Bleacher Report - Articles by Blake Bartholomew

Sean Miller Leaves Xavier for Arizona

Blake Bartholomew — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:32:47 -0400

Sean Miller has decided to follow in the footsteps of former Xavier head coaches Pete Gillen, Skip Prosser, and Thad Motta and leave Xavier to lead a major conference basketball program.

After Arizona was turned down by John Calipari, Jamie Dixon, Mark Few and Jay Wright, and toyed with by USC head coach Tim Floyd, Athletic Director Jim Livengood got lucky when Miller accepted the job.

Miller’s decision was not an easy one, as he is leaving behind the back-to-back-to-back Atlantic 10 champions at a school where he spent eight years. At his going away press conference, Miller was classy as he said good-bye to Xavier.

“[Arizona] speaks for itself, and I am excited, but right now…it’s about just making sure you understand and the city of Cincinnati, the people have been nothing short of a dream.”

Instead of coaching a team with aspirations of playing deep into March and even April, Miller will instead be coaching an Arizona team next year that may struggle to fill out its roster.

Juniors Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill are both considered to be mid-to-high first round picks and will undoubtedly enter the 2009 NBA Draft.

Fellow junior and point guard Nic Wise is rumored to be considering declaring for the draft as well, but is not as highly ranked as Budinger and Hill. Sean Miller’s only chance of not being the Indiana of 2010 is if Wise returns for his senior season.

Period.

Arizona Basketball will be completely lost without its senior leader at point guard, and while the team may not contend for NCAA Tournament even with Wise, they may not win a game in the Pac-10 without him.

Along with convincing Wise to stay for his senior season, Miller’s other immediate concern is to hit the recruiting trail running. Arizona has, with a few exceptions, been without a recruiting class for the past two years.

No disrespect to Kyle Fogg, but when he is most highly touted recruit to come and stay in Tucson in two years, something is wrong.

If any current players decide to transfer from Arizona to another school, Miller could be forced to put a lineup out on the court full of borderline Pac-10 talent if he isn’t able to sign other recruits.

Ideally, Miller would be able to find two or three 2009 uncommitted recruits, but the reality is that it is already April and almost all of the top-notch talent is already spoken for.

One thing Miller cannot do is gamble on recruits and end up wasting a scholarship for three years, just to save face for the first.

While Arizona has been in the NCAA tournament for 25 consecutive years and is only two away from tying the all-time record held by North Carolina, the long-term health of the program is more important than being a fringe tournament team the next two years.

One recruit who would fit with Arizona is current Xavier commit Kevin Parrom, a 6'6", 195 lbs. swingman from Connecticut. Parrom is a Jack-of-all-trades sort of player, doing many things well but nothing spectacularly, and excels on an open-court style, perfect for Arizona.

Another recruit is former Arizona commit Solomon Hill. Hill, a 6'6", 210 lbs. small forward who decommitted after Lute Olson’s retirement, is perhaps the recruit that Miller has the best chance of signing due to his past interest in the program.

He plays more of a point-forward position and has tremendous passing skills both in transition and in the half-court, according to ESPN and Scouts, Inc.

One of Xavier’s 2010 commits, J.D. Weatherspoon, has reopened his recruitment after hearing the news about Miller’s departure. If Miller is able to get the 6'6", 240 lbs. Ohio power forward to follow him to Tucson, he would be well on his way to rebuilding the Arizona program.

According to many throughout the world of college basketball, Sean Miller will be a success at Arizona. He will be able to recruit and win in the desert and even the most conservative of forecasts have the Wildcats back at elite status within five years.

More likely, however, is that Miller will have the Wildcats back competing for the Pac-10 championship within two to three years, and competing for Elite Eights and Final Fours after that.

Arizona Basketball is one of the top 10 programs in the history of college basketball, and it won’t take long for a coach and recruiter of Miller’s stature to turn the program around.

Why Arizona Basketball Needs Josh Pastner To Save the Program

Blake Bartholomew — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:11:59 -0400

If Xavier’s Sean Miller, Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel, and all the other current and former coaches decide to spurn Tucson’s sunshine and stay put, Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood would be best served hiring a former face: 31-year old Josh Pastner.

