But it’s still November, and there’s a “high ceiling’’ for the Wildcats. But he’s already called this season and what’s ahead “a great challenge,’’ because there have been some obstacles and few answers, in part because it’s just a month into the season.

The questions are plentiful as Miller looks to mix it up with a new starting lineup and what could be a fresh start.

• When will junior forward Kevin Parrom return to form after being shot in the knee and hand just a couple months ago in a trip to his native New York? No question, Parrom’s progress will be a gradual thing. “He’s a mirror image of himself,” Miller said. “If Kevin isn’t injured, he’s one of our top three or four players.”

• Will junior Kyryl Natyazhko turn into a player who can provide more consistent numbers than he has? So far, he “hasn’t gotten the job done,” Miller said.

Read the rest of this story at FoxSportsArizona.com…

Sean Miller hopes to see better things from his team this week. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Let me say this: Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller is as straight-forward as they come. He tells it like it is or how it should be.

Not once has he misled anyone about how good his team is or isn’t. Improvement is all he’s looking for. He hasn’t gotten it lately. He’ll tell you that. And on Wednesday, he spoke of his disappointment of Saturday’s humbling loss game against Brigham Young University.

Readiness and confidence just wasn’t there. The question is: will it continue?

Miller hopes not. He’ll see if it does against Northern Arizona in Thursday night’s game in the Annual Fiesta Bowl Classic. He does wish one thing, that there was more practicing on fundamentals than playing the games. His team needs it, despite its 8-2 record.

Of course, the 8-2 is fool’s gold (as he’d say). Arizona is not really that good, although it looks like it is with its lofty record. Realistically, who has Arizona beaten? Not anyone, really. It’s beaten the teams it was supposed to and has lost to the teams it should have lost to. So we move on.

Thursday should be a win against NAU; Sunday should be a loss at North Carolina State. It is what it is.

“The way to respond, especially in the month of December, is to get back to work and practice really hard,’’ Miller said. “It’s about being more prepared and more ready.’’

He feels that it will happen. But again, he hasn’t blown smoke to say this is a top x,y,z team. He knows better, in part because he’s seen what they look like. He’s played on those teams; he’s coached those teams.

He does say his team is better and deeper. “But we’re still a work in progress,’’ he said. “We’re missing pieces. We shot six air balls against BYU. We can go a season and not shoot six. The stage frightened us. The stage was too big and the lights too bright. Our fight wasn’t there. ‘’

But will it come back?

“The danger is putting our season on one performance,’’ Miller said. “It’s difficult for any team to be on every night. And we weren’t. But I hope we can learn and bounce back. But it steals your confidence when you don’t see guys catching the ball, shooting air balls and not being ready.’’

He hopes – eventually – his team will be ready for the grand stage. Someday. Soon.

Will it come? The Pac-10 is as big as it’ll get and that soon approaches too. So, we will see.

Sean Miller shows his disappointment over his team's play in the second half against Cal State Fullerton. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

You know deep down Arizona men’s basketball coach Sean Miller wanted to say, “we were horrible’’ against Cal-State Fullerton.

He didn’t. He’s too smart for that. But, if you read closely what he had to say, he actually did. Well, sort of.

He might as well have said it. His Wildcats did in Arizona’s 73-62 win over visiting Cal State Fullerton. Arizona went in a 26-point favorite and left McKale thinking they’ve got to improve in the coming days before it faces Jimmer Fredette and the Brigham Young Cougars on Saturday afternoon.

Miller was and has been brutally honest about his team this season and he didn’t hold back on Wednesday night.

“We were fat and happy,’’ said Miller, whose team is now 8-1.

“We didn’t play together and we didn’t compete on every possession. We weren’t responsible on offense. Some of the shots that went up and what we ran (were not right). We were not executing what we do.

“We came into the game with that demeanor of we’re going to win by 20-some points. We’re not good enough to have that mentality. We have to do it with togetherness and effort and if either one of those isn’t a part of what we do, we will lose to anyone on our schedule.’’

