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If Monday night's game was any indication, Lute Olson's version of small ball might lead his Arizona Wildcats to big things.
The Arizona men's basketball team turned what had been a close game against San Diego State Monday night into a runaway win in what is becoming UA's trademark style: With a second-half scoring burst.
But this 17-2 run
didn't come in typical fashion, with Salim Stoudamire dropping in daggers from
downtown or Hassan Adams breaking away for highlight-reel dunks. It started
on the defensive end, where sophomore Andre Iguodala pulled down 10 second-half
boards. Many of those came during the critical four-minute run in which he also
put up four assists and threw down a thunderous dunk. By the time Iguodala was
done, SDSU was down for good, 63-41.
"That just shows how good he is," junior center Channing Frye said.
"When he wants to get out there and be dominant for us, he just does what
he has to do."
This after a first half that saw his shorter teammate, the 6-foot-4 Hassan Adams, grab eight boards. Both finished with double-doubles.
Not bad for a couple of guys who were outsized by 4 and 6 inches, respectively, by their Aztec counterparts in the starting lineups. But it helps when the little guys are as tenacious as Adams and Iguodala.
"We go out and play hard," Adams said. "When shots go up, we hit the boards hard and get the rebounds. Once we get the ball, we get ready to go."
Frye, who has almost averaged a double-double this season, was the only frontcourt starter not to post one, coming up a rebound short. He pointed out that there were only so many rebounds to go around.
"If Andre and Hassan can get 11, 12 rebounds, I should be getting that many," he said. "I think they stole some of them from me."
But Olson said he thought the duo didn't work hard enough on the boards.
"They know what the problem is, so we're just going to have to sit them if they're not responding on every possession," Olson said.
Olson can take heart in the knowledge that whether or not his team needs it -- Arizona out-rebounded the taller Aztecs 46-39 -- help under the boards is on the way in the form of newly eligible forward Ivan Radenovich. The 6-foot-10 Serbian freshman had to sit out Monday's game due to a minor NCAA infraction, but will be eligible to play Sunday in the Fiesta Bowl Classic opener against Liberty.
Olson said Radenovich has an inside-out game reminiscent of former Wildcat Luke Walton, whose brother Chris took the court for SDSU in the game.
"Ivan's got a great feel for the game, almost like Walton's feel for the game," Olson said.
Frye agreed, and said that despite the performances of Adams and Iguodala, he could always use some extra help underneath.
"He's just an awesome player. He's versatile," Frye said. "I'm real excited to play with him."