Sunday, December 12, 1999
COLLEGE BASKETBALL INSIDER
Tougher Woods could make Arizona great
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When Arizona stormed into New York last month and claimed its third Preseason NIT championship, the Wildcats instantly were hailed as a team for future opponents to fear.
Until 7-foot-1 junior center Loren Woods starts to terrorize teams, however, Arizona might not be such a frightening force.
Through seven games, he was averaging only 12.3 points and 6.4 rebounds and shooting .452 from the floor. The only category in which he led the team was blocks, at 3.1 a game. He was hardly a factor in the Wildcats' Great Eight loss to Connecticut.
Woods is a transfer from Wake Forest, where he struggled with the pressure of playing the game at the high-major level and with being asked to replace All-American Tim Duncan.
“Loren Woods has been off for a year and a half, and it's not that easy to click right in there in midseason form,” coach Lute Olson said. “He's played well for us but not nearly as well as he's going to play for us eventually.”
Woods says he's more of a finesse player than a power player, but there are times he is not strong with the ball and not aggressive on defense. He commits nearly three turnovers a game (compared to only 2.2 for Texas' Chris Mihm and UC's Kenyon Martin). Woods blocked seven shots against Notre Dame in the NIT semifinals but only one in the next two games.
“We expect him to become more aggressive,” Olson said. “To develop consistency from game to game, I think you have to be in a game mode. And I don't think he's there yet.”
FLYING HIGH: Quick quiz: Which team ranks higher in the latest Ratings Percentage Index standings: Dayton or defending national champion Connecticut?
Dayton stands 17th, UConn 20th, which suggests these Flyers might be onto something. You probably figured that from their win against Kentucky a couple weeks back, but most people fixated on Kentucky's decline rather than on Dayton's improvement.
“We felt going into the game we had the better team,” coach Oliver Purnell said.
Five of the Flyers' seven victims played in the NCAA Tournament last season. Their undefeated start is the school's best since the 1965-66 team opened 8-0, and there was a chance to match that Saturday night with a game against Coastal Carolina, perhaps the first genuine pushover on the Flyers' schedule.
Dayton's 10-man rotation includes four players who started last year. The Flyers often use a two-point guard look with Edwin Young and David Morris that facilitates Purnell's preference for drive-and-kick plays that create shots for junior Tony Stanley (15.7 points, .487 on threes).
“I thought we would be ready to be successful with this kind of schedule, so that's what we did,” Purnell said. “We're a better defensive team, and that comes from knowing what you're doing, what it takes. The late-game execution, the last six minutes, has been fairly good for this time of year. I think that goes back to experience.”
POINTLESS: Temple point guard Pepe Sanchez said there is no solid timetable for his return to the lineup. The Owls were 2-2 in the first four games he missed with an ankle injury. He has tried to test the ankle several times, but it swells.
There are whispers in the program about the possibility of redshirting Sanchez if the injury does not progress. This Temple team has Final Four hopes that would be all but ruined if Sanchez were unable to return.
Every Temple player has struggled as the result of Sanchez' absence; he's still tied for the team lead in assists after sitting four games. But no one has felt the pinch as much as senior guard Quincy Wadley. With Wadley having to assume some playmaking responsibility, he hit just seven of 46 (.152) from the field.
POWERLESS: The North Carolina team that UC beat Wednesday is struggling up front because of injuries to power forwards Kris Lang (limited by shin splints to 20 minutes a game) and Brian Bersticker (out 10 weeks with a broken foot). That has meant 6-8 sophomore Jeff Capel, a shooting guard last year, has been forced to play power forward.
Against Michigan State and UC, the Heels were outrebounded by a combined 20 and lost by a combined 19 points.
Lang, who has a lethal jump hook that is among the college game's best offensive weapons, has not improved physically in the past three weeks.
“Kris Lang is the same status he's been. ... About 20 minutes a game,” coach Bill Guthridge said. “I don't know how much longer before Kris is ready. We hope it will calm down.
“We have to get better with the cards that were dealt us.”
AROUND THE NATION: Best quote from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo about playing without All-America point guard Mateen Cleaves: “It's like going to the prom without a date. It's not a good deal.”
• Has “The Show” closed? Harold Arceneaux considered turning professional after averaging 28 points for Weber State in last season's NCAA Tournament, but he's not even leading the Wildcats in scoring now. Arceneaux is hitting .476 from the field and has 40 rebounds, but teammate Eddie Gill is averaging 16 points to Arceneaux's 14.4.
• How nice would J.R. VanHoose look in a UK uniform now, with the Wildcats struggling to score? The Kentucky prep legend was not recruited by UK in the summer of 1997, so he ended up at Marshall. A sophomore power forward, he's averaging 17.8 points and .478 shooting.
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