Expect another one of these games at some point in the season. And I’m not in the alibi business but it happens to the best of them. It surely happens to young teams and it’ll happen to this one – again. It’ll happen about three more times. Miller is right. UA was “fat and happy’’ and a team that may have started to read its press clippings.

It shouldn’t. “We’re going to work hard to make sure the team we take to Salt Lake City is better and more ready to compete,’’ he said. “If we don’t compete in that game we’re going to get run out of the gym like last year.’’

Last year, BYU, behind Fredette’s McKale Center record 49 points, won 99-69. As Miller put it, UA was a bunch “of little boys’’ that game and they were “taken to school.’’

Defense will be the key. Can UA get it done?

“We have to make sure we are responsible and tough on defense because against their backcourt and the way they play they punish you for being undisciplined,’’ he said. “That’s what they did a year ago and my hope and goal is that if they beat us this year they will beat a very hard playing Arizona team and not one that will let them shoot wide-open shots.’’

When asked if thought if his team was looking ahead to that game, Miller dismissed the notion, saying his team isn’t good enough to think that because at any moment any team could beat his.

“Every game is a huge game,’’ Miller said. “If we don’t play together and if we don’t give great effort you can see who we are. Our team is about depth, togetherness and effort.  That’s our best chance of winning. When you saw what we did (Wednesday) we looked the way we looked.’’

Horrible. Out of sync. Like a rag-tag bunch of so-so players. There was a lack of effort or urgency.

“We did not play up to the standards that we hold ourselves to,’’ Miller said.

And, yes, so are his assistants. In the game of trying-to-improve-your-program the name of the game is: recruiting.

And coaching. I’m still convinced that coaching trumps recruiting.

Miller will do both here at Arizona.

On Sunday, after a weekend visit to Tucson and apparently a very good visit 6-foot-3 guard Josiah Turner has now verbally committed to the Wildcats.

Turner is the newest addition to a stellar class, which includes AAU teammate Nick Johnson.

Together, colleague Javier Morales of Wildaboutazcats.com, says it could be the best guard tandem since Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas in 1999. Let’s remember that Arenas came in late and was a diamond in the rough. Gardner was the one that was considered the player. So much for projections.

It’s a reason I don’t like recruiting.

But Miller is getting the job done with it. He’ll have to in that Arizona will lose a scholarship next year because of the NCAA sanctions – all because of, drum roll please, improper recruiting. It’s why I hate it.

And on a couple of levels.

Many miss on potential of players – good and bad.

But you know what they say about potential? Nothing has really been done yet.

Turner appears to be the real deal, though, being a top 10 (overall) player and a five-star recruit.

It’s a great get. We’ll see what happens from here on.

Sean Miller's team needs a good finish to reach the NIT/Photo by Wildcat Sports Report

Arizona coach Sean Miller knew there would be days like these. Or was that a daze like this?

Miller showed signs of frustration Tuesday – and continued his blunt, honest talk – about his team that is floundering at the .500 mark and easily flirting with not making a postseason tournament for the first time since 1984.

I’m not even sure if many in Tucson can spell NIT – having never had to really concern itself with it for so long (OK, maybe last year there was a good chance). But now, Miller said if UA doesn’t qualify for the NIT he wouldn’t even consider the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, a third-string postseason tournament now in its third season.

“When you look at the last couple of years with the NIT field, it’s mind-boggling,’’ Miller said.

He also clarified that “it will be difficult for us to make it.’’

Indeed. Arizona must at the very least split its final four regular-season games and win at least one of its Pac-10 Conference postseason games to get above .500 to be considered.

“That would be quite an honor for our team, knowing what we have and how far we’ve come and what we’ve done since October,’’ Miller said.

And, without trying to be funny – yet that’s how it came out – he said “it would be more important for us to start lifting weights’’ than participate in the CBI.

But that’s what this season has come to. Go ahead and admit it and say it slowly: THAT’S WHAT IT HAS COME TO.

Of course, UA could win the Pac-10 Conference postseason tournament and get in the NCAA tournament, but are you going to be bet that?

So right now, Miller will try to prepare his team for what could be a very difficult time this weekend in the Bay Area. Cal is first; Stanford is second.

