Game Thread: UW @ AZ

[dcZONAfan]

I think Johnson will be a good nba player...... Especially on the defensive end hope he comes to phx with Bledsoe and Dragic so we can get more speed and throw some more lobs

i am not so sure about this. I hope you are right, but i think he will have trouble scoring on NBA 2 guards, he just isn't quick enough once he steps up another level. leaping ability can't be your best trait in the nba, and it's the reason gerald green was so goddamn awful for so long. Did you see nick's shooting today, he really isn't a very good outside shooter, and that will be a HUGE problem if he is trying to make it as an undersized 2 guard

 

[CatsTopPac]

i am not so sure about this. I hope you are right, but i think he will have trouble scoring on NBA 2 guards, he just isn't quick enough once he steps up another level. leaping ability can't be your best trait in the nba, and it's the reason gerald green was so goddamn awful for so long. Did you see nick's shooting today, he really isn't a very good outside shooter, and that will be a HUGE problem if he is trying to make it as an undersized 2 guard

NJ's going to have to be a PG if he wants to be in the NBA.

 

[dcZONAfan]

NJ's going to have to be a PG if he wants to be in the NBA.

in other words, NJ is going to play overseas. He is not a PG, and will never be one.

 

[520GGATO]

I see NJ going overseas also. I agree.
Good thing we have him for another season after this one.

 

[dcZONAfan]

I see NJ going overseas also. I agree.
Good thing we have him for another season after this one.

NJ, TJM, GY, RHJ, KT, SJ, and maybe BA. I feel bad for the rest of the pac next year. If BA stays we will be insanely good. without him we will have to play stanley at PF and, while he can, I would rather we don't do that. CV just won't be ready to contribute as a frosh, IMO

 

[Arizona_Sting]

NJ can carve out a Shannon Brown type of NBA career

 

[Monte Carlo Wildcat]

Personally, I don't think NJ will declare this year. If he does, that means he will have had a monster year and take the wildcats far and that I'm okay with. However, seeing that this years draft is loaded, I think he stays for his senior year and gets drafted afterwords. I don't see why people don't think he can't play at the next level. He's a good enough athlete and play maker to have success at the NBA level.

 

[CatsTopPac]

A couple of things that may or may not happen, but they are my predictions:

With the loaded draft this year, and the way that Jerrett bailed on everyone based on projected potential, only to get lost in the D-League, I think that BA and Zeus are coming back. Unless they move to the first round on a sizable amount of boards, I don't see either one leaving. I think that Jerrett leaving left a bad taste in their mouths. It didn't pay off, and it hurt the team. I think that both of them realize that they get more attention, development, and opportunities for success, if they stay and play on next year's team.

I don't see NJ leaving either. He will be the king of Tucson next year, and he still has TJ as his right-hand man. I think he likes college, and might actually prefer to be a 4-year guy. Also, any opportunity to get to the NBA dramatically increases after next year. He gets to work on his ability to pass and shoot, next year's draft is softer, and he gets to play another successful year on the Cats (especially if BA and Zeus come back). After next year, he has the highest potential to transfer to the NBA, at least get drafted, or take Europe by storm. I don't know which of those will happen, but one will, and there just isn't near as good of a reason for him to leave this year.

I think that the only players we lose are Mayes and Gordon. I think there is only like a 5% chance of Gordon staying. He's gone, although he is going to need to spend a couple of years working on developing a 3pt shot, etc. He would be much better to stay (a stretch that he could take the Marcus Smart route and actually return), but everyone is already expecting him to be a lotto pick, and it would take a miracle for him to stay, unfortunately.

The only other thing I can see is that a player might transfer. I can see someone like Pitts leaving (although I feel like he knew what he was signing up for). Maybe he thought he could beat out York, but that's not going to happen. And I think that once NJ is gone (after next year), Miller will have Kadeem Allen and York splitting time at the SG. And that won't leave a lot of room for Pitts.

But with TJ and PJC at the point, NJ and York at SG, RHJ and SJ at SF, BA and CV at PF, and Zeus and Korchek at C, next year stands to look a lot like this year, except with a deeper bench. Kadeem Allen and Peters will be trying to compete for minutes and will be available for foul trouble, injuries, or fresh bodies during a deep March run.

This year's success will help greatly with recruiting though. And Miller is going to need it. Because after next year, he is going to have to replace TJ, NJ, probably RHJ, maybe SJ (although who knows), BA, Zeus, and Korcheck. So, we will be losing about 5-7 players after next year. We are going to need a monster class coming in to replace them, even with PJC, York, SJ (if he doesn't leave), CV, and maybe Peters stepping up by that point. Allen will also be there, so with all those guys, it's not like the cupboard's bare. We will just need to have the next batch lined-up. Like I said though, the success of this year and next should have recruits lined up to play in Tucson, and losing all those players won't be as big of a blow as it looks.

All of that being said, I'm still in this year. I love where we're at (who doesn't), and although it's difficult not to keep looking down the road, I am definitely focused on now until March/April. I think that just because we've had some bumpy years in the last decade, and because Miller's recruiting, I've been looking down the road far more than I ever did during Lute. I know there is more of a emphasis placed on recruiting (with the OAD) era, but Lute also almost never started freshmen, so anyone who showed up was an automatic understudy any way, so I that was my time to start following them. However, these days, so many players show up and play (and then leave), transfer in and play (and then leave), and you rarely see 4-year players with the same team, unless its someone like Mayes. I think that the Solos and NJs of AZ are going to be more fleeting as the years march on (unless they figure out something with the OAD and transfer rules).