Arizona held one of its several closed preseason scrimmages Thursday, and the Wildcats appear to have found matchups tend to be a bit closer when point guards Brandon Williams and Justin Coleman are split up.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of unfair when coach puts him on the same team as me,鈥 Williams said of Coleman.
When asked why, Williams said:
鈥淚 think we go along with each other good, just coming off ball screens or him looking for me or him cutting. We鈥檙e both vocal so we like to talk to the big men, Chase (Jeter) and RyLu (Ryan Luther).
鈥(Coleman) is going to be a point guard when he鈥檚 out there. I鈥檓 just a guy who can do a lot of things. But if I get the ball off the rebound I鈥檓 not going to look for him -- he鈥檚 just gonna run up the floor. We like to play at a fast pace. I look at myself as a basketball player, not really a point or two guard.鈥
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Of course, UA coach Sean Miller will be trying to make it unfair for opponents by playing Williams and Coleman together often, starting in UA鈥檚 first exhibition Tuesday against Western New Mexico.
Miller has said Coleman will be the team鈥檚 primary point guard when he鈥檚 on the floor, while Williams will play it when Coleman isn鈥檛 on the floor. When the two are together, that gives Williams more freedom 鈥 and gives the Wildcats an extra ballhandling option.
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 a really good thing because it gives Brandon a chance to be himself,鈥 Coleman said of playing with Williams. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to be one of the better scorers ever here at Arizona so that gives him a chance to play his game, play his role.鈥
Williams said the two have already been practicing against pressing defenses together, knowing that鈥檚 what might be ahead from opponents.
鈥淕uys try to press us on defense but we can handle the ball well,鈥 Williams said. 鈥淲e try our press offense and we know how to handle it well.鈥
Still, for Williams, the preseason learning curve has been steep because he's learning both guard positions and Miller's system as a true freshman.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been pretty tough on me,鈥 Williams said. 鈥淟earning two spots is pretty hard, especially the one and two. Coach has been tough on me about that. But I go to watch film every day.鈥
Coleman and Williams were made available Thursday for what were scheduled to be UA's only available interviews between the Red-Blue Game and Western New Mexico exhibition. Miller has not been available for comment since the Red-Blue Game.
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at 573-4146 or bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
