Jefferson healthy after asthma problems

Tanith L. Balaban Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior forward Eugene Edgerson (33) is helped up by senior point guard Jason Terry (31) and freshman forward Michael Wright (21) during the game against Cal. Bears senior Francisco Elson (41) had elbowed Edgerson in the head, forcing Edgerson to get medical attention to stop the bleeding.

With the exception of a 20-point game against Oregon State Jan. 23, Jefferson hasn't scored more than 14 points in over a month and has failed to break double digits in four of the nine games since the first meeting with Washington State.

Yesterday, UA head coach Lute Olson revealed a big part of the reason for the drop-off.

Olson said Jefferson has had asthma problems since mid-January which left him with under 50 percent lung capacity and that he wasn't cleared to play Stanford at home until after the pre-game shoot-around. Jefferson still managed to play 33 minutes that night, scoring 12 points. But Olson said Jefferson has now received the proper medical care and he expects the freshman to break out with solid performances tonight against Arizona State and Saturday against Louisiana State.

"I'll be surprised if we don't see a big week from Richard now that he's feeling better," Olson said.

For his part, Jefferson refused to use the asthma problems as an excuse for his sub-par performances, instead saying that he hopes "everything is cool" now that he has some medication.

Mean Gene hits the Big Time

With a new style that includes an afro, knee-high socks with blue stripes at the top, knee pads and basketball shoes that should have been worn by Jud Buechler, junior forward Eugene Edgerson has come as close to old-school as humanly possible in 1999.

And it seems as though the "look," as he calls it, has gotten noticed by the national media when Edgerson appeared on a two-page spread in last week's Sports Illustrated going up for a rebound against Stanford. The picture, which illustrates "Mean Gene" grabbing a rebound with his forearm planted firmly in the face of Stanford 7-foot center Tim Young, is a sign that the East Coast media is finally giving credit to the No. 10 Wildcats (16-4, 8-3 Pacific 10 Conference), Edgerson said.

"I was pretty happy to see that," said Edgerson, who didn't see the issue until it was pointed out to him in the Seattle airport by Richard Jefferson. "We're finally getting our due."

To Press or not to Press

While fans may have noticed the Wildcats employ a full-court press during the Washington game, don't expect that to become a regular part of the team's defensive scheme.

The Huskies attacked the press and when all was said and done, Washington had a three-on-one against UA center A.J. Bramlett and hit the layup.

"We made that a one time thing," Olson said. "We're not a full-court pressing team. It's not something we can deal with."

Home Sweet Home

After playing eight of the past 12 games on the road, the Wildcats are feeling a sense of relief to be back home for the majority of the rest of the season. Arizona will play the next four games at home, starting with Arizona State tonight at McKale Center, then travel to the Bay Area to take on Stanford (Feb. 25) and California (Feb. 27). They finish the season at home against the Los Angeles schools, with a rematch against UCLA March 6 in the finale.

"I'm glad we get some games at home so we can start feeling better going into tournament time," Jefferson said.