Guards Dee-Dee Wheeler, Aimee Grzyb and Natalie Jones, along with center Shawntinice Polk, have started all 23 games for the Wildcat women's hoops team this season. But Arizona has experimented with four different starters at the power forward position.
Head coach Joan Bonvicini sounds like she's finally settled on a permanent starter in freshman Shannon Hobson, who's started Arizona's last five games.
"I think she keeps getting better," Bonvicini said. "She's still a freshman and she makes freshman mistakes, but she plays so hard. She's so coachable."
After averaging just 3.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game before becoming a starter, Hobson has put up 6.8 points and 4.2 boards in 23.0 minutes of playing time in her five starts.
Hobson came up big in Thursday night's win over then-No. 7 Stanford with 10 points - one shy of her career high - and four rebounds, including three on offense. She was 5 of 9 from the field.
"She's coming around," Polk said. "She's a freshman, but she plays really hard. She gives 110 percent everyday, and that's all we can ask of her. As long as she goes hard, she takes care of business."
"I think she's a good complement with Polkey, and she's an excellent athlete," Bonvicini said.
Polk said she and Hobson gel well together, but it shouldn't matter who starts at the four spot.
"Either way, no matter who's playing, we've just got to adjust," she said.
Wheeler, Jones step it up in Pac-10 play action
Wheeler and Jones decided to withhold their full potential until conference play began.
Wheeler, a junior and the Wildcats' leading scorer, averaged 16 points in non-conference games but has put up 19 per game against Pac-10 opponents. Wheeler shot less than 27 percent from 3-point range before conference play but is 49 percent from beyond the arc in the Pac-10.
"I think her understanding and her maturity level (have improved), and now she's extra patient," Bonvicini said. "She's only a junior, but she's so familiar with a lot of the other teams. I think she's been an excellent floor leader."
"There's definitely a lot of focus on Polkey, but that opens it up for me and for other players, and I'm just getting open shots," Wheeler said.
Jones, a sophomore, has doubled her scoring average in conference play (5.3 to 10.7) and is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, two more than in non-conference games.
Jones attempted just six 3-pointers in Arizona's first 10 conference games, missing all of them. She hit 4 of 9 treys in Arizona's wins over Stanford and Cal.
"I think we encourage her a lot," Polk said. "She wasn't shooting the threes at first, but we need her to take shots and her confidence has just boosted the last couple games. She's a 40-minute worker every game."
"We really want her to be able to hit the outside shot," Bonvicini said. "She's always been a good defender and obviously, a good rebounder."
Polk named Pac-10 Player of Week - again
Polk received her second Pac-10 Player of the Week award in four weeks yesterday. The honor was the sixth in the sophomore's career.
The center averaged 18.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.5 blocks in Arizona's wins over Stanford and Cal. She came two assists and two blocks shy of a quadruple-double Saturday against Cal.
"That's pretty good, I guess," said Polk of her numbers against the Golden Bears.
Wildcats finally make it back to AP Top 25
Eleven weeks after dropping off the list, Arizona found its way back into the Associated Press Top 25.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 24 this week, their first top-25 ranking in the AP poll since the third week of the season. They were ranked 21st in the Dec. 1 poll.
Stanford, which was swept last week by the UA and Arizona State, fell four spots to No. 11.