KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Summer Wildcat Hassan Adams eyes the defense in a game against UCLA last season. Adams is expected to play a bigger role on the team this year, following the departure of several senior players.

For most schools, losing three senior starters, two of whom were All-Americans, and having a McDonald's All-American prep phenom choose to skip school would necessitate a rebuilding job.

But the University of Arizona is not most schools.

After being a missed three pointer away from pushing its way into the Final Four this past spring, the UA men's basketball team must now get used to life without its do-everything 2003 seniors.

The Wildcats lost point guard Jason Gardner, an All-American trying to latch on to an NBA squad, forward Luke Walton, another All-American who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, and forward Rick Anderson, a sharp-shooting forward who is also trying to make an NBA roster. Walton and Anderson were in the program for five years, each using a red-shirt year, while Gardner started at point guard for four years.

"You can't replace those types of guys," said assistant Coach Josh Pastner.

On top of losing the three seniors, UA also suffered an unexpected hit when McDonald's All-American forward Ndudi Ebi chose to enter and stay in the NBA Draft after signing a letter of intent to go to Arizona. Ebi was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round and was considered by most to be the second best high school player behind No. 1 overall pick LeBron James.

"This team (2003-04) will probably be more like it was during the 1996-97 season with no seniors," said head coach Lute Olson to Arizona Athletics media relations when asked if the team compared to the 2001-02 team, which lost four starters to the NBA after going to the title game, but went to the Sweet Sixteen.

According to Pastner, the 1997 and 2004 teams are very similar in that they both have highly touted freshmen point guards, boast quickness around the floor and lost a McDonald's All-American forward, as current San Antonio Spur Stephen Jackson didn't qualify academically in 1996.

2003-04 Basketball Schedule (Tentative) 11/24 or 11/25 Northern Arizona University 11/28 @ Florida (1) 12/6 @ St. Louis (2) 12/10 @ Texas 12/13 Marquette 12/17 St. Mary's 12/22 San Diego State 12/28 and 12/30 Fiesta Bowl Classic (3) 1/3 @ ASU 1/8 Californai 1/10 Stanford 1/15 @ USC 1/17 @ UCLA 1/22 Oregon 1/24 Oregon State 1/29 @ Washington 1/31 @ Washington State 2/5 @ California 2/7 @ Stanford 2/12 USC 2/14 UCLA 2/19 @ Oregon 2/21 @ Oregon State 2/26 Washington 2/28 Washington State 3/6 ASU 3/11-13 Pac-10 Tournament (4) 3/18-21 NCAA First and Second Rounds 3/25-28 NCAA Regional Tournament 4/3 and 4/5 Final Four (5) (1) @Hall of Fame Game, in Springfield, Mass. (2) @ TWA Dome (3) La. Lafayette, Valparasio and a team TBA in Tucson (4) @ Staples Center, Los Angeles (5) @ Alamo Dome, San Antonio

"You can't compare them unless we win a championship like that team did," said Pastner, who played on the 1997 team. "Do we have a shot? At the University of Arizona, every year you have a shot at a national championship."

Players who will be expected to play bigger rolls are junior center Channing Frye, who was Honorable Mention all Pac-10 and had nine double-doubles, junior guard Salim Stoudamire, who was also Honorable Mention all Pac-10, and sophomore wings Andre Iguodala and Hassan Adams, both first team members of the Pac-10 All-Freshmen team. "Certainly the talent will be there," Olson said. "Now it is just a matter of where we come up with the leadership."

Pastner believes that leadership could come from Iguodala, Adams, Frye, junior center Isaiah Fox or even freshman point guard Mustafa Shakur. Fox was voted the most inspirational by the team last season and was born at the UA's University Medical Center, on the same day that Olson was hired by the UA. Fox's father, Nils, was on the UA football team in 1983 and 1984.

"The new leaders are going to come from being a leader on and off the court. It doesn't mean you have to be vocal; you can lead by your actions," Pastner said.

Shakur, a McDonald's All-American and considered by many to be the top high school point guard last year, played this summer for the U.S. team at the Junior World Championships.

Though the American juniors did not get a chance for a medal due to a tie-breaker rule despite a 6-1 record through last Saturday, Shakur had eight points, a team-high six assists and also tallied three steals in 18 minutes for a win over Slovenia. He sparked a rally coming off the bench in the United States' last quarterfinal game, notching 10 points, four assists and five steals.

"(Playing in the championships) helps him get experience and confidence," Pastner said. "It is a great experience, no doubt about it.

"The last two freshmen to start as point guards for Arizona, Sacramento King Mike Bibby and Gardner, led the UA to Final Fours.

"We're going to be quicker this year because Mustafa (Shakur) brings great quickness to his position and Kirk Walters is very quick up and down the court and quick to the ball," Olson said. "I think it will be potentially the best defensive team we've had because of the quickness."

Despite losing Ebi from what many ranked as the nation's top recruiting class, the Wildcats have, in effect, two steals in forward Chris Dunn, who red-shirted in 2002-03, and freshman center Kirk Walters. Walters, originally unheralded when he choose the UA over his other two top choices, Central Michigan and Western Michigan, jumped in the rankings when he played his senior year, including the list of ESPN's top 20 centers.

Dunn wowed Arizona last year during practice, and when espn.com Senior Writer Andy Katz saw the Wildcats practice, he said Dennis Latimore, who eventually transferred to Notre Dame, should be the one red-shirting. The coaches choose to red-shirt Dunn, who former teammate Will Bynum nicknamed "The Matrix," because they felt he was too good to waste a year on the UA's deep 2002-03 bench, which had two players, Latimore and Bynum transfer.

"We named him ĪThe Matrix' because he always seems to be everywhere," Pastner said. "He can really fly."

The coaches expect the long and fast Dunn to make a big impact, Pastner said.

The 2003-04 Wildcats could be the most athletic in Olson's 20 years at the UA. The team's youth will be an issue, but as seen by last year's national champion, Syracuse, having a freshman floor leader can be just as important as having upperclassmen out there.

"The only problem is the youth of the team," Olson said. "From the standpoint of athleticism, it will be our most athletic team. Potentially, we could be a pretty good full-court pressure team. We'll be so much quicker."

With speed and quickness to burn, Pastner expects the Wildcats to utilize the full-court press, something Arizona was supposed to use last year. UA got away from the stategy because of injuries and chose to abort full-court press when Walton and Anderson were on the floor at the same time. The team showed glimpses of it in a 107-68 blowout of then No. 19 Western Kentucky to open the season.

"We will use it at times, no doubt about it," Pastner said.