TUCSON, Ariz. -- So, here we are again, two years later, trying to get a read on Arizona in a preseason when the Wildcats will be one of the three teams anointed a potential No. 1.

It couldn't be more different. The attitude, that is. Not the talent.

Two years ago, the words out of Richard Jefferson, Gilbert Arenas, Michael Wright and Loren Woods were downright cocky. They thought they would win the national title, and weren't afraid to tell anyone who asked. And to their credit, those 'Cats were a few possessions away from backing up those words before losing to Duke in the 2001 title game.

	Courtside With Katz
	ESPN.com's Andy Katz is filling his preseason weekends by watching teams scrimmage:
	Saturday, Oct. 19 A few leading men should make all the difference in East Lansing. Story
	Saturday, Oct. 26 Just how much better is 'Zona with all five starters returning?
	Saturday, Nov. 2 The defending champs must shuffle the lineup in defense of the title.
	Sunday, Nov. 10 Under the NCAA's new exhibition rules, John Thompson (III) coaches against Georgetown.

Arizona could get that close again in 2003. The Wildcats have at least convinced enough folks in the national media they can win it all in New Orleans. Just look at newsstands, or the Internet. These 'Cats are everywhere and usually No. 1 or No. 2 in preseason rankings. These 'Cats, however, aren't about to boast about themselves, especially seniors Luke Walton, Jason Gardner and Ricky Anderson -- who were all on that 2000-01 team. Gardner was a starter, albeit the quietest of the five. Walton was a key reserve and Anderson redshirted.

"We've got five sophomores and four freshmen and only three guys who aren't in one of those two classes. Luke and Jason aren't the kind of guys who are going to be telling you how good they are, they'll be out there showing you," Arizona coach Lute Olson said after Saturday's scrimmage at the McKale Center.

"A couple of those guys in 2000 got carried away a bit, quite a bit, but that's OK, too," Olson said. "I'd rather have them be firm believers in themselves. If you're going to be successful, you'll need to be confident. I don't want them saying they're not sure how good they're going to be."

Olson already knew how good his Arizona team was in October of 2000. There wasn't much more to decide during the preseason, other than tweaking those Wildcats' system and massaging some inflated egos. But this team, for all its known and perceived talent, is hardly a known quantity.

"You're not going to see the cocky attitude in this locker room," Gardner said. "A couple of years ago the guys knew we would win every game. There were a lot of individuals, but this is more of a team. We do like to be together and are always around one another."

Saturday's scrimmage showed the 'Cats have talent, loads of talent, perhaps, even deeper talent than the 2000 team. And that's without seeing Salim Stoudamire shoot (he was out with a swollen ankle), Channing Frye board (at a family wedding), or Anderson be the blender, the screener and the occasional high-post scorer (he was by his mother's side before she undergoes surgery). And the three omissions meant the defense wasn't nearly as tight.

"So you couldn't see any fullcourt pressure because we couldn't do that with nine scholarship guys," Olson said. "You'll see more intensity with the fullcourt pressure."

But what was obvious with the omissions was the options Olson has at his disposal, and that once again the Wildcats have recruited better than most with a coveted recruit (guard Hassan Adams) and a hidden gem (forward Chris Dunn).

Olson could go with either Gardner or Will Bynum at the point. Gardner is the starter and Bynum has finally bought into being a combo-guard, not to mention someone to push Gardner for another season. Apparently, two days earlier, Bynum got the best of Gardner, lighting him up for 20-plus. But this day, Bynum wasn't at his defensive best and Gardner just slipped on by at will. Having Bynum buy into the system means Gardner doesn't have to play 38 minutes. And a refreshed Gardner can be more effective in late-game situations playing closer to 30 minutes than 40.

"If he goes through the motions then he'll get his butt kicked," Olson said of Bynum. "But the same thing happened to Jason Thursday when he wasn't on top of his game."

Stoudamire has, according to the coaches, shot the ball at a near 50-percent clip in practice. If that's the case, and he has the reputation to make us believe what we didn't see, then he probably gets the nod to start. But he knows Adams will push him.

