Freshmen try to make mark
Early November used to mean one thing in Tucson: the start of the UA men's basketball season. But with the emergence of the football team as a major college contender, the approach of the holiday season has also put visions of Pasadena in the heads of UA fans.
Nonetheless, as Lute and the boys gear up for another run at No. 1, the Men from McKale are once again becoming the talk of the town. But nowadays they share the sports pages with the latest updates on the Run for the Roses, too. Alliteration aside, however, here's the haps from the hardwood.
Introducing ... The new kids on the block. The four currently eligible freshmen—Kevin Eafon, Donnell Harris, Michael Dickerson, and Miles Simon—all show promise, but Simon and Dickerson may be the ones to make an early impact. Junior transfer Ben Davis, a fresh face as well, was supposed to provide the Wildcats with added inside punch, but a complication involving the percentage of Davis' transfer credits and specific degree requirements has made him ineligible for the first semester.
"Of the new guys, Ben picked things up quickly because of his past experience and maturity," head coach Lute Olson said. "Miles Simon had very few adjustments because of the similarities of his high school program and ours, some of the concepts and drills and all. Mike Dickerson is obviously a very talented young man, struggling a little bit with the concepts but you can see the tremendous talent he has."
Olson evaluated the remaining freshmen as well, remarking that both Harris and Eafon have shown improvement, the former still needing to get stronger, however, and the latter still needing to work on ball-handling skills.
Senior point guard Damon Stoudamire was impressed with the freshmen, stating that he feels they can really help the team.
"Miles, he's the best I think out of the freshmen," Stoudamire said. "He understands the game, and he's going to be a real asset to this team. I think Mike, he's still
learning some things, but he has all the tools to be a great player. Kevin, he works hard. He might not have the dimensions that the other two have, but he's going to
help us a lot too. And Donnell, he's the type of player that can't do anything but get better as each day progresses. So I think that they all will be all right."
Junior guard Joe McLean shared the same sentiments as his teammate.
"I'm pretty impressed," McLean said. "A lot of time freshmen come in and they just back down, but none of the guys are backing down. They're pushing all the veterans out there to do better."