of like UCLA’s students camped out last Saturday for the Arizona game.

The Zona Zoo directors apologized (see page 4) but claim that their e-mails got the students to buy tickets in record numbers for this year. Of course students bought tickets. It’s freaking North Carolina. It’s the biggest home game since Kansas in 2000-01.

And then there’s rival ASU. Doesn’t Arizona hate the Sun Devils more than New Yorkers hate John Rocker? Even if the game isn’t good, students always enjoy sticking it to ASU with a variety of taunts.

Seriously, who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to further clog the already spam-filled Arizona e-mail? Did you think that Arizona students are A: either too stupid to read the first email or B: too lazy to open up any of the first 10 e-mails you sent?

Here’s to never opening a Zona Zoo e-mail again. Cheers.

– Roman Veytsman

Q&A with Steve Kerr

Wildcat: You were on the last Lute Olson’s team to lose three straight Pac-10 games. What was that like?
Kerr: It was 23 years ago, I have no idea what it was like. I can’t remember that far. It shows you what an amazing stretch it’s been though, to go that long without losing three in a row. That’s amazing.

W: Does it still hurt to see them losing when you’re sitting in the stands?
K: Absolutely, it’s no fun.

W: So the story goes, you helped discover Chase Budinger, right?
K: No, Jud Buechler’s dad did. He’s like the biggest high school sports fan and goes to every game. Jud’s dad called Lute I think Chase’s freshman year in high school. And then Jud and I went down to a lot of the games and tried to help recruit him a little bit.

W: What’d you tell Chase, that he can be the next Steve Kerr?
K: He’s going to be a hell of a lot better than that. I just told him to take a look at all the guys who are in the NBA who have been through Arizona, and if that’s what he wanted.

W: Did you know right away he was special?
K: Yeah, you could see.

– Roman Veytsman