These are the times Nic Wise has lived for – being a star on a highly thought of Division I program.

The Arizona men’s basketball program, in recent years under Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, has long awarded seniors. They get a little more leeway; a little more slack. It doesn’t appear anything will change under new coach Sean Miller.

Welcome to Wise’s last hurrah.

He’s Big Man on Campus. OK, he’s only 5-foot-10 or so, but permit me to use some poetic license.

He’s king of the thrill. Or at least hopes to be

It all begins Sunday afternoon against Northern Arizona. UA faces the Lumberjacks at 3 p.m. to officially tip-off the Miller era.

“I just have to step up and take that leadership role,’’ said Wise, in preparation for the season. “I don’t have two other guys like Chase (Budinger) and Jordan (Hill). As a point guard you hope to be the leader on the court.’’

Even Miller is a bit giddy about Wise’s potential. And Miller, being a former star point guard, has every reason to believe Wise is going to be huge this season. One because he has to be; and two, because he sees his potential.

“He’s ready to have a terrific senior season,’’ Miller said. “He’s so important to what we do.’’

Miller says Wise is ready for the game and has terrific game preparation skills. He’s very focused and “very serious about having a good performance.’’

The Wildcats will need it to happen game in and game out. The Wildcats will need 20-points-plus and six or seven assists every game.

That’s EVERY GAME.

That’s just for Arizona to have a chance this season to reach 20 victories. I believe he can do that. If last season, former coach Russ Pennell said Chase Budinger would be about 40 percent of UA’s offense, Wise could likely be more than that. As he should in that he’ll have the ball in his hands nearly every possession.

Because of his potential numbers – up from last year’s 15.7 points, 4.6 assists – he’ll likely stay in the hunt for the John R. Wooden Award. The odds are against him winning it, but he’s long defied the odds. Short guy in a big man’s game – et al.

His journey to this point has been well-chronicled. Miller is his eighth coach in eight years, having gone through four coaches in high school, one that included his father, Greg. Then there was Lute Olson, Kevin O’Neill and Russ Pennell. Under Olson, Wise spent time under academic suspension and on the bench, never really making an impact. Under O’Neill, Wise blossomed, gaining confidence while losing weight. Under Pennell, Wise was part of a troika that eventually helped UA get to its 25^th consecutive NCAA tournament. Can Wise help UA pull it off again?

We’ll see. But his coach is more than confident in his pint-size point guard.

“Nic has demonstrated that he’s clearly one of the premier players in our conference and one of the better point guards in the country,’’ Miller said. “He still has to prove that he can be a great leader of this team. He has his hands full when you look at all the things that have been thrown at him.’’

Teammate Jamelle Horne says Wise will do fine in his role even though he’s “a lead by example guy.’’

His examples could be huge. Arizona will need them to be.

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

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