Arizona wins exhibition opener

Arizona won its exhibition opener 92-76 over Augustana College.

It may be difficult to get a true indication of where Arizona is at when it is facing a team that it is certainly more talented than.

With that being said, Wednesday was a good start.

The Wildcats received a great all-around effort and cruised to a 92-76 win over Augustana College Wednesday at McKale.

Much has been made in the off season about how much Jamelle Horne has improved and he showed glimpses of it on Wednesday. Horne led Arizona with 19 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, he added three blocks and at times seemed like the best player on the court.

Freshman Derrick Williams scored 14 points and Kevin Parrom added 12, as both had impressive debuts. Williams was able to hit numerous jumpers as well as score in the paint. In addition, he gave UA fans a sneak peak at the UA offense, as he was asked to be a post presence as well.

Moving back to Parrom, some may be surprised by Wednesday’s efforts, but those that saw him in high school realize that he is the type of player that can impact a game in many ways.

Parrom may already be one of the better defenders on the team and his length is going to pose problems for the opposition.

The Wildcats finished the game 7-15 from three while Augustana College was 7-19. In fact, Arizona outplayed the opposition in nearly every statistical category except for turnovers.

It may not be a huge worry because of the number of newcomers on the UA, but turnovers are definitely going to be addressed and the team will need to take care of the ball better.

In the end, it was a nice first effort in the Sean Miller era and left plenty to be built upon.