Good quote from Idaho State coach Joe O’Brien:

“I told Sean Miller before the game, ‘You have Arizona back where the fans expect you to be.’ And that I’m not coming back here again.”

* * *

No worries from McKale Center. Arizona beats Idaho State 90-42, playing everybody on the roster. Derrick Williams has a game-high 16 points for the Wildcats. Idaho State shoots 27.6 percent. Nobody gets hurt.

* * *

Last guy off the bench: Freshman walk-on Robert Arvizu.

* * *

Coach Sean Miller wants to get out here and watch the Steelers-Patriots game at 6:20 p.m. OK, that makes two of us.

* * *

It’s all good times. Walk-on Max Wiepking hits a 3-pointer for Arizona with about 3 minutes left. I have to look up how to spell his name.

* * *

Daniel Bejarano’s first shot of career: He rattles in a 3-pointer.

* * *

Losing interest in the basketball game. Just watched ex-Cat Mike Thomas’ game-winning Hail Mary catch for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

* * *

Freshman guard Daniel Bejarano in the game with about 10 minutes left. The 12th Wildcat to play.

* * *

Where is Arizona’s outside shooting going to come from? Right now, Brandon Lavender and Jordin Mayes are putting on a show. Lavender is 4 of 5 from behind the arc, showing the kind of accuracy we heard about last season (Sean Miller always talked about how well Lavender was shooting in practice) but rarely saw in games.

Arizona leads 68-24 with 11:20 to play.

Does it feel like old times?

* * *

Cue the highlights. MoMo Jones, dribbling down the right baseline, throws an alley-oop to Derrick Williams, motoring from the left side. With his back to the baseline, Williams catches the ball with his right hand and cleanly jams it home for a 53-18 lead.

* * *

Well, Idaho State’s drought is over. Broderick Gilchrest gets a fast-break layup for the Bengals with 18:04 to play, ending a streak of 12 minutes, 56 seconds without a point. The Arizona run was 32-2.

* * *

Officially, Idaho State’s last points came at the 11-minute mark of the first half. The Bengals missed their last 12 shots of the half.

* * *

MoMo Jones makes a steal underneath the Idaho State basket with about 35 seconds left, but he can’t make the layup. No matter. It’s halftime, and Arizona is on a 28-2 run, holding the Bengals scoreless for about the past 11 minutes. The Cats lead 41-15.

With a score like this, I expect David Bagga to play in the second half. Oh, never mind …

* * *

Tweet from guard Nick Johnson, who signed with Arizona last week: “watchin arizona play idaho state. lookin pretyy good. cant wait to be there.”

* * *

Here’s hoping there won’t be a worse call in McKale this season than the officials no-call on a pair of players fouling Derrick Williams underneath the basket, including one who comes down with his arm across both of Williams’ arms. No biggie in this game, though. At least Sean Miller gets to practice his indignation and test the limits of the coaching box.

* * *

The game was tied at 13-13. After a 20-2 run, it’s 33-15 with 4:19 to go in the first half.

* * *

Everything that happens this afternoon has to be prefaced with “it’s only Idaho State,” but, to use a phrase coaches like, the stage doesn’t seem too big for true freshman guard Jordin Mayes. His long pass from the backcourt sets up Jamelle Horne for an up-and-under layup. Mayes looks calm and confident.

* * *

What are those blue things on the north side of McKale Center. Oh yeah … empty seats. Lots of them.

* * *

Will coach Sean Miller care how MoMo Jones does on the offensive end if he keeps holding Idaho State guard Broderick Gilchrest scoreless? Gilchrest, who is coming off a 39-point performance against Colorado, is 0-for-3 from the field as the Wildcats lead 23-15 with 7:57 to play before halftime.

Jones is scoreless, too, missing his only shot.

* * *

This year’s version of Solomon Hill — lighter and leaner — goes up high for a one-handed rebound and follow-up layup with about 14: 17 left in the half. Idaho State, getting many good looks from underneath the basket, is hanging around. Arizona leads 19-15 with 10:56 to go in the half.

* * *

First subs of the season: C Kyryl Natyazhko, G Brendon Lavender, PG Jordin Mayes. They all come in after the first media timeout.

* * *

The transition of MoMo Jones from combo guard to full-time point guard is the key issue of the season, so his assist-to-turnover ratio is something that will be closely monitored. So, too, will be the decisions he makes in terms of shoot vs. pass.

Already in the first few minutes of the game, he launched a 3-pointer that wasn’t a horrible decision, but it wasn’t necessary that early in the shot clock, and he could have worked the ball for a better shot from someone. How did that shot turn out? Air ball.

* * *

Don’t know if it means anything, but I’ve always thought it was an honor to be the last guy in pregame introductions. This year (well, at least for the first game), that goes to sophomore point guard MoMo Jones.

* * *

Feeling hungry on the east side? Tino’s Pizza, in cooperation with two of our TucsonCitizen.com Sports partners, is offering an in-game special. Get $2 off any large pizza — dine-in or take out — if you ask for the WildAboutAZCats.com/SteveRiveraVentures.com special.

PREGAME
Anybody up for some Arizona basketball to cure the football blues?

We’re courtside at McKale Center this afternoon for the season-opener against Idaho State. The Bengals. From the Big Sky Conference. They already played a game, losing 88-80 at Colorado on Friday night. Senior 6-foot guard Broderick Gilchrest scored 39 points in that game, hitting 13 of 21 shots.

Some general themes for the Cats:

–Can sophomore MoMo Jones be steady at the point?

–Who will emerge as the consistent second scorer to Derrick Williams?

–Will the Cats show the intensity on the offensive glass that coach Sean Miller wants to see, and that they lacked last season?

–Will Arizona show more proficiency in Miller’s man-to-man pack-line defense, designed with on-ball pressure and lots of collapsing help in the middle? The goal is to choke off the lane and not give up easy baskets on putbacks.

We’ll check it all out as the season tips off.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 14th, 2010 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.