Their time is almost up.

One more game at McKale Center, perhaps a couple more to follow somewhere else, maybe six more. The five seniors on this Arizona squad have played in hundreds of games as Wildcats over the last four seasons, yet the final few court appearances will, as unfair as it is, determine the places of Reggie Geary, Corey Williams, Joe McLean, Ben Davis and even Joseph Blair in the annals of UA men's basketball history.

This is the pressure seniors everywhere have to face - to define a role for themselves as they work within a team to succeed.

This year's crop faced a different challenge, however. They had to define themselves to be sure, Geary as the point guard, Davis the complement to Blair in the middle, and Williams and McLean being plugged in on the wing as the sixth and seventh men. But when Blair, UA's leading scorer and rebounder, was suspended 14 games into the season because of academic problems, the seniors had to stop midyear and change yet again.

What has resulted from the changes, a 12-2 second-half record after going 11-3 with Blair, is directly attributable to what these seniors have done. Sophomores Miles Simon and Michael Dickerson have had their moments, but no one ever knew when those moments were going to come. Freshman Jason Terry has come on of late, but freshman A.J. Bramlett and redshirt freshman Donnell Harris have been inconsistent in the middle.

The seniors, at one time UA's best recruiting class (this year's crop of recruits now has that honor) have kept this team together and made it not only competitive, but a real threat come NCAA Tournament time.

"They have come out everyday and competed. You don't have to get on this guy or that guy," UA head coach Lute Olson said about the seniors. "They have established a great attitude for those who will follow, to work your tail off whether in a drill or in a game."

"It was pretty much unsaid that when Joseph went down everyone would have to step up their game," Williams said. "Reggie would have to do more, Ben would have to score more, and the minutes would get longer for each guy. It was pretty much understood everyone would have to step forward."

Each has logged plenty of time watching others step up. Freshman year, it was Chris Mills, the next season Khalid Reeves, and last year Damon Stoudamire. The results of this year show the upperclassmen have paid attention to those who came before.

Geary, a 6-foot-2, 187-pound dynamo who has become one of the most dynamic sports figures in Tucson in recent years, has erased the big question mark surrounding his competency to ascend to the point guard position, and leaves the tradition of UA point men (Steve Kerr, Reeves, Stoudamire) as strong as ever. He is second in the Pac-10 with 6.8 assists and leads the team in minutes played (32.9).

"My approach to basketball is the same as my approach to life. The same quality and confidence I take on the court will help me in life," Geary said.

It's probably no surprise that Williams (6-7, 210) and McLean (6-6, 217) have experienced parallel success this season after three years of toiling as backups. Both share basically the same position, kind of a forward/wing man who guard men much bigger than they, as well as being born a half hour apart on the same day (March 7, 1974). Williams, who has almost tripled his lifetime (4.7 points) scoring average with 13.2 points this season, took Blair's position, while McLean, who averages 9.5 points after three years of just a 3.7 average and has become a defensive stopper, replaced Dickerson in the starting lineup.

"They've paid their dues for a long time," Olson said. "Corey has really become a consistent offensive threat, and Joe has been super-critical on the defensive end."

Which brings us to Davis, who has emerged as one of the top post players in the conference after bouncing around at several other programs. After playing only half of last season because of transfer problems and an NCAA suspension, Davis has taken over Blair's mantle, leading the team with 14.3 points and 9.6 rebounds. More important though to the 6-8, 255-pound Davis has been the community he has found after years of isolation.

"I feel like I've been here for four years, wish I had been here for that long," Davis said. "It's a total family atmosphere. Guys like Reggie and Corey have really made me feel welcome."

Blair's place in this group is tougher to gauge. At times he could be a fierce rebounder and determined scorer, but whether he could have kept that up for a whole season is one for debate. His presence, though, has not been forgotten. Blair's situation is what Geary refers to when the point guard said about his career, "I definitely wish a couple of things would have been different."

While the group is not the same Olson recruited for the 1992-93 season € Blair's departure, Davis' arrival before last season, and Etrick Bohannon's transfer after the first year to Tennessee € those who have survived the journey are thankful to end with fellow survivors.

"We waited a long time for this," McLean said. "At times in the past we haven't thought it would happen, but it's gratifying that we all get to go out together like this."