UA begins season in Coaches vs. Cancer against Maryland

ERIC M. JUKELEVICS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA junior forward Ricky Anderson goes up for a layup during the team's Red-Blue Game earlier this season. Anderson and the Wildcats travel to New York to play Maryland in the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic tonight.

Arizona and Maryland had plenty in common last season.

Both were powered by touted guards who were complemented by a strong inside presence.

But the two teams have gone in different directions since their respective season-ending losses to Duke in the Final Four last year.

When the two teams meet tonight at 7 in New York City for the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic, the differences will be obvious.

The time is now for No. 2 Maryland, a team that returns integral parts of its Final Four team from last season.

For Arizona, only time will tell just how effective a lineup dominated by freshmen will be.

"It is very obvious how good Maryland is," UA head coach Lute Olson said "They were outstanding and they have most of their guys back. We know we have a big task at hand."

On paper, it appears Maryland has a distinct advantage on the floor.

The Wildcats lost four of their five starters from last season, while the Terps return four of last year's starting five, including junior All-American Juan Dixon, senior Lonnie Baxter and point guard Steve Blake.

Dixon averaged 18.4 points per game last year and could create a match up problem because of his size.

With the loss of Wildcat reserve guard Travis Hanour, UA's backcourt size and availability has been diminished considerably.

Junior Jason Gardner - the only remaining starter from last year's squad - and freshmen Salim Stoudamire and Will Bynum will match up against Dixon and Blake.

While all three possess quickness, only Stoudamire is over 6 feet tall, a problem when matching up with Dixon and Blake, who both stand 6-foot-3.

Olson said he will keep the lineup as big as possible and will try not use Stoudamire, Garnder and Bynum at the same time unless it is necessary.

"Both of their guards are 6-foot-3, so we will have to deal with that on our defensive boards," Olson said. "I don't think it would be wise to be with a smaller lineup. That doesn't mean we might not be forced to go to a smaller line-up."

Things don't get any easier for the Wildcats on the inside.

Baxter's 6-foot-8, 260-pound frame will test the Wildcats' young frontcourt. Baxter, along with 6-foot-10 sophomore Chris Wilcox, will give the Wildcat frontcourt - anchored by junior Ricky Anderson, who has played primarily on the perimeter for his college career, and junior Luke Walton - all it can handle.

Though UA's veterans might be up to the task, freshman Channing Frye has not played against the likes of an All-American such as Baxter.

"I think that is going to be a great challenge," Frye said. "It won't just be me guarding Lonnie Baxter - it will be me and the rest of my teammates."

Freshman forward Dennis Latimore said he is excited about opening his college career against Maryland in Madison Square Garden

"Of course (I want to play them)," Latimore said. "The bigger and better the competition, the more it will bring the talent out of us."

For Olson, the tournament, which brings in on average $500,000 per year for cancer research, hits close to home this season.

His wife, Bobbi, died Jan. 1 of ovarian cancer.

"We were asked to play in (the tournament) a couple years ago," Olson said. "By then, Bobbi had gone through over a year of the surgeries and (cancer) treatments."

Olson said fund-raisers and tournaments will eventually lead to a cure for cancer.

"(Coaches) definitely have a big impact," Olson said. "When the disease is eradicated, it will have been as a result of a lot of money being put into research.

"You would have a hard time finding a coach who hasn't had cancer affect their lives, either (through) friends or family members."