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| Thursday, November 21 WKU no easy opener for No. 1 Arizona By Ed Graney Special to ESPN.com |
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It is one advantage to having such depth and talent, one undeniable trait all coaches seek: The ability to worry about yourself more than another. This will be Arizona's basketball team for much of the coming season, a group of Wildcats whose national championship hopes will likely rest more on how they perform than what problems others might present. "Right now," says Arizona coach Lute Olson, "we still need to find out everything we can do. I'm more concerned about that."
Top-ranked Arizona opens its season against visiting Western Kentucky on Saturday; opens against a team that went 28-4 last season and won a second straight Sun Belt Conference championship; that began its memorable journey by upsetting Kentucky; that returns six of its top seven players; that won't look at the letters UofA or a No. 1 ranking and shrink like your new pair of jeans. "If people are not familiar with Western Kentucky, they should be," said Olson. "The fact they have been rated pretty highly in the polls points out how effective that team is. They played some really good teams on the road a year ago, so coming into a hostile environment is something they are accustomed to." Perhaps, but there is also this truth: Kentucky of last year, while still its usual capable and talented self, is hardly a mirror image of Arizona this season. Western Kentucky winning in Rupp Arena was an upset. Western Kentucky winning in McKale Center would be a colossal surprise. And still, you can bet Olson will inform his team that Western Kentucky has won 49 of its past 57 games. Ranked as high as No. 18 this week, the Hilltoppers will likely be without senior standout center Chris Marcus in Tucson. Marcus missed 17 games with a stress fracture in his foot last season, had off-season ankle surgery and is still not 100 percent. But know this: Most coaches, including those Arizona assistants responsible for scouting Western Kentucky, insist the Hilltoppers are tougher to defend without Marcus, that senior forward David Boyden and sophomore point guard Patrick Sparks are a handful. "It doesn't take much to look at this game and know playing Arizona in Tucson presents a monumental challenge for our team," says Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton. "They have maybe the best point guard in the country in Jason Gardner and possibly the best 'team forward' in Luke Walton. "But with a (Top 25 ranking), we're also happy to be considered among the very best in college basketball. It's an even greater achievement when you consider how difficult it is for a school like us. We're trying to bring more exposure to our program." Arizona closed the exhibition part of its schedule by taking out Team Nike 100-83 on Wednesday, when potential problems with the team's full-court press (the ones Olson feared earlier in the week) never surfaced. It also marked the return of preseason All-America forward Walton (12 points against Team Nike), who had been sidelined with an ankle injury. And so the Wildcats appear set -- save a still-hobbling sophomore in guard Salim Stoudamire -- to begin their run at the national title many believe they will claim April 7. Olson's team will be a defensive work in progress early, but there is little question about converting at the other end. In fact, the coach earlier this week conceded his team might surpass the school's single-season scoring average of 90.8, set in 1997-98. "This is a game of percentages, whether we get the good percentage shots fairly early or if we have to wait," said Olson. "The key is that we get a good look. The more we can force somebody to run up and down the court, the more our depth will come into play." Other challengers to No. 1 (Kansas and Oklahoma) have already started their engines this season, with the Jayhawks finding success and the Sooners tripping against Alabama. Finally, it's game on for Bear Down. First hurdle: A gritty bunch of Hilltoppers.
Center of Attention If, of course, the Rebels get any play at all from the center position. UNLV opens its season against Portland State on Sunday, secure in the ability of senior point guard Marcus Banks, junior transfer guard Demetrius Hunter, senior wing Jermaine Lewis and senior wing Dalron Johnson. But the middle is a mystery. Junior-college transfer J.K. Edwards could eventually solidify the spot, and was an All-America pick his freshman season. Not overly impressive in early-season practices, the 6-8, 250-pound Edwards has come on of late and played well in the team's exhibition win against EA Sports West on Tuesday. Edwards, who had eight rebounds in 17 minutes, is battling sophomore Louis Amundson and junior Omari Pearson for time. "(Edwards) played with a lot of enthusiasm," said Rebels coach Charlie Spoonhour after Tuesday's 87-67 victory. "That was nice to see." The good part: UNLV doesn't need the second coming of Shaq to win. The Rebels are good enough elsewhere that any large body with the ability to defend, rebound and grind out minutes will suffice. UNLV's center, whoever it turns out to be, might not be on par with the league's best (Wyoming's Uche Nsonwu-Amadi and San Diego State's Mike Mackell), but he at least needs to hold his own. Edwards was recruited out of Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College with the idea he would start, but didn't have an impressive sophomore season and arrived at UNLV out of shape. He might still be the answer, but his slow start allowed Amundson and Pearson more opportunity. Says Spoonhour: "We don't need any tricky plays from the center. We just need hard work."
Around the West The Cardinal today has a win against No. 11 Xavier and a date in the Preseason NIT semifinals on Wednesday. It seems life without Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt might not be so painful after all. The most comforting part for Montgomery, whose team opened the event by defeating Boston University, has to be the inside play of forwards Josh Childress and Justin Davis, who combined for 22 points and 17 rebounds against Xavier. Stanford is without point guard Chris Hernandez (broken foot) until mid-December and has been banged up elsewhere, but used a smothering zone defense to defeat the Musketeers 63-62. Montgomery inserted the zone in hopes of stealing a game early in the season. Did it ever.
"We need to play with a sense of urgency," said Lopes, "and know that on nights we don't shoot well, we can still win games with our defense and rebounding."
Last season, when Ernie Kent's team advanced to the Elite Eight, Oregon averaged a Pac-10 best 85.5 points en route to a conference title. "We might not be appear as spectacular in some areas as last year, but we feel we're going to be just as good," said Kent, whose team opens against Grambling State on Sunday. "We're faster. We have more energy. We're a better basketball team. On paper, (Arizona) is one of the most athletic teams in the country. But we feel we can play with anyone."
Who's Hot Colorado State: The team that could pull a major surprise in the Mountain West Conference this season won its first three games by an average score of 79-60, capturing the Dell BCA Invitational.
Who's Not UCLA: If we told the Bruins once, we've told them 1,000 times -- film study alone won't beat those hoop powers known as Branch West Academy and EA Sports.
Quote to Note Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.
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