Observations from an Arizona Red-Blue game at McKale Center.

“For our first up and down I feel like some guys felt more comfortable than others,’’ UA junior Jamelle Horne said. “For our first go at it I was impressed. But there is still a lot to work on.’’

Because the teams were mixed and matched throughout the game individual stats are a bit skewed. Horne led with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Red that lost to the Blue, 69-68.

• Arizona senior Nic Wise did not start presumably after missing most of the week’s practice with a slightly injured ankle injury. Miller said he wanted to err on the side of caution and if Wise can play on Wednesday in UA’s exhibition against Augustana College he will but it’s not a certainty.
• Not sure why but sophomore guard Garland Judkins looks smaller than last season. Perhaps he’s lost some of that freshman weight. The difference may also be that we haven’t seen him play or get on the court for a game since he was suspended from the team in February. He said in a post game interview that he’s still the same weight he was last season (195 pounds) and wondered why he looked thinner to people. “It was good to be out there and playing,’’ he said. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve played in front of a substantial crowd.’’
• Through the first six minutes, Kryryl Natyazhko has looked impressive. He uses simple moves but is effective around the basket. He had a nice lay in early, a nice put back and a short jumper. He’ll be more than serviceable this season.
• You can tell it’s very early in the practice process because there are sloppy passes on the perimeter, allowing for defenders to intercept and go in for easy lay ups. It’s happened about three times with just as many passes being picked off to being tipped away.

Horne said the coaches want the team to run and run and run.

“That’s their emphasis,’’ he said. “Get the ball out of the basket and run. A miss is a Phoenix Suns break and a make is a North Carolina break. They’d rather have us get the ball out as fast as we can and turn it over instead of not pushing the ball uptempo.’’

Most impressive player in the first quarter? Natyazhko.

• Freshman Solomon Hill has some range. After missing a 15-footer (and getting his own rebound after no one went after the miss), Solomon picked up the ball and hit a 3-pointer.
• Arizona senior Wise warmed up but did not play in the first half. It’s not clear if he’ll play in the second half.
• UA junior Jamelle Horne had five rebounds and five points in a subdued first half. The noticeable difference is that he’s less vocal and showy as in previous years. It may be just because this is an exhibition game. We’ll see.

• Sophomore Kyle Fogg has looked steady, much like he did all season last year. He remains confident. He’ll have to carry the load alongside Wise when the season starts.

Most impressive player of the second quarter? Lamont Jones, who had 12 points in the half. He’ll be able to fill in for Wise. You can see he’s a confident, aggressive player.

“MoMo has great confidence and a strong body,’’ Miller said of Jones. “He scores but also does some things you’d expect a freshman to do.’’

Miller said Jones need to continue to learn how to run a team and organize the other players.

Hey, isn’t that, well, yes it is. It’s Lute Olson, who made an appearance to start the second half. He got a standing ovation when he entered behind the team’s bench. He sat just a row behind the team, giving a thank you wave to the crowd.

• Here’s wondering if this will be a good perimeter-shooting team. Outside of Wise hitting threes who is going to be the guy to help with the outside shot? Early indications are that I’m not quite sure.  Miller said Arizona’s poor shooting was a reflection of bad shots. “They just aren’t shots you’re going to make,’’ he said. “Sometimes that happens.’’

Miller said Wise will solve many problems on the perimeter.

“That’s the one thing about today’s (scrimmage) there is a silver lining in Nic’s injury; he’ll come back from that,’’ Miller said. “It’s really forced the rest of the team to do more without him. In a small way it’s brought out the best in some and has allowed our younger players to improve more.’’

Miller said Fogg and Brendon Lavender have been impressive on the perimeter, calling him the team’s best shooter.

• Natyazhko hit a last second shot to give Red a 19-16 lead for the third quarter only (stats were restarted at the half). When he hit the shot after picking up an easy rebound it was like he didn’t know what to do, looking at the crowd like: “what just happened?”
• Best player on the court in the third quarter was Derrick Williams, the talented forward who went in for an alley-oop dunk midway through the quarter. In time, he’s going to be an

incredible player. I’m still not sure who he plays like.

Arizona recruit Ray McCallum was just a few rows from the Arizona bench as he observed the intrasquad game. The 6-foot-1 guard is a major target of Arizona’s. He visited with his father, Ray McCallum, Sr., who is the current coach of University of Detroit Mercy.

All of a sudden the team is hitting outside shots. Does it get Internet on the sideline? They must have seen the post on who is going to step up and shoot. Fogg just hit a 3-pointer.

In a classy, nice gesture the team finished its glorified scrimmaged and applauded the crowd for being here. Natyazhko did a “raise the roof’’ motion. Pretty soon, he’ll be starting the wave. Must be news in the Ukraine it’s out of style … I kid because I care. … By the way, he’s going to be a nice addition to the rotation.

Best player of the fourth quarter?

Williams. Versatile.

Arizona officials estimated the crowd to be about 8,100 but it looked more like 6,000 and there was ample parking. Miller was gracious to the fans that showed up. He called it a “great, electric crowd.’’

He said McKale Center presents an “incredible atmosphere’’ and is such an “amazingly unique place.’’  He thanked the crowd who did show up.

“Blue-Red in the future is going to be a big weekend for us for a lot of reasons,’’ he said. “Be it recruiting or a start of a new season.’’

Miller liked what he saw two-plus weeks into the practice season. He said the team is getting better and had the scrimmage been done last week “I don’t think the quality of play in certain aspects would have been as high,’’ he said. “As the season grows we have a tremendous opportunity to grow and get better.’’

Steve Rivera can be reached at steve.rivera95@gmail.com

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