SAN JOSE β Received a 15-minute window to speak with former UCLA and St. Johnβs coach Steve Lavin about the UA-Xavier matchup this morning, and I knew that would be a challenge.
Not only does Lavin know the Pac-12 and Big East probably as well as anybody, having coached in both leagues, but the Turner Sports analyst always has plenty of descriptive things to say.
He stumbled for words only once when he likened Xavier to the posse chasing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where Paul Newman says βWho are those guys?β
βYou know, theyβre trying to lose them and they think theyβre gone and all of a sudden they hear the hoofsteps,β Lavin said. βYou might need to look it up.β
(A video clip of that line is attached).
The point being that Xavier wonβt go away. The point also being that Xavier today, maybe even more so than Arizona, is not the same team it was a month or two ago. Among other issues, the Musketeers lost point guard Myles Davis to a suspension for half the season and then, after just three games, his decision to quit in January, while standout guard Edmund Sumner blew out his knee later that month.
βPeople are evaluating Xavier based on their freefall when they lost seven of 10 games (including six in a row),β Lavin said. βBut they reinvented themselves and this current group is playing at a very high level in terms of confidence. You look at them and itβs `Who are those guys having career nights?' β
Lavin said heβs been particularly impressed with guards Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura, while noting that the Musketeersβ switching defense can be problematic β especially when they go to a 1-3-1 zone.
βTheyβre mixing defenses which theyβve done in the past but this group has been paying better defense than they have all season,β Lavin said. βThey have a fulltime 1-3-1 with Macura and then they have a 1-3-1 that drops into a 2-3 zone. They sometimes trap and they also have a man-to-man. Theyβve been very effective at keeping opponents off balance. I would imagine Arizona would see a lot of zone.β
Lavin said Arizona can beat the Musketeersβ defense by getting out in transition before that defense sets up and, in the 1-3-1, by trying to attack the baseline or get good shooting in the corner.
Sean Miller and Lauri Markkanen were given NABC all-district honors.
The Seattle Times' Larry Stone looks at whether Mike Hopkins' passion will translate into success at Washington.
Utah's Kyle Kuzma will test the NBA Draft waters.
If you're headed to San Jose and still without tickets, some more will be released for sale at noon PT.
Arizona will hold its mandatory 50-minute on-court appearance at 3 p.m. today in the SAP Center. It is open to the public though the Wildcats' offsite practice earlier in the day is closed.
The Wildcats are also scheduled for interviews between 2:30-3 p.m. We'll be posting stories online afterward into the evening, while transcripts of podium interviews will be available at asapsports.com.