College Basketball  >>  Arizona Wildcats
Iverson
Lakers may have interest in Iverson
Lebron
LeBron reportedly threatens fan
Boozer
Carlos Boozer sprays on some hair for himself
Love84034369
Top rebounders Howard, Love face off
Mavericks_vs_thunder_55fe
Veteran Kidd likes Rubio's unselfishness

Arizona's Chances to Dance

Found February 03, 2009 on The BearDown:
PLAYERS: Chase Budinger,  Nic Wise,  Jordan Hill,  Aubrey Coleman
TEAMS: Arizona Wildcats

Arizona's Chances at March Madness

It's not secret that this year has been a disappointment for the Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball team. They have underperformed with 2, possibly more, future NBA players on the squad. They have made countless mental errors, been out coached more than a few times, and have been the victim of a few no-calls and bad calls. Of course the latter is out of their hands, and anyone who has had a Pac-10 official at a game this season, or any season, in any sport, has undoubtedly fallen victim to poor officiating. No surprise there.

But the team came out in 2008 going through the motions. It was no secret they weren't a contender for the Pac-10 Title this year with all of the coaching turmoil, and that outside of the Big Three (Budinger, Jordan Hill, and Nic Wise) the team was too shallow to make any kind of real run in the Tourney. But we all still thought that they had a chance at continuing their ridiculous Tournament streak at least one more year.

Things seemed to have changed after the Aubrey Coleman curb check on Chase Budinger, the Arizona team rallied together. There was a fire that hadn't been there. A will to win. They came back to beat the Cougars, they beat Pac 10 leader Washington by playing like the Cats of old, putting up ....

Continued at The Beardown

Original Story: http://thebeardown.blogspot.com/2009/...
4 Comments:
  • Not trying to makes excuses for Arizona but the Fact that Lute retired before the start of the season may have had an effect on the entire team,I mean if your expecting the Coach to lead you onto the field of battle and all of a sudden your General calls it quits,that messes with your mentally,so then you got the assistant coach become your head coach and even though he follows the Old regime,it still is difficult to adjust to..Give them time before the NCAA Tournament the Wildcats will be in the mix..
    by UNC23Tarheels   February 03, 2009   Reply   Options  
  • I think you're dead on, and that's my point. This team was going through the motions and was poorly coached. Look at the end of the UAB and USC games with Arizona fouling at the end of the game when they didn't have to, allowing the opposition to hit a game winning free throw with nearly 0 seconds left on the clock. UAB and USC won because Arizona was poorly coached. Pennell is turning around, but he was coaching AAU and doing Scum Devil radio at this time last year. You can't tell me that if Lute was still there UA would have dropped those games. Plus UA lost a lot, a LOT of recruits after Lute's departure. My point is simply that they are actually in a position where they have a chance to make the tournament, which 3 weeks ago I thought was a snowball's chance in hell.
    by TheBearDown   February 03, 2009   Reply   Options   +1 Likes
  • Yeah your absolutely right, the WildCats lost a helluva lot of recruits and transfers but they are headed in the Right diection and I think that they have a shot of winning the PAC-10 especially after the beatdown they gave Washington,lol it's not like any one team stands out this year in the conference..
    by UNC23Tarheels   February 03, 2009   Reply   Options  
  • Look what happened at OU when Sampson got caught cheating and left. They lost Damian James, Scottie Reynolds and one more prized recruit. It took them 2-3 years to get the swagger back, but now they are #2. Maybe AZ makes the tourney, but if they do, I don't think they are going to go far.
    by BowlBound   February 03, 2009   Reply   Options  
Yardbarker aggregates the latest sports news, rumors and gossip from around the web. We use proprietary algorithms to automatically categorize stories and associate photos with articles. If you feel an article was miscategorized, please email tagging@yardbarker.com.
THE BACKYARD
AROUND THE WEB
RELATED ARTICLES

NFL Combine: Tuitama Shafted

Via The BearDown  |  February 03, 2009
Tuitama Shafted: Left Off Combine Invite List The NFL Combine is the best chance players have of making a last, lasting impression on NFL Scouts leading up to the NFL Draft. In some cases, the combine can take a little known player from a possible late round pick to a 1st rounder like last year's appearance of Joe Flacco.There are 21 Quarterbacks on this year's invitee...

Arizona's Punctual Postseason Push?

Via The BearDown  |  February 10, 2009
Arizona's Punctual Postseason Push? The Wildcats season started up and down and continued that way through the first half of conference play. A few big wins (Gonzaga, San Diego State, Kansas) but more tough losses and worse yet 0-fer on the road left Cat fans with a bad feeling in their gut. It got even worse after a disappointing last second loss to USC and losing a heart...

SMU Falls to Houston in C-USA Opening Round, 85-76

Via SMU Athletics  |  March 11, 2009
Aubrey Coleman notched a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, to lead Houston past SMU 85-76 in the opening round of the Conference USA tournament on Wednesday night. SMU (9-21), the tournament's 12th seed, was led by Derek Williams with 18 points. Paul McCoy added 13 points, Robert Nyakundi finished with 11 and Mouhammad Faye had 10.

WSR Audio: Nic Wise & Jordan Hill

Via Wildcat Sports Report  |  February 03, 2009
Wise & Hill spoke to the media on Monday.

Men's Basketball Holds Off SMU in C-USA Championship Opening Round

Via UHcougars.com  |  March 11, 2009
Aubrey Coleman notched a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, to lead five Houston players in double-figure scoring as the Cougars defeated SMU 85-76 in the opening round of the Conference USA tournament on Wednesday night.

Men's Basketball Outlasts UTEP in Overtime at C-USA Tournament

Via UHcougars.com  |  March 12, 2009
Aubrey Coleman had 24 points, Marcus Cousin added 16, and both grabbed 12 rebounds as Houston held on to defeat UTEP 89-85 in overtime in Thursday's quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament. Kelvin Lewis added 22 for the Cougars (21-10), the tournament's fifth seed. Zamal Nixon finished with 15, and Coleman also added seven assists.

A. Coleman, Lewis Add Postseason Honors

Via UHcougars.com  |  March 10, 2009
A day after being named to the All-Conference USA teams, University of Houston junior guards Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis added additional hardware to their trophy cases on Tuesday.
Today's Best Stuff
For Bloggers

Join the Yardbarker Network (YBN) for more promotion, traffic, and money.
Company Info
Help
What is Yardbarker?

Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond.