What to watch for in the Arizona Basketball ‘Red-Blue’ game

With just a few days until the start of the 2019-20 Arizona Basketball season, here are just a few things to watch for in the ‘Red-Blue’ game!

At this point, we don’t have to rehash everything from the 2018-19 season, but overall we’re just glad it’s a new year to hopefully shake off some bad juju. This Friday, the Arizona Basketball will officially get their season underway!

If you’re like me, it’s been an insufferable and painful off-season, with us fans just itching for the time to pass until Arizona returns to the court. Luckily, the wait won’t be much longer!

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona will kick-off their season with the annual ‘Red-Blue’ game, an intra-squad scrimmage in which the Wildcats will square off head-to-head, dazzling fans with show-stopping dunks and showcasing their talent for the upcoming season. But more importantly it’s the official start of their season!

So with that said, here’s what to look for during that game!

First off, everyone should be playing. As always, head coach Sean Miller will split the squad into two teams, giving everybody a chance to play just as if we were watching a scrimmage in practice.

I know everyone has been anticipating the debut of the freshmen duo in Nico Mannion and Josh Green, and you have to think that’s who most fans are going to be watching during the game. And to be honest, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to see how these two perform.

But to me, here’s what I am looking for as a basketball fan…

Is Chase Jeter going to be better this year and will he be more consistent?

• I don’t know if anyone else has the same sentiments, but having a competent big man is incredibly important. It can sometimes be the difference in making a good team a great one. Granted everyone knows strong and competent guard play is vital to be a great team, but Chase is an important player to this team, and I want to see how elevated his play is the season, and whether he’s going to be more consistent in 2019-20!

Is their a significant drop off from Chase Jeter to the next ‘big man’?

• Piggy-backing off the last point, but Chase is going to be the go-to big man. He played well last season, and when he left the game, there was a big drop off in talent and production. Arizona looks to have better depth with Ira Lee, Stone Gettings and Christian Koloko, but will it be enough to mitigate that drop off?

How are the transfers, particularly Stone Gettings and Jemarl Baker?

• Stone Gettings is undoubtedly going to play quite a bit this season, so naturally there is going to be intrigue in his game. People will want to see how he plays in this scrimmage, and ultimately what he can bring to the table for the Cats, and what will be realistic expectations for him this year.
• Additionally there is Jemarl Baker. The late transfer from Kentucky will play a bit in the scrimmage, but it’s uncertain whether his waver will be accepted by the NCAA to play in 2019-20. The early reports are that he has looked good, so I am very curious to see what he can do.

How will Arizona’s depth be this season?

• We all saw how Arizona suffered last year by not having enough, high-level depth. From first glimpse the Wildcats’ depth looks a lot better this season, and the ‘Red-Blue’ game should give us a great look in seeing how much better it will actually be this season. Look to see who the top producers are, but more importantly who look to be solid contributors!

Anyways, these are just a few things that I’m looking for during the ‘Red-Blue’ game. What will you be looking for? As always, Bear Down, Arizona!