And Miller is the first to say he doesn’t want to “act like it’s over’’ because UA has shown it wants to play hard and compete. But most recently, things just haven’t gone well. He admitted that the Oregon State loss may “have taken some wind out of our sails.’’

But, Miller did agree that his team still has “want’’ in it. And that’s a want to do well, want to get better and want to prove something. That’s a good sign.

But when asked what he thought the mood of the team was after Sunday’s loss to Arizona State, Miller quickly said he pretty much didn’t care about the team’s mood.

Sharp and biting. That was Miller on Tuesday. He has to be applauded for that. There’s no other way to get his point across.

He also knew back in April he’d have to deal with certain things when he decided to take the job.

More from TucsonCitizen.com:
Miller is a big fan of Cal point guard Jerome Randle

That’s how Arizona coach Sean Miller described his basketball experience after Oregon State defeated Arizona, 63-55, in McKale Center.

Figure that he’s been in the college basketball business for 23 years – 18 as a coach and five as a player – and he had never experienced this kind of low. You could tell he was sincere. Very sincere. And very, very upset (although he stays even keel emotionally).

“I’ve never felt this way after a loss,’’ said Miller. “Your job as a coach and a staff is to really connect with your team and have them ready.’’

UA clearly wasn’t. No energy. No life. No guts. No glory.

Of course, no victory.

“Disappointed,’’ said UA’s MoMo Jones. “Oregon State came in and did what they did. And to the best of their ability. They outplayed us.’’

TucsonCitizen.com UA notebook: The McKale magic is gone

Oregon State made it a clean regular-season sweep of the Cats for the first time since 1982-83. It’s also the last time UA was swept by OSU and Washington State in the same season.

A victory for the Beavers in McKale Center? Unheard of in the Lute Olson era. Heck, Miller was 14 years old when it last happened. He wasn’t even being recruited to college then (nowadays all you need is a pulse it seems).

And I’ve never heard this from a coach: “We got what we deserved.’’

Wow!

Then this: “You know, I’m not for everybody. I’m not for everybody. (Yes, he said it twice maybe for emphasis). As a coach you have that identity where you have some guys playing your way good or bad. I don’t want a guy who plays (hard) when things are only going good. That’s what I’m here for. That’s why I’m here and we’ll address that. It’s important week for us to get ready.’’

It’s not clear who that was addressed at, but his message has been sent.

Now, Arizona State looms next Sunday. Does the NCAA tournament? We’ll see, but it’s not likely if one were to look at it with total perspective. Miller is choosing not to look at it. To be fair, he hasn’t all season.

“I’ve tried to stay away from that (talk),’’ he said. “I don’t think they would be able to handle that. It’s about working hard and being consistent and recognizing anybody can beat us. We don’t have a large margin for error and we have to do our very best each game.’’

And simply on Saturday night, didn’t play its best. It may have been one of its worst. At least it was to Miller. Figure UA shot just 39 percent (35.3 in the first half).

“We had those plays where you scratch your head at,’’ he said.

Miller thought his team would be beyond that at this point. UA had been showing signs that it was headed in the right direction, winning five of seven games lately. But … no. And that’s what was surprising, too.

“Teams go through bumps in the road,’’ Jones said. “We’re like any regular team, whether it’s a team that’s undefeated or a team in the middle or a team that is down. Teams are going to have highs and teams will have lows. That’s what every team goes through.’’

Not when your coach is saying things like “Rock Bottom.’’

Steve Rivera can be reached at Steve.Rivera95@gmail.com. Visit SteveRiveraventures.com.

Nic Wise has been invited to the postseason Portsmouth Invitational to showcase his game for scouts/Photo by Wildcat Sports Report

When Nic Wise decided to return for his final year at Arizona – whether he had a choice or not – I thought he’d have a huge year. No, make that H-U-G-E year. A Jason Terry-type year where he’d score in the 20s every game and average about 22 to 25 points a game.

That’s what Terry did (21.9) when he helped lead UA to the NCAA tournament in 1999 en route to being named College Basketball’s CBS player of the year.

I wasn’t alone in the thought, either. Wise thought the same, too.

