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Arizona to Australia ... to national title?
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By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Arizona's road to the 2003 title game begins this weekend -- in Australia.
The likely preseason No. 1 Wildcats embark on a 23-day tour Down Under with a 10-game exhibition schedule against some of the best club teams in the country. And the timing couldn't be better for Arizona.
The Wildcats didn't lose anyone who mattered off last season's surprise Pac-10 contender. But the Wildcats were knocked around by Oklahoma in the Sweet 16, pushed out of the NCAA Tournament when they needed to be tougher, especially inside. This trip should toughen them up before next season.
It's the third consecutive trip to the continent of Australia under Olson. Arizona went to Europe in 1985 and '89, and to Australia in 1993 and '97. The last trip followed the Wildcats' national title.
The Wildcats have won 65 percent of their games on these jaunts, but it's what happened once they returned that means more for Arizona. The Wildcats are 107-27 with four Pac-10 titles in the seasons immediately following their trips. Anything short of a Pac-10 title in 2003 would be deemed a disappointment with Oregon, USC, Stanford and UCLA all losing at least one significant player from this past season.
That's not the case at Arizona.
Instead of fretting about possible early-entry departures like they did a year ago, the Wildcats are relishing that rising seniors Jason Gardner and Luke Walton skipped any temptation to declare for the NBA draft. Fellow senior Ricky Anderson is also back, as is the core of this team's young talent with wings Salim Stoudamire and Will Bynum, and forwards Channing Frye, Isaiah Fox and Dennis Latimore. Not to mention reserve players Andrew Zahn and Jason Ranne.
Olson is expected to experiment with different combinations while in Australia, with the emphasis on getting the wings shots and the post players finishing out on the break as well as establishing themselves in the low block. They'll have to be physical to get position against squads that could possess older and stronger post players.
"This gives us a chance to get the reserves more competition," said Olson, who is a finalist to be a Hall of Fame inductee in the fall and will find out when he returns if he made the cut for Springfield. "Our starters are ready, so the purpose is to get our reserves ready. We'll play 12-minute quarters and go with rotations of six minutes per group. Unless we get in a situation where the game is on the line, then we might not change our rotation."
Incoming freshmen can't make the trip, which means the heralded 2002 class of guard Hassan Adams, wing Andre Iguodala (who still has to win his appeal to get eligible after originally signing with Arkansas), Chris Dunne and forward Chris Rodgers won't join the team until the fall.
"It's hard for this team to get much closer in Australia," said Walton, who along with Gardner will be a likely preseason candidate for national and Pac-10 player of the year.
"This is a springboard for us," Walton said. "We've got people on this team that have been all the way to the championship game (in 2001). The freshmen tasted what it's like getting into the tournament and losing (to Oklahoma in the Sweet 16). That alone has made us hungrier."
Taking summer trips has been well do***ented as being beneficial for teams the following season. The trips can work as well as an early-season, exempted tournament title. Arizona benefited from the latter last season when it won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic by beating Maryland and Florida in New York to start the 2001-02 campaign. NCAA rules forbid teams from taking a summer trip and playing in an exempted tournament in the same season.
"Those preseason tournaments hit you right away, but this time we'll get a chance to watch teams and see how they start off," Gardner said. "The advantage will be toward us."
This trip begins as the spring semester ends this week, meaning it would be on the 2002-03 season schedule. Taking the trip in August -- especially to Australia, where the travel itself can be draining -- could lead to a more exhausting season. But going on the trek in May means the Wildcats will get plenty of down time during the summer months to regroup before getting together again in August.
"It would make it too long if we went in August," Walton said. "We'd be going straight to school, and this way we can still spend time with our family and work out at home."
Olson said having the summer break is a must for the Wildcats. He said the timing of the trip gives the players a chance to be in summer school if they need or want to as well as giving them a chance to get a break before the season.
The Wildcats began practicing May 1, and will have under NCAA rules, 10 days of practices before leaving on the trip. The workouts aren't as strenuous as those in the fall but the intent is the same. The norm is to be intense and push the basketball. Olson splits most of the practices into two 20-minute halves.
"It's a lot more laid back and fun," Walton said. And the scrimmages are even more competitive for the upperclassmen.
Bynum, Stoudamire, Frye, Fox and Lattimore no longer fret about making mistakes. They've taken on a more aggressive attitude in the games, something they didn't do consistently during their freshmen seasons. Olson said Stoudamire is shooting the ball as well as anyone in his program, including Steve Kerr. It's quite a compliment, but Olson isn't shying away from the statement, adding that Stoudamire is continuing to make huge leaps from the end of his freshman season into the spring of his rising sophomore season.
"The biggest change in them has been maturity," Gardner said of the freshmen who have been matched against the upperclassmen in scrimmages. "They want to take the last shot now and that takes the pressure off Luke and me. All these guys came from winning programs and hate losing. We know we're going to be predicted No. 1 or 2 and we'll have a lot to prove. I know what it's like to be in the Final Four. Me, Luke and Ricky want to get back and understand we have a legitimate shot at getting to the Final Four."
Olson said Walton is shooting as well as he has in his career as is Gardner. He said Gardner is playing more relaxed than at any point in his career.
Winning the games in Australia would help, but it's not a necessity. This trip will be about getting quality minutes, enough touches and plenty of reps for at least eight of the 10 players. Adams, Iguodala and Rodgers will likely get minutes in the fall. Gardner doesn't see a problem with that transition, nor does he foresee the incoming freshmen as outsiders.
"Our positions are strong enough that these guys can be groomed in throughout the year and make us better," Gardner said. "That will make us stronger every minute."
Gardner considered declaring for the NBA draft again, which would have made him ineligible -- even if he wanted to withdraw his name by June 19. NCAA rules allow a player to declare for the draft only once. The jury is still out whether or not Gardner will make it to the league when he finishes his eligibility in 2003. Regardless, he made a promise to Walton, that the two want to claim the national title that eluded them in 2001.
"I'm real hungry to get back there," Gardner said. "I really thought we had a shot to be there last March. I don't think guys realize how big it is to be playing there, and how big it is just to get there."
"We know what we've got," said Olson of the team returning. "And this trip will just continue our unity."
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ESPN article on Arizona's upcoming trip to Australia
