Wildcats vs. Wildcats

By Arlie Rahn
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 1, 1996


Arizona Daily Wildcat

Freshman Mike Bibby (with ball) will have familiar opponents when he and his teammates compete against each other in tonight's Red-Blue game.

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The Arizona men's basketball team has done enough talking about this season. Now it's ready to prove it's worth the hype.

Tonight at 7:37 p.m., a McKale Center crowd will get the chance to see this team in action for the first time in the annual Red-Blue intra-squad scrimmage.

"To this point, things have gone pretty well," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "It is time, though, to see how this team reacts in a game situation."

The Blue team, coached by UA assistant coach Jim Rosborough, will comprise junior Miles Simon, sophomores Jason Terry and A.J. Bramlett and freshmen Eugene Edgerson, Josh Pastner and Ortege Jenkins.

Juniors Michael Dickerson and Bennett Davison, sophomore Donnell Harris and freshmen Mike Bibby, Quynn Tebbs and John Ash will make up the Red team under the leadership of UA assistant coach Jessie Evans.

"All of us in the coaching staff think that these teams are pretty evenly divided," Olson said. "When the two coaches have a tough time determining which team to take, you know they are balanced."

The headliners are Dickerson and Simon, the team's top two leading scorers in Arizona's run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament last season. Dickerson toped all scorers in the tourament with 18.7 points a game while Simon averaged 18 points.

"From my experiences in this game, I think the younger guys will loosen up pretty quick," Simon said. "But it will be interesting to see how some of these guys react in front of the home crowd."

Last season's game saw Dickerson score a game-high 30 points. While he still plans to lead by example, he has also taken some strides to be a leader off the court.

"Last season we had Reggie (Geary) and Ben (Davis), so I was a little more quiet," Dickerson said. "I think because there is a lot of youth on this year's team that I need to be more vocal than I've been in the past."

Also in the spotlight will be Bibby, College Sports Magazine's projected Pac-10 newcomer of the year. However, Olson is not ready to give in to the hype on Bibby just yet.

"That and a dollar might get you a soda," Olson said. "He has made great strides in improving his defensive intensity and disrupting the passing lanes. But we don't have any kind of a starting spot reserved for him. If he wants it, he has to earn it."

An area of concern for the UA coaching staff is the team's defensive intensity.

"We need to work on pressuring the ball and hitting the defensive boards," Olson said. "I think part of that was due to fatigue, with last week's scrimmage coming after six consecutive days of practice."


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