Maui champ Arizona avoids the 'rocky start' Sean Miller feared
2014-11-28
"Realistically, we're not that good of team right now," Miller said. "We're nowhere near where we [were] a year ago at this time. I can see us getting off to a rocky start in the month of November."
Arizona indeed hasn't bolted from the starting blocks as fast as fellow top-five teams Kentucky, Duke and Wisconsin have this season, but the Wildcats are starting to show signs that they may yet close the gap. They showcased stifling defense, an emerging freshman star and a knack for getting to the free throw line Wednesday night in the Maui Invitational title game, continuing their recent domination of San Diego State with a tense 61-59 victory over the 15th-ranked Aztecs.
That Arizona managed to thwart San Diego State's latest upset bid is impressive because the Aztecs had plenty of motivation. San Diego State had hoped to avenge three previous narrow losses to the Wildcats, one in the Sweet 16 last March in Anaheim, one in the regular season in San Diego last November and one in the finals of the Diamondhead Classic in Dec. 2012.
It's unlikely Arizona would beaten San Diego State a fourth time in a row if it didn't produce its best defensive stretch of the season during the final 10 minutes of Wednesday night's game. The previously unbeaten Aztecs took a 48-47 lead on an Angelo Chol basket midway through the second half but eventually ran out of ways to generate offense against the Wildcats, missing nine of their next 10 shots and scoring only three points in nine minutes.
Such a stifling stretch is a good sign for an Arizona team that surrendered an unusually high shooting percentage in a narrow victory over Kansas State in the Maui semifinals the night before. The Wildcats miss Nick Johnson's vocal leadership and Aaron Gordon's knack for defending multiple positions yet they still have the personnel to overwhelm opposing offenses in time, from an elite on-ball defender at point guard, to overwhelming size, strength and ball-hawking instincts at wing, to several capable interior defenders and rim protectors in the paint.
Where there are greater questions about Arizona is on offense because sometimes the Wildcats simply don't score as easily as other top teams. Arizona shot just 36.5 percent from the field against the formidable San Diego State defense and only managed 61 points because its guards turned turnovers into fast-break chances and got to the foul line 24 times.
In reality, the ability to turn defense into offense and to generate free throws may turn out to be the Wildcats' best offensive weapons this season. The T.J. McConnell 3-pointer that gave Arizona the lead for good with 7:39 to go was set up by a J.J. O'Brien Turnover. Rondae-Hollis Jefferson then gave Arizona some breathing room when he blocked a Dwayne Polee 3-pointer and raced out for a breakaway dunk that extended the lead to four.
That Arizona shot so many free throws was also no surprise considering the Wildcats average nearly 30 per game. While the downside of playing Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson together at wing is that neither can shoot consistently enough from the perimeter to space the floor, the upside is that both are big, strong wings who excel attacking the rim and getting to the foul line.
One of the biggest questions facing Arizona entering the season was who would fill Nick Johnson's role as the team's offensive catalyst and go-to scorer down the stretch in close games. There wasn't an obvious choice among the returning players since Hollis-Jefferson still lacks the ball handling skills and jump shot to make that transition and Brandon Ashley is ill-suited for the role as a pick-and-pop forward.
Maybe the most encouraging aspect of Wednesday night's victory was that highly touted freshman wing Stanley Johnston for the first time showed signs that he may yet emerge as Arizona's top scoring threat. Johnson delivered a season-high 18 points and 9 rebounds against the fearsome San Diego State defense, and while his shooting percentage was low, he was also fearless attacking the rim and getting to the foul line throughout the second half.
In many ways, Johnson symbolizes where Arizona is right now as a team flashes of greatness but still a work in progress.
Arizona still needs to become more consistent on defense and to develop an identity late in close games on offense. Nonetheless, the team Miller insisted was "nowhere near" where it needed to be three weeks ago is steadily getting closer.
Mills continues to lead by example2013-04-22By Brian Hendrickson
NCAA.org
Perceptions used to
nfl football betting Online Bingo Play Slots Online in US Bicimotos hurt Billy Mills, make him feel devalued, even led him to thoughts of suicide. Then the former All-American distance runner at Kansas realized he could draw strength from them.
Now an inspiring speaker and humanitarian, Mills grew up in a time when his American Indian heritage made him a target for racism. He was excluded from team photos and fraternities, making him question if the value of his life was too low to continue. Then, after winning a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, he was greeted as an American hero, holder of one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history one that became a catalyst for a lifetime of humanitarian work.
The difference before and after the race lay in peoples perceptions of him, Mills said. That realization still hangs with him alongside the elation of victory. He now preaches the lessons of that moment. He promotes the value of embracing the virtues of global diversity, and how peoples perceptions of other cultures as he experienced 49 years ago still prevent the world from becoming more connected. Mills has traveled to more than 100 countries spreading his message of unity, and received some of the highest awards American citizens can receive.
