[joemontes]

Thanks Bob, as always, for the superb previews you do of the competition.

Arizona looks scary this year.  True, they lost McDonald, but the talent coming in from transfer and recruitment is considerable.  Taylor Chavez from Oregon will give them a better 3 point threat than they had before, the Vandy and Alabama transfers are strong, and the Estonian looks like a sharpshooter.  They may be our toughest competition this year--especially if we play at their place.

Although Arizona has acquired a number of very respectable talents through the transfer portal, I am not convinced that they are a Final Four contender for the forthcoming season.  Mainly because, you got it, they lost Ari McDONALD, who pretty much controlled every aspect of the Wildcats full throttle assault to the National Championship match last season.  

For the entirety of last season, McDONALD led the Wildcats in Total Points, 2-pt FGs made, 3-pt FGs made, FTs made, Assists, and Steals, and was 2nd in Rebounds (only to Trinity BAPTISTE who is also not anymore with the team).  She accounted for 1/3 of the Wildcats' total points, total 3-pointers made, and total FTs made.  She also accounted for 1/3 of the Wildcats total assists and 1/4 of the Wildcats' total steals.  She directly had a hand, either by scoring or assisting, in 46% of the Wildcats' total points. That's A LOT!

In the Wildcats' 6-game run to the NCAA Tournament National Championship game, McDONALD even upped the ante, as she accounted for 40% of the Wildcat's Total Points, 46% of the Wildcats' 3-pt FGs made, and 50% of the Wildcats' FTs made.  And she registered a Double-Double in Total Points and Total Rebounds TWICE.  Simply put, without McDONALD, the Wildcats' wouldn't have gone past the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament.  With all due respect to Haley JONES whose game I absolutely admire and adore, I would have given the NCAA Tournament MVP to McDONALD.

So who will replace the full throttle engine of the combined package of (1) court general, (2) scoring machine and (3) defensive wizard that is Ari McDONALD?  Wildcats insiders initially point to a combination of Canadian Senior National Team member Shaina PELLINGTON and Oregon transfer/3-point FG specialist Taylor CHAVEZ.  Well, PELLINGTON averaged 5.8 ppg, 1.0 apg and 0.6 spg in 15.5 mins/game while shooting a dismal 5.3% from 3-pt territory as the Wildcats' backup PG last season, while CHAVEZ averaged 5.2 ppg, 1.4 apg, and 1.0 spg in 19.0 mins/game while shooting a pretty good 41.5% from 3-point territory during her 3 seasons with the Ducks.  From the point of view of the combination of court generalship, scoring ability and defensive pressure at the critical PG position, this does not bode well at all to me.  Hopefully, I'm proven wrong....

[joemontes]

Thanks Bob, as always, for the superb previews you do of the competition.

Arizona looks scary this year.  True, they lost McDonald, but the talent coming in from transfer and recruitment is considerable.  Taylor Chavez from Oregon will give them a better 3 point threat than they had before, the Vandy and Alabama transfers are strong, and the Estonian looks like a sharpshooter.  They may be our toughest competition this year--especially if we play at their place.

Although Arizona has acquired a number of very respectable talents through the transfer portal, I am not convinced that they are a Final Four contender for the forthcoming season.  Mainly because, you got it, they lost Ari McDONALD, who pretty much controlled every aspect of the Wildcats full throttle assault to the National Championship match last season.  

For the entirety of last season, McDONALD led the Wildcats in Total Points, 2-pt FGs made, 3-pt FGs made, FTs made, Assists, and Steals, and was 2nd in Rebounds (only to Trinity BAPTISTE who is also not anymore with the team).  She accounted for 1/3 of the Wildcats' total points, total 3-pointers made, and total FTs made.  She also accounted for 1/3 of the Wildcats total assists and 1/4 of the Wildcats' total steals.  She directly had a hand, either by scoring or assisting, in 46% of the Wildcats' total points. That's A LOT!

In the Wildcats' 6-game run to the NCAA Tournament National Championship game, McDONALD even upped the ante, as she accounted for 40% of the Wildcat's Total Points, 46% of the Wildcats' 3-pt FGs made, and 50% of the Wildcats' FTs made.  And she registered a Double-Double in Total Points and Total Rebounds TWICE.  Simply put, without McDONALD, the Wildcats' wouldn't have gone past the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament.  With all due respect to Haley JONES whose game I absolutely admire and adore, I would have given the NCAA Tournament MVP to McDONALD.

So who will replace the full throttle engine of the combined package of (1) court general, (2) scoring machine and (3) defensive wizard that is Ari McDONALD?  Wildcats insiders initially point to a combination of Canadian Senior National Team member Shaina PELLINGTON and Oregon transfer/3-point FG specialist Taylor CHAVEZ.  Well, PELLINGTON averaged 5.8 ppg, 1.0 apg and 0.6 spg in 15.5 mins/game while shooting a dismal 5.3% from 3-pt territory as the Wildcats' backup PG last season, while CHAVEZ averaged 5.2 ppg, 1.4 apg, and 1.0 spg in 19.0 mins/game while shooting a pretty good 41.5% from 3-point territory during her 3 seasons with the Ducks.  From the point of view of the combination of court generalship, scoring ability and defensive pressure at the critical PG position, this does not bode well at all to me.  Hopefully, I'm proven wrong....