Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The Sean Miller era at Arizona has been full of NBA talent. We all remember Derrick Williams, Solomon Hill, Nick Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley and Stanley Johnson but here is our Top 5 Most Under Appreciated Players of the Sean Miller Era.
Next: No. 5 Kyle Fogg
(5) Kyle Fogg
Fogg was a force on the defensive end. When he was recruited out of high school, Fogg’s play didn’t stick out, like so many other top recruits. He was an underdog, but still had a successful career at Arizona.
My favorite memory of Fogg was his freshman year against USC at home on Senior Day. Trailing by three, Fogg let one fly from behind the arc and was fouled with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. He didn’t make the three-pointer, but he knocked down three straight free throws to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Cats won the game in double overtime thanks to the #3 Wildcat on this list.
By his Senior year he collected a lot of hardware after he was named to the All Pac-12 Conference First Team and to the the All Pac-12 Defensive team.
Next: No. 4 MoMo Jones
(4) MoMo Jones
MoMo gets a lot of undeserved flack from lots of the Tucson faithful for leaving Tucson. After two seasons in the desert, he decided to transfer to Iona to be closer to his grandmother.
While in Tucson watching MoMo was a blast. My two favorite memories of MoMo were his game winning buzzer beating shot at Stanford his Freshman year and his stellar game against the defending National Champion Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet Sixteen the following year, where he had 16 points.
The funniest thing about MoMo is when he was interviewed he always would find a way to tell you he was from New York. It would have been nice to have seen MoMo stay at Arizona for four years. He could have been a big help to the 2011-12 squad that barely missed the NCAA Tournament.
At Iona he was a star. The Gaels made the tournament both times while Jones was there. During Jones senior year he averaged 22.6 points a game and was named MAAC Player of the Year.
Next: No. 3 Nic Wise
(3) Nic Wise
When Sean Miller came to Tucson things looked bad. Standouts Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill declared for the NBA draft a year early, giving Miller not much firepower to work with for the 2009-10 season.
Luckily Nic Wise stuck around and gave Arizona some veteran leadership at point guard. Arizona was fortunate to get a good freshman class at the last second, but this young team was a year away from greatness.
Arizona was only 16-15 Wise’s senior campaign . If Arizona did not have Wise it would have been a lot worse. He had three game winning buckets that season, including an incredible buzzer beater against Lipscomp early in the year. He was also named All Pac-10 First Team that season.
Without Wise, Miller’s rookie season in the Old Pueblo could have been historically bad.
Next: No. 2 Mark Lyons
(2) Mark Lyons
Arizona had a problem preparing for the 2012-2013 season. They needed a point guard, before T.J. McConnell was eligible to play in 2013-14. Luckily a brash player from Xavier, senior Mark Lyons was available thanks to the NCAA’s cooky transfer rules.
Lyons was not a pure point guard. He came to Arizona to try to become one, in preparations for the next level.
In the end he was more of a shooting guard that played point guard but that didn’t matter. Arizona started off the season on fire with it’s best start in over a decade. Lyons was a big part of that fast start.
His biggest highlight of the year came when he scored the winning bucket against no. 5 Florida at home before the start of the Pac-12 season. Did you notice who came running out on the court in his jump suit to congratulate him? Signs of things to come.
Lyons averaged 15.6 points a game that year and led Arizona on a run to the Sweet Sixteen. It was Lyons fourth straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen as a player.
Instead of Arizona fans complaining about what Mark Lyons couldn’t do they should be happy that he got a team with no pure point guard an eyelash away from the Elite Eight.
Next: No. 1 Gabe York
(1) Gabe York
Arizona Wildcats
I’m afraid I might be turning into the Gabe York guy on Zona Zealots. My first article I did for the website was on Gabe York, but I really think this guy is getting ready to break out. Like Jason Terry and Salim Stoudamire before him, he has waited his turn and is ready to shine full-time his Senior year.
I’m not suggesting Gabe will equal the phenomenal senior years J.T. and Salim had, but I do think he is going to be a key piece for this team to succeed as it has the past few years.
York could have taken off a few years ago and could have been a star at numerous schools but he decided to stay and finish what he started.
He has been a spark plug for this team as a role player. Next year his role will be quite different as an unstoppable scorer.
Can’t wait for Friday November 13 when the Cats start another epic season at McKale!
Bear Down!