My Observations of Tonight's performance

[LuteLoyalist]

Honestly, I was somewhat disappointed with how we looked. The athleticism was impressive - but expected. I thought the press, while it yielded some nice returns, was sloppy overall and gave up as much (in easy buckets) as it gained (in forced turnovers). We turned the ball over an awful lot, and I thought the defensive intensity was inconsistent. Ball movement has ALOT of room for improvement. All of these things should probably be expected from a team with so much youth during the preseason - but I hadn't seen the team yet (only reading reports from the Internet) and I think I was expecting to see the Lakers from the early 80's.

Now, there were a number of things that impressed me, too. My thoughts on several players:

Jason Gardner - Excellent outing... Solid scoring, improved decision-making, and the intensity we've come to expect

Ricky Anderson - Quietly effective and productive... Good all-around effort - exactly what we need from him on a consistent basis this season

Channing Frye - Some nice surprises... Someboday worked on more in the off-season than just adding 20 lbs. Last year he was an excellent shooter facing the bucket, but how about that pretty little hook shot, with either hand? I predict that he will be the best offensive big man we've ever had if he stays 4 years.

Isaiah Fox - Disappointing performance... Still not much of an offensive threat, but he definitely looks to be leaner - and should be improved over last season.

Dennis Latimore - Improved, but not the dramatic difference I had hoped for... Terrific physique, and definitely can run in the open court for a PF with his size. He STILL looks to me like a player on the verge of erupting... but I'm wondering if this "watched pot" will ever boil.

Will Bynum - Somewhat surprised... I didn't see the HUGE change in his game that others referenced, or that I expected (from the pickup game reports). He played nicely, but I also didn't think he was as bad last year as Lute (and most others) seemed to. He can really pass the ball (we knew that last year), and his outside shot is beautiful (but not enough of them go in). Missed dunk at end was reminiscent of his freshman year.

Andre Iguodala - STUD STUD STUD... I actually believe he was UNDERRATED coming in. Great Athleticism. Great intensity, and excellent control for a freshman. VERY underrated offensive game, much better shooter than advertised, good handles, GREAT passer. In Fact, based on tonight's performance, I think he is more polished offensively (and a superior ballhandler and passer) than RJ in his final season here. I will be pleasantly surprised if we get Andre for more than 2 seasons.

Hassan Adams - Leading scorer his first game in an AZ uniform? Fugedaboudit... This kid is going to be REAL fun to watch. Like Andre, his offensive skills/ shooting/ ballhandling is better than advertised. Didn't seem quite as well integrated into the "team" game as Andre, and not as good a passer - but has all the tools. Most explosive athlete I believe we have ever had under Lute.

Chris Rodgers - Disappointing outing... Didn't really gain an impression of his game, other than he played like a freshman, made some poor decisions, and tried to force things a bit. I like the kid's on-court demeanor, though, and expect big things from him in the future.

In all, I saw what I probably should have expected to see... TERRIFIC individual players that haven't gelled yet as a team. They need some seasoning, and I expect Chez Lute will come up with the recipe for success.

PS - I'm not so sure I would trade Hassan and Andre for Quentin Richardson and Lamar Odom. (Will Ndudi Ebi be our Darius Miles?)

[Ben Hansen]

LL,

I've seen both play many times and in all seriousness, Ndudi Ebi is better than Darius Miles is. He can just do more from an all-around perspective.

Ndudi is a better rebounder and shot blocker almost definitely, IMO, plus he has better range on his shot.

[Quencher]

Iggy had 5 turnovers - I agree he's a better passer than RJ, but nowhere near a better ball handler at the same stage. RJ could break anyone down off the dribble, from day 1, that was real strength for him.

RA had a double-double!!! He's a forgotten man because of last year, but I'll bet he becomes one of our more consistent weapons and I am more excited about his play tonight than Iggy. Ofcourse for a freshman, Iggy is absolutely awesome.

