College Basketball Capsules: No. 3 Texas preps for title run with vets, youth

AUSTIN — The coach talks about his defense. Teammates talk about his dunks. Texas freshman guard Avery Bradley has found a way to impress just about everyone in practice.

"I’ve never seen a guy have that many put-back dunks at 6-foot-3," senior forward Damion James said. Adds coach Rick Barnes: "He guards the basketball as well as anybody you’ll ever see."

Bradley helped give the Longhorns one of the top freshman classes in the country. Blend the youngsters with a group of talented seniors and No. 3 Texas is among the early favorites to contend for a national championship after last season’s 23-12 finish.

"The challenge will be how do we bring it all together," said Barnes, who hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2003. "We’ve got guys who can play and we’ve got to get them out there."

Bradley is just a part of what is expected to be an exceptional talent pool in the backcourt. He and freshmen Jordan Hamilton, J’Covan Brown and Shawn Hamilton will be competing with senior Justin Mason and sophomore Varez Ward for playing time.

And in mid-December, the Longhorns will add Florida transfer Jai Lucas to the mix.

"We’re going to have good guard play," Barnes said. "The young players don’t understand yet that if you get 10-12 minutes a game, that’s going to be hard to get on a team this talented."

Barnes has had plenty of talented freshman come through his program for short stays before jumping to the NBA. T.J. Ford and D.J. Augustin played just two seasons at Texas. Kevin Durant burned through one season in Austin, winning national player of the year honors in 2006-2007.

What makes this season different is that the freshmen also have upperclassmen with experience to lean on.

"We haven’t had a senior class in I don’t know how long," Barnes said. "Those seniors know what it takes to be on the court, and they lead by example. As talented as some of these younger guys are, they are learning that it takes more than talent."

James, who can be a prolific scorer and rebounder from the wing and in the post, worked out for NBA teams last spring but decided to return for his senior season. He averaged 15.4 points last season, ranks third in Texas history in career rebounds (968) and has 37 career double-doubles.

"It’s not like I wasn’t going to play in the NBA, but it showed me what it will take to be in the NBA 15 years instead of just two," James said.

Also returning is Dexter Pittman, a 6-foot-10 center who has spent four years losing weight to help boost his production. Once listed at 366 pounds, he’s now down to about 285.

"I need smaller clothes," he said.

Pittman became a regular member of Barnes’ rotation last season and his points average jumped from 2.8 as a sophomore to 10.1 as a junior. James said he expects bigger things from his slimmed-down teammate this season.

"He walks with a swagger: ‘I’m Dex, and can’t nobody stop me,"’ James said.

It won’t take long for the schedule to put the new talent and Texas’ high ranking to the test.

In December, Texas plays Southern Cal at home before clashing with North Carolina in Arlington at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium. Promoters are hoping to draw 75,000, which would make it the largest crowd to ever watch a Texas college basketball game.

After that, it’s back home to play No. 2 Michigan State three days before Christmas. The Longhorns open Big 12 play Jan. 9 against Colorado.

New-look Wildcats ready to open Miller Era

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

"It’s really a brand-new fresh canvas," coach Sean Miller said.

One thing hasn’t changed: expectations.

In the long run, Miller is charged with returning the Wildcats to the national prominence they enjoyed during Hall of Famer Lute Olson’s 24 seasons in the desert, which brought four Final Four trips and a national title in 1997.

This year, the goal is simpler, but perhaps every bit as daunting.

Miller and his youthful squad are under pressure to extend Arizona’s 25-year string of NCAA tournament appearances, the nation’s longest active streak and two shy of North Carolina’s record run of 27 straight appearances from 1975 to 2001.

The long tourney run is a powerful recruiting tool. But Miller has warned that it could also be a burden to an inexperienced group.

" ‘The Streak’ is ‘The Streak’ and you can’t get past that," freshman point guard Lamont ‘MoMo’ Jones said.

The Wildcats were picked fourth in a preseason poll of Pac-10 media.

March seemed a long way off when the Wildcats opened preseason drills. They spent much of the fall being introduced to each other.

Gone are Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger, now playing in the NBA.

The players on this year’s team accounted for only 32.9 of Arizona’s 72.3 points per game in 2008-09.

Arizona’s only upperclassmen are senior point guard Nic Wise and junior forward Jamelle Horne. Sophomore guard Kyle Fogg, who averaged 6.1 points per game last season, is the Wildcats’ third-leading returning scorer.

Wise wavered on returning for his senior season. But with no guarantees that he’d be drafted last summer, Wise came back and will play for his fourth coach in as many years.

"It’s going to be a big load for me, Jamelle and Fogg, but feels good to finally have a coach," said Wise.

Wise averaged 15.7 points per game last season, second to California’s Jerome Randle (18.3) among returners in the Pac-10. Wise also ranked in the top five in assists (4.6 per game), steals (1.5 per game) and free throw percentage (84.8 percent).

Wise is the latest in a long line of star Arizona point guards.

"You want to be the big man," Wise said. "I’ve just got to live up to the role."

Wise is generously listed at 5-foot-10, but he’ll be asked to shoulder most of the leadership responsibility, at least early on.

"He certainly has the most at stake, coming back for his senior year, and I certainly wouldn’t trade him with any point guard," Miller said.

Wise will provide leadership for a flood of new signees, including 6-foot-6 swingman Solomon Hill of Los Angeles; 6-foot-10 center Kyryl Natyazhko of the Ukraine; Jones, a 5-foot-11 point guard of Harlem; and 6-foot-6 swingman Kevin Parrom of the Bronx.

Miller won’t project a starting lineup, and it’s very likely it will change as the season progresses.

Arizona may be inexperienced, but at least the Wildcats have some stability on the bench for the first time in three seasons.

Two years ago, Olson took a personal leave of absence before the season tipped off, turning the team over to interim coach Kevin O’Neill. Back on the job last fall, Olson spoke enthusiastically about the upcoming season at media day, then resigned two days later.

Interim coach Russ Pennell replaced Olson and guided Arizona to its 25th straight NCAA berth — barely. The Wildcats slipped in as a 12th seed, then made a surprising run to the regional semifinals.

After flirting with former USC coach Tim Floyd last spring, Arizona lured the 40-year-old Miller from Xavier with a five-year contract that pays him a base salary of $2 million per year plus a $1 million signing bonus.

Miller will take up residence on the sideline of a refurbished McKale Center court, which will have a different look this season. The school’s trademark block "A" can be found at center court, and the "Lute and Bobbi Olson Court" tribute has moved to the front of the Arizona bench.

"We certainly look forward to the challenge of improvement," Miller said, "and at the end of the year, if things line up right, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we’re a very good team, and a very dangerous team that has improved a lot."

-- Andrew Bagnato

Women

Hatchell: Breland’s lymphoma in ‘remission’

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell says Jessica Breland’s Hodgkin’s lymphoma has gone into remission, though it’s still unclear whether the senior will be able to play this season.

Hatchell said Wednesday that Breland finished her five-month course of chemotherapy last week and will have a scan next week that could determine whether she needs additional treatments. However, Hatchell says she is still leaning toward redshirting Breland this year and her return to the lineup would be a "pleasant surprise."

Breland didn’t speak to reporters attending the team’s preseason media day. She averaged 14 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last year for the Tar Heels, and was a preseason all-Atlantic Coast Conference pick for this year.