Arizona Basketball: Point Guard, more questions or more answers?
The Arizona Wildcats Men’s Basketball team enters the 2016-17 season with lofty expectations.
Not only does Arizona Basketball return last year’s Pac-12 All-Freshman Allonzo Trier, but also adds significant talent across the roster. The incoming class is showcased by Power Forward stand-out Lauri Markkanen who some project as a Lottery Pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Despite the newly reloaded roster and the beginning of the season still a few weeks away, one personnel question mark has already surfaced for this year’s team:
Point Guard.
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Arguably the most intriguing aspect this season won’t be whether or not Arizona can finally break through the wall and get to it’s first Final Four in nearly two decades. Rather, it will be much more interesting to see who will be given the driver’s keys in order to get them there.
It is no secret that Junior point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright has left many fans wanting more from his first two seasons in an Arizona uniform. A highly sought-after recruit in 2015, the 5-foot-10 freshman came into a fruitful situation as he was able to learn behind one of the best Arizona point guards in recent memory: T.J. McConnell. Many fans thought Jackson-Cartwright would be the next answer to continuing Arizona’s success with pass-first point guards.
With his ability to learn and grow while waiting his turn, many fans hoped, and frankly expected, that Jackson-Cartwright would enter his Sophomore season fully capable of picking up where McConnell left off.
But, that wasn’t exactly the case.
While Arizona started the year 11-1 in non-conference play, its only loss came against Providence and future NBA draft pick Kris Dunn in the Wooden Legacy tournament. This game provided Wildcat fans a glimpse of its point guard situation that would eventually repeat itself throughout the remainder of the season.
Jackson-Cartwright finished his 23 minutes of action with scoring just 6 points on 3-of-7 shooting, combined with four turnovers to only two assists. Not exactly what one would hope nor expect from the floor general of nationally-ranked ‘Point Guard U.’
While this is only a snapshot of one performance, ups and downs in both Jackson-Cartwright’s play and overall confidence would continue throughout the 2015-16 season. At times, Miller was even forced to play Junior shooting guard Kadeem Allen at the point simply for improved production. This ultimately ended with Arizona’s premature exit in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament.
With the extensive list of Arizona’s previous elite guards, it’s easy to see why the struggles of 2015-16 stung so much for the Wildcat faithful.
Steve Kerr. Damon Stoudamire. Khaleed Reeves. Mike Bibby. Gilbert Arenas. Jason Terry. Andre Iguodala. Jerryd Bayless. TJ McConnell.
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Simply put: there haven’t been many years where guard play was so severely lacking.
While Arizona fans have tried hard to put last season’s disappointments behind them, many now wonder what the outlook of the 2016-17 season is in regards to the point guard situation.
Jackson-Cartwright returns for his Junior season, and it can be reasonably assumed that he will be given the primary point guard role to start the year. He has worked on his skill and put on weight over the summer. But, unlike last year, Arizona will now have another viable option to use at the point guard position. That option?
Kobi Simmons.
Standing 6-foot-5, the only thing Simmons and Jackson-Cartwright have in common is that they both play point guard and were each ranked the 32nd overall prospect by Scout.com in their respective recruiting classes.
With Jackson-Cartwright being heralded as more of a traditional point guard, recruiting experts on Scout.com describe Simmons as a guard who “Is skilled, handles the ball well, has good vision, and can pass.” He has also been labeled as someone who can be useful as both a point guard and shooting guard, especially given his elite size for the position.
While Coach Miller is likely to initially put more trust in Jackson-Cartwright as an upperclassman, there is much intrigue surrounding Simmons and whether he will be able to not only crack the rotation but move into a starring role sooner than later.
The success of Arizona’s upcoming season may hinge on its point guard situation and the answers to the following questions:
Will Jackson-Cartwright live up to his original expectations after two years of development within Miller’s system?
Will Simmons gain the trust of Coach Miller and a thorough understanding of his expectations?
Will Simmons eventually surpass Jackson-Cartwright as Arizona’s primary point guard?
Will it happen in November? March?
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As was the case when Jackson-Cartwright arrived in Tucson in 2015, just when you think you have found the answer you realize that until the season begins all you really have are more questions.