Deandre Ayton is Gronk without the shoulder pads and the celebratory spike.
Before Ayton shot a free throw Saturday against the Oregon Ducks, 6-foot 7-inch, 230-pound UO center Mikyle McIntosh asked Ayton how much he weighed.
βWhat are you 250?β
Ayton motioned toward the ceiling.
βNo, 260,β he said.
On most of Arizonaβs 75 possessions in a die-hard match against Oregon, Ayton had McIntosh on one side and 6-9, 225-pound Paul White on the other. Often a third Duck arrived at the scene when more help was needed.
McIntosh and White are both 22 years old, transfers from Illinois State and Georgetown. Grown men.
βIβm 230,β said McIntosh. βNobody can push me around.β
Yet Ayton scored 24 points as Arizona won with a late rush, 90-83. Maybe he didnβt push any of the Ducks around, maybe he didnβt bully anybody, but if you were courtside at McKale you couldnβt help but think throw it to Ayton would crack the code and beat the Ducks.
Oregon coach Dana Altman said he used βeverybody we couldβ to help surround Ayton but in the end he was the difference in a game that had the feel of a Sweet 16 showdown.
βIn my eight years in the league, weβve never seen anybody like that,β said Altman.
In the lead-up to the Pac-12βs most compelling basketball rivalry, Altman watched tapes of four Arizona games. He not only saw the 7-1 Ayton average 20 points and 11Β½ rebounds, he saw something else.
βI never saw him lose his composure,β said Altman. βHis hands. His feel for the game. I donβt know what he canβt do. I love the way he plays the game.β
Of Arizonaβs 75 possessions, its most this season, Ayton received the ball in scoring position just 16 times, eight in each half. That seemed like far too few, but the way Oregonβs zone surrounded Ayton, itβs amazing the Wildcats got Ayton the ball that often.
Arizona led 15-9 before Ayton took his first shot. Thatβs how tight Oregon stuck to him. Some mightβve lost patience and forced a few shots, or pushed off and got a few unnecessary fouls.
Instead, Ayton kept his cool.
He produced 24 points from those 16 touches. He made 10 of 11 free throws, each one more important than the one before.
βWe didnβt have an answer for him all night,β said Altman.
Miller, a very smart coach, did not take Ayton out of the game in the second half. How could you take a chance when the Ducks began to look like a team that could play deep into March? Ayton went the full 20 minutes even though he played with four fouls for what seemed like forever. Ayton only committed two fouls in the last 13Β½ minutes when Altman ordered the Ducks to attack Ayton as often as possible.
βI have to really convince myself to take Deandre out,β said Miller, who smiled and added βyou only get him for so many games before heβll be gone.β
So far, Ayton is averaging 20.2 points as an Arizona freshman. Only six other Wildcats β Sean Elliott, Damon Stoudamire, Khalid Reeves, Jason Terry, Jason Gardner and Chris Mills β averaged 20 over a full Pac-12 season, and all but Gardner were seniors.
As with Miller, UA fans are coming to appreciate Ayton in his brief one-year stay in Tucson. With him in the lineup for 37 minutes, almost anything seems possible, even on a day the Wildcats committed 17 turnovers and were snared by a stop-and-go game in which the officials called 51 fouls.
Hereβs some context on 51 fouls: Last year the UA wasnβt involved in a game with more than 45 fouls.
Fortunately for Miller, the best way to beat a zone defense, especially one as effective as Oregonβs, is to shoot free throws. The Wildcats went 34 for 37. Itβs almost impossible to lose a game in which you make that many foul shots.
Ayton went 10 for 11, mindless to the pressure, and Miller just shook his head, comparing his Bahamian center to a skilled golfer who can go out and shoot a low score without ever taking lessons.
βDeandreβs just got it,β said Miller.
And on Saturday, the Wildcats did, too.
