OPEN COURT: New era begins with Red-Blue game

If there was ever a time to undergo a widespread rebuilding plan, the Arizona Wildcats couldn’t have picked a better year than 2009.

Despite the major alterations this program has seen during the (sometimes awkward) transition from Hall-of-Famer Lute Olson to current head coach Sean Miller, the Wildcats are still picked to finish fourth in the Pac-10, even though only two UA players (Nic Wise and Jamelle Horne) have seen two or more years of college hoops.

While Miller has smartly instructed his players to forget about “the streak” — the 25 straight trips to the Big Dance — it’s not entirely impossible to see this crew shining its dancing shoes in March, once again.

Take a look at the Pac-10 this year. California and Washington are the clear cream of the crop, and they’re the only two schools to earn rankings in The Associated Press preseason top 25. UCLA is currently No. 29 in that poll, but the typically dominant Bruins have plenty of roster questions to answer, with roughly every player responsible for those Final Four trips now playing in the NBA.

The Wildcats may be young, with at least five freshman expected to either compete for starting spots or see big minutes off the bench, but they’re a gifted bunch. It’s nothing short of remarkable that Miller was able to assemble a class this talented on such short notice.

“Sometimes you can tell they’re freshman [during practice], but they’re much more mature than typical freshman,” said Kyle Fogg. “Everyone was a leader where they were [last year].”

Today, Wildcat fans will finally get their first look at this crew during today’s Red-Blue game (1 p.m., McKale Center). The typical Red-Blue game would feature a split-squad scrimmage that (mostly) resembled a real game. This year, Miller will tinker with the line-ups during the game and mix up teams every few minutes in order to get a better idea of how these guys might play together.

Make no mistake, the Wildcats are still a work-in-progress, but I firmly believe that Miller is the right man for this job. Anyone who watched Miller’s Xavier teams for the last five years saw well-coached teams playing well above their talent levels.

Even if today’s scrimmage isn’t a work of art, it’ll provide some intriguing glimpses into what the Wildcats might have in store for us this season.

Players to watch

With Nic Wise (one of four Pac-10 players named to the Naismith Trophy watch list) sitting out today’s game with a nagging ankle injury, keep an eye on feisty New York point guard Lamont “Momo” Jones — a 6-foot, 200-pound bulldog out of Oak Hill Academy. Jones has the ability to play both guard spots, but it’ll be interesting to see how he shoulders the lead-guard load this early.

In addition, sophomore Brendon Lavender has drastically improved his jump shot and will likely see an increased role this season, after spending most of his freshman year pinned to the bench.

Lanky forwards Kevin Parrom, Solomon Hill and Derrick Williams have been early bright spots, as well. Hill shed the baby fat that he put on after the recruitment period and is fitting in nicely into Miller’s open offensive system.

“Solomon is one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with,” Fogg said. “He’s such a good passer.”

Williams, a 6-foot-8 raw athlete from La Miranda, Calif., will be asked to play both the power forward slot and the center spot, for when the Wildcats go small.

Fellow freshman Kyryl Natyazhko will remind many hardcore Wildcat fans of Ivan Radenovic. The 6-foot-11 center from Ukraine isn’t a traditional back-to-the-basket power player, but has highly developed ball skills for someone his size.

But the key to this year’s team will be how well Jamelle Horne adjusts to his new leadership role. Will we see the Horne who posted an impressive 19-point, 13-rebound effort in Arizona’s win over Kansas last year, or will we see the Horne who lost the UAB game with a bone-headed foul 60 feet away from the hoop?

His teammates insist it’ll be the former.

“Jamelle is one of the best players on the team now,” Lavender said. “He has a set role now and he knows what he needs to do.”

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747