Arizona Basketball dropped down in next season’s forecasted rankings in some folks eyes after the Terrance Ferguson’s announcement, Oregon’s Jordan Bell agrees the Ducks should be No. 1 in the Pac-12.
Our editor Shereen Rayan and her In The Front Row co-host Chris Camello caught up with Oregon Ducks forward Jordan Bell after his Drew League game in Compton, California a couple of weeks ago. They asked him what he thought of Terrance Ferguson’s de commit and the resulting rise in rankings of the Ducks to the No. 1 spot in the Pac-12.
His response is not a shocker but should still motivate our Arizona Wildcats to prove him wrong. As a Sophomore last season, Bell became Oregon’s career blocked shots leader in just his 50th game (147). Oregon beat Arizona at McKale breaking a 49-game McKale winning streak then beat the team again in the Pac-12 tournament last season.
The Ducks 2015-16 season put them back on the map winning the Pac-12 championship and ranking No. 1 in the West Region in the NCAA tournament. The Ducks advanced to the Elite 8 only to be booted out in an 80-68 loss to senior Buddy Hield, and his No. 2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The Ducks return four starters from last year’s Elite 8 team. Good news for Oregon: Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey returned to play next season and opted out of the NBA Draft. Dylan Ennis will be back as he was just granted eligibility, under the fifth-year waiver rule, to play a sixth year. The Ducks lose Elgin Cook, who entered the NBA draft this year and was not picked.
The Wildcats, on the other hand, have almost a whole new team adding six new players and a to their roster. There are high hopes for A Players Program this season from the team as well as the fans, and for good reason. Sean Miller‘s incoming recruiting class of 2016 ranks very high according to ESPN at No. 7 in the nation behind No. 1 Kentucky, No. 2 Duke, and No. 5 UCLA, and that cannot be ignored.
If you felt a little twinge in your neck when you read that Oregon is ranked No. 4 in a USA Today preseason poll, then finding out UCLA is ranked at No. 12 should boil your Wildcat blood. Is Arizona underrated at No. 15? Maybe so. In any case, here’s your motivation, Wildcats, to prove Jordan Bell wrong.
There are no Arizona Basketball players playing in The Drew League this year, but there is one former Wildcat taking part, Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson.
In addition to Johnson, other NBA players such as Jordan Clarkson and Nick Young, JaVale McGee is also playing in The Drew this summer along with US players who play overseas. The Pac-12 is represented with USC’s Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu along Oregon Ducks forward Jordan Bell. All are keeping up if not flourishing along with all the US and international Pros in The Drew.
must read: Arizona Basketball: Terrance Ferguson vs. College Basketball
So let’s savor the pre-season and watching our Cats create team chemistry and enjoy the Pac-12 banter from other teams because it makes it all the more fun and interesting. If you want to align with Arizona freshmen Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons, you should be thinking National Championship. BearDown Wildcats!