The Pac-12 promises to be wide open in 2019-20. Fans of Arizona Basketball rightfully believe the proud program can fill the void at the top.
If the Pac-12 chose a team of the decade, it would be Arizona Basketball. They won half of the regular season conference titles in that span, taking three of those conference titles as well. They also went to the NCAA Tournament in all but two years over the past ten.
As the decade turns over, however, the Wildcats are looking to turn the page. The program has been scarred by the FBI scandal, which has ensnared former assistant Book Richardson and threatened the tenure of Sean Miller. Last season, the Wildcats finished with a losing record in Pac-12 play and missed the postseason for the first time since Miller’s inaugural season in Tucson.
A feeling of rejuvenation is washing over the program this summer. The specter of the FBI scandal and NCAA sanctions remain, but the heat feels less intense. The arrival of a star freshman has the campus buzzing. No juggernauts reign in the conference, leaving the door open for a title run.
Arizona won’t get to the promised land without adversity, though. Sophomore guard Brandon Williams will miss the entirety of the upcoming season with the same knee injury he struggled with during his freshman season. He was destined to be a major contributor – perhaps he’ll be that in 2020-21.
Could Arizona pry the door open just enough for a Pac-12 title? Here are five reasons the Wildcats will claim the conference crown.
5. Waning drama
This, of course, could be altered at a minute’s notice. It’s also impossible to quantify. But it would be nice to play a season without a scandal looming overhead at every moment.
The FBI scandal started in earnest almost two full years ago, with an announcement of charges on September 26, 2017. Arizona stuck by Book Richardson before ultimately firing him; the assistant is finishing a 3-month prison stint.
Meanwhile, the same scandal led to a wiretap revelation that Miller discusses paying Deandre Ayton to play for Arizona. Recruits decommitted as the coach’s job became jeopardized.
Arizona stuck with Miller through all of it. Entering his 11th season at Arizona (already!), he looks poised to reward them for their loyalty.
Demons still lurk. Just a couple of weeks ago, a new allegation came to light. According to a Yahoo! Sports report, Book Richardson told the FBI that he paid $40,000 to make sure Rawle Alkins remained academically eligible in high school. The former assistant made that claim over two years ago, but it hadn’t been reported previously.
Time will tell if this new allegation will lead to sanctions. Until then, Arizona will look to avoid scandal and simply go out and hoop.
4. Wide open conference
Much is made of the Pac-12’s foibles in major sports in recent years. The coming year will likely validate those feelings about the conference once more.
Outside of Arizona, only Oregon has a good chance of being ranked when the season starts. Washington is on the fringe of that discussion, but we’ll be relying largely on a group of freshmen and transfers.
The conference’s glamor program, UCLA, endured one of the most embarrassing coaching searches in recent memory, facing rejections and disinterest at every turn. Mick Cronin will turn the Bruins around eventually, but not immediately – that’s going to take some time.
USC, Arizona State, and Colorado are on the cusp – then again, they’ve each been on the cusp for some time now with little to show for it. The rest of the Pac-12 should largely bottom out this season.
That leaves a void at the top of the conference. Perhaps the Wildcats wouldn’t be running near the front in the ACC or Big Ten this season, but teams can only play who they have on their schedule. A welcoming slate should provide the fuel for Arizona’s first conference title run since 2018 (so it hasn’t been that long).
3. Chase Jeter’s swan song
If it feels like Chase Jeter has been in college for all your life, you’re not alone. The big man was one of the top recruits in the country in the Class of 2015. In August 2014, he announced his decision to join…the Duke Blue Devils.
Things didn’t work out in Durham, though. Injuries and a dearth of playing time led to the realization that Jeter was meant to be elsewhere. The fifth-year senior is now entering his second season with the Wildcats.
As a full-time starter, Jeter brushed up against his potential in 2018-19. He averaged 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He also saw upticks from previous career-highs in playing time, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage.
Jeter’s limitations are known. He can’t stretch the floor on offense – he’s never even attempted a collegiate three-pointer. Foul trouble is also a bugaboo, with six disqualifications to his name last year.
There will be several veterans joining the roster from different programs (more on them in a moment). Nevertheless, Chase Jeter is the undisputed veteran presence returning to the roster. His ability to seize upon his role as a leader will be a major factor in the coming season.
2. Incoming transfers
Every year, an impact transfer makes a difference for several top-tier teams. This upcoming season, Arizona should have several of them.
Chief among them is Max Hazzard. You May remember the combo guard from last year’s NCAA Tournament. He was the one leading UC Irvine over Kansas State in one of the tourney’s biggest upsets; Hazzard finished the game with 19 points, including five three-pointers.
Last year’s Big West Tournament MVP averaged 12.5 points per game on 38.7 percent shooting from 3-point range. Hazzard will provide an immediate offensive thread on the perimeter as a graduate transfer.
Stone Gettings – presumed member of the All-Name Team – joins the fold as well. The Cornell transfer didn’t play last season under NCAA transfer rules.
Despite a year away from the court, Arizona can feel confident in what they’re getting from Gettings. The forward was a Second Team All-Ivy League performer in 2017-18, averaging 16.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He can pop it from three, dish the ball (2.9 assists per game), and hold his own on the defensive end.
Arizona secured two other transfers in the offseason who will be ineligible until the 2019-20 season.
Gettings and Hazzard could both slide in as starters and make instant impacts for a program in need of fresh blood.
1. Nico and the newbies
The biggest reason for optimism in Tucson is the arrival of a stellar recruiting class, ranked sixth in the nation and second in the conference by 247 Sports. Chief among the new recruits is in-state point guard Nico Mannion, ranked ninth overall in the Class of 2019 and first among all point guards.
Mannion is the best pure point guard recruit Miller has brought in during his Arizona tenure. He’s athletic, has a good basketball IQ, and has a modern jump shot. During his senior year in high school, he shot 44 percent from three-point range while averaging 23.4 points per game. There’s a good chance he’ll immediately be the best player on the roster.
His presence has obscured the arrival of another heralded recruit. Small forward Josh Green is the #13 prospect in the nation according to 247 Sports, third among his position. The Phoenix native has spent time at the IMG Academy, honing his game for a potential one-and-done college career.
Green’s athleticism is off the charts and he promises to be one of the most athletic freshmen in the country. If his shooting catches up to Mannion’s, Arizona will have one of the top freshmen duos in the nation.
The other members of the class are four-star power forward Zeke Nnaji and three-star center Christian Koloko.
An incoming class of elite freshmen is one of several reasons why Arizona could – and should – find themselves back on top of the Pac-12 this season.