BERKELEY, Calif. â On a night when the Arizona offense often appeared a jumbled mess, one of the few old reliables on the Wildcats roster stepped into the limelight.
Only with Dusan Ristic, it was often a drop-step, curling right around a Cal defender, leading to a mini-hook.
Ristic had 16 points to lead Arizona to a 67-62 win over the feisty Golden Bears, but even more impressively, the third-year center appeared to be the true focal point of the Wildcatsâ offense.
In certain intervals, he was the only offense for Arizona.
âIn the first 10 to 12 minutes where almost nobody looked able to score, he was,â Arizona coach Sean Miller said. âHeâs a junior, been in this building two other times. Setting the tone, playing with confidence is something heâs learning to do.â
Ristic got on the board early with an array of low-post moves; first, on Arizonaâs sixth possession, he fooled Calâs imposing shot-blocker, center Kingsley Okoroh, on a perfectly executed hook shot. To that point, Arizona was 0-for-6 from the field.
On the next Wildcats possession, Ristic lofted a raindrop on a fadeaway, the ball kissed the back of the rim and bounced straight up and into the basket.
Later, when Arizonaâs offense went into a deep sleep after Cal claimed a 19-6 lead after a 15-0 run, they turned back to the big man. With the offense stalled, Arizona went to Ristic on back-to-back plays, and after he missed a mini-hook that bounced in and out, he dropped in a layup to cut Calâs lead to 19-15. Heâd go on to put in two more baskets in the last minute to go into the half leading the Wildcats with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Ristic would go on to finish with 16 points, including a clean swish on a deep 2-pointer from inside the 3-point line with less than 45 seconds left to put Arizona up eight.
âAs Dusan gets going, defenses call timeouts and they adjust their defenses,â Arizonaâs Kobi Simmons said. âNow heâs got kickouts, reposts, and they canât do much because weâre moving.â
This is becoming a bit of a pattern for the efficient post presence.
After playing in the rather looming shadow of Kaleb Tarczewski during his first two seasons for Arizona, when he was considered the lesser defensive option, Ristic has emerged in Year 3, averaging more than 11 points in better than 24 minutes a game.
Ristic has scored in double-figures in seven of his last eight games.
âThatâs the next step in my growth with this team,â Ristic said âIt means a lot for my confidence. I worked so hard the last two years, I wanted to have the chance to be the guy who can make the shot.â
Ristic has become a bigger all-around threat this year, too, emerging as a fine passer and passable defender.
On Friday, he delivered a perfect pass on a Parker Jackson-Cartwright backdoor cut, leading to an open layup.
Two plays later, he returned to form, dropping in yet another turnaround hook.
Given how often he had to bang in the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium post with Tarczewski the last two years, maybe it shouldnât be a surprise that Ristic has matured into the player he is today.
âFreshman, sophomore year, I benefited a lot playing against Kaleb every day,â Ristic said. âOne hundred percent of the time, I was guarding Kaleb, he was guarding me.
âWho has the opportunity to play against the nationâs best defender?ââ
