Wildcats Making News

Last Updated on Thursday, 02 July 2009 12:25 Written by Gary Randazzo Friday, 26 June 2009 01:00

Front Page Articles - General

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Several Arizona Wildcats found their names in the headlines this week, some good and some bad. 

Here's a quick rundown of the biggest stories involving current and former Wildcats:

We’ve all heard the cliché, with the good comes the bad.  Let’s first take a look at the good:

 

Jordan Hill (NBA)

 

Former Wildcat hoopster Jordan Hill was a man amongst boys during the Lottery portion of Thursday’s NBA Draft.  Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but he was the lone big man selected during a 10-pick stretch that saw nine guards chosen, beginning with Arizona State’s James Harden at No. 3 and ending with Duke’s Gerald Henderson at No. 12.  In the middle of it all, the New York Knicks selected Hill as the eighth overall pick.

 

It’s no secret that the Knicks were hoping that Davidson’s Stephen Curry would fall in their lap with the eighth pick as a pure shooter is something New York sorely lacks.  However, the Knicks made it clear on draft night that if Curry was no longer on the board, then their eyes would be squarely on the broad shoulders of Hill.

 

Head coach Mike D’Antoni will be pleased with Hill in the lineup.  He proved at Arizona that he’s a tireless worker, committed to improving his skills to excel at the next level.  If you recall, Lute Olson once termed Hill “Arizona’s next diamond in the rough,” and the Hall of Fame coach couldn’t have been more accurate.

 

Hill arrived on Arizona’s campus three years ago as a skinny, raw-skilled big man and left as a physical interior force with a soft jumper out to 17-feet.

 

The Knicks like to push the ball and Hill is capable of running the floor as a versatile power forward or a mobile center.  Some are drawing comparisons to Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire, but those comparisons are unfair to Hill.  As ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said during the Thursday telecast, if Hill can improve his mid-range jumper, he could be a star.  I absolutely agree and if there’s anything I learned from watching Hill at Arizona, tell him what areas of his game need improvement and he’ll put in the extra work to make it happen.

 

Lamont ‘Mo Mo’ Jones (Arizona hoops)

 

Oak Hill Academy point guard Lamont Jones committed to the Arizona Wildcats this week, following last weekend’s visit to the Tucson campus.  The 5’11” point guard played the two-guard for most of his high school career before transitioning to the point position this season following the high school graduation of Brandon Jennings a year ago.

 

Jones’ commitment is the fourth under new head coach Sean Miller, who’s off to a stellar start in the desert.  Jones joins three ESPN 100 recruits in Arizona’s 2009 Class:  center Kyryl Natyazhko, small forward Solomon Hill and small forward/shooting guard Kevin Parrom.

 

Jones adds depth to the scoring guard position, as well as at the point.  Depending on his development, Jones and Wise could serve as a lightning quick one-two punch, playing at the same time, or subbing for one another and allowing the Wildcats to keep the foot on the pedal for 40 minutes.  Regardless, with another guard added to the mix, the ‘Miller Way’ will begin to take effect immediately as you can expect to see an aggressive, up-tempo style with the stable of Wildcats Miller now has along the perimeter.

 

Richard Jefferson (NBA)

 

While Shaq to Cleveland and Vinsanity to Orlando are clearly the biggest stories in the NBA trade newswire, Richard Jefferson moving from the Milwaukee Bucks to the San Antonio Spurs is huge news in its own right.  Jefferson will most certainly crack San Antonio’s starting lineup, joining the dynamic trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.  Jefferson had a fine season with the Bucks last season, averaging 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.  The move, while not groundbreaking, certainly sends notice to teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic that they’re not the only ones who’ll be eyeing a ring in 2010.

 

*Before I get to the bad, let’s look at the not so bad:

 

Ricky Barnes (PGA)

 

The former Arizona standout golfer nearly reached the pinnacle of the golf world this Monday in a weather-delayed U.S. Open Championship.  Barnes set a 36-hole U.S. Open record, finishing second round play at 8-under par, which was good enough for a one-stroke lead.  During third-round action, Barnes was distancing himself from the pack with a five-stroke advantage care of an 11-under par score.  However, he played his final 27 holes of the championship in plus-nine to finish at two-under par, two strokes back of winner Lucas Glover.

 

Barnes was a fiery competitor at Arizona, as well as on the amateur championship circuit.  Barnes won the 2002 U.S. Amateur and later turned professional in 2003.  He’s competed on the Nationwide Tour for the majority of his professional career, but following his second-place finish (tie) at last week’s U.S. Open, the $559,830 pay day has catapulted him to 78^th on the current PGA Tour money list.  If Barnes can achieve a second top-10 finish this season, it would all but assure him a top 125 spot on tour and keep the PGA Tour rookie from having to go to Q-school in the fall.

 

So far, Barnes is off to a good start.  During this week’s opening round of the Travelers Championship, Barnes fired a 65 and currently stands in eighth place, four strokes behind tournament leader Kenny Perry who tied the course record with a 61.

 

**Now, the bad:

 

Chase Budinger (NBA)

 

It’s not like we couldn’t see this coming.  I mean, NBA scouts have been consistent in their critique of Chase Budinger’s game and Thursday proved that they were right all along.  As my buddy Joe shared in a text message late Thursday, “Independence Day!  I will finally never have to hear lottery pick and Budinger in the same sentence again.”

 

Budinger, a likely Lottery Pick had he left Arizona following his freshman season, fell all the way to No. 44 during this year’s NBA Draft.  Budinger was selected by the Detroit Pistons, which at the time, made no sense to me because of their physical style of play.  However, it was quickly announced that Budinger would be moved to the Houston Rockets and that makes all the sense in the world.

 

The low, second round selection is a knock on Budinger.  However, landing at Houston could be a blessing in disguise as their style of play is much more suitable to Budinger’s preferred, open-court style of play.

 

Budinger’s game has been compared to a player like former UCLA Bruin Jason Kapono, but I don’t think that’s accurate at all.  While the two players have the same smooth stroke from the perimeter, I do think that Budinger has a little more to offer thanks to his experience serving multiple needs at Arizona from point guard to power forward.  Budinger can score in a variety of ways and can get off the floor much better than Kapono, who’s basically a spot-up jump shooter in the NBA.

 

Budinger will be expected to stretch defenses at Houston with his long-range jumper, but he can attack the basket much better than Kapono can.  The serious knock on Budinger is how will he defend stronger, taller power forwards or shorter, quicker small forwards and two guards?  The other criticism is Budinger’s perceived inability to set up and breakdown defenders off the dribble (i.e. creating his own shot).

 

Those are indeed serious concerns, but right now Budinger needs to focus his attention on just making the Rockets roster as there are no contract guarantees for second round draft picks.  To do so Budinger will have to decide whether he’s a perimeter scoring two guard/small forward, or a physical, yet mobile hybrid forward.  Either way, he needs to get stronger with the basketball because no matter what role he plays he needs to do a better job of using his body to create opportunities on the offensive end.