After Arizonaβs quick and painful exit from the NCAA Tournament in March, Brandon Randolph and his few remaining teammates took a little break from the game.
When they returned for offseason workouts, there was no Deandre Ayton looming over the court. No Allonzo Trier getting buckets. No Rawle Alkins poster dunks, no Dusan Ristic or Parker Jackson-Cartwright anchoring opposite ends of the lineup.
And no incoming recruiting class whatsoever.
Eighty-five percent of the Wildcatsβ scoring left after last season, and UA entered April with only six guys on the roster for 2018-19.
Randolph remained unfazed.
βTo be honest with you, I had no doubts,β the UA sophomore wing said Friday, during an offseason media gathering with fellow returnees Alex Barcello and Chase Jeter. βWe have a great coaching staff, theyβre great at recruiting and they told me how many guys they were trying to bring in and they kept their word, basically.
βAnd I know everybody is great. Everybody knows how to play, what to do, and theyβre good at it.β
Brandon Randolph on the Wildcats: βPeople have been sleeping on us. We donβt have to use that as motivation. We know. We know what we have to do β¦β
Things fell into place soon after Randolph received that promise. High school guard Devonaire Doutrive was the first to jump on board in April, after UAβs initial three 2018 recruits decommitted in the wake of damning off-court news.
Then Pitt grad transfer Ryan Luther and Belgian high school forward Omar Thielemans committed after visiting Tucson together. Samford grad transfer Justin Coleman opted to come over in late April and, by early May, one of those three decommits came back when point guard Brandon Williams found the Wildcats still tugged at him.
Suddenly, there was a team β though maybe not a team that will have expectations anywhere near that of last season. Arizona will likely be expected to have to battle for a top four Pac-12 finish and berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Thatβs OK with Randolph and his teammates, too.
βPeople have been sleeping on us,β Randolph said, but added that βwe donβt have to use that as motivation. We know. We know what we have to do and how we have to come into the season and we motivate ourselves. When we go to practice we work hard, we work really, really hard, and I love my guys. Itβs a great bunch of guys.β
Jeter and Barcello said many of the same things at Fridayβs gathering, suggesting that if the upcoming team doesnβt have the marquee value last seasonβs team did, it just might have better chemistry.
βI think the chances are really greatβ to surprise people, Barcello said. βI think this is a great group of guys. We all bond well on and off the court. We really care about each other and I think that will take us a long way on and off the court. I think we have a great mindset right now.
βEveryoneβs saying we arenβt going to achieve as much as we did last year but thatβs kind of our motivation. Itβs made us work out that much harder every day, when we go to work out or in the weight room, pushing each other to be the best that we can.β
The returning players may also return with a thicker skin. Even before last season began, the federal investigation resulted in the arrest and eventual firing of assistant coach Book Richardson, while an ESPN report in February led to coach Sean Millerβs five-day absence from the team.
On top of that, Alkins missed 12 games with foot issues and Trier missed two when he tested positive for the same PED that cost him 19 games the previous season.
βNothing can be worse than that, I guess,β Randolph said of last seasonβs adversity. βIt kind of showed our mental toughness and weβre going to be very good. We werenβt even worried about that last year and this year is going to be no problem.β
One other thing: There is still talent. The Wildcats are loaded with guys who were four-star recruits out of high school, while Jeter was a five-star prospect who played his first two seasons at Duke.
Itβs just that the returning players didnβt have high-profile roles last season with guys like Ayton, Trier and Alkins around.
That changes in a hurry now. Randolph might even lead the team in scoring, considering his breakout performances early last season while Alkins was out with a broken foot. Jeter is expected to be the anchor inside, likely earning as many minutes as he can effectively play. And Barcello is beginning a high-level battle with Williams and Coleman to take over the point.
Everyone needs to move up.
βItβs gonna be a big role not only for me but the other guys as well,β Jeter said.
Thatβs another reason why this group of Wildcats is motivated, even in the depths of the offseason.
Because for all those points left behind, last seasonβs UA starters also vacated a lot of minutes.
βThereβs a great opportunity here because all the five starters left,β Barcello said. βThereβs a huge opportunity for everyone at every position. Iβm very excited.β