The former Arizona walk-on, assistant coach, and for the past year an assistant and lead recruiter to John Calipari at Memphis would bring back the family atmosphere that the program has lacked the past two years.

Furthermore, Arizona is too good a program to be used by coaches to get better deals and have negative press continuously heaped upon it. Livengood needs a man who wants the job and will not use it as a stepping stone down the road.

Josh Pastner is that man.

Even as a little-used guard under Lute Olson in the mid-'90s Pastner acted more as coach than player. He was almost immediately hired to work under Olson after his eligibility ran out, and then had the foresight to leave the program for Memphis before WWIII really began in Tucson, with Lute Olson’s blessing.

Pastner is a brilliant recruiter, and has brought talent from across the west, most notably California and Texas, to the desert. His deep recruiting ties throughout the west will help Arizona face its first hurdle, its lack of essentially two years’ worth of recruits.

Whoever the head coach is next year, he will need warm bodies to fill the bench, and lots of them. While a coach should not be hired based solely on one year’s worth of recruits he could bring in, it should be noted that the star-studded Memphis recruiting class is up for grabs now that John Calipari has left for Kentucky.

Who’s to say Pastner couldn’t get one or two of them to come to Tucson? It’s not that hard of a sell.

Albeit for only one year, his apprenticeship under Calipari coupled with his near decade under Olson provides Pastner about as much preparation and knowledge possible for a career assistant. Why not go with Pastner?

The obvious, and only, negative about Pastner is his inexperience as a head coach. From an outside perspective, it is understandable to think that he should build his way up to a program of Arizona’s stature rather than beginning his career in Tucson.

This is a valid argument, however if Pastner surrounds himself with a quality, experienced coaching staff he should be able to turn Arizona Basketball around and bring it back to prominence.

First and foremost, Pastner would need an experienced lead assistant, and the most obvious choice would be Jim Rosborough, who was an assistant under Lute Olson both at Iowa and Arizona for 27 years. Other candidates should and undoubtedly would be considered, but whoever is selected must be an old and wise Yoda to Pastner’s Skywalker.

The one and only drawback to hiring Pastner is his inexperience, and having an established lead assistant will help ease the transition.

To fill out his coaching staff, Pastner would be wise to look at current assistant and former Wildcat player Reggie Geary. He will continue to rebuild the sense of family that once was Arizona Basketball as he is red and blue through and through.

Like Pastner, Geary is known for his recruiting abilities, and he has been the only coach on the recruiting trail this season for the ‘Cats.

The final assistant spot should go to former Wildcat assistant and Most Outstanding Player of the 1997 NCAA Tournament Miles Simon. Simon was ran off as part of the soap opera that was the fallout of Lute Olson’s retirement, but has proven both his recruiting abilities and zest for improving his players.

Simon was seen both early in the morning and late at night performing individual drills in the off-season at the student recreation center on campus while an assistant in Tucson.

Arizona now has the Richard Jefferson Practice Facility, which should only add to the list of recruiting talking points Pastner and his staff would have at their disposal.

Pastner is known throughout college circles for his recruiting wonders, and Geary is more than on his way down that path. Simon is a young assistant craving for another opportunity and Rosborough would bring stability to the program as Pastner goes over the expected bumps in the road.

Arizona would dominate west coast recruiting with Pastner and Geary, especially considering perhaps the most important reason to hire Pastner as head coach: former Arizona Wildcat players.

Pastner played with many Arizona greats, and was on the 1997 National Championship team. He would have the backing and support of all the former players.

The embarrassing handling of Olson’s retirement left the basketball program, and thus the athletic department which depends on its cash cow to pay for nearly every other sport, in shambles.

Under Olson, players came back to Tucson; they could be seen on campus during recruiting visits; they talked up the program when interviewed; they remained Wildcats.

Now I am not saying Arizona is on par with North Carolina or Kentucky in terms of history, but it is a top 10 program and it should use its pedigree to its advantage.

