Welcome to The Sports Bank’s fourth annual college basketball season preview series where we break 111 teams in the 111 days leading up to the opening tip-off of the 2013-2014 season. We will rank the 84 power conference teams (including the new Big East and American Athletic Conferences) and top 27 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Despite losing three of their top four scorers from a year ago, the Arizona Wildcats are the best team out West thanks to a few key newcomers who should make a major impact.
ARIZONA WILDCATS
Last Season: 2nd, 12-6 in Pac-12, 27-9 overall
Predicted Pac-12 Finish: 1st
Projected Depth Chart
C: Kaleb Tarczewski (So)
PF: Brandon Ashley (So)/Matt Korcheck (Jr)/Zach Peters (Fr)
SF: Aaron Gordon (Fr)/Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Fr)
SG: Nick Johnson (Jr)/Gabe York (So)/Elliott Pitts (Fr)
PG: T.J. McConnell (Jr)/Jordin Mayes (Sr)
Gone: PG-Mark Lyons, F-Solomon Hill, G/F-Kevin Parrom, PF-Grant Jerrett, C-Angelo Chol (transfer-San Diego State)
2013-2014 Outlook:
The headliner is McDonald’s All-American and top 10 recruit, Aaron Gordon. The 6-9 forward is absolutely explosive at the rim and has drawn early comparisons to Blake Griffin. He will start at the three but is capable of playing either forward position and probably more naturally suited at the four. The aspect of Gordon’s game that needs to develop this season to ensure his status a likely top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft while also helping Zona as a team, is his outside shooting.
Joining Gordon in the starting frontcourt are a pair of top 10 recruits from the 2012 class in Kaleb Tarczewski and Brandon Ashley. A true seven-footer, Zeus creates space down low on the offensive end, doing most of his damage around the basket while Ashley relies more on his athleticism. Both guys need to take a step forward with their all-around game and stay out of foul trouble for Arizona to truly be a top ten caliber club.
With Grant Jerrett’s baffling decision to enter the NBA Draft and the transfer of Angelo Chol, Sean Miller has some new faces coming off the bench up-front led by McDonald’s All-American Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. He figures to be a vital glue guy for the Wildcats since he can make an impact in a multitude of ways without having to score. RH-J should see significant minutes at the three which would allow Gordon to shift to the four.
Junior college transfer Matt Korchek redshirted last season and adds some needed size and hustle off the bench. An x-factor is former Kansas commit Zach Peters who was cleared to play by the NCAA in September and more recently, by the Arizona medical staff since he suffered a couple of concussions last year. Peters is a face-up for who adds even more versatility to the frontcourt which is the role Jerrett played a year ago.
Nick Johnson is Arizona’s top returning scorer and needs to take on an even larger role offensively this year. It will help tremendously that Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell becomes eligible since he is the true point guard that the Wildcats lacked last year with the often times shot-happy Mark Lyons running the show. The Johnson/McConnell duo also brings a ton to the table defensively since they are both terrific on the ball defenders.
Senior Jordan Mayes figures to be the first guard off the bench. After a promising freshman campaign, Mayes took a step back the past two seasons as he struggled to shoot the rock and really found himself buried on the bench during points of last year. A bounce back senior campaign will mean wonders for both he and Arizona since seldom used sophomore Gabe York and freshman Elliott Pitts are the other guards on the roster but clearly inexperienced.
The Arizona Wildcats are the clear cut favorites to win the Pac-12 this season. With their experienced backcourt and big, talented frontcourt, Sean Miller should have Zona making a deep run into March.
Player to Watch: T.J. McConnell
As talented a scorer as Lyons was, he brought a shoot first approach to the point guard position whereas McConnell is a true floor general. He was a stat sheet stuffer during his sophomore year, averaging 11.4 points, 5.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.8 steals per game while also shooting 43% from distance. Look for him to become the true leader of this still relatively young team.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/11 vs. Long Beach State
11/14 at San Diego State
11/19 vs. Rhode Island/Farleigh Dickinson (NIT Season Tip-Off)
11/27 likely vs. Rutgers/Drexel (NIT Season Tip-Off at MSG)
11/29 likely vs. Duke/Alabama (NIT Season Tip-Off at MSG)
12/3 vs. Texas Tech
12/7 vs. UNLV
12/11 vs. New Mexico State
12/14 at Michigan
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#8 Syracuse
#9 Oklahoma State
#10 Ohio State
#11 North Carolina
#12 Michigan
#13 Marquette
#14 Memphis
#15 Notre Dame
#16 Georgetown
#17 Gonzaga
#18 Creighton
#19 Wisconsin
#20 Virginia
#21 Wichita State
#22 VCU
#23 New Mexico
#24 UConn
#25 Indiana
#26 Colorado
#27 Tennessee
#28 Baylor
#29 St. John’s
#30 Harvard
#31 UCLA
#32 Iowa
#33 Boise State
#34 Villanova
#35 Oregon
#36 St. Louis
#37 La Salle
#38 San Diego State
#39 Stanford
#40 Arizona State
#41 BYU
#42 Pitt
#43 California
#44 Iowa State
#45 Providence
#46 Cincinnati
#47 UNLV
#48 Purdue
#49 LSU
#50 Illinois
#51 Xavier
#52 Boston College
#53 Ole Miss
#54 Missouri
#55 Washington
#56 Saint Mary’s
#57 Maryland
#58 Butler
#59 Minnesota
#60 Florida Gulf Coast
#61 Akron
#62 Temple
#63 Alabama
#64 Florida State
#65 Arkansas
#66 N.C. State
#67 Kansas State
#68 Davidson
#69 Dayton
#70 Miami FL
#71 SMU
#72 Texas A&M
#73 Long Beach State
#74 UMass
#75 Northwestern
#76 Indiana State
#77 Georgia Tech
#78 Oklahoma
#79 Richmond
#80 Manhattan
#81 Belmont
#82 Texas
#83 Houston
#84 Washington State
#85 Iona
#86 Oregon State
#87 Louisiana Tech
#88 Towson
#89 Wake Forest
#90 Central Florida
#91 Rutgers
#92 Drexel
#93 USC
#94 Charleston
#95 Seton Hall
#96 Vanderbilt
#97 George Mason
#98 Clemson
#99 Penn State
#100 Nebraska
#101 West Virginia
#102 South Florida
#103 Mississippi State
#104 DePaul
#105 South Carolina
#106 Texas Tech
#107 TCU
#108 Virginia Tech
#109 Georgia
#110 Utah
#111 Auburn
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.