Now that Arizona knows what its roster will look like next season it is a good time to take a look at some potential starting lineups the Wildcats can use at the start of next season. Now, obviously things changed last year with players moving in and out of the starting lineup early, and this season looks like it will have even more fluidity than last year's squad.
Here is a look at some potential early scenarios.
Going big
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Kadeem Allen
3: Mark Tollefsen
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski.
One potential starting lineup that has gained some steam now that Mark Tollefsen is in the mix is with Arizona going big and playing the 6-foot-9 grad transfer on the wing. The San Francisco transfer has shown that he has the ability to play from the perimeter and shoots it well from deep. This lineup would put a lot on Allen to do the scoring, but it also is a veteran lineup that that would feature three seniors and a junior.
At this point in the year, which is still very early, this sounds like it will be the starting lineup going into the year but a lot can change between now and November.
Going small
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Gabe York
3: Kadeem Allen
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski
Much like Arizona can go big playing Tollefsen on the wing it could also go with a three-guard lineup using York and Allen on the wings with no traditional "small forward" on the floor. This is something that Arizona has explored at times before but it has not gone to it for long stretches. With so many two-guards on the roster going into the season this might be the time to try it out for longer periods of time. The one way this lineup would come into play is if Tollefsen isn't picking things up as quickly early in the season.
He absolutely came to Arizona to be a big contributor, but considering there will be other players with more time in the system it would not be all that surprising to see Miller go with this group early in the season.
Going "old"
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Gabe York
3: Elliott Pitts
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski
Playing off that last lineup Arizona could opt to go old and use players who have a lot of time in the system already logged. Miller is not afraid to go with what he likes and players who have proven things to him in practice. Last season York and Pitts both did that and it earned them a good amount of playing time. Miller let Pitts work through some bad plays at times and the sophomore had a little longer leash than maybe some others would have had - especially when it came to fouling 3-point shooters.
This is probably one of the least appealing lineups on paper, but there is a lot of games played in that group and a lot of games played with players who know the system. Having watched Miller work and considering York started out the season as the starter over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson last year it would not be surprising to see him go with something that looks like this to start next season.
Going "young"
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Kadeem Allen
3: Allonzo Trier
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski
Going into the summer it's pretty clear that it will be tough for a freshman to crack the starting rotation when you consider the veterans Miller and his staff will have on the roster. However, if there is one incoming player who could do that it would be Trier. This lineup would certainly have a scoring punch that some of the others couldn't match in some ways. Trier is not as much the type-A personality that Stanley Johnson was, but he still will need his shots and some minutes to be effective.
If he can get things dialed in and work within the framework of the offense, however, he has a chance to be a shot in the arm to start games for the 'Cats. While a little smaller than what you would like to see this starting lineup gives UA some nice balance across the board. The noticeable potential weakness with this group is that Arizona would be trying to work in two players who didn't play last season and another who is new to the college game. It would be interesting how Miller would approach that.
Overall Arizona has its options and the summer will tell quite a bit and could change quite a bit. These are some of the early projections that Arizona will have though.
Here is a look at some potential early scenarios.
Going big
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Kadeem Allen
3: Mark Tollefsen
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski.
One potential starting lineup that has gained some steam now that Mark Tollefsen is in the mix is with Arizona going big and playing the 6-foot-9 grad transfer on the wing. The San Francisco transfer has shown that he has the ability to play from the perimeter and shoots it well from deep. This lineup would put a lot on Allen to do the scoring, but it also is a veteran lineup that that would feature three seniors and a junior.
At this point in the year, which is still very early, this sounds like it will be the starting lineup going into the year but a lot can change between now and November.
Going small
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Gabe York
3: Kadeem Allen
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski
Much like Arizona can go big playing Tollefsen on the wing it could also go with a three-guard lineup using York and Allen on the wings with no traditional "small forward" on the floor. This is something that Arizona has explored at times before but it has not gone to it for long stretches. With so many two-guards on the roster going into the season this might be the time to try it out for longer periods of time. The one way this lineup would come into play is if Tollefsen isn't picking things up as quickly early in the season.
He absolutely came to Arizona to be a big contributor, but considering there will be other players with more time in the system it would not be all that surprising to see Miller go with this group early in the season.
Going "old"
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Gabe York
3: Elliott Pitts
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski
Playing off that last lineup Arizona could opt to go old and use players who have a lot of time in the system already logged. Miller is not afraid to go with what he likes and players who have proven things to him in practice. Last season York and Pitts both did that and it earned them a good amount of playing time. Miller let Pitts work through some bad plays at times and the sophomore had a little longer leash than maybe some others would have had - especially when it came to fouling 3-point shooters.
This is probably one of the least appealing lineups on paper, but there is a lot of games played in that group and a lot of games played with players who know the system. Having watched Miller work and considering York started out the season as the starter over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson last year it would not be surprising to see him go with something that looks like this to start next season.
Going "young"
1: Parker Jackson-Cartwright
2: Kadeem Allen
3: Allonzo Trier
4: Ryan Anderson
5: Kaleb Tarczewski
Going into the summer it's pretty clear that it will be tough for a freshman to crack the starting rotation when you consider the veterans Miller and his staff will have on the roster. However, if there is one incoming player who could do that it would be Trier. This lineup would certainly have a scoring punch that some of the others couldn't match in some ways. Trier is not as much the type-A personality that Stanley Johnson was, but he still will need his shots and some minutes to be effective.
If he can get things dialed in and work within the framework of the offense, however, he has a chance to be a shot in the arm to start games for the 'Cats. While a little smaller than what you would like to see this starting lineup gives UA some nice balance across the board. The noticeable potential weakness with this group is that Arizona would be trying to work in two players who didn't play last season and another who is new to the college game. It would be interesting how Miller would approach that.
Overall Arizona has its options and the summer will tell quite a bit and could change quite a bit. These are some of the early projections that Arizona will have though.
