Tucson Citizen.com
AG's Wildcat Report - Dispatches on the Wildcats, from Anthony Gimino

St. Nic delivers another buzzer-beating present to Wildcats

by on Dec. 24, 2009, under Sports

Arizona point guard Nic Wise wishes you Happy Holidays.

‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve when Wise arose such a clatter that the Arizona Wildcats’ recent struggles hardly seem to matter.

OK, I’ll (mostly) stop with the Christmas theme right here … other than to say that Wise has been delivering better than dear ol’ Santa himself.

Wise had it the whole way Wednesday night, going on a coast-to-coast dash, through and around defenders, for a layup with 0.9 seconds left in a 76-74 win against North Carolina State.

“Coach is telling us to not let Wise bail us out, but he is,” said junior forward Jamelle Horne. “We’re not going to have any arguments with that.”

Wise has been spreading holiday cheer with back-to-back buzzer-beaters. He did it Monday night against Lipscomb with a 3-point shot released with 0.1 seconds left in overtime. Wednesday night, he had nine-tenths of a tick left to spare.

No sweat.

“I believe in Nic a lot, and I think he knows that,” said UA coach Sean Miller.

“If there is one I thing I probably have done a good job of, it’s making him know I completely trust and believe in him. He’s really good at the end of games because of his experience and ability. He has a big heart. You can really sense that when he’s out there.

“Watching what he did in back-to-back games … there have been some really good players who have great college careers who have never made one play like that, let alone win two games in a row like he’s done.”

Count N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe, a former NBA player, among that group.

“I’m just impressed with his ability to control the game and run the show. In that sense, he does remind me a little bit of me back in my day,” Lowe said.

“But he might have a little more asphalt, a little more street in him. He makes some plays I couldn’t do, like that shot in the end.”

What does it all mean for the Cats? Well, they’re now 6-5, which isn’t great, but it sure beats the alternative of losing to Lipscomb and/or losing to North Carolina State after leading by eight in the final minute.

And the Wolfpack didn’t even have its leading scorer, post player Tracy Smith, who was serving a one-game suspension.

It’s not that the last two games have been great wins. It’s that they haven’t been bad losses.

Wise’s two plays don’t change the fundamentals of the team — that it needs a more complete effort on defense and could stand to box out better on the defensive glass — but the two plays mean the world in terms of confidence.

And that could mean a lot down the road.

In the short term, it means that all UA hoopheads can spend the holiday break without grousing and grinching about the state of Arizona basketball over the family dinner.

As for that confidence, the Wildcats get to emotionally move on to the next game — at home against BYU on Monday — and then take on the Pac-10, where anything might happen. In the world of Pac-10 basketball — where most teams are like Arizona this season: young and flawed — get ready for more endings just like this.

Probably double-digit endings just like this.

“Even though some might say it was a lucky shot,” Wise said of his game-winner against Lipscomb, “that win gave our team that much more confidence coming into this game.

“At shoot-around this morning, we could feel the buzz in the arena. Even though nobody was there — it was just us — you could tell guys were anxious to get this win right before Christmas.”

And so they did.

With another late game miracle, courtesy of St. Nic.

More coverage from TucsonCitizen.com:
Steve Rivera: Horne plays, provides spark for Wildcats
UA-North Carolina State game blog

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 1:35 am and is filed under Sports. Tags for this post: , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

RSS feed for this post (comments)
  • http://none JimBodkins

    Its not just about personel.
    The passes were crisper.
    The positions taken were less compromised.
    The ball movement made more sense.
    The positions and defense were better.
    The shot selection was better.

    It was … smarter.

    There were three times when the wheels came off … in weeks past it would have been the majority of the game however.

    It wasnt perfect … lots of room for improvement. But its beginning to look a lot like a basketball team.
    (from my post on another page)
     
    Jones, Parrom and Jacobson need to contribute more points.
    Kyryl needs to continue learning and developing (he will).
    They need to take things learned and move forward (they seem to be)
    They needs to block out and establish position. (they will)
     
     
    They need to become good enough as a team that the can begin working on some of the more subtle things.  Weeks ago, that was just out of the question. They were playing with their pants around ankles. Not in the last few weeks however. They are beginning to look like a team that I can expect things from … a real team.
     
     
     
    I have been counting … this is game four in which they looked like they belonged on the floor as a team (good or bad). The others were simply not team efforts. I see a core developing … I think.
     

  • http://none JimBodkins

    One more comment.
     
     
    Regardless who the opponents were in the last several games … they all scored and scored well. They all rebounded and rebounded well. They all played defense well enough to make the UofA offense have to work very hard.
     
     
    That is a win for a developing program. The UofA hasnt played any cupcakes yet – names not withstanding. They have played some of the best teams in the country that were playing well and less known teams that were playing well. In all but two games they were competative. And I would look for a much different game in rematches with those twom; Oklahoma and UNLV. UNLV had an unconcious night. Oklahoma really is that good … and the UofA will need an improved post (talls) … but that will happen in my opinion … later in the season. (I am on record)
     
     
    The next MAJOR challenge will be conference play … in particular on the road. Its not just that they count … they are always wars. Several weeks ago, this team wasnt in anyway ready for that. Now … they may be – but it will be tough.
    (unedited)

    • http://pointmantucson.yuku.com/ mike_brewer

      Jim, your commentary is as crisp as the newly collated team.  Hope to hear more from you.

  • Oh!Oh!!Oh!!!It’sSt.Nic!!!!!!

    Anyone else, other than being pleasantly stunned, get that lifting feeling once Horne and then Parrom got on the court last night?  And then did anyone start taking inventory of the bodies, the potential, the prospects for exciting moments to come with all those ‘Cats out there together for the first time this season?  Minus, of course, Shumpert and Judkins, but I’d like to believe there’s not much more to that than the fact that 40 minutes can only get divided so many ways, and Parrom and Horne needed some time on the court.  Maybe moreso than Shumpy and Jud at this point.  But I’d like to see more of the mixing up of the lineup featuring combinations to this point not seen yet.  Let’s keep O’Neill and Howland guessing…

  • Pingback: Beyond the Boxscore: Arizona 76, N.C. State 74 | "Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

«
»