A familiar face showed up again at the UA men's basketball practice yesterday, but this time, Joseph Blair was talking.

The senior center, who was put on academic probation following the Arizona State game Jan. 10 and has not played since, talked about his future, how he has adapted to life out of the starting lineup and his feelings about the events of the last few months.

"I'm just trying to deal with myself right now and surround myself with people who support me. If people don't support me, I don't care," Blair said with his usual candor. "I'm still the same person. I'll still talk to anyone who comes up to me. I won't push people away."

While there has been no official word on whether Blair has already played his final game as a Wildcat, he did not anticipate suiting up for this weekend's Bay Area series, the final home series for the Arizona seniors. He will be given the same ceremony the other seniors - Reggie Geary, Corey Williams, Joe McLean and Ben Davis - will receive, including postgame introductions.

"I'll be there for senior night. I've still been here three and a half years working my butt off. It will mean a lot to be there," Blair said.

He said the seniors talked about how they would handle themselves at senior night ever since they were freshmen, and he said they made a pact not to cry.

"If anyone cries, they're a punk," he said.

Blair said he has adjusted to his role as observer instead of participant, and still tries to help out when he can by watching from the bench.

"I can still tell A.J. (freshman center A.J. Bramlett) and Ben (senior forward Ben Davis) what I see," he said.

Blair has been invited to the Nike Desert Classic in Phoenix in May, a scouting camp the NBA runs for college players, but said he has not heard anything that would indicate when, or if, he will be drafted.

"If I work hard enough, it will take me where I need to be," he said.

He said he has gotten used to attending games and not hearing his name announced, and that he does not resent that he has to sit while his teammates continue to play.

"I'm happy for them. I have no ill will toward any one of them," he said. "I love them like brothers."

On the rebound: UA head coach Lute Olson made no bones about what the determining factor in Arizona's success in the postseason would be.

"How far we go is dependent on how well we handle teams on the glass," he said.

While Ben Davis provides consistent support, Olson was particularly encouraged by the board work of Geary and Miles Simon. Against Washington Sunday, both guards outrebounded Davis. Geary had six rebounds and Simon had eight, while Davis grabbed five. The effort of the guards helped UA to a 33-33 tie in rebounds with the Huskies. UW outrebounded the Wildcats 52-31 in their Feb.1 meeting in Tucson.

Olson said that getting production from the guards in that category was something that had been stressed all year.

"When the ball goes up, you've got to rebound like it's five on one, like everyone's against you," Olson said, "and we're seeing a much stronger response."

Harris helps: Olson was particularly pleased with the effort of redshirt freshman center Donnell Harris in the Washington game. Harris had two points, two rebounds and showed aggressiveness taking the ball to the basket.

"We want him just to do what we need to have him do," Olson said. "He needs to defend like crazy and rebound, and when he has a scoring opportunity, to do it aggressively and make someone make a play on him."

Harris drew fouls on two dunk attempts against UW.

Owes alive and well: Former Wildcat forward Ray Owes, who graduated last year, has made a big impression on the National Australian Basketball League so far. In two preseason games with Geelong, Owes had 26 points and 12 rebounds and 34 points and 11 rebounds.