Yes, the Arizona State student is accepting it. The University of Arizona, the school down south, has the best basketball team in the nation. A mix of veteran leadership, a great coach, and the best freshman in college basketball has made Arizona not only a contender, but the team most likely to cut the nets. They are that good.
The glue of this Arizona team comes with the seniors.Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Dusan Ristic have grown with this team for four long, hard years. They've gone through heartbreak against Wisconsin, played with Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and have won the Pac-12 tournament twice. They know what it's going to take in order for this team to finally break Sean Miller's final four drought, and they're more than capable. Over the four years, Jackson-Cartwright has evolved into a very capable floor general and can provide a scoring spark when necessary, something he couldn't do those first few years. Ristic has shown the most improvement. He's added a jump shot to his game, and even a three point shot if he's open. That would've sounded preposterous a few years ago, but he's managed it. He can dominate in the paint and he's got more than enough height in order to defend around the rim. Trier, Alkins, and Ayton are all important for this team, but the seniors will be the difference between a title or another heartbreak.
Even though the seniors of this team can be the difference, the Wildcats would not be where they are at without the returnees. Allonzo Trier and Rawle Alkins, who hasn't played yet due to a wrist injury, both decided to return to Tucson this year instead of going to the NBA. It's rare enough for one potential first-rounder to return to school, let alone two. But, it happened, and Arizona is going to prosper. The wings for this team, Trier and Alkins were two of the biggest difference makers on last years sweet sixteen team, and that shouldn't change this year. Trier has been dominant scoring the ball to start off the year, and has extended his range out to the three point line where he owns a solid shooting percentage a clip below fifty percent in the young season. If he can keep that three point percentage up, he'll be an easy contender for the Naismith Player of the Year award. Alkins on the other hand, has a lot of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in him. He defends. He dunks. And he can do everything in between. Arizona is already off to a blistering hot start, and they should only get hotter once Alkins get back into the lineup.
And finally, the freshmen. Ira Lee and Emmanuel Akot are going to play big roles off the bench, as are Alex Barcello and Brandon Randolph. But, they're not the type of players who will take over a game and single-handedly dominate. Deandre Ayton is. In the simplest form, Deandre Ayton is big. In a less vague statement, Ayton is the biggest, strongest, most athletic freshmen big I have ever seen play college basketball. As of right now, I am one hundred percent positive he could put it to NBA players. I actually got to see Ayton's first career collegiate game against Northern Arizona. And, wow, he was ridiculous. His ability to run the floor, play defense, shoot, and take over in the paint was insane. And he's doing all of this at 7'1" and 250 pounds. Never has there been a player quite like him, and there may not be for a long time. Tucson better appreciate him while they have him because he's going to win them a lot of games, and then he's going pro. Hopefully he'll be in purple and orange next year.
The biggest contender against Arizona, at least according to the AP poll, is Duke. Marvin Bagley III is a fantastic player, as is Grayson Allen, but it's not quite there. Duke has four freshmen in their starting five, something unprecedented for Coach K. And with that, it has proven that it takes a special group of freshmen in order to be one of the best, and while Bagley is special, the rest are regular Duke freshmen. You know, the one's that can never seem to meet expectations. Instead, it's the team with two seniors, a junior, a sophomore and a freshmen in their standing lineup that has the best chance of being the best team this year.
This could finally be the year where it all comes together for Sean Miller and the Wildcats. They have the best freshmen big in the nation, a dominant scorer and fantastic balance. If there has ever been a year for Arizona to make it to the final four and further, it's this year.