Former players know Pastner, and anyone would be hard pressed to find one that does not like him. Arizona would become a much more visible program nationally with the hiring of Pastner and the support of former players, and this fact simply cannot be overstated.

Pastner is the perfect fit for Arizona, and is hoping that you can go home again.

Tim Floyd Good Fit For Arizona Basketball

Blake Bartholomew — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:34:12 -0400

NOTE: This article was written hours before Tim Floyd turned down the job and opted to return to USC. The author is now praying that Arizona can get someone competent to coach the Wildcats. Come on Livengood!

If the rumors are true that Tim Floyd is leaving USC to become the head men’s basketball coach at Arizona, fans in Tucson should not be worried. Sure, Floyd is no John Calipari, but once the “other” Wildcat job opened up, it was simply unrealistic to expect Calipari to choose Arizona over Kentucky, one of the few schools with a better basketball pedigree.

While rumors swirled about candidates ranging from Jeff Capel to Mark Few to Rick Pitino to Tom Izzo, it seems that Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood has settled on Tim Floyd.

In the immediate future, Floyd may be able to bring with him sorely-needed recruits for Arizona, who have been without a semblance of a recruiting class for two years and could see its roster gutted by defections.

Jordan Hill is almost certain to go pro, as he has been projected as a Top Five pick by Chad Ford of ESPN. Chase Budinger, while not as much a certainty as Hill, is more likely than not to declare as well. Point guard Nic Wise has been rumored to have his eyes set on Europe and immediate paychecks, as his weak knees require him to make the most out of what will be a shortened career.

Adding these three possible major departures to the constant rumors of transfers out of the program and two little-used graduating seniors could put Arizona in a downward spiral without immediate recruiting help. This help could come with the hiring of Tim Floyd.

Former Arizona commit Solomon Hill had been rumored to have narrowed his choices down to Arizona and USC, Floyd’s current school. Should Hill decide to come to Arizona, and possibly convince another undecided senior or two to follow, Arizona should be in good shape.

Floyd’s biggest recruiting challenge, however, will be to convince Nic Wise to stay in Tucson for his senior season. The Wildcats will be lost next year without him, as they could barely put five Pac 10-caliber players on the court, yet still advanced to the Sweet 16 due in large part to their supreme point guard play.

Should he somehow convince Budinger or Hill to follow suit, Arizona will be a major contender next year, and Floyd would likely ask to have a statue built of him next to the new Richard Jefferson Practice Facility.

When analyzing this hire, it is important to focus not only on the short-term benefits but also the long-term health of the program. The men’s basketball program is the cash cow for the University of Arizona athletic department, and Livengood cannot afford to let it suffer.

He knows this fact, and if the reports are true that Floyd will indeed be the next head coach at Arizona, Livengood has succeeded.

The Arizona position should constitute Floyd’s idea of his “career job.” The program is without question one of the best in the history of college basketball, although a step below the royalty that is Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and UCLA.

Floyd won’t be looking for his next job in two or three years, and that will only enhance his ability to recruit top-notch talent to Tucson. If he could recruit at Idaho, New Orleans, Iowa State, and USC, imagine what he can do at a national powerhouse like Arizona.

Although Arizona is not currently a top-tier team, its history and program are, and it only needs a man at the helm such as Tim Floyd to turn it around. As public opinion of Arizona seems to have dwindled in the four years since the Wildcats last made the Elite Eight, Floyd should be able to wake up the sleeping giant that is Point Guard U and return it to prominence.

Will Brandon Jennings' Decision to Play Overseas Change The System?

Blake Bartholomew — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:33:17 -0400

Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson thought he had his next great guard to groom at Point Guard U. Jennings was the most highly touted incoming freshman guard in the school’s proud history. He would surely follow in the footsteps of Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, Damon Stoudamire, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Gardner, and most recently Jerryd Bayless.

Unfortunately for Wildcat fans, Jennings decided, with perhaps too much input, that playing overseas for a team in Italy would better prepare him for the NBA than for a Hall of Fame coach known for doing just that. The self-proclaimed “Young Money” made a decision, and right or wrong he must now stick to it.

