While many debate whether Arizona and ASU are really rivals in basketball due to the one-sided nature of the rivalry, the players do not. Nick Johnson, Solomon Hill and Jesse Perry talked about the game, the rivalry and even threw a little gasoline on the fire.

Sean Miller then spoke to the media about the win over ASU.

The Wildcat players claimed that Sean Miller did not yell and scream after their 69-68 loss to Seattle Pacific, but it did take them nearly 30 minutes to get to the media room after the game. Solomon Hill and Jesse Perry addressed the media.

Wildcat coach Sean Miller came in next and was mostly calm about the night’s game. Here are his opening remarks and the first few questions.

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

Get more Arizona basketball coverage at WildcatSportsReport.com

The Red/Blue Scrimmage did not reveal a whole lot about the Wildcats basketball team, but we did get a glimpse at the players in the first public appearance of the year. Here are some of my initial thoughts.

PLAYER EVALS

Jamelle Horne – Horne did some good things and some bad things. He was really hitting the glass, fighting for rebounds, which will be critical for his attempts to retain a starting spot, but not doing much offensively. Offensively, he still had his issues. He was settling for outside shots, but did not make one until the second half. He did not get a ton of touches on the offensive end, especially in the first half. The second half was better, he hit a big three and ended up with nine points over the two halves.

Jordin Mayes – Very quick and the outside shot may be as good as advertised. He buried first two three pointers, but air balled his next shot, a tough runner. He scored less in the second half, but was smart in distributing the ball. He only had one second half assist, but did a very nice job running the offense.

Daniel Bejarano – Buries first three, but did not hit again. Players have really been praising Bejarano, especially his shot and his conditioning.

Solomon Hill – All around players. Was solid on the defensive end, was willing to work on the glass and dished the ball. Biggest knock was four turnovers, two coming when he tried to do too much.

Derrick Williams – Slow start, but came on strong towards end of the second 4:00 “war” and took over a bit. Had 10 points in about a 5:00 stretch. Really gave Natyazhko fits down low on both ends.

Jesse Perry – Moves very well, fights every play but struggled to finish at times.

Kyryl Natyahzko – Struggling against Williams, Had two shots blocked. Started showing off his baseline jumpers. Also rebounded very well and hit three perimeter shots in the second half, including a three.

MoMo Jones, Derrick Williams and Brendon Lavender spoke to the media after the game:

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