Hassan is incredible! Reminds me of Arenas, although I don't think he's quite as fast, he makes up for it with even better body control. His D seemed sporadic to me, but was awesome at points. As much as i hate to say it with this team, he is clearly going to be it's star player.

I wonder if DLat is in the Ray Owes mold. Seemed to me that Ray Owes just slowly got better and better -in a very quiet fashion, until, by the time he was a senior, we absolutely relied on him. He was never an explosive player and frankly, was never very impressive to me, although his box scores were solid and always reliable. They are obviously two different styles of players, but maybe DLat is a throw back to a time when Lute didn't limit his recruiting to consensus top 20 recruits!!!!! Was that only two years ago?

[LuteLoyalist]

I think we will eternally be each other's foils when it comes to evaluating UA players, but hey - that's what makes the world interesting, because I've never learned anything from anyone who thought the same things I did.

What we agree on, first. I think Gilbert MAY be faster than Hassan, but Hassan is a little bigger, stronger, and more explosive leaper - with even better body control.

As for RJ... gotta stick to my original position. I never thought he lived up to his potential at UA - at least offensively. I never believed he took guys off the dribble NEAR as much as he should have - and his shooting was very inconsistent. He was, however, terrific in transition. I think Iggy appears MUCH better than RJ (looking at both as freshman), and I'd STILL take 'Dre today (based on what I saw tonight) over RJ as a junior. RJ's ball-handling STILL needs work, IMHO. Iguodala made a few mistakes, but his ballhandling was much better than I anticipated.

The RJ debate.... anyone else care to join in?

[CatnPhx]

LL - I have to agree that RJ never fulfilled his potential (never came close) at AZ. I think he got drafted so high because of his potential and it is finally being realized in his 2nd year of the NBA. RJ could have been soooo much more at AZ but he was also surrounded by future pro's. Maybe that just means on a team as talented as AZ a couple of years ago, he almost became a role player - hard to believe we had that much talent. I think if he was put in Jason Terry's situation and had to carry a team, we would have a completely different opinion of RJ.

[RubenD]

we seem to agree on pretty much everything. IMO, RJ's career at Arizona was a (gasp) dissappointment. I know, I shouldn't say things like that. The best game he ever played for us was his last, the 2001 NCAA championship game. Was it his fault or was RJ a team player? Was he surrounded by so much talent that he chose to pass (no pun intended) the fame to his teammates? On almost any other team he would've been an All-American.

[LegallyKenny]

It's almost painful reading all of the hightlights and analysis from last night's game without having been able to see it for myself....Were there only some way to get more highlight footage posted on these sites, for all of us who live away from Tucson!!!

[CharH44]

If you can get Direct TV, you can see all the games on Fox Sports.

With regard to RJ....As a freshman he played like one. The talent was obvious, but had Lute had a choice, I doubt that Richard would have started as a freshman.

As a sophomore, RJ missed about 14 games due to his broken foot. I'm not sure how many games were played that season, but that's a bunch of down time. How could he have made up the ground he lost?

As a junior it was made perfectly clear that Lute wanted Jefferson to concentrate on defense and not to worry so much about offense. This was discussed all the time. RJ always drew and wanted the toughest opponent to guard. I thought he did an exceptional job.

I don't consider RJ's career at AZ a disappointment. I think it would have been much better had he not hurt himself as a sophomore.

[CatnPhx]

Char - I don't think we are saying RJ's career was a disappointment but that he could've been so much more. Timing is everything and he was surrounded by many talented people and this may have limited his potential. We all loved RJ while he was here but (as we see him playing today for the Nets) we know he could've been much better. He would've probably shown it his senior year but we never got to see that.

[LegallyKenny]

Even ignoring his offense, how can anyone call RJ a dissappointment? Look what happened when guys like Doug Wrenn and Caron Butler dropped 30ish points on us last year. Anyone think they could've done that on RJ?