RALEIGH, N.C.—Arizona’s final game east of the Rocky Mountains this season was all about flights. The game itself, a solid 72-62 road win against the N.C. State Wolfpack, was held in a state that claims “First in Flight” on its license plates.
And the Wildcats traveled across the country on a chartered flight, a rare treat for the players. “I loved it,” said sophomore Kevin Parrom, who had 11 points. “That’s very fun. We need to do that more often.”
Arizona has started the 2010-11 season 10-2 with its eyes set on returning to the NCAA tournament. He’s not the only one with that opinion, obviously.
“That was a big difference, not sitting next to people we don’t know and being awkward and uncomfortable,” Wildcats star Derrick Williams said. “I just think the charter flight really helped us a lot. Everybody knew each other, we got to leave whenever we wanted and can come home whenever we want.”
And how did Williams, who was anything but awkward or uncomfortable while scoring a game-high 22 points, spend his time on the plane? “Actually, I was asleep,” he said with a laugh. “We had a 9 a.m. practice before the flight, so I spent most of the time sleeping.”
The third element of the flight-themed trip was Williams himself. The vertical on his jaw-dropping alley-oop with just over nine minutes left in the game challenged the height on the Wright brothers’ original flight.
When Lamont Jones floated a lob in his general vicinity, Williams didn’t think he’d get it. The crowd didn’t think he’d get it, either. But when he extended, caught the ball and slammed it home, the Wolfpack faithful let out a collective gasp. Williams said he couldn’t remember another dunk like that in his career.
“Not that high. One against BYU was pretty close, a lob that game, but this one was probably the highest one I’ve gotten,” Williams said. “I was almost at the rim. My eyes were an inch or two from the rim. Pretty high up there.”
Aside from just being an impressive stand-alone play, that dunk came early in a 10-0 burst that helped the Wildcats pull away from the Wolfpack. “It was a critical stage for us,” N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe said. “We didn’t show composure and we didn’t show growth (during that run).”
And though the NCAA Tournament is a long time away—neither team has even started conference play—this is a game that could have a major impact come March. You can be sure both teams, who could very easily spend most of the last few months of the regular season on the bubble, were aware of that fact.
“This is one of those games where you can build your resume, even though it’s early,” said Scott Wood, who hit four 3-pointers and led N.C. State with 16 points. “You’re still trying to get your rhythm, but now’s when you can get a couple wins to help build your resume.”
For Lowe’s Wolfpack, this was most definitely an opportunity missed. They’ve already lost to three probable tournament teams in Georgetown, Syracuse and Wisconsin, and this one was at home. The loss drops them to 6-4 with four games left before they begin their ACC schedule.
The Wildcats had made 25 consecutive tournament appearances before finishing 16-15 last year in what was very much a rebuilding season. So, for the team right now, there’s no focus on anything beyond the game at hand, even though Arizona is now 10-2 with a road win over another team that could share its bubble come March.
“I don’t want to put the cart too far ahead, though,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “We kind of made our mind up in the fall to really stay locked in on getting better. Not just in wins and losses, but better in what we do. … Just staying locked in on being better and learning from each game. We’ll see where the results take us, too. Being 10-2 is a good feeling.”
It’s a good feeling, and a great start for a program trying to get back into college basketball’s rarefied air.
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