Tag Archives: Jesse Perry

BB: 3000 Miles From Home is not Exposing

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The first loss of the season exposed nothing new about the Wildcats.

I’ll get the obvious taken care of quickly. This is an undersized team. We knew this starting with Seattle Pacific and we’ll be acutely aware of it right up until size arrives next fall. This is a team without a point guard. We haven’t known this for too long but it’s becoming more apparent with each game that Josiah Turner needs to time to develop and Jordin Mayes is a terrific off-guard. This team is still learning to play in Sean Miller’s system.

There. It’s done and I’ll stop beating that horse who’s pretty dead and will continues to be. And rather than pick apart a developing team following their first loss 3000 miles from home, I’ll highlight what the Wildcats taught us and learned about themselves 3000 miles out.

X-factor. As Kevin Parrom continues to find his basketball legs – rediscovering his touch and getting some lungs about him – he’ll be an obvious improvement to the talent level Arizona puts on the floor. We all know he’s versatile, capable of scoring inside and out while guarding nearly any position. He’s an unquestioned talent. But what makes Parrom special is that by simply being available to this team, he makes them a better team. His return did not coincidentally coincide with Solomon Hill’s two best games of the season. He takes loads of pressure off of Hill and Kyle Fogg and brings a calming presence to the team. Parrom is tough, unflappable, and the poster child of what Sean Miller teams play like. He’s the heart of Arizona basketball and they’re better for it.

Guards. My favorite lineup to date has been Mayes, Fogg, Parrom, Hill, and Perry. In second would be Turner, Johnson, Parrom, Hill, Perry. Notice a theme? I like the heavy guard sets because that is the undeniable strength of this team. These lineups, while undersized, offer tremendous versatility that can cause matchup problems Arizona should be able to exploit as they grow comfortable within the offense and defense. If there’s one drawback to this group of guards, it’s that they’re missing the ability to penetrate the lane. Hill has occasionally been able to do this and does a good job of recognizing and exploiting mismatches; however, as a whole, these guards struggle to get into the lane. The exciting part is that as Turner grows comfortable with the college game, we’ll get to see just how dynamic of a scorer and distributor he can be. Once he figures this out, the sky is the limit. He’ll open the floor up for his fellow guards to slash and shoot, highlighting their strengths. We saw glimpses of this in New York, as Turner played his best basketball of the season in The Garden. Unfortunately, that also happened to coincide with Arizona’s largest opponent to date and subsequent first loss.

Shooter. Jordin Mayes is a shooter and a fantastic one at that. Unfortunately, and while they’re not mutually exclusive, he is not necessarily a point guard. He’s been doing a very good job filling in at the position and is undoubtedly serviceable. However, I think we learned this weekend that the emergence of Turner as a true point guard (in the more modern sense) will greatly benefit this team. It will – as I previously stated – open up the floor for Mayes and others to shoot which fortunately they’re good at. Mayes’ game is one of my favorites on the team and he’s vital to the team’s success. He plays with presence and exudes confidence – something we don’t always see from Fogg or Hill. Now, that’s not to say that Fogg and Hill are not confident, I’m simply saying, Mayes’ ability to be a serviceable point guard has a lot more to do with his confidence than his skill set. In turn, this simply makes him a good basketball player.

Predator. Jesse Perry is tough. He’s been tasked with being the “everything front court” for this team and has done a phenomenal job of that. It goes without saying, that if he struggles, so too will the Wildcats. I’d mentioned how important Parrom is to this team – his presence takes this team from competitive to good. Perry, on the other hand, makes this team, a team. Anecdotal evidence: Perry did not play well for 35 minutes against St. John’s. He was missing from the field and getting beat up on the glass. It’s therefore no surprise that as he struggled, the Johnnies managed to build a late, eight point lead. They were expanding their zone and forcing Arizona’s guards to penetrate (which they were unable to do) without fear of an interior scoring threat. So when Perry snapped out of his struggles, scoring 6 of his 11 points in the final five minutes, BOOM! Arizona pulled away and won. The senior brings more than just a big body (see others on the team for that). He allows this guard heavy team to play to their strengths, while fortifying the frontline, and keeping teams honest.

BB: Game One at the Garden

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It’s really a shame there aren’t more seniors in the college game.

They know systems, they lead and – most importantly – they don’t get rattled. Kyle Fogg and Jesse Perry didn’t get rattled.

Not when Perry was struggling from the field (1-6 FGs) and lost amidst the Mike Dunlap 1-1-3 Zone.

Aside: Arizona shot its way to victory using the three point basket. They were 14-29 (48%) from distance, 11-31 (35%)  from inside the arc. Who remembers how frustrating the 1-1-3 was when it wasn’t working and teams rained three balls on the ‘Cats? I for one certainly do and, while it worked when it worked, it was frustrating. That was a lot of open threes tonight and lots were hit. Bear down.

Not when the mood got chippy and players had to be separated. And not when the Wildcats went down eight with seven to play and the Johnnies fans were finally making an appearance.

That’s what you’ve gotta love about seniors; because when your team needs a play (Fogg draws charge, Nurideen Lindsey fouls out) they get one. Or your team needs a different look (Perry 3-4 FGs in final seven minutes) to once and for all pull away.

