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Back to basics Struggling Arizona needs to rediscover fundamentals
Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis spoke with CNNSI.com about the goings on in the college basketball world this week: CNNSI.com: Sports Illustrated and just about everyone else picked Arizona as the No. 1 team in the country at the start of the season. Now the Wildcats have lost three of their last five and dropped to 10th in the AP poll. What's the problem? Seth Davis: I talked to Lute Olson about this and he was very blunt with me. He feels as if his team needs to get a lot more blue collar, particularly at the defensive end. Guys like Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson may be getting a little too enamored with their alley-oops and their dunks and are losing focus on playing good, consistent, fundamental basketball. Jefferson did not start against Illinois on Saturday. On top of that, they're trying to work in Loren Woods, who has a reputation of being a little bit of a soft player. He's only got six rebounds in his last couple of games. So Arizona definitely has some things it needs to work through. But things like consistency and toughness are easier problems to fix than a lack of talent and I still think that if Arizona is healthy, they will be the team to beat in the NCAA tournament. CNNSI.com: UNLV fired coach Bill Bayno last week and already speculation is rampant over who will replace him. How do you see that situation ending up? Davis: Well, of course, a lot of the usual suspects will come up. Rick Pitino, Bob Knight. I think if the school came at him with enough money, then they would have a good shot at Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins. But don't be surprised if the guy who ends up getting the job is the guy who is there right now, Max Good, who was brought in as an assistant at the start of the year. Good is 59 years old and very experienced. He has an excellent reputation, having coached for eight years in Eastern Kentucky and 10 years at Maine Central Institute, the prep school which is really a de facto Division I program. The thing about Max Good is that he will not get caught up in the culture of Las Vegas the way that Jerry Tarkanian and Rollie Massimino and certainly the way that Billy Bayno did. I asked Good whether he could win clean at UNLV and he told me point-blank, "If they hire me, we are going to." Don't be surprised if that happens. CNNSI.com: College basketball players always seem to have one eye trained on their NBA future. Whose stock has gone up the most in the first two months of the season and is there any player who has significantly damaged his pro prospects? Davis: The guy who has helped himself the most without a doubt is Eddie Griffin, the fabulous freshman at Seton Hall. In fact, based on conversations that I've had with NBA scouts, I would say right now that Griffin is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft if he enters it in June. Alabama freshman Gerald Wallace's stock is also on the rise -- scouts love his athleticism. And Michael Bradley has been a very interesting talent at Villanova. He's a big guy but he's got a lot of skills with the basketball. If you are looking for someone who has hurt his stock the guy that jumps to mind is Terence Morris, the senior forward at Maryland. If Morris had come out two years ago as a sophomore, I think he probably would have been a lottery pick. Right now I'm not even sure he's in the first round. Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers the college basketball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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