Sean Miller begins his sixth season at Arizona this week — media day is Friday — with the most preseason attention at McKale Center since the Wildcats opened No. 1 in 2003.
Here are three reasons to buy the buzz:
- Freshman Stanley Johnson is not just a skinny freshman growing into his body and career. I saw him Thursday at Bear Down Kitchen in a non-basketball setting. He was with another student, not a basketball player. Johnson is about 235 or 240 pounds. He’s a man. And he’s not shy. I lost track of the times this summer Johnson tweeted that he was on his way to the Rec Center for a late-day workout, asking for volunteers to join his pickup games. He’s not a pizza-and-TV guy. He’s a man at work.
- Since Miller arrived at Arizona, he has started a new point guard every year: Nic Wise, MoMo Jones, Josiah Turner, Mark Lyons and T.J. McConnell. Now Miller gets a second season with McConnell, who plays the most important position on the floor. Big advantage.
- When you’ve been No. 1 nationally for eight weeks, when you’ve been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, the crush of outsiders and assorted gawkers should not be a distraction or a deterrent to the flow of a productive season. There’s no more “aw shucks.” The goal is to get to the Final Four. Back-slapping doesn’t help you beat Wisconsin.
