Ben,

did you happen to catch "the best damn sports show, period" on Fox Sports Net on Friday nite?

They had Tom Arnold(goofball)hosting the midnite madness in Tucson. Damn!!! the Cats are gonna be good. Most pre-season prognosticators have U of A at number 1 or 2. The one thing that is gonna be most impressive is there depth. They have 12 very, very good players. In fact Lute is planning on running a full court press ALL GAME.

They will have solid senior leadership with Gardner, Walton, and Anderson. Their sophomore class will contribute considerably, Lute and the boys had a summer trip in Australia this past summer and the soph's gained a lot of experience.
Salim Stoudimire (shooting guard) should be among the leagues leading scorers, and the three big men Frye, Fox, and Lattimore although none of them are likely to be stars, they will defend and rebound well.

I'll tell you the most impressive of the players are 2 of the freshmen, that will be stars. Old Lute and everyone else that has seen them play are gushing over there athleticism. There names are Hassan Adams 6'4" shooting guard and 6'6" wing man Andre Iguodala, these guys are the real deal. I expect that Lute plans on having these guys only 2 years, figuring they will head to the next level after there sophomore year.

The amazing thing about this program is that even though they are loaded for the next couple years. Old Lute has done it again. This recruiting period the Cats have nabbed the number one rated point guard in the country as well as the number one rated power foward in the country.

Man, I cant wait for the season to begin. I think UCLA and Oregon will provide some stiff competition in the Pac-10. It wouldnt surprise me to see all 3 teams in the sweet 16 or higher in March.

Nationally, of course Kansas is a huge obstacle, that team is just as talented as any, and they will be there at the end. I expect that Duke will be there at the end, they have the BEST coach in the country and although young, are a very talented team. The team that worrys me most is your first team, Oklahoma. They obliterated the Cats in the tourney last year. They have a toughness that I dont know if the Cats can match.

There you have it I pick U of A, Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma in the final four this year (I know I really went out on a limb on those picks)lol.

I know you LA guys and Bay area guys hate the Cats, so feel free to gush about your faves or talk some smack about the Cats......The only thing
I regret is that I live in Sun Devil Country.

Take care all

jd

hell i'm a transplant and hate most of the west coast basketball--the cats play the best brank of ball out here year in and year out. ever go to a high school game in phoenix--it's maddening --the coaches don't understand the game, the fricking refs don't know the rules and no one shows up. they play the fricking games in the middle of the week.

brand of ball--i always have one undetected typo

Sampson,

havent been to a Phx game in a long time. It seems that the east valley really gets into it though. For some reason east valley teams from Paradise Valley down to Gilbert always seem to get the best players and win championships year after year.

Two best players to come from the valley:

Mike Bibby-U of A-Sacramento Kings
Richard Jefferson-U of A-New Jersey Nets

Sampson, are you from AZ.?

oops I had a typo too,

instead of Sun Devils, I meant Scum Devils, lol.

Justdan,

You are right that Arizona is loaded and Lute Olsen is focused on basketball. One of the best coaches in college basketball.

I have always had a soft spot for the Cats since paying out of state tuition to the University of Arizona for four years.

Middle daugther graduated from U of A and loves college basketball, plus U of Oklahoma has a pretty good tradition of college basketball.

March Madness is my favorite time of the year for sports.

coached baseball for 11 years in scottsdale-always attended basketball games to show support for my guys. kids wouldn't even get taught good fundamentals--it was pathetic. guys like bibby etc. for the most part get their best coaching in aau ball etc. that is a real shame cause many of the coaches in summer ball are crooks working for a college of shoe company.

geez, justdan, maybe they shouldnt even play the season this year, Hell lets just cancel the NCAA tourney and give the U of A Mildcats the 2003 national championship......

(a disgruntled ASU fan......) lol..

Hey FelizMuchacho,

Don't be to disgruntled. ASU kicked Arizona's ass the first time they played last year.

Your right about your comment that they have been way over rated for not even having played a game.

Uh, don't plan on ASU beating them this year.

Oh, I almost forgot,is ASU still on probation?

Happyboy,

Hey I'll take you up on that deal. lol.
Hell look what happened to Duke last year.
With Boozer, Dunleavy, and Williams they
never should have lost

Ben,

I think they have permanantly placed ASU
athletics on probation. Atleast until they
stop recruiting thugs and gangstas. lol
Actually I like the basketball coach, he is
a no-nonsense disciplinarian, good guy.
His problem is recruiting against Arizona, UCLA.
So. Cal, Stanford, and Cal is a no win situation.
pobrecito

jd

Giants win.

How many times was Bonds walked tonight?

I picked 12 times that the Cards would walk him during the series. I think he was 10 walks coming into tonights game.


Last two games have been very exciting.

Actually, Rob Evans was tempted to leave ASU to go back to his old stomping grounds at New Mexico...but he turned down some mega cash to take care of "unfinished business" at Tempe..Yeah, its pretty tough to recruit blue chip talent when you have Lute down south, and USC, UCLA, and even Oregon getting quality kids, its tough to compete, ASU may surprise some critics and get 20 wins, and be a bubble team..

HB

I think Evans will be a consistent +- 20 game winner and tournament player. It will be hard for him to break into the upper tier of teams but I think every 3-4 years he'll be a factor.

I think until there is fan support he will have a hard time selling the program to recruits. Hell look at Frieder in his so-called glory years. He could never get a full house rooting for the Devils.

Btw you playin golf this Sat. with BL and MrB.?