'13 CA PF Aaron Gordon (Verbal to Arizona)

[Goose]

I saw Brandon Ashley commit 64% of his fouls, 35 feet from the basket...

73% of stats are made up on the spot.

 

[Buffnik]

The biggest concern surrounding Arizona's 13-14 team will be its perimeter shooting. That said:

TJ McConnell (11-12 Duq): 43% 3P%
Nick Johnson (12-13 AZ): 39% 3P%
Grant Jerrett (12-13 AZ): 40% 3P%

Also note that Brandon Ashley shot 53% from the field on just 5 shots/game. Expect high shooting percentages as the creating McConnell gets the ball to 4 NBA-bound bigs in auspicious positions.

But the offense is the secondary strength of this team.

Defensively, Arizona can wreck havoc. They have unique size and athleticism at every position and by all accounts Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will help to set that tone. Between Johnson, McConnell, and Rondae, Arizona will be hell on the perimeter. My question will be the pick-and-roll progress the bigs make. I saw Brandon Ashley commit 64% of his fouls, 35 feet from the basket...

In other words, Zona next year should be a lot like Syracuse this year.

My take: You'll win 30+ games for sure. How you do in the Dance is going to come down to whether McConnell can deliver what Carter-Williams does for 'Cuse. Guards dominate tournament play and Zona's biggest risk is that you'll run into a team that is raining 3 pointers while forcing turnovers.

 

[pachoops]

In other words, Zona next year should be a lot like Syracuse this year.

My take: You'll win 30+ games for sure. How you do in the Dance is going to come down to whether McConnell can deliver what Carter-Williams does for 'Cuse. Guards dominate tournament play and Zona's biggest risk is that you'll run into a team that is raining 3 pointers while forcing turnovers.

I think this is a great point. Arizona would be very susceptible to a team that can out-under-size them. Does that make sense? It's kinda like what Wichita State did to OSU.

 

[UACat]

The biggest concern surrounding Arizona's 13-14 team will be its perimeter shooting. That said:

TJ McConnell (11-12 Duq): 43% 3P%
Nick Johnson (12-13 AZ): 39% 3P%
Grant Jerrett (12-13 AZ): 40% 3P%

Also note that Brandon Ashley shot 53% from the field on just 5 shots/game. Expect high shooting percentages as the creating McConnell gets the ball to 4 NBA-bound bigs in auspicious positions.

But the offense is the secondary strength of this team.

Defensively, Arizona can wreck havoc. They have unique size and athleticism at every position and by all accounts Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will help to set that tone. Between Johnson, McConnell, and Rondae, Arizona will be hell on the perimeter. My question will be the pick-and-roll progress the bigs make. I saw Brandon Ashley commit 64% of his fouls, 35 feet from the basket...

I agree. I guess as a fan I'd rather have a team that can get it done on the interior than one that has to rely on the 3 to win games. A team that hangs its hat on 3 point shooting is a lot more vulnerable to off nights and bad losses than one that can score in the paint and play solid defense.

 

[sackman]

I agree. I guess as a fan I'd rather have a team that can get it done on the interior than one that has to rely on the 3 to win games. A team that hangs its hat on 3 point shooting is a lot more vulnerable to off nights and bad losses than one that can score in the paint and play solid defense.

I agree, but CU lost to a team that relies on the "3" on the tournament and we never seemed to really try to get our bigs involved.