On Thursday, the NCAA added to those honors by dedicating a room at its national office to Mills, continuing the organizations tradition of recognizing athletes who have gone beyond sport to make a positive impact on society and people from all walks of life.
On Thursday, the NCAA added to those honors by dedicating a room at its national office to Mills, continuing the organizations tradition of recognizing athletes who used their sport to cultivate leadership skills that made a difference in their communities.
Billy Mills accomplishments on and off the track are nothing short of amazing and certainly the stuff of dreams, said NCAA President Mark Emmert. His message of unity is powerful. It reflects the values of the NCAA, and we hope that this inspiring message of hope propels others to do great things.
Mills story started in one of the poorest communities in America: The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. His mother died when he was 8 years old, and his father followed her four years later. Before he died, Mills father advised him to look deep in his soul and see past the anger of racism and pain of losing his mother, and find a dream to guide him.
You need a dream to heal a broken soul, Mills father told him.
But dreams werent easily supported for American Indians in the 1950s and 60s, a time when America was experiencing turbulent social change during the Civil Rights Movement. But Mills said American Indians didnt feel included in that movement, and during three seasons at Kansas, Mills said he was not allowed to join a fraternity and could only walk on three streets in Lawrence, Kan., without a pass.
Feeling like a social outcast drove Mills to thoughts of suicide. Three times in college he was asked by a photographer to step out of a team photograph. Though each time a teammate insisted he step back in, the feelings of exclusion eventually broke his spirit.
One day, Mills returned to a hotel room and prepared himself to jump from his window. But before he could, Mills heard a voice speak from inside him, urging him not to jump. He swore it was the voice of his father, who once told him one day he would have wings of an eagle if he could heal his broken soul. Mills needed a dream to heal his soul, his father had told him.
So for the first time, Mills wrote his dream down on paper: winning an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters.
The creator has given me the ability, he wrote. Believe, believe, believe.
After being commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corp after college, Mills joined the U.S. Marine Corp Track and Field Team and qualified for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He qualified for the 10,000-meter finals nearly a minute slower than record-holder Ron Clarke of Australia and hardly drew notice in a field packed with former gold medalists and record holders. Then Mills blew past Clarke and other favored runners on the final stretch, beating his personal best time by 46 seconds to become the only American to ever win that event.
As he made his move, Mills looked briefly to a German runner and saw an eagle on his chest. He thought of his fathers words about having wings of an eagle.
I may never get this close again. I need to do it now, Mills told himself before making his remarkable kick to what Runners World magazine later named the second-greatest Olympic Moment of the 20th Century.
He tracked down the German runner after the race to tell him how the eagle on his chest inspired him to victory. But there was no eagle on the runners jersey. It was the perception of the eagle that willed Mills to victory.
Perceptions can create us; perceptions can destroy us, Mills told the NCAA staff Thursday. Its how we deal with perceptions, individually and collectively, that makes a difference.
That message followed Mills through the years that followed. He felt his victory was a gift from a higher power. And in the Lakota culture, such gifts of empowerment must be honored by giving back.
So Mills channeled his athletic achievements into a lifetime of leadership. In 1986, Mills partnered with Christian Relief Services to start Running Strong for Native American Youth, a charity that helped drill wells, build homes, develop food services, establish medical clinics and youth centers for American Indian families, and preserve their language and culture.
The charitys success was the start of a new career that made Mills and his life story a healing bridge that connected cultures. He continues to travel up to 300 days every year to promote his message of valuing global unity through the dignity, character and beauty of global diversity. And he urges the people he meets to look beyond the perceptions they hold of other cultures and see the beauty and virtues in global diversity.
It brought me to a very powerful understanding that its the journey, not the destination, which empowers us, Mills said of his athletics career. Its the daily decisions we make in life, not just talent we possess, that choreograph our destiny. That has proven over and over again in my business and relationships. Theyve proven to be so true over and over again that, theyve kind of become a vision and a mission statement to my existence.
As he spreads that message, the man who was once allowed limited access to the streets of Lawrence has received the highest awards a United States citizen can receive. In February, President Barack Obama presented Mills with the Presidential Citizens Medal. He has also been awarded with Kansas Distinguished Service Citation, the schools most distinguished alumni award.
Representations of those awards flanked by paintings by his wife, artist Pat Mills now decorate the Billy Mills Room at the NCAA National Office, presenting a timeline of a journey to overcome others perceptions of himself, and teaching others how to do the same.
The gold medal, it represents my journey, Mills said. The gold medal has been a catalyst to do so many more significant things in life than winning the gold medal. But Ill never forget that moment.
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