Christmas Wish Lists: Arizona needs its big men to mature

Over the course of the next two weeks, College Basketball Talk will be detailing what some of the country’s best, most intriguing, and thoroughly enigmatic teams need. It’s the spirit of the holidays. We’re in a giving mood.

What do other teams have on their Christmas Wish Lists? Click here to find out.

Gotta have it list-topper: Their young big men continue to mature

This one’s pretty obvious as far as Arizona is concerned, as the Wildcats have plenty of experience to go along with their skill on the perimeter. But inside? Sean Miller’s relying on three freshmen and a sophomore, and if Arizona is to make any noise come March Brandon Ashley, Angelo Chol, Grant Jerrett and Kaleb Tarczewski will need to mature as the season wears on. Chol’s averaging just 9.9 minutes per game currently, but all it would take is one injury for the sophomore to become a more important figure.

Each of the three freshmen have enjoyed moments of success thus far but they’ve also been inconsistent, which isn’t a shock when considering how much experience they have. Brandon Ashley scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds in a win over Long Beach State on November 19, only to follow that up with a two-point night in a win over Northern Arizona. The maturation of Ashley, Jerrett and Tarczewski would help keep senior Solomon Hill from having to do too much banging, as he’s far more comfortable on the wing.

Stocking stuffer: Mark Lyons takes better care of the basketball 

Let’s clear this up right now: Mark Lyons is a point guard, regardless of how some may attempt to use his assist and turnover numbers in order to state that he isn’t a “true” floor general. But there’s no doubt that the senior need to tighten things up when it comes to taking care of the basketball if the Wildcats are to reach their full potential. On the season Lyons has tallied a total of 18 assists…and 19 turnovers. Nearly breaking even in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.95 to be exact) may not be a problem right now, but when the pressure rises in March he’ll need to be better. And if the improvement can come without Lyons having to sacrifice some of his ability to make plays, that’s even better.

Planning on re-gifting: Solomon Hill’s field goal percentage

The move back to the three was expected to be a significant move for Hill after he spent the majority of last season at the four due to Arizona’s depth issues. But there is one area in which the move hasn’t been as fruitful as anticipated: field goal percentage. After shooting 2-of-16 in Saturday’s win at Clemson Hill is shooting just 39.1% from the field (33.3% on two-point shots), a number that’s nearly 11 percentage points lower than last season’s mark (50.0%). The three-point percentage (45.2%) has improved but expecting him to continue to score nearly 49% of his points from deep as the season wears on would be unrealistic, and it likely wouldn’t be in Arizona’s best interests either.

Stats courtesy of statsheet.com

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.