Over two exhibitions and the Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmage, Chase Budinger is 0 for 8 from three-point territory. He’s a combined 5 of 19 from the field in the Wildcats’ two exhibitions, too.
Should anybody be concerned yet? Russ Pennell said he isn’t.
Pennell said he wants Budinger to “flush it and let’s move on,” especially since Budinger has so many other ways to contribute.
“The thing with Chase that we have really tried to get him to understand: Chase Budinger is a valuable player even when he doesn’t score,” Pennell said. “Do we need him to score:? Absolutely. But he’s a great facilitator with the basketball, a steady hand in handling it, and his defense is much improved. It really is. And he’s rebounding the ball pretty decently.
“So I don’t want him so hung up in the scoring side of it where he gets bent out of shape and doesn’t do the other things. Because he will score. He will score. He’s still figuring out where he needs to get the ball. And he’s been in foul trouble the last two games. I think that’s really kind of kept him from getting in flow of the game.”
Budinger, too, said he’s shaking it off:
“It’s just one of those things, I guess, sort of slumps you could say,” Budinger said. “But I’ll be ready when the next game comes.”
…. And some links for the day: Here’s a reposting of Brandon Jennings’ latest game that Truth linked in the previous thread (when Jennings outscored Mustafa Shakur, of all people.) There’s also the latest ESPN Bracketology that forecasts UA as a No. 10 seed already and a Philadelphia Inquirer column about Andre Iguodala’s latest adjustment .
Also, Abdul Gaddy’s LOI has not been received yet by Washington, but the Huskies are expected to announce he’s theirs on Friday, according to the Seattle Times.
Budinger’s way to good a shooter for it to be a concern at the moment. From what I’ve seen, which has been limited, his mechanics continue to be flawless.
Nice thread to the Huskies, Bruce. Romar has the makings of a couple of very good seasons. He’s certainly put together a core of good players. Having Gaddy as his PG of the future certainly doesn’t hurt. In a couple of years Arizona is going to look at him and just mutter what could have been.
Hill looked good against the competition, such as it was, last night, but the rebounding effort for the team as a whole left much to be desired. Of course, all teams are playing pretty sloppy right now as new guys are trying to blend in with the returning veterans.
Watched UCLA last night and they were also pretty sloppy as they blend their young guys into the rotation. Their bloggers are saying the same as those on the Zona sites.
The simple fact is that the majority of the good programs will be fielding teams in February that bear little resemblance to what is on the court right now.
— adman 11/13/2008 09:07 AM #
Yes, that’s what the preseason is for: develop, find a style, improve, gain experience.
Hill’s improvement from season to season is amazing. Part is due the fact that he hasn’t been playing very long but also to how much ability he has. He can now start to develop a forward’s game to go with the post game—face basket, back to basket.
— Conspiracy Cat 11/13/2008 10:51 AM #
Jennings versus Shakur…
Amazing.
They both played 17 minutes. As far as the stats go, it was no contest. I’d like to see some vid.
Regarding Iggy.
He needs to be a Warrior or a Knick. His youth is being wasted in Philly.
And you are only young once. What a shame.
— Senior A 11/13/2008 06:32 PM #
Pennell is to UofA basketball, what Steve Kerr/Terry Porter are to the SUNs.
Team Killers!
— Devils666 11/13/2008 11:08 PM #
Bruce,
Is everyone going to get to play in the next game?
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3703153&campaign=rss&source=NCBHeadlines
— Chi_Cat 11/14/2008 05:52 PM #
Chi cat — UA says it will be fine. This appears to be a small piece of the whole picture the NCAA is looking at with the Cactus Classic, but I don’t expect any players will be declared ineligible.
I’m looking into this further now.
— Bruce Pascoe 11/14/2008 05:57 PM #
I don’t think Budinger’s struggles of late are a concern. The whole team is trying to find and maintain a rythmn that works on defense and offense. They haven’t gotten there yet, but when they do, I think a lot of aspects, including Budinger’s shooting, will start to come together.
— Rightbase 11/14/2008 06:10 PM #
Bruce is correct it shouldn’t be an issue. When I was in school the athletic dept had to report a problem because the secretary’s spouse husband gave me a ride to the bank to open up a bank account. I had to stop in mid transaction and come back. I was ineligible for 2 min’s then reinstated. It’s silly how the NCAA handles these things
— Trev in Kc 11/14/2008 06:32 PM #
devils666-
are you refering to the same suns that are currently 6-3, tied for second overall in the western conference, and in the top 10 in both scoring offense and defense? if so then i certainly hope Pennell can kill UA the same way…moron
— scott 11/14/2008 08:51 PM #
Jamison of Wildcat Scoop on Chase Budinger.
“Chase Budinger is more of the same old Chase Budinger.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, because Budinger is a very good player. But he’s not a superstar, he’s just a very good component.
For anyone that was expecting Budinger to become the dominant player that he has the ability to become, don’t count on it.”
— adman 11/14/2008 08:51 PM #