Will Budinger and Bayless live up to the hype?
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Killer Bs worth the hype
The past two years, the Arizona men's basketball team featured a returning stud and a hot-shot freshman, with senior guard Hassan Adams and freshman forward Marcus Williams in 2005-2006 and the sophomore Williams and freshman forward Chase Budinger in 2006-2007.
That trend will continue during the 2007-2008 year, with Budinger returning for a sophomore season in which he will be joined by top-10 freshman guard Jerryd Bayless.
As the Killer Bs, Budinger and Jerryd Bayless will hit the court with higher expectations than previous Arizona Wildcats duos, however, with Budinger being named a preseason first-team All-American and Jerryd Bayless a second-team All-Freshman performer by Collegehoops.net.
The thing about this duo, though, is that they will live up to all the hype.
Budinger earned Pacific 10 Conference Freshman of the Year honors last season against a crowded field of conference freshmen. He averaged 15.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while displaying a silky smooth jump shot and out-of-the-gym athleticism.
At times Budinger deferred to his more experienced teammates, such as Williams and seniors Ivan Radenovic and Mustafa Shakur, but he more than flashed his potential with a 30-point outburst in a Feb. 10 upset at Oregon. At the end of last season, Budinger spoke about how this year's Wildcats will be his team, so expect more moments like the Oregon game and less deferring to teammates.
That's not to mention the summer of grueling strength and conditioning Budinger has put in with acclaimed trainer Trent Suzuki, designed to make him better in defense, strength and stamina, his weak areas last season.
Jerryd Bayless experienced no such problems deferring to teammates last year as a senior at Phoenix St. Mary's High School, averaging 33.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.0 steals on his way to becoming a McDonald's All-American, a two-time Gatorade state player of the year and a four-time first-team all-state performer. He also carried his team to the state championship game for the second time in three years without much help.
With Jerryd Bayless' competitiveness and scoring punch, he will add the offense missing from the guard spot last year and provide the perfect complement to Budinger, leading both players to live up to their considerable hype.
See more at http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu
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