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Point-Counterpoint: ASU vs. UA basketball
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ASU has dominated their intra-state rivals over the past few years. Will it continue?
The Associated Press
With both Arizona State and the University of Arizona basketball programs losing their biggest stars, which school will be on top in three years time?
ASU will have the recruiting edge over Arizona for a few years
-Mark Heller
Make no mistake, Arizona basketball will be a premier program again.
The question is when, and while the I-10 corridor added another premier coach and a whole bunch of sideshow stories between Sean Miller and Arizona State’s Herb Sendek, the competitive balance should still tilt toward Tempe for the immediate future.
Next year looks like a wash for Arizona. With Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and (maybe) Nic Wise leaving, Arizona not having a coach beyond the season was a recruiting nightmare. It’s too late for next year, and Miller is already way behind on the cream of the 2010-2011 class.
Oh-so-important recruiting ties in the West already possessed by ASU coaches give the Sun Devils a huge leg up, and while Miller built Xavier into an Atlantic-10 conference powerhouse and NCAA tournament force, the Musketeers program didn’t compete against the likes of UCLA, ASU, USC, Washington, Stanford and California for kids.
Miller will make those West Coast inroads — probably sooner than later — but, as Sendek knows, it takes time.
Miller will have Cats revving to Olson-like levels by 2010
-By Kyle Odegard
When Sean Miller accepted the Arizona men’s basketball coaching job, it turned a perilous time in the program’s history into a simple one-year rebuilding project.
With the one-and-done mentality so prevalent among college players, even the most high-profile coaches are forced to retool on a yearly basis. While a lack of talent on the roster next season will hurt the Wildcats in the short run, the well-oiled machine will be back up and running in 2010.
The program’s rich history is still in place, and Miller will be able to sell early playing time to potential recruits. With a strong contingent of boosters backing him, a rabid fan base, and former Wildcats dotting NBA rosters from coast to coast, there will be no shortage of positives for Miller to accentuate during his recruiting pitch.
Once Miller gets his players to Tucson, the Wildcats will be back among the country’s elite. Arizona has a broad appeal, and the built-in advantages Lute Olson ingrained in the program have not washed away. Arizona State will continue to fight an uphill battle.
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