Arizona Gets 1st Pac-10 Road Test Against USC

Any basketball team that loses four of its five starters and five of its six top scorers, is usually designated as an also-ran in the preseason assessments.

Arizona was so identified at the outset of the season as the Pacific 10 coaches predicted that Lute Olson’s team would finish eighth.

A reassessment is in order, since Arizona, USC’s opponent tonight at 8 at the Sports Arena, is tied with Oregon State for first place in the Pac-10. The Wildcats are 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

Now, the test for any team is how it fares on the road. Arizona has lost four of its five road games and is venturing away from home for the first time in conference competition.

Even so, the Wildcats figure to be a factor in the race. If there is a dominating team, it has yet to surface.

“I would put Washington and Oregon State right at the top, and when the dust clears, Arizona will be right there,” USC Coach Stan Morrison said.

USC is a young team with four freshmen on its roster. Arizona has five freshmen, and two are starting--forwards Sean Elliott and Anthony Cook. Of the nine players who play regularly, seven are either sophomores or freshmen.

But the Wildcats have an edge over most of their opponents because Olson has been successful wherever he has coached and because he has a dynamic duo in the backcourt, junior Steve Kerr and sophomore Craig McMillan.

“I think we’ve played better than what we expected we could at this point,” Olson said Wednesday. “But the jury is still out in regard to what happens to us from this point on, because we’ve played three league games at home. Young teams tend to be good at home and not as consistent on the road as you would like.

“But we’ve played against some pretty good nonconference competition, such as Purdue, Nevada Las Vegas, Tulsa and Boston College, so it isn’t a false record.”

Kerr, from Pacific Palisades High, is the only returning starter. He has been a catalyst for the team, shooting 68% the last six games, mostly from long range.

“Steve was switched from his natural off-guard position to a point position,” Olson said. “He’s played beyond what we expected. He has always been a great shooter, but the question was, could he take over leadership and ballhandling roles and not have his scoring affected. But his scoring (14.9 points a game) and his percentage (60.5%) have gone up. He is probably the most knowledgeable kid at the point that I’ve ever coached.”

McMillan, a 6-6 guard from Cloverdale, Calif., was a highly regarded high school prospect who is playing to expectations. He is averaging 11.8 points a game, and scored a career-high 22 points in a 79-72 double-overtime win over California Sunday at Tucson.

“Kerr and McMillan are destined to be one of the great backcourt tandems in the country, if they’re not already there,” Morrison said. “Kerr is an NBA prospect, and I wouldn’t have said that about him before.”

John Edgar, a 6-6 senior who had limited playing time last year because of an eye injury, is holding his own at center, despite his lack of size. He’s averaging 11 points and 7 rebounds a game.

Olson said: “A lot of people didn’t think he could handle that spot, but he’s the key guy for us in our zone defense.”

Olson had other question marks, with two freshmen, Elliott and Cook, both 6-8, on the front line. Elliott, a prep All-American from Tucson, is averaging 14.3 points a game. Cook, from Van Nuys High School, has blocked 23 shots this season.

With the exception of 7-foot Chris Welp at Washington and 6-10 Jose Ortiz at Oregon State, there aren’t any dominating centers in the Pac-10.

Olson had a relatively small front line last season, though, and his team finished in a tie for second place with a 12-6 record. In 6-7 Pete Williams, he had the third-leading rebounder in the conference.

Although Olson has lost his front-line stars, Williams and Eddie Smith, the Arizona coach said Elliott and Cook have more natural talent than the seniors they replaced.

“They’re not that good now, but they’ll be better than any front-liners we’ve had in our program,” Olson said. “It’s just a matter of how long it takes them.”

So, Arizona has a promising future. It’s also possible that Olson’s young team may be ahead of schedule.

Trojan Notes The USC women’s basketball team (13-2) will meet improving Arizona (11-3) at 5:45 p.m. at the Sports Arena. All-American Cheryl Miller, who missed Tuesday night’s game against Cal State Fullerton while in New Orleans for the Broderick Award dinner, is expected to play tonight. . . . USC Coach Stan Morrison said his team is still a factor in the Pac-10 race even though it has a 1-3 record, 6-7 overall.