“I knew I’d have to,’’ Wise said this week. “I knew that for us to be successful early on, with the young guys we had, that I’d have to score. But then I saw that the young guys were getting better and coming along so I didn’t have to.’’

Wise is averaging 16 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Wise was the leading scorer in four of Arizona’s first seven games. He’s been the leading scorer in just three games since. And he’s more than OK with that. UA is winning, now riding a four-game streak into Thursday’s game with Washington.

“It all depends on what games,’’ he said. “There are some that I don’t have to score as much as others. I just have to control the tempo and get a lot of guys involved. As other teams key on me, other (players) will do fine.’’

He said he has done “so-so’’ in handling teams trying to key on him and making others better. “But nobody’s perfect,’’ he said.

Listening to head coach Sean Miller you’d think that Wise was or is. Some are paying attention, including officials of the Portsmouth Invitational where some of the top 64 seniors will be able to showcase their stuff. Wise was invited on Wednesday.

It happens in two months (early April) but until then, he’ll do what he’s been doing all season – leading and scoring less than expected.

One person who is fine with that is Miller.

“Nic has been everything I’ve asked for and more,’’ Miller said. “I don’t know if there is a player in the Pac-10 that means more to his team than Nic Wise means to Arizona. And I don’t know if there is a guard in the country that impacts his team more than Nic does. He came back for all the right reasons.’’

Miller said Wise is on target to get his degree in May. He lists sociology as his major.

One would think that may have played a part in all his decisions this year.

“He’s trusted us and he’s trusted us more openly with what to do as he learned who we are,’’ Miller said of the coaching staff, Wise’s fourth in four years.

“We won games early only because he played great. We’ve won a couple because his sporting cast has grown around him and we’ve become better at certain things – like team defense. Nic has a lot to do with that. He leads his team in a quiet way but has a way of showing up and performing.’’

I was a bit skeptical last week when head coach Sean Miller said he saw his team improving little by little. Just three weeks ago, Arizona had lost three out of four and looked like a team in need of something.

Then it started winning and now it’s won three of four. Could the NCAA tournament be around the corner? OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In his most recent Bracketology, Joe Lunardi didn’t have UA in (and realistically how could he) but he did have California (nine seed) and Arizona State (a 12-seed). That’s how bad the Pac-10 Conference is. UA is 10-9 overall and 4-3 in conference.

What’s been the difference?

“Way better chemistry,’’ said Jamelle Horne, referring to the difference in the team’s success from earlier in the month. “The guys know what the roles (are). Our guys are doing what they need to do.’’

It helps to get the ball into freshman Derrick Williams, who has been amazing to this point. He’s averaging a team-leading 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. If UA can sweep the Bay Area schools this weekend – it’s a decent possibility – UA has a chance to finish in the top three of the league race. Who would have thought that a month ago?

“For our team, if you’ve been around us, the thing that makes the most sense is to work really hard and have an opportunity to win our next game,’’ Miller said. “To make this a bigger win than it is would be foolish for me or our guys.’’

Withey update

Former Arizona player Jeff Withey, who transferred to Kansas last December, had a breakout game over the weekend, scoring eight points in 12 minutes in an 84-61 win over Iowa State.

Not exactly huge numbers but significant in that he had played very little to this point. Kansas needed him after it suffered through foul trouble with the veterans.

“I’m going to be honest with you,” KU coach Bill Self told reporters. “I wouldn’t probably have given him the chance if it weren’t for the foul situations. I told our big guys, one of the best things to happen to us tonight was that we did get in foul problems, and it forced us to use our bench.”

Withey went 4 for 6 from the floor. He also had five rebounds.

“I was just ready. You never know when you’re names going to get called. I got called today, and thank God, I played good,” Withey told reporters with a laugh.

His success was short-lived. On Monday night he played one minute in KU’s 84-65 win against Missouri. He had one point.

Olson on Calhoun

Arizona coach Lute Olson, now a fixture at nearly every UA home game, has some advice for Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun, who has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his position with the Huskies.

“The advice I’d give to Jim is to listen to your doctor,” Olson told UA grad Jeff Goodman, a senior writer for Foxsports.com.  “Sometimes we get to the point where we think we’re beyond it and we think we’re fine.”

