25 College Basketball Teams in 25 Days: No. 1 Arizona Wildcats
By Chris Stone
This could finally be the year Sean Miller leads Arizona to a Final Four
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus recounts the tale of a Greek mythological figure sentenced to a punishment of theoretical meaninglessness for all of eternity. Camus explains, “The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.”
Whatever the reason for the discipline, Camus’ essay is meant to reflect on the absurdity of life, for Sisyphus’ punishment is only a punishment if one assumes the completion of the task is the only act capable of yielding happiness. Instead, Camus is most interested in Sisyphus’ thoughts as he descends the mountainside with his boulder tumbling back down it, arguing that once Sisyphus is able to recognize the pointlessness of his fate, he can accept it with contentment for he has already known a life with no light. It’s a liberating realization. Here, Camus concludes, with reference to Oedipus, “all is well.”
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It may be an imperfect analogy to suggest that Sean Miller is college basketball’s Sisyphus, but given the head coach has long come up short in his pursuit of a Final Four, it’s not difficult to see the similarities.
Miller is obviously not doomed to miss out on the Final Four for eternity. Most great coaches get there eventually. It just sort of feels like he has been so far. Miller’s entering his 14th season as a head coach and he’s made a quartet of Elite Eights, but he’s never pushed his way through to the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
For many, the Final Four has become a measuring stick of sorts. College basketball’s summit, if you will. It is the place where the proverbial stone finally rests after a coach has outgrown showing up in articles listing the best coaches to have never made a Final Four.
For his part, the 48-year old seems to understand measuring seasons and careers in Final Fours is arbitrary, a sentence imposed on coaches and players by college basketball’s own gods. “[W]e define our own success,” Miller said following the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament exit last March. “And I think if you’re a team that is 32-5, you win both the Pac-12 regular season and also the Pac-12 Tournament, and our journey ends in the Sweet 16, it’s hard to look at that as not getting it done or failure.”
In his own way, Miller seems to conclude all is well.
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“One always finds one’s burden again,” Camus writes of Sisyphus awaiting another push. As Miller enters the 2017-18 season with Final Four expectations thrust upon him, he’s found his.
The Arizona Wildcats project to be one of the favorites to make a deep run come next March, but the journey up the mountainside is already marred by roadblocks. Back in September, assistant coach Book Richardson was scooped up in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s bribery probe. He has since been fired and the university has resoundingly backed Miller. Yet, the inquiry still figures to loom large over Arizona for most of the season.
Then there’s Rawle Alkins. The 6-foot-5 wing entered the NBA Draft last spring before withdrawing at the last moment to return to school for his sophomore campaign. Alkins’ decision to return is a gift for Miller as he averaged 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per 40 minutes as a freshman. Unfortunately, Alkins suffered a broken foot at the end of September and the initial diagnosis suggested he’ll miss 8-12 weeks meaning the Wildcats will be without him at least to start the season.
Once Alkins returns, though, Arizona should have perhaps the most impressive collection wings in the country. That group is led by Allonzo Trier. The 6-foot-5 junior missed all but 18 games last season due to a PED suspension, but he was one of the best players in the country once he finally got on the floor. Trier was one of the three high major players to average better than 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2016-17 while posting a true shooting percentage of 61.0 or higher. The other two, Villanova’s Josh Hart and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan, were National Player of the Year candidates. Trier has received plenty of love on preseason All-American lists for the upcoming season, but if he is the same type of high volume, high efficiency scorer in 2017-18 that he was last year, expect him to show up in those player of the year conversations next March.
Arizona’s depth on the wing comes in the form of a pair of highly touted freshmen. Emmanuel Akot is a 6-foot-7 wing who graduated high school early in order to join the Wildcats. A consensus top 30 recruit, Akot is prized because of his defensive versatility and ability to handle the ball. While it looks like he’s still sorting out how to score at the college level, he should be able to do a bit of everything for the roster this season. Then there’s 4-star shooting guard Brandon Randolph. The 6-foot-6 New Yorker should provide an additional scoring threat this season. Randolph is a comfortable shooter who can do more than hit them off the catch. He’s capable of coming off screens or hitting off the bounce. Akot and Randolph will get valuable experience filling in for Alkins to start the season, positioning Arizona well to have a deep wing rotation by the time conference play rolls around.
The two freshmen wings are important to what the Wildcats want to do, but they’re not even the best prospects in Miller’s recruiting class. That honor belongs to 7-footer DeAndre Ayton. Built like a prototype for the modern day big man, Ayton faced questions about his effort level in high school. The talent, though, matches even the best players in the Class of 2017, including Michael Porter Jr. and Marvin Bagley III. Ayton will likely takeover for Lauri Markkanen in the frontcourt alongside Dusan Ristic, but Arizona’s best lineups may feature Ayton alongside three wings with Parker Jackson-Cartwright at the point.
Ayton has ridiculous physical tools at 7-feet tall with a 7-foot-5 wingspan. When he wants to, he can rebound with the best of them and protect the rim on the defensive end. On offense, he’s as comfortable on the block as he is on the perimeter. Expect him to play a stretch 4 role similar to Markkanen, but with less 3-point shooting and more dunking.
From top to bottom, Arizona has the most complete roster in the nation. All four wings have a chance to be NBA players while Ayton could challenge to be the No. 1 pick in 2018 if he proves he can play with a consistent motor. The Wildcats have returning players who’ve already put up good numbers in college alongside youthful talent that is expected to. No other roster has a similar balance.
Next: Duke's frontcourt is loaded for 2017-18
With a new season on the horizon, Sean Miller sits at the bottom of the mountain. The rock, awaiting its first push, rests in front of him. This is where Camus leaves Sisyphus and where we must leave Miller.
Miller must know by now what the night feels like, his rock rolling back down after coming up short of the sport’s summit. But at the foot of the mountain, Miller can sit free of melancholy. His fate belongs to him. What lies ahead is a world of potential. All is well.
“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart,” Camus wrote of this moment. “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
As Sean Miller stands ready to push the rock up the mountainside, confronting his fate once again, one must imagine Sean Miller happy.