Arizona has its Red-Blue game this week and it comes right in the middle of official practices. It should give a good glimpse of what has taken place over the last couple weeks and a glimpse into where Arizona's strengths and weaknesses will be to start the year. In addition to that Arizona will have another big visitor on campus with Finland-based power forward Lauri Markkanen in for his official visit.
Here are some quick hitting notes about things going into the weekend.
* There's been plenty of national buzz already for a couple of Arizona's newcomers this season and it is definitely warranted. Sean Miller said back when he announced the 2015 class that Ray Smith was the best prospect he has ever recruited and while he came to Tucson with a lot less buzz than some other five-star prospects across the country (due to his lost season with a torn ACL) he has made up for it in a big way already this season. Smith has been impressive in practice from what I have been told and he could be ready to be a bigger contributor than originally thought.
His size and skill set is a need on this season's team and he could really be playing himself into a big role right now in practice. In addition to Smith redshirt senior Ryan Anderson has been making an impression going back to last season but he has taken it to a new level so far in practice this year. He has been a regular in the gold jersey that goes to the best practice player determined by the staff each day.
It will be interesting to see how it all comes together over these next few weeks heading into the year for him.
* Parker Jackson-Cartwright has bulked up over the summer and since the end of last season to deal with the rigors of more playing time and being to handle battling with some bigger bodies. His height has not been an issue for him in his career as much as his strength. He took the steps in the right direction this offseason, but there is still work to be done. The sophomore point guard is following one of the tougher players in recent memory in TJ McConnell and that is where Sean Miller is trying to get Jackson-Cartwright. If you're going to be a player for Miller there is a certain toughness you need to have at every position but that is even more important with the point guard spot.
Recently that is where a lot of the focus has been for Miller with his young point guard.
* Arizona will have Markkanen in for an official visit this weekend and it will be the last one for the power forward from Finland. He has already been to Utah and he is currently on a trip to North Carolina before making his way back West to finish things up in Tucson. Arizona is in a good spot heading into the trip but Utah certainly feels like it made a good impression and after picking up a center this week late for the 2015 class the Utes are selling Markkanen on being part of a strong front court duo with Jayce Johnson in Salt Lake City. Arizona has been the favorite leading up to his trip to the US, however, and the Wildcats really have a way of making an impact with their official visits as well.
* The Wildcats had three-star big man Mitch Lightfoot on campus last weekend for an official visit and there was not much that the Wildcats had to do to continue swaying the one-time Tucson resident to UA. The Gilbert (Ariz.) Gilbert Christian standout has been leaning Arizona for quite some time but he has gone through the process and he continues to do so. Him not picking UA last weekend is not necessarily a bad sign as that sounded like it was going to be the plan anyway. As of now Lightfoot has been indicating behind the scenes that when he announces his decision in the next couple weeks that it will indeed be the 'Cats.
That's just a quick update on some topics for you all until things get going this weekend and we get the first look at the team Saturday.
Here are some quick hitting notes about things going into the weekend.
* There's been plenty of national buzz already for a couple of Arizona's newcomers this season and it is definitely warranted. Sean Miller said back when he announced the 2015 class that Ray Smith was the best prospect he has ever recruited and while he came to Tucson with a lot less buzz than some other five-star prospects across the country (due to his lost season with a torn ACL) he has made up for it in a big way already this season. Smith has been impressive in practice from what I have been told and he could be ready to be a bigger contributor than originally thought.
His size and skill set is a need on this season's team and he could really be playing himself into a big role right now in practice. In addition to Smith redshirt senior Ryan Anderson has been making an impression going back to last season but he has taken it to a new level so far in practice this year. He has been a regular in the gold jersey that goes to the best practice player determined by the staff each day.
It will be interesting to see how it all comes together over these next few weeks heading into the year for him.
* Parker Jackson-Cartwright has bulked up over the summer and since the end of last season to deal with the rigors of more playing time and being to handle battling with some bigger bodies. His height has not been an issue for him in his career as much as his strength. He took the steps in the right direction this offseason, but there is still work to be done. The sophomore point guard is following one of the tougher players in recent memory in TJ McConnell and that is where Sean Miller is trying to get Jackson-Cartwright. If you're going to be a player for Miller there is a certain toughness you need to have at every position but that is even more important with the point guard spot.
Recently that is where a lot of the focus has been for Miller with his young point guard.
* Arizona will have Markkanen in for an official visit this weekend and it will be the last one for the power forward from Finland. He has already been to Utah and he is currently on a trip to North Carolina before making his way back West to finish things up in Tucson. Arizona is in a good spot heading into the trip but Utah certainly feels like it made a good impression and after picking up a center this week late for the 2015 class the Utes are selling Markkanen on being part of a strong front court duo with Jayce Johnson in Salt Lake City. Arizona has been the favorite leading up to his trip to the US, however, and the Wildcats really have a way of making an impact with their official visits as well.
* The Wildcats had three-star big man Mitch Lightfoot on campus last weekend for an official visit and there was not much that the Wildcats had to do to continue swaying the one-time Tucson resident to UA. The Gilbert (Ariz.) Gilbert Christian standout has been leaning Arizona for quite some time but he has gone through the process and he continues to do so. Him not picking UA last weekend is not necessarily a bad sign as that sounded like it was going to be the plan anyway. As of now Lightfoot has been indicating behind the scenes that when he announces his decision in the next couple weeks that it will indeed be the 'Cats.
That's just a quick update on some topics for you all until things get going this weekend and we get the first look at the team Saturday.
