One of the key factors in Arizona’s 69-68 loss to Seattle Pacific University was rebounding. The Wildcats were out-rebounded 29-20, but that was hardly the whole story.

The Wildcats’ four big men combined for just four rebounds, two less than starting small forward Solomon Hill and only two more than guard Brendon Lavender had in just eight minutes of play. In fact, Lavender had more rebounds than three of the bigs and had as many as starting power forward Jesse Perry.

“Tonight I look at our five position and I think we had one defensive rebound,” said Sean Miller. “It’s petty hard to win when you have just one defensive rebound from your five.” (more…)

The Red/Blue game is just a few days away and already the Wildcat players are looking forward to it.

Arizona seniors Jesse Perry and Kyle Fogg sat down with the media to discuss the Red/Blue game, their early impressions of the team, the three-guard line-up and whether or not they miss Midnight Madness.

Part 1

Part 2

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It has obviously been a challenging few weeks for Arizona junior Kevin Parrom and the Arizona basketball program. Parrom was shot in the leg a few weeks ago and Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller had to deal with the incident as both a basketball coach and a surrogate father figure.

Miller addressed the incident during Arizona’s basketball media day. (more…)

The basketball season is still nearly five months away, but it is not too early to take an early look at how the roster shapes up. We’ll start by looking at the point guard position.

Jordin Mayes (Rick Faust/WildcatSportsReport.com)

So MoMo Jones is gone and the Wildcat may have more overall talent at the position than they did a year ago. Jones will not be easy to replace. He was a leader and one of the players who proved he could hit big shots, but he was not a pure point guard. Prior to the Pac-10 season he was struggling, so much so that during the Bethune Cookman game I said to the person next to me “I wonder which MAAC school he’ll play at next season?” Well, I said Manhattan, it turned out to be Iona. (I also said Long Island, but they are in the Northeast Conference.)

By season’s end, I had changed my tune. The Cal game made many believers and Jones was one of the Cats’ most visible players, but he still wasn’t a point guard.

In my opinion a sophomore Jordin Mayes and a freshman Josiah Turner are more talented than a sophomore Jones and a freshman Mayes. They will miss Jones, but the talent to be better is there. (more…)

Over the weekend the EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) made a stop in Los Angeles. A number of Arizona recruits were on hand. Here is a snapshot analysis from WildcatSportReport’s Gary Randazzo on a handful of the Cats’ targets.

2012 PG prospect Omar Calhoun

Brandon Ashley – SF/PF (2012)
On Saturday at the HAX (Hangar Athletic Xchange) Ashley silenced his naysayers with a 34-point scoring outburst on 15-of-19 shooting. His points were great, but his passion is what impressed. I’ve written before that this current Arizona coaching staff is looking for players capable of dominating games and more specifically, the opponent. Ashley was not only the best player on the court, he was the most dominant.

Omar Calhoun – PG (2012)
Calhoun’s natural talent was on hand as he consistently displayed a solid crossover dribble and an ability to finish at the rim through contact. Calhoun has really nice shooting form and although he prefers to attack the defense off the dribble is not afraid to settle for the three-pointer when it’s there. At times Calhoun was forced to take difficult shots because of the shot-clock rule in effect, but otherwise made sound decisions throughout the weekend with the ball in his hands.

Aaron Gordon – SF/PF (2013)
Gordon stands out on any court thanks to a well-developed body and well-skilled arsenal of scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking ability. He’s as athletic as they come and attacks the glass as if he’s launching off a springboard. On one possession, Gordon had four offensive rebounds (in traffic) before finally tipping in a teammate’s miss on his fifth-consecutive board.

Katin Reinhardt – SG (2012)
This 2012 prospect can most certainly shoot the basketball. He drained multiple three-pointers from behind the NBA line and showed good rise on his jumpers elsewhere on the court. At 6-foot-5, Reinhardt has good shooting form (elbow tucked, high release, solid follow through) that will help him get his shot off at the next level.

For more on Arizona basketball recruiting, check out WildcatSportsReport.com