Arizona 7-footers Lauri Markkanen and Dusan Ristic have begun calling themselves the Wildcats’ “European Connection,” but there are some notable differences between them.
For starters, Markkanen is from Finland. Ristic is from Serbia. That’s a distance of about as far away as Tucson is from Columbia, Mo., where the Wildcats will face Missouri on Saturday.
There are cultural differences too, which can encourage a bit of competition and teasing between the two big men.
“Today, I brag about the education system in Finland,” Markkanen said Tuesday, when asked if he and Ristic boast to each other about their homelands. “It’s the best in the world.”
Markkanen has an argument. Called an “education superpower” by The Atlantic magazine, Finland has an unorthodox, egalitarian education system that has drawn praise in recent years.
But on the issue of NBA talent, Ristic’s country clearly has Markkanen’s beat. Serbia has produced more than 25 NBA players; Finland has just one.
“We have 30-plus,” Ristic said. (For what it’s worth, the count on RealGM.com is 27.)
The one Finnish-born player in the NBA was Hanno Mottola, who has become a familiar name to the Arizona basketball program. Not only was Mottola on the Utah team that memorably upset Arizona’s defending national champions in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, but he’s also been a club coach and mentor for Markkanen, who is expected to become Finn No. 2 in the NBA next season.
But enough of all that. Markkanen and Ristic also differ widely in their games and, as seen in UA’s 79-57 win over UC Irvine on Tuesday at McKale Center, they can complement each other.
While they’re both 7 feet tall, Ristic is offensively skilled around the basket, while Markkanen is the ultimate “stretch four,” a big man who can truly shoot well from the perimeter (in fact, he’s by far the UA’s best three-point shooter so far, at 46.3 percent).
Together, the Europeans combined to tear apart UC Irvine’s zone defense on Tuesday, each scoring 18 points and combining to shoot 71.4 percent from the field. Ristic was 8 for 11 inside, while Markkanen was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and hit three of his four other shots.
All together, Arizona made 8 of 17 (47.1 percent) from 3-point territory against the Anteaters while hitting 57.1 percent from two, a pretty efficient night against the kind of zone defense that has caused them trouble this season.
“When you play against a zone everybody thinks — and I think a lot fans think — that you have to make 3s, and at times I think they’re right,” UA coach Sean Miller said.
“But a really good zone offense is able to get fouled, score from two, score in the low post and take really good 3s. And when we took 3s tonight, they were really good threes.”
Arizona did all that Tuesday. While Markkanen and Ristic did their damage from the field, wing Rawle Alkins took nine trips to the free-throw line, making six free throws, while guard Kobi Simmons was 4 for 4 from the line.
If that keeps up, teams might think twice about zoning Zona.
“We’re going to see a lot of zone right now because teams are checking how organized we are, and our ability to shoot,” Miller said. “But we’re only going to get better every day that we’re together because in a way our team (as now constructed) has only practiced for a week.
“Two of Lauri’s 3s tonight happened because his teammates are well aware of where he was and they got him the ball. On Saturday (against Gonzaga), we weren’t looking at him like that. He would almost have to find his own shot. Against a zone, everybody’s looking for Lauri because he’s such an exceptional shooter.”
After Tuesday’s game, fittingly, Markkanen and Ristic were the two players Arizona chose to be interviewed. Markkanen was typically calm and stoic — perhaps in a Finnish sort of way — saying he didn’t lose confidence after Gonzaga’s defensive focus on him Saturday kept him to a 4-of-14 effort from the field.
“I’m not worried about my shooting,” Markkanen said. “I have self-confidence. Nothing changed.”
Meanwhile, Ristic deflected praise from anything he did.
“All credit goes to my teammates,” Ristic said. “They did a great job of throwing the ball inside. I did what I was supposed to do.”
Together, both Ristic and Markkanen appeared confident and serious, yet humble.
Those are the things that the Wildcats’ two Europeans really share, maybe as much as anything.
“One common trait that Dusan and Lauri have is that they are incredible kids,” Miller said. “I mean, in the classroom, off the court, in practice, as teammates. They love the game and are two of our hardest workers. Not just now but in the summer.
“Both guys are (from) the other side of world. They’re not going home for Christmas. Yet they’re just really, really great kids. All of us feel that to have them as teammates, prime players on the court, is a great thing for us.”
