By Monty Phan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Early November used to mean one thing in Tucson: the start of the UA men's basketball season. But with the emergence of the football team as a major college contender, the approach of the holiday season has also put visions of Pasa-dena in the heads of UA fans.
Nonetheless, as Lute and the boys gear up for another run at No. 1, the Men from McKale are once again becoming the talk of the town. But nowadays they share the sports pages with the latest updates on the Run for the Roses, too. Alliteration aside, however, here's the haps from the hardwood.
Introducing ... The new kids on the block. The four currently eligible freshmen Ä Kevin Eafon, Donnell Harris, Michael Dickerson, and Miles Simon Ä all show promise, but Simon and Dickerson may be the ones to make an early impact. Junior transfer Ben Davis, a fresh face as well, was supposed to provide the Wildcats with added inside punch, but a complication involving the percentage of Davis' transfer credits and specific degree requirements has made him ineligible for the first semester.
"Of the new guys, Ben picked things up quickly because of his past experience and maturity," head coach Lute Olson said. "Miles Simon had very few adjustments because of the similarities of his high school program and ours, some of the concepts and drills and all. Mike Dickerson is obviously a very talented young man, struggling a little bit with the concepts but you can see the tremendous talent he has."
Olson evaluated the remaining freshmen as well, remarking that both Harris and Eafon have shown improvement, the former still needing to get stronger, however, and the latter still needing to work on ball-handling skills.
Senior point guard Damon Stoudamire was impressed with the freshmen, stating that he feels they can really help the team.
"Miles, he's the best I think out of the freshmen," Stoudamire said. "He understands the game, and he's going to be a real asset to this team. I think Mike, he's still learning some things, but he has all the tools to be a great player. Kevin, he works hard. He might not have the dimensions that the other two have, but he's going to help us a lot too. And Donnell, he's the type of player that can't do anything but get better as each day progresses. So I think that they all will be all right."
Junior guard Joe McLean shared the same sentiments as his teammate.
"I'm pretty impressed," McLean said. "A lot of time freshmen come in and they just back down, but none of
the guys are backing down. They're pushing all the veterans out there to do better."
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The Scoop on Stoudamire, Part I: The preseason candidates for the 1995 Ban/Naismith College Basketball player of the year awards were announced in a recent press release.
The Naismith Awards National Advisory Board, which is comprised of basketball coaches, journalists and administrators, was asked to name the top male and female players most likely to contend for the award. Stoudamire is second in the voting for the top male player, with junior forward Corliss Williamson of Arkansas heading the list.
Said Olson: "I think more than anything it'd be how the team does, as is usually the case in postseason awards. It's usually the visibility that comes about as a result of your team doing well. I really think it would be more (important) the impact he has on his team and how good his team is."
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The Scoop on Stoudamire, Part II: As far as a backup is concerned, junior guard Reggie Geary is the frontrunner to assume the point guard duties while Stoudamire rests.
"If I had to say based on the first week Reggie would probably be the one that would back him up when Damon is not in the game," Olson said. "The only thing we need to have him do is give the ball up a little bit earlier than when he's given it up. He tends to keep it just a little bit longer than we need to have it kept. Sometimes he needs to give it up, get it to an angle man, get it to a wingman where we got better angles for the passes inside."