In 29 days, the UA men's basketball team officially opens practice during Midnight Madness on Oct. 12. The annual event features a team introduction, a scrimmage and a dunk contest.

"I think that with the squad we've got back expectations are pretty high, so we'll have a great turnout," associate head coach Jim Rosborough said.

In the meantime, players have been practicing two hours a week with position coaches and spending eight hours a week in the weight room.

The four freshmen ÷ Chris Rogers, Chris Dunn, Andre Iguodala, Hassan Adams ÷ meet every Saturday for 30 minutes to work on defensive drills.

"We just try to introduce them to the basic principals like ball-you-man screens to get them some more instruction," Rosborough said.

Rosborough said the rest of the roster is bigger and stronger than last year, most notably sophomore guard Dennis Latimore.

Junior guard Jason Ranne will receive a scholarship this season after serving two years as a walk-on.

A scholarship became available for Ranne after the departure of former Wildcat Andrew Zahn.

"He's had superb grades and has represented us well in the past so it's a reward situation," Rosborough said.

The 6-foot-4 Ranne averaged 0.8 ppg and 0.3 rpg in six games last season. His father Richard, played baseball for Arizona from 1971-1972.

Following Midnight Madness, the Wildcats will hold closed practices for the third straight year after former UA player Jason Terry reportedly received benefits from an outside source.

The issue has since been dealt with.

New players benefit from the private practices with no distractions.

Gambling was also another problem UA wanted crack down on, Rosborough said.