Throw another hoop on the barby folks, the Austrailians are coming.

The Melbourne Magic will be in town Sunday for an exhibition matchup with the youthful Arizona men's basketball team.

If history holds true, getting a win should not be too difficult. Since 1993, the UA men's basketball team has had little trouble with foes from the land Down Under, winning 10 of the last 11 meetings. The most recent match-up came in the 1993-94 season, when Arizona defeated Southeast Melbourne, 112-87.

Yet even with their recent success, the UA players are not overlooking this veteran squad.

"This will be a good game for us against a tough group of older players," UA junior forward Michael Dickerson said. "With such a young team, this will give us a chance to get the nerves settled before North Carolina next weekend."

The Magic are led by center Chris Anstey, forward Sam McKinnon and former Duke guard Billy McCaffrey. McKinnon scored 18 points in Melbourne's 95-74 win over San Diego on Wednesday. Anstey led the Magic charge with 23 points and McCaffrey added 12 points and five assists in the team's 70-57 win over San Diego State.

Another key player for the Magic is Frank Drmic, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward. Drmic, who was recruited by Arizona, has been solid on the glass with an average of 8.5 rebounds a game.

"McKinnen is a great leaper and was actively recruited by Kansas," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "Anstey is an agile player, not in the usual mold of a European post player. He is expected to be drafted this year by an NBA team."

After a month of intra-squad scrimmaging, this game will allow Arizona to square off against some different competition.

"I will finally get a chance to play someone different than A.J. (Bramlett) this weekend," UA sophomore Donnell Harris said. "The Magic are a good team and we will have to perform at a top level to beat them."

One player the Wildcats will be without is junior guard Miles Simon. Simon, who was Arizona's top returning scorer at 13.2 points per game last season. He was suspended by the coaching staff for one game because he failed to fulfill on an academic commitm ent.

"Miles is critical to this team's success," Olson said. "He is the team's best communicator and a leader on the floor."

Without Simon, the Wildcats will play seven players most of the game. Juniors Dickerson and Bennett Davison, sophomores Harris, A.J. Bramlett and Jason Terry, and freshmen Eugene Edgerson and Mike Bibby will make up the Arizona rotation. Edgerson has been the surprise of the bunch and has continued to improve his defensive intensity.

"Eugene is one of our only tough, hard-nosed players," Olson said. "When he comes down with the ball, you better keep your nose where it belongs or you won't have it very long. Not only is his style beneficial to the team, but it also helps us in practice to have the other guys banging with him."

In the Red-Blue scrimmage earlier this season, Bibby and Harris combined for 50 points, with Harris adding 24 rebounds and Bibby finishing with 12 assists. Edgerson totaled 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with Davison's 24 points.

While a win is one of Arizona's top priorities, the coaching staff will be more focused on its performance in some key areas.

"We have a lot of work to do before we start against North Carolina," Olson said. "Our defense and rebounding are big question marks at this point. We are trying to show the guys the importance of this by starting the top rebounders at each position on Su nday."

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