Notes from the Arizona men's basketball team ...

Dickerson's decline: The hot-and-cold streak continues for sophomore forward Michael Dickerson. The 6-foot-6, 191-pound Dickerson has fluctuated between unstoppable (19 points against Long Beach State and Arkansas, 26 against Texas A&M and 16 against UCLA) and AWOL (shut out against Oregon State and six points versus Oregon this weekend). Touted as being the best offensive threat for the Wildcats this season, Dickerson has seen his averages slide from a team-leading 19 points at the beginning of the season to his current 10.9, good for fourth on the team. He has been replaced in the starting lineup by senior Joe McLean.

Arizona head coach Lute Olson has a simple cure for Dickerson.

"Michael's got to stop worrying about things and go out and play," Olson said.

Olson said Dickerson was having a problem that most young players go through, as they try to adjust from being the star in high school to just another team member in college.

"Anytime you talk about young players you're going to have confidence problems. Guys who don't have confidence problems are usually your juniors and seniors," Olson said. "Guys who come in on this level have all been high school stars, in their first year were on the varsity, started on their grade school team. But at this environment, sophomores maybe have had a chance to start, maybe not. But you don't worry about minutes, don't worry about this or that."

Dickerson has accepted his slightly reduced role and is trying to put a positive spin on it.

"I just want to play," Dickerson said. "I don't focus on minutes, I do want to play, that is why I came here, to play. If I come off the bench or starting, it doesn't really matter. Right now I guess he (Olson) thinks coming off the bench sparks the team more, whatever it takes to win. I'm not happy, I'm not mad, I'll do it to help the team."

Socks: In contrast to Dickerson is freshman Jason Terry, whose knee-highs will get more air time on television this weekend. Terry has recovered from a early season slump to position himself for a spot in the regular rotation as a backup to point guard Reggie Geary.

Olson was impressed with the progress the 6-2, 155-pound Terry has made during practice, specifically reducing his turnovers. Also an issue for Olson was for Terry to improve his concentration, something he and some players felt was lacking in the fall.

"It's his concentration in practice, he's taking his job seriously, being focused every minute in practice," Olson said. "Now he realizes its a serious business and he has to take it seriously everyday, not just on game day."

"He's a youngster, he likes to goof around and have a good time," Geary said. "At times when the whole team was serious he'd be off in the corner goofing around a little bit. Some of the seniors, myself and Ben Davis, have addressed that with him and I think he's done a better job with his approach. Maybe through eighteen games he's matured a little bit and seen how competitive division one is and adjusted his game accordingly."

Terry acknowledged the struggle of coming in as a freshman to a major basketball power and getting the proper focus.

"If you put your mind to it you can do it, that's what I had to do, put my mind into every aspect of the game," Terry said. "That's what it takes when your a freshman coming in. (College) is a big place, a lot of new things and distractions, but you've got to block that out and do your job. This is a winning program and there's no room to slack off."

Jan. 31, 1996 A.D.J.B.: It has been 21 days since the departure of center Joseph Blair from the Arizona men's basketball team and the Wildcats, recognizing the need to take up the slack, have responded in a unique way, by making their foul shots.

With Blair in the lineup, UA was a dismal 59.8 percent from the line, but in the last four games, the Wildcats are shooting 72.3 percent (68-of-94) as a team. Of course it doesn't hurt to have Blair's 40 percent (28-70) out of the lineup.

Another happy surprise in Blair's absence has been the ability of Davis to stay out of foul trouble despite being the main inside presence.

"It's been better. I got a lot of fouls I shouldn't have had because he (Blair) was in there, Davis said. "I have to make good decisions now, it's good for me. With JB, if I went out of the game, it wasn't a big deal. Now it is. I'm more controlled."

That's good news for Arizona, as Davis has recorded five double-doubles in his last seven contests.