Olson finally realized he wasn’t about 16 months ago when decided to call it a career after doctors informed him it was his best option after health issues continued to impede his Hall of Fame career.

“With me, it finally got to the point where my doctor and cardiologist said you can’t continue to put yourself under this kind of stress,” Olson said. “The doctors know what they’re talking about. His health after coaching is more important than what he recognizes. It was hard for me to give it up, too.’’

JB on the Net

Former Arizona center Joseph Blair, who is now spearheading a number of fundraising efforts around the city and southern Arizona, did a live in-game chat during Saturday’s game between UA and Arizona State for Foxsports, …  fun stuff going back and forth with former ASU player Kyle Dodd.

“I had a great time and would love to do it again if the opportunity ever arose,’’ said Blair via text.

See what was written on the chat at foxsportsarizona.com.

Where’s Kirk Walters?

Former Arizona center Kirk Walters is out of basketball and living a regular life these days. He’s back in Michigan and working for a medical supplies company. And, he’s planning on getting married this summer.

Sean Miller reacts during Arizona's victory over Arizona State/Photo by Nick Oza, The Arizona Republic

TEMPE – Arizona’s Derrick Williams had 20 points. Solomon Hill had 5. And Kevin Parrom had four and a huge foul.

Arizona won 77-58 here at Wells Fargo Arena.

“We’re not young anymore,’’ said a beaming Jamelle Horne, a junior and one of the team leaders. “Put that in the newspaper.’’

If I had one I would. So, it’ll be on the Internet and the blog. It should be stop-the-presses stuff but instead its here. Such is life for the Cats and the news. All of sudden it’s hitting them and they are growing up.

Arizona coach Sean Miller was so giddy – OK, he doesn’t get giddy – about the win that he admitted that Horne “inspired’’ him in the second half. And just earlier, Miller was ripping into him to get better or at least show a better energy than he did in the first half. He had 11 second half points, hitting four of five shots.

“I tried to tell anything I could to get him to play,’’ said Miller, stopping short of saying he was on him like no other time. “Jamelle is talented and is important. I felt that early he let a couple of his missed shots affect him. But to his credit he came out in the second half and really played well.’’

The entire team did, hitting 75 percent of its shots in the second half against an Arizona State defense everyone said was pretty stout. Well, it showed holes and UA found them.

And it leads to the acknowledgment that UA is getting better, something Miller said was happening this week at his weekly press conference.

“I really believe our team is getting better, sometimes it is by an inch,’’ Miller said. “It doesn’t mean that all of a sudden we’re going to go on this big winning streak but just on a daily basis coming from where we came from in October … because we are so young and new we have an advantage to get better.’’

The victory even had senior Nic Wise waxing poetic about how the rivalry is back to how it should be. “This is what it has been,’’ Wise said, perhaps going a bit far in that ASU had a five-game win streak against UA. “The last couple of years they’ve had a great player in James Harden. He did a great job of propelling their teams to wins. This year it’s a different game and different story.’’

Indeed. UA has grown up and there’s still two months – and dare we say possibly more – of the season left.

NOTABLE
UA freshman Kevin Parrom did not get ejected from the game on his hard foul on Ty Abbott. He fouled out. It was his fifth foul on his hard foul on Abbott with about 8:35 left in the game.

The Owls look bad. They’ve missed their first seven shots — and still played UA close. Ugh!

***

Only because I have to tell you the score early in this blog: Arizona won 66-49 to move to 2-0, but wasn’t all that good in victory. It took a late-game resurgence for the Cats to get out of a mid-game funk to pull away. UA can thank junior Jamelle Horne because he came on late for four points in the final minutes. He finished with 13 points.

That said, here’s the quote of the day, sort of: “We’re not a very good team right now,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “I think we’re a team that can get a lot better. We gave a great effort on defense at times and that’s a starting point. It’s a new season and we have a lot of different guys working through things.”

And, Rice was 1 for 10 from the 3-point line after hitting its first one with just more than 16 minutes left in the game. Rice is now down, 37-27, with 16:07 left.

