Well, we've now had a chance to see Arizona face a couple top-10 teams after three games in Maui that all challenged the Wildcats in ways we did not get to see in the first three games of the year. We knew there would be a lot more to learn about the Wildcats this week and I think we learned quite a bit about what needs fixing and what could potentially be hiding underneath the surface with this team. Not all of it was good, but there were certainly some positives to take away from the Maui Invitational.
After having some time to think on it after last night's game here are five things I believe we learned about the Wildcats this week.
1. Justin Coleman is capable of handling a lot more of the scoring load
He sustained it all week against good teams to show that it wasn't just a fluke. Senior point guard Justin Coleman averaged 20.6 points in Maui with his best game coming against the No. 3-team in the country, Gonzaga, when he scored 28 to lead the Wildcats in that loss. In the three previous games this season Coleman averaged six points. That's a stark difference and it shows you what type of player Coleman can be against top competition. The challenge now will be to replicate the same type of scoring mentality once the competition is among the best in the country.
There are certainly games that I could envision Coleman getting excited for such as against Connecticut, Alabama (especially) and Baylor but if Arizona wants to get the most out of its senior point guard he needs to bring that same energy for the Georgia Southerns and Utah Valleys of the world. It was a dang impressive week for Coleman, however, and earned him a spot on the all-tournament team in a loaded tournament.
2. Arizona might only go as far as the bench will allow this year
It eventually overshadowed all the good that Coleman showed throughout the week, but Arizona learned that its biggest problem this season is going to be the bench. The Wildcats' reserves were not good the entire week showing that the depth Arizona looked like it might have based on the early part of the season simply isn't there. Dylan Smith, Emmanuel Akot, Alex Barcello and Ira Lee all had their moments in the first three games but in Maui there wasn't a lot of good things coming from that group especially the first two on that list.
Smith reverted back to his early-season form on the offensive end as he didn't have any type of rhythm shooting the ball and finished 0 for 8 from the field this week. His defense had been helping him stay afloat and stay on the floor early in the season, but that felt like it regressed a bit in Maui. Akot looked hesitant all week long and had issues on both ends of the floor as well. Miller has continued to urge Akot to be more aggressive, but it simply wasn't there offensively even when he had the ball in his hand as a playmaker where he is typically at his best. The sophomore went 1 for 8 and had four points the entire week.
As a group Arizona's bench contributed 19 points the entire week. For a comparison, Auburn's bench scored 33 points against the Wildcats last night.
3. Without Chase Jeter on the floor, this team looks completely different
It really became apparent in the loss to Gonzaga, but Arizona's vibe and the effectiveness of the team changes when Arizona's big man has to take a seat. The loss to the Bulldogs could have been completely different if not for a technical called on Jeter that sent him to the bench. UA was very much still in the game with Gonzaga when that happened, but when the Wildcats were forced to go small when Jeter fouled out the game simply changed.
Going small is a nice changeup in some situations, but when it's forced to do that Arizona just isn't as good of a team. Jeter provided a nice amount of scoring throughout the week and his presence inside, even though he wasn't blocking a ton of shots, still made a difference. We were able to see what a small lineup looked like quite a bit this week and most times it was not good. Arizona is going to start to see more teams that can match up with the size UA does have and the glimpse we got of that this week wasn't good.
There is no real remedy for that right now and that will make it more important that Jeter stays out of foul trouble and stays healthy for the rest of this season. I had already said before that Jeter is probably Arizona's most important player this season and it feels like the case even more after seeing this week play out.
4. Ryan Luther needs to completely revamp his aggressiveness
In a 1b, of sorts, to the point made just above this one there is a reason Jeter proved to be so important this week and that was the lack of production from Arizona's other front court starter. Luther was pretty much nonexistent this week outside of a few different spots. Aggressiveness is something that we started to see could become a problem with the Pittsburgh grad transfer earlier in the year and Miller even said the staff has continued to urge him to become more assertive as a player, especially on the offensive end of the floor.
That issue came to a head this week with Luther going scoreless in two of the three games this week which happened to be the two games Arizona lost. The Wildcats are going to go far if one of its starters can't produce on the offensive end especially when you consider the issues the bench is having right now. The Wildcats need all hands on deck with that starting group and getting nothing from Luther is a problem.
The offensive issues started to impact him defensively at times as well and that is something UA can't have considering how thin the front court is right now. Luther showed that he can be a valuable piece with 12 points and eight rebounds in the win over Iowa, but he needs to channel that mentality more consistently moving forward.
5. Brandon Williams is human
He went into the tournament without a turnover, but the freshman guard is leaving it with 10. Turnovers became a problem for Arizona as the event played out this week, but when Williams finally had a giveaway it started to snowball on him a little bit. He increased that total each game this week eventually having five in the loss to Auburn last night.
He still has a very good assist-to-turnover numbers of 23 assists to 10 turnovers, but he went in looking other-worldly. Williams had some struggles at times getting into his groove after the first game and had just five points in last night's loss to Auburn, but it's a good experience for the first-year guard and something he knows he can build on.
