Because he settled down in front of a TV to watch Indiana and Florida State head into overtime after Arizona’s win over Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday, Sean Miller was a little late for his postgame Zoom media address.
By the time he arrived, the UA coach had some brotherly frustration … and a sense of perspective.
“If we were in Tallahassee tonight,” Miller said, “we might not look nearly as good, obviously.”
While Archie Miller’s Hoosiers lost by two at the home of the 20th-ranked Seminoles in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Sean Miller’s Wildcats won by 25 at home over Cal State Bakersfield, zipping patiently through and around the Roadrunner defense to record 21 assists on their 27 made baskets.
The win improved Arizona to 4-0, but all of the Wildcats’ games have been at home, and all against low- or mid-major programs, with their Dec. 2 Pac-12 opener against Colorado having been pushed back to Dec. 28.
So Sean Miller didn’t hesitate to still call his team a “work in progress” as it heads toward what could be its biggest test yet, a scheduled home game against UTEP on Saturday at McKale.
“We’re taking advantage of being here in Tucson,” Miller said. “We’re taking advantage of hard and good practices. We’ve had a good stretch of health. Hopefully that can continue. And we have a group of guys that I do believe are improving.”
That much was apparent Wednesday: The Wildcats arguably put up their smoothest offensive performance of the season Wednesday, shooting 48.2% from the field while using 21 assists to set up 27 of their made baskets.
Arizona now has the 14th highest ratio of assists to makes in Division I, with 67.0% of their baskets coming off assists.
“We try to look at it like all coaching staffs,” Miller said Wednesday. “Are they good shots? Are the shots taken by the right people? Are we moving the ball? Are the 3-point shots we’re taking a function of our offense? And tonight, we really did share the ball well.”
So even if the competition and location hasn’t been the most challenging, the Wildcats’ will is clear: No matter who is in the way, they appear to be looking for each other.
“The biggest thing is that we’ve been together since late August,” said senior guard Terrell Brown, who led the Wildcats with 16 points and six assists on Wednesday. “We kind of have a feel for each other, we found each other’s hot spots and stuff like that.
“We’re sharing the ball and that’s the key to winning games.”
By all accounts, over the past few months, they have grown to like each other, too — despite having a roster of three returning players, seven freshmen and three transfers, and equally diverse cultural backgrounds.
“I feel like it’s been great to play with the team,” said wing Bennedict Mathurin, a freshman from Montreal. “We have a lot of players from different countries so it is amazing to me to have a big chemistry in the team (after) only four games.”
They also have a deceivingly deep group of “point guards.” While Miller praised the traditional starter at the position, James Akinjo, after the Georgetown transfer had seven assists to two turnovers despite a rough shooting night (4-12), the Wildcats also had Brown’s six assists and another three assists from 6-7 freshman Dalen Terry.
“Dalen Terry is a unique player,” Miller said. “He plays all over the place and he’s a pass-first player, he’s looking to get his teammates involved. I think he’s also a really tough guy and a competitor. He plays both ends and I’ve been really impressed with his work ethic.”
Miller said it’s also helped that Terry, Mathurin and freshman forward Azuolas Tubelis haven’t missed more than a day of practice all season so far, while all three have had standout games.
All that work is translating into wins, even if the Wildcats still face much tougher games ahead.
“We’ve had some very good practices through the quiet months of September and October,” Miller said.
“Right now, although we have a lot of new faces, I think we’re moving in a positive direction, and that’s the one thing that I’m confident in saying. We’re better today than we were a week ago.”
Rim shots
- Miller said he expected freshman guard Kerr Kriisa soon would be cleared to start practicing with the Wildcats after staying apart from the team to follow COVID-19 protocols since returning Dec. 3 from Estonia, where he played for his national team. However, it remains uncertain when or if Krissa will make it through the NCAA’s Eligibility Center in order to play in games.
“We don’t have any update in terms of his amateurism,” Miller said. “But from a COVID perspective, he’s down the home stretch of being fully cleared. Playing in the FIBA championship, he was tested every day there so it’s not as if he got away from it. Right now we’re in the end of quarantine and it’s nice to have him back.”
- Arizona’s Dec. 19 game at Stanford is still expected to be played, but likely in Santa Cruz, California, or at another semi-neutral site because of a Santa Clara County health order prohibiting teams from practicing or playing games.
The Cardinal remained in North Carolina after participating in the relocated Maui Invitational and has been practicing at the University of North Carolina, where Cardinal coach Jerod Haase was an assistant to coach Roy Williams.
