The numbers spoke louder than any words Sean Miller could offer Sunday night, but he tried.
In Arizona’s 90-69 win over Illinois, Nico Mannion had 23 points and nine assists, Josh Green 20 points and 4-for-7 3-point shooting, and Zeke Nnaji 19 points on 9 for 12 shooting.
The three freshmen were “just spectacular tonight in their second game,” Miller said. “Each of them were really, really good. Zeke was quiet but when you go 9 for 12 from the floor, that means something. A lot of them came from Nico. Nico had nine assists and 23 points and Josh not only does it on offense, he also does it on defense.”
While Nnaji burst on to the scene with 20 points in UA’s season opening win over NAU last Wednesday, Mannion and Green clearly elevated their games against the Illini after struggling at times in the preseason.
Green “played with a lot of confidence,” Miller said. “His 3-point shooting has really improved. When he first came in June, he had missed a lot of time with his shoulder (surgery). He's really worked at it and when you work hard, good things happen, and he's a fluid shooter. When you see him shoot the ball, and he looks like it's going to go in.”
Attending the postgame news conference along with Green, Mannion was asked what about his personality makes him play better in bigger games.
“Um, I really couldn’t tell you,” Mannion said. “I try to prepare the same way for every game, and tonight shots were falling. It felt good. We had a great atmosphere. Everyone played solid tonight. We had four or five guys (four, with Hazzard scoring 10) in double digits. And then guys that weren't in double digits were doing their thing, locking up on defense, making the right play.”
Green said he, too, prepares the same for every game. But clearly, this wasn’t NAU out there. And Illinois took early leads of 13-6 and 17-10.
“Obviously it was a bigger team. We definitely wanted to play this game,” Green said. “But at the same time, I think we feel more comfortable. We’re still freshmen, two games into our career, so you know every single game we're going to get more comfortable and we’re going to trust each other more out on the court.”
Of course, Green and Mannion already have a deep trust and an almost innate feel for each other’s game at this point, having played together with the West Coast Elite club for three years before arriving at Arizona.
Mannion and Green also played together on the West team in the McDonalds All American Game and for the World team in the Hoop Summit. Mannion even opened eyes during the McDonalds game when he fed Green as he drove the baseline for what became a reverse layup.
“We kind of just know how each other play and know what to expect,” Mannion said.
It also helped that the Wildcats and Illini played the sort of fast-paced game that both Mannion and Green thrive in, with plenty of open-court opportunities.
“We've actually been focused on playing fast since we got here, and the past two weeks we’ve been kind of focused on it even more, getting the ball up the floor, getting into our sets quick," Mannion said. "When we do that, like I was saying, we’ve got guys who can make the right play, great passers. So when we’re playing unselfish and fast, things go well for us.”
Miller said he may have more confidence in this team to play at a faster pace than any other he’s coached at Arizona.
“I would think so, because it's not just one player," Miller said. "When it really is good basketball, you have a number of different players that are threats, and we really have that in transition. That's why sharing the ball and taking care of it is the name of the game for us as we play fast."
Miller said playing a fast pace can sometimes reflect a team that is giving up quick buckets on the other end.
“We want to push the ball. That's one way we can use our depth,” Miller said. “But one thing that never changes is playing fast doesn't mean you're playing smart. I mean, when you win on the road, you have to be able to get stops, you have to rebound and you have to play smart basketball.
“If you can do that at a faster pace, especially when you have a deep team, awesome. That's the one thing that I think we're learning. But as you can see, I think we have a pretty good starting point. We're better when we're pushing it, and in particular with Nico, I've really been on him to push it and I thought tonight he did a great job in that area.”
There were other numbers that Miller wasn’t as wild about, of course: The Wildcats gave up 16 turnovers and allowed Illinois to shoot 55.6 percent in the first half.
But even those came with some positives for the Wildcats: They also recorded 14 steals to help force a total of 22 Illinois turnovers (off which UA scored 20 points) and they only gave up two 3-pointers after Illinois hit three in the first two minutes of the game.
Miller said UA’s defense “might have” been better in the second half, when Illinois shot just 36.4 percent, but added that the Wildcats also fouled more often (11 to 10 in the first half).
“If I judge our defense over 40 minutes, it ebbed and flowed,” Miller said. “We had our good moments, (and those when) we didn't. Offensively we were much more efficient. If we took a few turnovers away, we'd have had a really big night, because we had just head scratchers there at times.”
Miller went nine players deep but didn’t play center Christian Koloko, in part likely because Koloko would have faced a strength disadvantage against Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn and a mobility disadvantage against the Illini’s other post players.
“As we keep moving forward, it’s important that we just continue to improve and create roles for guys, which isn't easy when you're playing 10 or nine,” Miller said. “Christian didn't get in and it really bothers me because he's a very good player. He's very good every day, but like I told him, don't be surprised if you keep watching us that he doesn't work his way into having a role and help us win a really big game.
“And that's really I think where the starting point is this year with us that we do have depth and its quality depth and we have to use that to our advantage.”
