Coming into a conference game against Cal on Feb. 1, the Arizona Wildcats were 21-0, and 8-0 in Pac-12 play. It should’ve been a fairly easy win against the Golden Bears. Not even three minutes into the game, a major injury to an important piece that would’ve played a big part in Arizona’s championship run not only helped Cal win the game, but hurt the Wildcats in the NCAA tournament.
Arizona may have been criticized for their fairly weak schedule as they only faced one Top 25 team in No. 6 Duke–whom they beat, by the way–but the Wildcats roster could have beat anyone in the country. Led by Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson–who were drafted by the Magic (fourth overall) and Rockets (42nd), respectively–the Wildcats had major athleticism running the show.
The Pac-12 is respectable enough that going undefeated until your 22nd game is pretty impressive. Arizona had a good thing going, but when Brandon Ashley fell, everything changed.
More from NBA
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
While Ashley could have been considered a glorified role player, he couldn’t do much with Gordon and Johnson hogging the ball. They should have hogged the ball, though, and that’s the reason they had such a spectacular season.
As the third wheel, Ashley still managed to post 11.5 points with an eFG% of .553 (effective field goal percentage), and 5.8 rebounds per game in what Sports-Reference.com considers 22 games, even though his last game was only two-and-some-change minutes long.
Without Ashley, the Wildcats still managed a 30-4 regular season record and a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tourney. Beating Weber State, Gonzaga and San Diego State, Arizona made it to the Elite Eight, where they’d face Wisconsin. Only missing out on the Final Four by one point in overtime, I’d say the Wildcats fared well without Ashley.
If they had Ashley, however, we could have been praising a new champion back in April.
Ashley may not have been Aaron Gordon, but he did what he could. This season back in Arizona with Gordon and Johnson in the pros, Ashley will have more of the spotlight.
After sitting on the sidelines for the remaining 16 games of Arizona’s season, Ashley has to be starving to come back and lead the Wildcats as far as they could have gone last season if he were still on the court.
Without Gordon and Johnson, Ashley will definitely have to carry more of a load than last season and take more of a leadership role, but he won’t be alone. Along with T.J. McConnell, Ashley is among the more talented upperclassmen at Arizona. He will have to lead by example this season, but also has eight (of the 16 current roster members) other upperclassmen to help him with that.
Making up for what Gordon and Johnson did last season will undoubtedly be a tough feat, but who’s to say Ashley can’t do it? It’s hard to predict how Ashley will perform in a bigger role this season, as he hadn’t had much of a chance to prove himself in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
In his first year, Ashley didn’t have much of a chance. While playing 35 games, Ashley averaged 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per contest. Last season, Ashley saw more minutes, meaning more opportunity, and thus showed improvement before injuring his foot.
With even more opportunity in 2014-15 along with the hunger to return strong, Ashley might just have a breakout season.
If Ashley lives up to the expectations, not only will his draft stock skyrocket, but the Wildcats’ chances of going all the way will too.
Ashley will be paired with 2014 No. 1 ranked small forward and No. 7 overall ranked recruit Stanley Johnson. Ashley undoubtedly wants to be the main centerpiece in Arizona’s offense, but you’re not winning a national championship without some help. Along with all the experience Arizona has carried over from last season, having Johnson join the mix will help tremendously.
Winning a championship may seem like a reach for this team after losing Gordon and (Nick) Johnson, but if you think back to last season, the doubts slowly fade away. With Ashley, that team had a strong chance at winning it all, and if (Stanley) Johnson fills Gordon’s shoes well, the possibilities seem endless for the Wildcats. Having McConnell, a very capable and experienced guard, returning is also an underrated piece of the puzzle that will help Arizona construct a long tournament run.
While some may not have high expectations for Arizona this season, they might not realize the player Ashley is capable of being. Assuming a healthy season not only for Ashley but the whole Arizona roster, the Wildcats are a team capable of making a deep tournament run.
Watch out for Ashley and the Wildcats this season, because if you’re not aware of how good they can be, they might catch you by surprise.