Arizonaโs sometimes hairy 75-64 exhibition win over Chaminade on Sunday indicated the new-look Wildcats still have a lot to work out, so maybe itโs best to start with the basics.
Like this one: Thereโs Brandon โฆ and then thereโs Brandon.
On any given night this season, it appears already, either Brandon Williams or Brandon Randolph is likely to be leading the Wildcats in scoring. They both did Sunday, with Williams firing in his first four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points, while Randolph added 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 4 of 5 3-point shooting.
Brandon, and Brandon.
โItโs funny,โ Williams said. โIn practice, you see on the practice plan it says โBrandon RANDOLPH, capitalized. So itโs kind of weird.โ
Williams says he likes to simply go by โB-Will,โ while Randolph more often goes with his given name.
โI call him Slim, personally,โ Williams said of Randolph. โBut anybody else can call him Brandon.โ
Thatโs good enough for UA coach Sean Miller. Actually, itโs good enough for both guys. Asked what he calls each of them, and if thereโs ever any confusion, Miller said: โAre you serious?โ
Well, curious, at least.
โI call them Brandon and Brandon, yeah,โ Miller said. โOneโs Randolph and oneโs Williams.โ
Then again, in fairness, Miller had much more significant things to worry about after Sundayโs game, in which Arizona led 31-29 at halftime thanks in large part to Williamsโ 14 first-half points.
The Wildcats then allowed Chaminade to go on a 9-0 run early in the second half, while trailing by eight points, and played throughout the game with a defense that was sometimes menacing, sometimes porous.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats worked expected starting center Chase Jeter back from an apparent ankle injury (the UA no longer comments on injuries), and Jeter had six rebounds and one point in 17 minutes.
โHe had some good moments tonight,โ Miller said of Jeter, who was not available for comment. โBut tonight was just about letting him play and getting him out the floor for the first time in a long time.โ
Jeter missed his only field goal, while junior guard Dylan Smith was 0-for-7. As it turned out, actually, anybody not named Brandon shot just 37.5 percent overall and 25 percent from 3-oint range.
But about that defense: Naturally, that was a big concern of Miller, who aims for a strong defensive identity every season but, as with everything else with this team, knows some time is required.
โWe have to learn how to play with great effort for 40 minutes on defense,โ Miller said. โItโs not an easy thing. Experienced teams, really talented teams, maybe some of the best defensive teams weโve had, if you judge them by the month of November, we were still a work in progress.
โBut thatโs the starting point. To just be able to play for 40 minutes (hard), the first 20 minutes of the game, and just be an incredibly cohesive, hard-playing unit.โ
Instead, the Wildcats allowed Chaminade to hit 5-of-8 field goals to start the game and take a 13-6 lead over Arizona.
The Wildcats pulled back in the game primarily because Williams was able to take advantage of some good early looks with hot shooting.
After Justin Coleman made a pair of free throws to pull Arizona within 13-8, Williams made his third and fourth 3-pointers of the game โ the last a 30-foot bomb โ to give Arizona a 14-13 lead with 14 minutes left.
Coleman dished the assist to Williams for his first and fourth 3-pointers, and it was clear that, so far at least, the Wildcats may be most efficient when Coleman is at the point and Williams at the 2 (with the other Brandon at small forward, naturally).
Coleman likes it that way, too.
โPlaying with Brandon Williams, heโs a prolific scorer so he makes my job a lot easier,โ Coleman said. โItโs also a lot more exciting to play with a guy like him.โ
Then, conveniently, as Williams found his outside looks at the basket started to narrow, Randolph stepped more into the picture. Randolph scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and made all four 3-pointers he took after halftime.
The Brandons, together, were particularly critical late in the game when the Wildcats needed it most, too.
Chaminade was trailing just 54-53 with 7:10 to go, when Randolph hit a 3-pointer and Williams then stole the ball, rebounded his own miss and barged back in for a layup that made it 59-53.
Later, with UA up by five, Randolph went coast-to-coast after a defensive rebound for a layup and then stole the ball from Chaminadeโs Telly Davenport. That turned into a three-point play from Williams, whose free throw after a layup gave the Wildcats a 65-55 lead.
It was a different sort of production from Williams late in the game, because it had to be a different sort of production.
โI started going to the rim and fatigue plays a factor as well,โ Williams said. โItโs going to the rim, getting fouled and putting pressure on the defense the best I can.โ
Williams will have two days after the game to prepare for the first regular-season game of his college career, on Wednesday against Houston Baptist.
Like his fellow Brandon, Williams wonโt have much time to rest now, and he probably wonโt the rest of the season, either.
โHe has a big role on this team,โ Miller said of Williams. โWeโre getting him ready for that role.โ
