A to Z: Wildcats Took Some Shots but Zeus, Johnson and Crew Have Rolled

As Kaleb Tarczewski has gone, so have his
Wildcat teammates, as proved by the Pac-12
Championship. Is more on the horizon?

It seems like ages since the Wildcats lost Brandon Ashley for the season with a bum foot: broken, torn ligaments or whatever the ailment is. But with it, Arizona’s young team suddenly appeared headed for the emergency room.

No longer.

Since that double loss to Cal on Feb. 1, which not only sidelined Ashley for the remainder of the season but also hung the first loss on the No. 1 Wildcats, the team has formed a new identity that perhaps has it stronger now then it was then. Sure, it took a while, and another loss to ASU on Valentine’s Day, but the Cats regained their form on the way to wrapping up the Pac-12 regular season on March 2. 

An overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament looms if Arizona wins Saturday at Oregon and certainly if they move on to also win the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next week.

The defense never left and other players stepped up to pick up the slack on the other end of the court. Gabe York has provided the consistent 3-point shot the offense needed to complement Nick Johnson while starting and Elliot Pitts has brought grit off the bench. Jordin Mayes has also contributed to assist Johnson and T.J. McConnell in the backcourt. And McConnell has become more offensive minded.

Aaron Gordon has seemingly benefitted from playing his more natural 4 position, and his fellow fab frosh Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has proved himself time and again.

Johnson is the team’s undeniable MVP, and likely the conference POY and a soon-to-be All American, but we also can’t overlook the consistency displayed by Kaleb Tarczewski. Consider that Zeus has scored in single digits only twice since Ashley went down for the count, and he poured in a team-high 18 points in that Cal game, almost singlehandedly winning the game from the free-throw line in hitting all 12 of his shots.

It could have been easy for him to disappear as opponents double-teamed him in the low post, having no longer to worry about Ashley’s length. Zeus has averaged 12.2 points per game in his last nine, a full three points a game more than when Ashley joined him in the lineup. He also is averaging 7.4 rebounds a game in that span.

Coach Sean Miller and staff have certainly gotten the most out of this band of youngsters, especially Zeus, much to the Zona Zoo's delight. Babies no more, this team of Wildcats is made up of men on a mission, and no one aside from Johnson has been a bigger man than Tarczewski.