Freshmen Terry, Bramlett shine in extended roles

By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 5, 1996

Tanith Balaban
Arizona Daily Wildcat

Freshman Jason Terry goes up, up, up for a dunk to put the exclamation point on Arizona's 96-78 win over Washington State Saturday at McKale Center. Terry's seven assists in 21 minutes helped UA pull into a four-way tie for second in the Pac-10.

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Call them the heirs apparent.

Freshmen A.J. Bramlett and Jason Terry gave the 14,390 in attendance at McKale Center for UA's 96-78 win over Washington State Saturday a reason to cheer and a reason to look forward to next year.

Bramlett came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points and grab three rebounds in just 13 minutes of play.

Terry was in a giving mood for most of the afternoon, dishing out a career-high seven assists. The most promising sign, however, was that he turned the ball over just once in 21 minutes of play.

"Is that how many (assists) they gave me?," the disbelieving Terry asked after the game. "I guess when you are playing hard and aggressive, things happen."

Perhaps the most exciting result of his hard work came with about five minutes to go in the ball game. Terry stole the ball from Cougar guard Shamon Antrum and drove for an electrifying slam dunk that most people probably thought the 6-foot-2-inch Terry wasn't even capable of. It was his only field goal of the game.

"Jason Terry's play today was not unusual for what we see in practice," Arizona head coach Lute Olson said. "He broke the press and used his great quickness."

Olson also lauded his young point guard for playing under control.

"He uses his speed but he's not running people over at the other end of the court," he said. "He knows when to sprint."

For most of his time on the floor, the 6-foot-11-inch, 205-pound Bramlett fought in the post with the shorter (6-9) but heavier (240 pounds) Mark Hendrickson of Washington State.

"He's real strong," Bramlett said. "I'm not the heaviest guy, but I'm just trying to work hard."

Hendrickson, the Cougars second-leading scorer (17.8 points) and leading rebounder (10.2), was limited by a combination of forward Ben Davis and Bramlett to nine points and five rebounds. He said Bramlett's physical post play was something the Cougars didn't expect.

"I think the refs were letting a lot go," Hedrickson said. "You just have to adjust and I don't think our guys adjusted. Then frustration started to set in."

With center Joseph Blair sidelined because of academic probation, aggressive play from Bramlett is something the team needs.

"It was nice to see good, aggressive play out of A.J. and (Arizona freshman) Donnell (Harris)," Olson said.

The task now for Bramlett and Terry is to become a force off the bench for the Wildcats every night.

"I started out slow," Terry said. "But I'm starting to pick it up."

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