Will a different Arizona Basketball lineup help in 2018-19?

It was media day for the Arizona Basketball team, and head coach Sean Miller has been mulling using a different style line-up, but will it help?

We are inching closer to the start of the 2018-19 Arizona Basketball season. Despite being a few more weeks away, the teams’ annual media day has given fans an early taste of what to expect.

Drawing a lot of the attention so far has been the vastly different roster (recall that Arizona lost all five starters from 2017-18), as well as the continued FBI investigation/ narrative. In addition to that, we are learning that head coach Sean Miller could be evolving as a head coach.

Arizona Wildcats

Always important in the world of collegiate athletics, coaches need to evolve or get left in the dust. Throughout his relatively young career, aside from Miller’s numerous successes, he has faced equally and potentially fair criticisms.

Doubts of whether he can utilize the talent he has year after year to its full potential, to whether his system & methods as a coach are too rigid and so on. Regardless, the talking points have been consistent for some time now.

Well, looking at the roster this season, it is unequivocally clear this squad is devoid of a lot of the typical, big name superstars (i.e.- a Deandre Ayton, an Aaron Gordon, etc.). In addition to that, there are at least some concerns in the lack of proven, high-level production.

Disregard the additions of Justin Coleman and Ryan Luther for a moment, and consider that neither of them have played a single minute for Arizona. So at this point it is fair to say we don’t know what kind of success either of them will have this season. My hope, along with numerous other fans, is that it will be significant.

Beyond all of that, I think Miller is coming to a pretty significant crossroads here as a head coach too. Last season, he arguably had the best player in college basketball, along with a bevy of talented play makers on a team that should have performed much better than a first round exit to then 13th seeded Buffalo.

So that certainly begs the question(s) to the criticisms of Miller and his coaching style. Perhaps he is now becoming more cognizant and is realizing his need for adaption as a coach, and perhaps the new look Wildcats’ roster is forcing his hand a bit too.

However on Monday, the veteran coach alluded to moving toward a smaller line-up this season. Also it is worth noting that if you look at the Wildcats’ recruiting efforts of recent, they are still pursuing a number of smaller guards/ forwards despite having Nico Mannion committed and Brandon Williams currently on roster.

But will this help though? Well, that’s an interesting question, and one that’s hard to say. However, we can certainly hope, right?

I do know some fans have been calling for more emphasis on stronger guard play, and to a degree I feel this is an element that has been lacking on a number of Arizona teams at least since the TJ McConnell days. Also, I feel (and this is a widely debated topic), that guard play is huge come tournament time.

Look no further than the success of Villanova this past season. Those Wildcats used a variation of a three-guard line-up (including Mikal Bridges a guard/ forward combo) and smaller “big-men”.

If we even want to use a revisionists history here, the 1996-97 Arizona Wildcats championship team was heavily dependent on the play of Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Jason Terry and even Michael Dickerson (who was more or less a combo guard-forward).

Additionally, I think it’s better for teams who can move the ball well, are able to run the floor a bit too! Having a slew of guards that can create and distribute is going to do wonders for any team. Besides, glacially slow offenses don’t typically fair well in tournament play.

Now, while it is early and a lot has yet to be determined with this team thus far, it will be interesting to see how Arizona will perform with the new style and line-up. However, if Miller is indeed changing his style a bit and is expanding his philosophies, this can only be a good thing.

Early indications of this years’ squad have been sounding quite positive!

During the Arizona media day, incoming transfer and recently named team captain Justin Coleman, was very complimentary of his freshman teammate, Brandon Williams. Luckily, the Arizona Daily Star was able to catch this from Coleman:

Sean Miller has also been quite complimentary of his senior point guard. SB Nation’s Ryan Kelapire got this quote from Miller in regards to his Coleman; “He’s a capable scorer, but he’s more of the true throwback point guard. … He thinks pass before shoot.”

So is Miller finally adapting his style of play to his roster strengths and will thusly be doing so moving forward, or will this be a one off this season? Regardless, the change I think is necessary and one that should be welcomed.

Thoughts?

At Zona Zealots, we are excited for the return of Arizona Basketball and are anxious to see what these line-up changes bring! Bear Down, Arizona!