You can’t quite coach that stuff. You can most certainly teach every little thing about your system; run the offense, help on defense, multiple in-bounds, a press break, set play 1, set play 2, etc. You can write all the X’s and O’s you want, but when push comes to shove, when the lights are on and the clock ticking, someone has to make a play.

What Perry and Fogg demonstrated Thursday night in the Garden is that it’s going to be just fine for this team to take its time learning. That Josiah Turner can figure out the college game and Nick Johnson can relax a little. That Angelo Chol doesn’t have to be the front court messiah and Sidiki Johnson can study hard and get a good grade in Team Hoops 101.

Perhaps it’s befitting I write this on a night that Tim Tebow blows up the NFL, but there’s something to be said for the intangibles. For simply knowing you’re going to get it done.

On Thursday night, one team had two seniors while the other had none. One team got it done. In November, on the road, I like the win. I love the seniors’ play.

It also doesn’t hurt to have freshmen:

At first sight five: Arizona Wildcats

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I got my first chance to see the Arizona Wildcats on Monday night. Their preseason woes had my interest piqued and, frankly, I wasn’t going to miss an Arizona game for the world. But favorites aside, losing to Seattle Pacific and squeaking by Humboldt State is not an auspicious start for a possible Pac-12 favorite or the nation’s #16 team.

So last night, with the dress rehearsals finally over, Wildcat nation and I watched with bated breath. Perhaps that’s hyperbole – bated breath feels like a March idiom – but make no bones about it, the many questions surrounding this team were quickly becoming concerns.

And the first half did little to address those concerns. The Wildcats were once again out-rebounded, turned the ball over too much, and had atrocious shot selection. Eventually they would settle in, tighten up their defense, and win the ball game. Coach Miller can be happy about some things. Not so much about others.

Here are five things I learned the first time I saw the 2011-12 Arizona Wildcats:

  1. The interior will be an issue – Any team would miss Derrick Williams but particularly this squad. I loved what I saw out of freshman Angelo Chol who appears to be a raw basketball player but is active and will make opponents work. Junior Kyryl Natyazkho has not developed as hoped and one has to believe his starting job could be in jeopardy. He still appears lost on the court at times which greatly hurts the Wildcats particularly as the starting center. And here’s a fact: this team is going to struggle defensively in the post. Senior Jesse Perry cannot carry the defensive load inside. Watching this game I couldn’t help but cringe at the thought of a Smith/Nelson/Wear tornado tossing the Wildcat bigs around. Someone is going to need to get better and quickly for this team to be able to get front court stops.
  2. The PG position is going to be OK – Whether its Turner or Mayes, both players will be wearing an Arizona jersey so the Wildcats stand to be just fine. Sure, at first glance Turner appeared shaky but I’m willing to give a freshman in November the benefit of the doubt when he’s had the type of program building pressure Turner’s had. Mayes, on the other hand, showed a steady hand and an ability to hit open shots, precisely what he (and any good point guard) will be asked to do. Mayes is still regaining his basketball legs following off season foot surgery and – like the rest of the team – will get better as the season unfolds. Also need to get this in there: Turner looks like he might erupt once he finds a comfort zone in this system.
  3. Going as the elders go – Arizona will no doubt depend on the progress of its talented freshman. But if seniors Jesse Perry and Kyle Fogg don’t play like seniors – that is to say consistently and confidently – this team will struggle to develop. Fogg will be looked to for leadership as he’s a four year starter and needs to improve on his slumped junior season (37% FGs). Perry will be asked to anchor an under-talented front court that (as previously stated) will need to fight for everything it gets. In the Wildcats’ first game, Perry managed to carry the ‘Cats through the first half (12 and 5) and Fogg came on in the second as the Wildcats pulled away. The two led the team in scoring, combining for 30 points between them. If these two can produce, expect the freshmen to have a much shorter learning curve.
  4. But they will be important – While Fogg and Perry will have a lot to do with this team staying afloat, the newcomers will control the team’s next-level success. Turner didn’t play well in game one but it is obvious to any observer that he has the talent to make this team go. Simply put: he’s bigger and stronger than the other kids. Nick Johnson is pure energy off the bench and is going to be a pest. An absolute pest. He’ll score and get stops and give the Wildcats some much needed scoring depth. Chol, like I said, will be a defensive asset who is going to learn a lot on the fly. Sidiki Johnson, well, no one quite knows yet especially considering Miller’s post-game comments.
  5. Parrom is missed – Kevin Parrom is expected back relatively soon but until then, this team will miss him. He’s arguably the best player on the team and Arizona needs his versatility. Because of their lack of front court depth, the ‘Cats will be forced to play a lot of small ball – three and maybe four guard sets. Parrom can and has played the two, three, and four for Sean Miller which will go a long way in helping the Wildcats defend when forced into a guard heavy lineup. The good news is that Parrom’s versatility won’t greatly disrupt Arizona’s flow upon his return. For now, the Wildcats will benefit some from having to play others in Parrom’s absence, but number 3 will make this team go.