Pac-12 Basketball: Strengths and weaknesses of each team for 2020-21 season
5. Arizona Wildcats
Projected Starters:
G: James Akinjo, 6’0 So. *sat out last season
G: Terrell Brown, 6’1 Sr. (20.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) *at Seattle
F: Dalen Terry, 6’6 Fr.
F: Jordan Brown, 6’11 So. *sat out last season
C: Christian Koloko, 7’0 So. (2.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
Things are quite interesting in Tucson as of late. Time will tell what happens with the investigation and whatnot, but Sean Miller has to keep his team focused on the court. Arizona has maintained its powerhouse perception, even though they have only won a total of two NCAA tournament games since 2015. Arizona lost 85% of its shooting (and all five starters) from a year ago, but have brought in a number of impact players to blunt the blow.
Sean Miller has touted Arizona’s brand as “A Player’s Program” for quite some time, but this offseason it has become an International Player’s Program. Of the nine new players, six are freshmen recruited from other countries. Five of European descent, and one hailing from Canada.
Strengths: The Wildcats have a nifty mix of upper-tier transfers and big-time overseas recruits. If Miller can get to a harmonious balance of veterans and newcomers this, on paper, is probably one of the better teams in the conference. Georgetown transfer James Akinjo was the Big East freshman of the year back in ’18-’19. He is a certified bucket getter who looks for his own shot almost to a fault.
The Wildcats need someone like that to pick up some of that 85% of the scoring that was lost from last year. Terrell Brown, a gritty playmaker, and Seattle U transfer will be alongside Akinjo in the backcourt. Another newcomer in the mix will be Kerr Kriisa, who was arguably the highest touted European prospect in the college market.
Christian Koloko is turning into quite a fine shot blocker (4.3 blocks per 40 minutes) and will have more opportunities to blossom his offensive game as well. Jordan Brown (Nevada) is another transfer that will have an immediate impact, especially on the defensive end. Arizona has a chance to be one of the tougher defensive teams in the conference even after losing the entire team from last year.
Weaknesses: Losing all five starters is simply devastating. They will rely on a lot of unproven talent and players not accustomed to American basketball quite yet. As talented as Akinjo showed he was his freshman season at Georgetown, he has been criticized by many coaches including Jim Boeheim as a selfish player “who wouldn’t pass the ball to anybody”.
It will take some time for everyone to synergize, especially in a year where games will be tougher to schedule due to COVID. Such a large reliance on international players has shown to be rough at the start of the year historically. Losing Brandon Williams for this year also hurts quite a bit. It has to sting Sean Miller that there are three sensational freshmen this season in the Pac (Williams, Mobley, Christopher) and none of them will have on an Arizona jersey.
The Call: The one-and-done formula has not done much to get Arizona to win in March. From Lauri Markkenen to Deandre Ayton they still haven’t seen the tournament results to please Wildcat fans. This team is built differently and has a chance to really develop together over multiple seasons.
As far as this season goes, they have a lot of questions to be answered offensively and where production is going to come from. Miller’s revamped roster seems more like a Xavier-type, that will focus on hustle, toughness, and defensive prowess. This year they will take their growing pains in stride, knowing that this group could be special in the next couple years.