Now, it doesn’t look so good for — Arizona. What? Rice just hit its second 3-pointer of the game (2-for-12) and is down only 43-36 with 13:19 left in the game. Coach Miller has just asked for a 30-second timeout. Good move.

“We weren’t playing particularly well on offense throughout the game,” Miller said of the moment. “We took some bad shots. There were some turnovers. It wasn’t a fast-paced game to have 17 turnovers. It’s tough to score when you can’t get a shot.

“And in conjunction we didn’t play great defense. There were two forces working against us. And the lead shrunk.”

Miller did applaud his team for getting the win and returning to form late in the game.

***

So here we are and the Zona Zoo has come up with something new for the first time in, well, forever. Apparently, Miller met with the Zoo members and spoke about his excitement in them being part of something special. He let a few hundred into practice and then had a basketball session with the group.

“Watching them show up in full force with the football having an incredibly big weekend (Oregon) with a football game and it being two games from that, I’d like to personally thank them,” Miller said. “One of the things that helped our start defensively was how ferocious our start was. Anyone in the building understood our students were like another defender”

And truer words have never been spoken: “There has never been an Arizona that needs McKale to be at the heightened environment more than this team because of the certain challenges. I thought they helped us get off to a very good start.”

Every time a Rice player either dribbled or passed they say something. When the Owls pass it says pass and when it dribbles it says “boing.’’ And when it shoots it says, “Brick.’’ Must have worked. The Owls missed their first seven shots and by the time the first media timeout occurred was down, 9-0, as UA hit 4 of 7 shots. This could get ugly for the Owls. … The antics didn’t last long. The Zoo has stopped already and there is still more than seven minutes left in the half.

***

The Owls just scored a basket  — six minutes into the game. But UA came back quickly and hit a shot to take a 12-4 lead. Rice hit two free throws with 14:40 on the clock. Rice is now 1-12 from the floor. Looks like Ben Braun hasn’t changed much as a coach. He still can’t win in McKale Center. He didn’t while a head coach at California and it won’t happen on Thursday night.

***

Now in the game for the Wildcats is …. sophomore Alex Jacobson. It’s his first time on the court this season. My guess he’ll play about 10 minutes tonight and average about four or five during the season. He played about a minute and then was replaced. That doesn’t bode well for him. I might have to revise my four or five minute prediction. Miller made it quite clear Jacobson needs to “perform better on a daily basis.”

Good luck, Alex.

***

Let me just say that Rice is HORRIBLE. It has gone 2 for 20 to start the game. It doesn’t even look like a basketball team.

***

Scratch that. All of a sudden Rice has found a rhythm and Arizon has gone south. The Owls have closed the gap to eight, 28-20, with under 2 minutes left. Arizona has now gone up 30-20 behind two Brendon Lavender free throws. …

***

Sophomore Kyle Fogg hits a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer with three seconds left in the half to give Arizona a comfortable 33-20 lead at the half. It hasn’t been good basketball.

***

The more you watch Solomon Hill the more you have to love him. He just did a nice spin move around the basket, making it look easy. What I like about him is that he doesn’t come off as as jerk. … And in this line of work, that’s a good thing.

***

It looks like the little things are bogging down UA. Bad passes and missed opportunities on rebounds. UA should be up by 20 but has let the Owls hang around with not-so-great play. And this is what the game has come to: the Ooh Ahh man has jsut come out with 7:57 left in the game and UA up 52-42. When would you have seen the Ooh Ahh Man come out for a game as insignificant as this one? Boy, times have changed. By the way, good to see teh Ooh Ahh Man is still alive and well, and crazy enough to disrobe in front of 14,000 fans.

“It’s not our offense that lets teams back in – it’s our defense,” said Nic Wise, who finished with 15 points. “We had a four minute stretch where they a couple of layups and their leading scorers got going. We just got to keep our intensity up for 40 minutes.”

***

Sophomore guard Garland Judkins didn’t play. Miller said he can’t play everybody “and maybe he’ll get in the next game.” Miller said Judkins, who went through a couple of discipline problems last season under interim coach Russ Pennell, didn’t play because of discipline problems or anything else. Miller said its his job to put the 10 best out there.