Only time will tell if Jennings’ controversial Euro trip will be successful and perhaps start a trend, but he has already succeeded in pointing out the many flaws of the NBA’s age-restriction policy. If Jennings is successful, rather than steering high school phenoms towards college with his age-restriction policy, David Stern may instead be sending America’s best young talent abroad.

Stern’s motives for his minimum age limit are noble: He yearns to put a better product on the floor, with professional-ready talent rather than immature, 18-year old busts.

However, some 18-year olds are anything but immature and closer to Michael Jordan than Sam Bowie: Kevin Garnett. Kobe Bryant. Tracy McGrady. LeBron James. Amare Stoudemire. Dwight Howard. These players are the faces of the league, and are doing just fine for themselves without college, thank you very much.\

While it is true that for every Kobe there are five no-names who didn’t make it, room must be made to allow for those who are able to shine.

With no rule in place preventing him from entering the NBA Draft, Jennings would have declared and possibly been a high lottery pick. This was not the case, however, and Jennings, rather than go to college and learn from one of the greatest coaches of all time, instead chose to go to Europe for a year. Without the substantial financial considerations, Jennings would have stayed stateside and played for Olson, but the money was too much.

But can you blame the kid?

Here’s an 18-year-old kid with almost no money his entire life being offered to play basketball in one of the most beautiful places on Earth for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a possible shoe deal! Anyone would have had a hard time saying no to that at 18.

College has been the time of my life and prepared me for the rest of it, however it is not for everyone. Kids go to college not in thirst of great knowledge but rather, for the most part, to get paid. You go to class not because you’re interested in every one, but because you know that degree at the end of the road will hopefully lead you towards a high-paying job.

But what if you already have the skills at 18 to make millions? Why go to college? Because Daddy David Stern said so, that’s why.

The Greg Odens, Kevin Durants, Michael Beasleys, and Derrick Roses of the world have been amazing for the college game, but if Jennings’ innovative decision becomes successful, the next generation of these players may also be playing for Pallacanestro, Virtus Roma, or Olympiakos, rather than Arizona or UCLA.

Jennings is not to blame for choosing hundreds of thousands of dollars and a chance to play basketball in Italy. He can and undoubtedly will enter next year’s draft and realize his dream of playing professional (not collegiate) basketball. Any system that forces a kid to make a decision after his dream is delayed is the real culprit.

While the Arizona Wildcats will suffer because of Jennings’ late decision, the college game as a whole will suffer tenfold if Jennings’ newfound path becomes the next trend.

Team USA Basketball Craves Olympic Gold

Blake Bartholomew — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:39:04 -0400

Should the United States men’s basketball team not win convincingly in the upcoming Olympic Games, it would be akin to Barack Obama losing to John McCain in November’s election. Fans of each would think, “if we can’t win now, will we ever?”

Yes, the rest of the world’s basketball talent has developed exponentially since the first, and only Dream Team dominated the competition at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

For the most part, players are no longer in awe of our athletes. Yes, the United States has lost in every major world tournament since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Yes, having only one true big man on the roster may come back to haunt Colangelo, Krzyzewski, and the rest.

But come on now, we’re America and we want to win this time!

Forgive me for my blind belief in United States Basketball, but I just can’t picture a world where such a motivated pool of American talent brings anything less than gold home from Beijing.

Americans losing in basketball is like Michigan losing to a 1-AA school (oops!) or the Soviets losing in ice hockey (double oops!). To put it in better perspective, it's like losing to Argentina, Yugoslavia, Puerto Rico, Lithuania, Argentina (again), and Greece. Still, we hear that this team is different. This team cares. This team is better.

And this team is better. It's better constructed, better coached, better everything. But the games are still yet to be played.

While Kobe, LeBron and ‘Melo doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as Michael, Magic and Larry, they will undoubtedly waltz through the preliminary group round and almost assuredly bring home the gold.

But beware, America. Four years from now simply trying harder might not be enough to get it done. Other countries have already passed us, and may do so again in the future.

Now that’s change you can believe in.