Exhibition final proving ground for freshmen

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior forward Eugene Edgerson (33) grabs a rebound during the game against Sakalai Lithuania on Nov. 8 at McKale Center. Edgerson had four points and six rebounds in the 73-72 win over Tennessee last Friday.

The main tests for the game, which starts at 3:07 p.m. at McKale Center, will be how freshmen Ruben Douglas and Rick Anderson adjust to new roles.

Douglas, who has been in a battle with fellow freshman Traves Wilson for the starting shooting guard spot, has been practicing all week as the backup to point guard Jason Terry.

While Douglas has the ball handling skills and passing ability to play the position, he has always been a scorer and will have to shift his priorities to getting other people involved first, Olson said.

Douglas averaged 35.1 points per game last year as a senior at Bellarmine-Jefferson High School in Altadena, Calif., and hit two three-pointers against Tennessee last Friday, but also had three turnovers.

"He's been working with coach (Rodney) Tention," Olson said. "He's been teaching him his responsibilities and the number one responsibility is taking care of the ball."

Olson added that though Douglas will spell Terry, who played all 40 minutes against Tennessee, his battle with Wilson was not over by a long shot.

"The competition with he and Traves will continue all year long," he said.

Guard Josh Pastner, who doubles as a coach for many of the players, said Douglas' development as a point guard would give the Wildcats an advantage when both he and Terry were on the floor.

"They feed off each other," Pastner said. "You can tell in practice that (Douglas) is starting to get in the groove of playing point guard."

As for the 6-foot-8-inch Anderson, who was originally expected to redshirt this year before Luke Walton's broken foot forced Anderson into action, he will not only see time at the power and swing forward spots, but also as a shooting guard, Olson said.

Anderson only played for 10 seconds in the season opener, but has been so extremely impressive - both with his skills and work ethic - in practice that Olson said he felt he had to get him on the court.

"We're going to get Ricky a real good look, even if it's at the expense of someone who's been playing," Olson said.

While Anderson admitted he doesn't have any experience as a shooting guard, he said he was just happy to know he was going to get on the court outside of a practice situation.

"It could be good," Anderson said. "I'm just getting an opportunity to play. I'm really excited."

With a home game against Texas looming Wednesday, Pastner said the team would use Sunday to work on things that went wrong against Tennessee.

"We want to make sure we get better and work on our weaknesses," he said.

And more than that, players know how they perform will go a long way in dictating their roles for the immediate future.

"I need to play well," freshman forward Richard Jefferson said. "We all do, to help secure minutes down the road."

Seth Doria can be reached via e-mail at Seth.Doria@wildcat.arizona.edu.