UA freshman Nnaji could bust zones
Believing another wave of zone defenses would greet his Wildcats this season, Arizona coach Sean Miller often assigned some of his players to form zone schemes for his offenses to practice against this fall.
It was a necessity, even for a man-toman devotee such as Miller. More and more in recent seasons, Pac-12 teams have thrown zones at the Wildcats: Mike Hopkins brought Syracuse’s infamous 2-3 zone to Washington, Oregon State’s Wayne Tinkle has a matchup zone and 1-3-1 in his pocket, while Utah’s Larry Krystkowiak and now UCLA’s Mick Cronin use a mix of zone and man defenses.
Then there’s Oregon’s Dana Altman, who famously shows multiple zone defenses that can morph into something else — sometimes on the same possession. And even USC’s Andy Enfield, also primarily a man-to-man coach, played matchup zone entirely against the UA last season in Los Angeles while the Wildcats shot just 27.8 percent.
“It was working,” Enfield said, “so we stayed in it.”
But while nothing from Arizona’s 8739 win over San Jose State on Thursday may count as solid evidence — considering the Spartans’ reputation as one of Division I’s worst teams — there were indications Thursday that the Wildcats might have enough zone-busting weapons to make opposing coaches think twice about their strategy this season.
Not only did the Wildcats shoot 44.4% from 3-point range — they have hit 42.1% over three games overall — but it’s increasingly obvious they also have a nifty new tool.
His name: Zeke Nnaji.
Every time the Wildcats poked the ball through the zone to their freshman big man Thursday, he took advantage, scoring 26 points, shooting 8 for 8 from the field and taking 12 trips to the free throw line while making 10 free throws.
Nnaji also collected 11 rebounds to become the first UA freshman to record a 20-10 effort in his first three games since Brandon Ashley had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Long Beach State in 2012-13.
He sliced the thing apart, somewhat like a strong, skilled and agile Arizona power forward did so often nine seasons ago en route to becoming the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft.
“Zeke’s a lot like Derrick Williams against the zone — he can really hurt you in the high post,” Miller said after Thursday’s game. “But he doesn’t have to do it just by shooting. He can drive. He’s the ideal player to get the ball anywhere in and around the rim, or anywhere
in and around the key area, against the zone. Because when he turns and faces a lot of good things will happen. He had a couple good passes tonight as well.”
When asked what the key was to his offensive efficiency, Nnaji politely spoke along the company line.
“I’d say it’s my teammates,” Nnaji said. “I mean, they’re giving me the ball in great spots. And our coaches have a good offenses for us that’s been working so far.”
OK. But somebody still has to has to put the ball in the bucket, and Nnaji never missed.
“Obviously, Zeke Nnaji was just fantastic,” Miller said. “How many players can go 8 for 8 from the field in any game, 10 for 12 from the foul line? And he had 11 rebounds, six on offense, 26 points and in only 21 minutes. He was clearly dominant.
“He has a knack of getting fouled, and it really showed in tonight’s game. He did a real good job against their zone in the middle. His teammates found him, but he delivered.”