Jamelle Horne News

The Western New Mexico University men's basketball team was thinking upset against University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday night.

It wasn't a top 25 opponent, or a Division I opponent for that matter, but it didn't stop the Wildcats from gaining some much-needed confidence.

Once he started coaching Sean Miller as a freshman at Pittsburgh, Mark Coleman could see the point guard's future.

Someday, Sean Miller says, the Arizona Wildcats will hopefully be able to look back on their defensive effort in the Red-Blue Game and chuckle.

The Augustana men's basketball team opened its season in a big-time setting Wednesday, falling to the University of Arizona 92-76 in an exhibition game at the McKale Center in Tucson.

Almost everything about the Arizona Wildcats seems unfamiliar - their coach, their roster and even the refurbished McKale Center floor.

Before full practices began this weekend, Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller described his list of on-court concerns with one word.

The senior point guard, who tested the NBA draft waters last spring, is convinced the Wildcats will be a much more prominent player in the Pac-10 Conference than others believe.

Arizona has made 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the longest such current streak in the nation.

After a month of informal and formal workouts with their new-look teammates, Arizona veterans Jamelle Horne and Kyle Fogg are convinced the Wildcats have a lot of potential contributors.

The divisions could be ominous for team chemistry: The inherited Lute Olson players vs.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., March 2 -- The University of Washington issued the following news release: Washington senior forward has been named the U.S. Bank Pac-10 Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Feb.

This is the fifth installment of a series of player-by-player look-backs at the 2008-2009 Wildcats basketball team.

Gary Franklin said he's interested in the UA. Open spots Available basketball scholarships for the UA men's basketball program: a Class of 2010: Two , plus any transfers or early pro departures a Class of 2011: Three , minus any given out in 2010, plus any transfers or early pro departures NCAA has maximum of 13 for men's basketball.

Before Jordan Hill has a chance to play against LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, he went up against Terrell Stoglin.

Arizona sophomore guard Kyle Fogg was a fitting host for Derrick Williams on his recruiting visit last weekend, and not just because they grew up a few miles from each other in Southern California.

At some point in the third or fourth hour of tonight's draft, you'll hear the name "Chase Budinger" announced -- quite possibly by Adam Silver, who usually presides over the second round.

This might be a bit early, but its hard not to be excited about the upcoming season for the Arizona Wildcats.

THE GOOD NEWS: The Wildcats will start fresh with Sean Miller, whose motion offense thrives on interchangeable parts and he's the kind of guy who plans to keep UA in the running for the "Point Guard U" title.

Sean Miller received a motor for his first Arizona offense Saturday, and maybe even a chance to preserve the Wildcats' 25-year NCAA tournament streak, when point guard Nic Wise told him he would return for his senior season.