Speaking of Adams, keeping him off the court will be nearly impossible. The 6-4 rangy Adams was everywhere with deflections, steals and working the offensive backboard. Don't be surprised if there are games when Adams leads the Wildcats in scoring. He can get the garbage points with putbacks and reads Walton's double teams well, cutting to the basket for a bounce pass and a bucket when Walton was in the high post Saturday. And he's not afraid to pop a 3-pointer, shooting over Isaiah Fox and sprinting back down court with a "yes sir" in his face.

	Will Bynum got plenty of valuable minutes in Arizona's backcourt last season as a freshman.

Freshman Chris Rodgers, who made a few 3s Saturday, could get some time but the numbers might mean he's the odd man out.

Adams could play small forward, but there's a logjam there, too. Olson wants Walton playing the three spot, but couldn't Saturday with Frye and Anderson out. Assuming everyone is in attendance, Walton will split time at small forward with one-time Arkansas signee Andre Iguodala. He's still learning the game, but his body is already cut to look like a junior rather than a freshman four months removed from a high school gym. Iguodala, a slasher without a jumper, can get to the offensive glass and will give them that athletic small forward Olson said was lacking when the Wildcats matched up against quicker teams like Oregon, Connecticut and Kansas last season. Anderson will get the early nod, but he'll be pushed in a rotation with Frye, Fox and Dunn inside. The latter two are the more traditional big men for Arizona, which isn't as much about physical stature, as it is someone who can score with their back to the basket and give foes matchup problems. Dunn was supposed to redshirt in favor of Dennis Latimore. If Saturday's scrimmage is any indication, then it's Latimore who could find himself sitting.

The lanky 6-7, 180-pound Dunn was hardly recruited out of Hobbs, N.M., because he was rail thin. But, as Olson said, quickness can defeat strength. Dunn was simply quicker to the ball, beating the thicker 6-8, 254-pound Latimore to rebounds and offensive putbacks. "If you can't catch him, you can't beat him up," Olson said. "Anybody could start on this team," Gardner said. "These freshmen are really pushing the sophomores. They talked about redshirting Chris Dunn? He's out there blocking shots and dunking. Hassan is all above the rim, like Chris and Andre. Every day those freshmen are doing something that I'm like, 'Dang, they could do that?' "

But the scrimmage was still dominated by Gardner's ability to make the money shot, the deep 3-ball, and Walton's knack for hitting the floating jumper, a 3-pointer or the drive-pullup fadeaway. Both are Wooden Award candidates, but the reality is Walton is probably more of a favorite of the two in a wide-open race. Gardner has to be more of a factor defensively and affect the game at that end of the court. Olson said not only will Gardner's defense help him and the team this season, but could be the difference between whether or not he's a first-round pick in June.

Olson said Walton has to be more of a consistent rebounder on the offensive end and get his assist-to-turnover ratio higher to win the award. He no longer shoots the ball flat, getting good arc and rotation on nearly every shot. "I'm not thinking about it (the Wooden Award)," Walton said. "It would be great to be up there at the end, but all I care about is winning the national championship. My stats and Jason's stats aren't going to be as good as last year because we've got more talent around us."

Olson, fresh off being inducted into the Hall of Fame in September, is as intense as ever molding what could be his sixth Final Four team, and fifth at Arizona. But he's got more time, without a non-conference, exempted tournament to rush him. Instead, Arizona doesn't play until a difficult, but winnable opener, against Western Kentucky (Nov. 23). The 'Cats play host to Texas and travel to LSU in December, but they've got even more time before two of their toughest games -- at Oregon to open the Pac-10 (Jan. 2), and possibly the most anticipated game of the year, at Kansas on Jan. 25.

"The worst thing is to have a schedule that doesn't prepare you for the league and we've got to get ready for the Oregon schools (with Texas and LSU) because you can't play dogs and play them all at home," Olson said. "As a result, we'll lose some games that some people think will hurt us. I'd rather lose a close game then win by 30. You gain nothing from that but a false impression of your reserves. Close losses to Kansas and Connecticut last season helped our development.

"This is potentially going to be a really good team," Olson said. "We've got great leadership and we have great athleticism. The freshmen kids are still a work in progress."

But it could be those talented fresh faces that make Arizona a threat to win the title come April.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.