Home »
College
Basketball Predictions »
2007 College Basketball Predictions »
2007 Pac 10 Basketball Predictions
2007 Arizona Wildcats Basketball Preview & Predictions
With the losses of Ivan Radenovic,
Mustafa Shakur, and Marcus Williams, the weight of the
Wildcats falls squarely on Chase Budinger’s shoulders.
Find out if he can lead Lute Olson to his 24th
consecutive NCAA Tourney appearance in this 2007
Arizona Wildcats predictions and season preview.
Sign up for a New
Account at Bodog and get Jimmy's college basketball picks for FREE!
The three aforementioned players were all double digits
scorers a season ago and will be greatly missed. With young players
needing to step up right away, the Wildcats will not be in a position to
challenge for a Pac-10 title. However, a 24th straight NCAA Tourney
berth will definitely be in the Cards.
Bringing in defensive specialist Kevin O’Neil to play bad cop will prove
to be a solid move in my opinion. He is currently the interim head man
as Lute Olson’s has not yet returned from his leave of absence, but
sources say he will be back on the sidelines soon.
With as talented as the Pac-10 is with teams like UCLA, Washington
State, Oregon, Stanford, Washington, and USC, we feel the Wildcats to
slide to a fifth or sixth place finish this season.
Chase Budinger will lead this team. He is the Wildcats’ top returning
scorer at 15.6ppg. With Shakur and Williams no longer on the squad he
will also be asked to take on more of a playmaking roll. The Wildcats
will still have size and explosiveness on their front line with 6’11
center Kirk Walters and 6’9’’ forward Jordan Hill.
Incoming frosh, Jerryd Bayless has been heralded as the next Mike Bibby.
He, like Bibby, was a McDonald’s All-American. Olson had already given
him the starting nod before the season had even come.
With Budinger on the wing and Bayless handiling the rock, plenty of
scoring potential will be their on the perimeter. If Walters and Hill
can hold their own inside, the Cats have the ability to surprise us. But
ultimately, we are expecting a dominant non-conference season and an up
and down one in the Pac.
We don’t expect the Cats to get blown out against some of the league’s
elite. So we will look for opportunities to take them in underdog roles
against the likes of UCLA and other top teams as the Cats have the
talent to stick with these squads but lack the experience to close the
door.
Make sure you check out all of Jimmy Boyd’s Pac 10 predictions articles
to get the inside scoop on the conference.
December 3rd, 2007
|
