Arizona held one of its several closed preseason scrimmages Thursday, and the Wildcats appear to have found matchups tend to be a bit closer when point guards Brandon Williams and Justin Coleman are split up.
“It’s kind of unfair when coach puts him on the same team as me,” Williams said of Coleman.
When asked why, Williams said:
“I think we go along with each other good, just coming off ball screens or him looking for me or him cutting. We’re both vocal so we like to talk to the big men, Chase (Jeter) and RyLu (Ryan Luther).
“(Coleman) is going to be a point guard when he’s out there. I’m just a guy who can do a lot of things. But if I get the ball off the rebound I’m not going to look for him -- he’s just gonna run up the floor. We like to play at a fast pace. I look at myself as a basketball player, not really a point or two guard.”
Of course, UA coach Sean Miller will be trying to make it unfair for opponents by playing Williams and Coleman together often, starting in UA’s first exhibition Tuesday against Western New Mexico.
Miller has said Coleman will be the team’s primary point guard when he’s on the floor, while Williams will play it when Coleman isn’t on the floor. When the two are together, that gives Williams more freedom — and gives the Wildcats an extra ballhandling option.
“I feel like it’s a really good thing because it gives Brandon a chance to be himself,” Coleman said of playing with Williams. “He’s going to be one of the better scorers ever here at Arizona so that gives him a chance to play his game, play his role.”
Williams said the two have already been practicing against pressing defenses together, knowing that’s what might be ahead from opponents.
“Guys try to press us on defense but we can handle the ball well,” Williams said. “We try our press offense and we know how to handle it well.”
Still, for Williams, the preseason learning curve has been steep because he's learning both guard positions and Miller's system as a true freshman.
“It’s been pretty tough on me,” Williams said. “Learning two spots is pretty hard, especially the one and two. Coach has been tough on me about that. But I go to watch film every day.”
Coleman and Williams were made available Thursday for what were scheduled to be UA's only available interviews between the Red-Blue Game and Western New Mexico exhibition. Miller has not been available for comment since the Red-Blue Game.
