NCAA: Arizona Prepared to Back Up Hype

By Jordan Conn Sports Central Columnist

"Speed kills."

It's a phrase that has become almost as cliche in the sports world as Yankees World Series victories, but in this college basketball season, it couldn't be more true.

Though the physical style of the east coast and mid-west has dominated college basketball over the last several years, speed will be the most influential aspect of the 2000-2001 season. Why you ask? Five words. Woods, Wright, Jefferson, Arenas, Gardener. Five words that will put fear in the hearts of all Pac-10 coaches not named Lute Olson, and a smile on the face of Arizona fans everywhere. These five words are not merely names of the University of Arizona's starters, but representations of five finely tuned athletic machines; machines built on talent, hustle, and most importantly, speed.

Tucson has always been considered the speed capital of the college hoops world, but this year there is something different about that speed. That Wildcat speed is accompanied by a certain confidence. No, not confidence. Cockiness. The Wildcats have pure cockiness when it comes to their 2000-2001 team, and its hard to criticize them for it.

Quotes like junior swing man Richard Jefferson's, "On paper, we're as good as it gets" are certain to make Arizona the team America loves to hate throughout the season. However, how can you blame Jefferson for feeling this way? He bluntly stated what each and every college basketball fan already knows; the Cats are absolutely loaded.

The five a fore mentioned words represent college basketball's best starting lineup since Ademola Okulaja, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, and Ed Cota walked the grounds of Chapel Hill. The Sophomore guard combo of Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardener is very similar to the Miles Simon/Mike Bibby combination that led the Cats to the '97 National championship.

Arenas is an athletic scorer, who will force teams to guard him for forty minutes, while the best point guard in the country, Gardener, is also contributing to the hellacious experience Pac-10 backcourts will endure when facing 'Zona.

The frontcourt of Richard Jefferson, Michael Wright, and Loren Woods is unmatched by anyone in the country, and if healthy, this trio could be one of the most productive frontcourts in Arizona history. Woods, a Wake Forest refugee, is no longer in Tim Duncan's shadow and is now a full-fledged Wooden Award candidate, along with Gardener. The production of these two will determine whether the Cats are just another good squad, or a national championship caliber team.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good basketball teams out there this season. Michigan State has re-loaded, and is prepared for a title defense, and both of the North Carolina powerhouses are primed for big things, but they lack one crucial element, that is necessary for greatness in the new millennium. Speed. As Arizona will show, speed does, and will, kill.

Article courtesy of Sports Central