Like with his team, it will be about where he goes from here with his game. The streak of no turnovers was fun, but now the work begins without the weight of that streak on him. He didn't look like the same player we saw early in the season and even earlier in the week by the time the tournament came to an end, so taking what he learned in Maui and putting it to use will be important for him to get back to where he needs to be for UA to have success.
After having some time to think on it after last night's game here are five things I believe we learned about the Wildcats this week.
1. Justin Coleman is capable of handling a lot more of the scoring load
He sustained it all week against good teams to show that it wasn't just a fluke. Senior point guard Justin Coleman averaged 20.6 points in Maui with his best game coming against the No. 3-team in the country, Gonzaga, when he scored 28 to lead the Wildcats in that loss. In the three previous games this season Coleman averaged six points. That's a stark difference and it shows you what type of player Coleman can be against top competition. The challenge now will be to replicate the same type of scoring mentality once the competition is among the best in the country.
There are certainly games that I could envision Coleman getting excited for such as against Connecticut, Alabama (especially) and Baylor but if Arizona wants to get the most out of its senior point guard he needs to bring that same energy for the Georgia Southerns and Utah Valleys of the world. It was a dang impressive week for Coleman, however, and earned him a spot on the all-tournament team in a loaded tournament.
2. Arizona might only go as far as the bench will allow this year
It eventually overshadowed all the good that Coleman showed throughout the week, but Arizona learned that its biggest problem this season is going to be the bench. The Wildcats' reserves were not good the entire week showing that the depth Arizona looked like it might have based on the early part of the season simply isn't there. Dylan Smith, Emmanuel Akot, Alex Barcello and Ira Lee all had their moments in the first three games but in Maui there wasn't a lot of good things coming from that group especially the first two on that list.
Smith reverted back to his early-season form on the offensive end as he didn't have any type of rhythm shooting the ball and finished 0 for 8 from the field this week. His defense had been helping him stay afloat and stay on the floor early in the season, but that felt like it regressed a bit in Maui. Akot looked hesitant all week long and had issues on both ends of the floor as well. Miller has continued to urge Akot to be more aggressive, but it simply wasn't there offensively even when he had the ball in his hand as a playmaker where he is typically at his best. The sophomore went 1 for 8 and had four points the entire week.
As a group Arizona's bench contributed 19 points the entire week. For a comparison, Auburn's bench scored 33 points against the Wildcats last night.
3. Without Chase Jeter on the floor, this team looks completely different
It really became apparent in the loss to Gonzaga, but Arizona's vibe and the effectiveness of the team changes when Arizona's big man has to take a seat. The loss to the Bulldogs could have been completely different if not for a technical called on Jeter that sent him to the bench. UA was very much still in the game with Gonzaga when that happened, but when the Wildcats were forced to go small when Jeter fouled out the game simply changed.
Going small is a nice changeup in some situations, but when it's forced to do that Arizona just isn't as good of a team. Jeter provided a nice amount of scoring throughout the week and his presence inside, even though he wasn't blocking a ton of shots, still made a difference. We were able to see what a small lineup looked like quite a bit this week and most times it was not good. Arizona is going to start to see more teams that can match up with the size UA does have and the glimpse we got of that this week wasn't good.
There is no real remedy for that right now and that will make it more important that Jeter stays out of foul trouble and stays healthy for the rest of this season. I had already said before that Jeter is probably Arizona's most important player this season and it feels like the case even more after seeing this week play out.
4. Ryan Luther needs to completely revamp his aggressiveness
In a 1b, of sorts, to the point made just above this one there is a reason Jeter proved to be so important this week and that was the lack of production from Arizona's other front court starter. Luther was pretty much nonexistent this week outside of a few different spots. Aggressiveness is something that we started to see could become a problem with the Pittsburgh grad transfer earlier in the year and Miller even said the staff has continued to urge him to become more assertive as a player, especially on the offensive end of the floor.
That issue came to a head this week with Luther going scoreless in two of the three games this week which happened to be the two games Arizona lost. The Wildcats are going to go far if one of its starters can't produce on the offensive end especially when you consider the issues the bench is having right now. The Wildcats need all hands on deck with that starting group and getting nothing from Luther is a problem.
The offensive issues started to impact him defensively at times as well and that is something UA can't have considering how thin the front court is right now. Luther showed that he can be a valuable piece with 12 points and eight rebounds in the win over Iowa, but he needs to channel that mentality more consistently moving forward.
5. Brandon Williams is human
He went into the tournament without a turnover, but the freshman guard is leaving it with 10. Turnovers became a problem for Arizona as the event played out this week, but when Williams finally had a giveaway it started to snowball on him a little bit. He increased that total each game this week eventually having five in the loss to Auburn last night.
He still has a very good assist-to-turnover numbers of 23 assists to 10 turnovers, but he went in looking other-worldly. Williams had some struggles at times getting into his groove after the first game and had just five points in last night's loss to Auburn, but it's a good experience for the first-year guard and something he knows he can build on.
Like with his team, it will be about where he goes from here with his game. The streak of no turnovers was fun, but now the work begins without the weight of that streak on him. He didn't look like the same player we saw early in the season and even earlier in the week by the time the tournament came to an end, so taking what he learned in Maui and putting it to use will be important for him to get back to where he needs to be for UA to have success.
