ARIZONA WILDCATS BASKETBALL
Rivera: Budinger admits he's in slump
Arizona junior needs to be more aggressive, take control of game
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Oregon (6-8, 0-2) at Arizona (9-5, 0-2)
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
TV: FSNA
Radio: 1290 AM, 107.5 FM
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Chase Budinger is ready to face his situation head on. He's no longer denying he's in a slump, something he did last week.
Mired in a career-worst four-game funk, the Arizona junior knows it's more than just finding his shot. He needs to find himself mentally.
It begins with confidence. He mentioned that word about five times in the postmortem outside Arizona's locker room in what was a Bay Area debacle after Sunday's 76-60 loss to Stanford.
That loss dropped UA to 9-5 overall and 0-2 in Pac-10 play.
"Try to explain confidence to me,'' Budinger asked one media member. "It's one of the hardest definitions to explain. Everyone has their own definition of confidence. I have my own.''
Budinger has reached the point that he knows he has a problem. The last thing he needs to do is wallow in self-doubt. Going 12 for 50 - with many of the made baskets coming on dunks - can do that to you. These are fragile times for Budinger to be sure. In turn, it makes for testy times for the team, one still searching for an identity 14 games into the season.
Is it the team that beat ranked Gonzaga (69-64) a month ago, and the team that beat defending national champion Kansas in resounding fashion (84-67) two weeks ago?
Or is it the team that looked listless and lifeless in the Bay Area in losing to Cal and Stanford?
"We need to get back to playing like we were,'' UA interim coach Russ Pennell said. "No question we can. We have evidence of it. We have wins to prove it.''
The only way Budinger can get through this is to be aggressive - although it may not be in his nature - and get to the basket as strongly as he can. He needs to stop finessing shots, stop short-arming shots and stop second-guessing every missed basket.
Budinger still ranks second on the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game, but that average has dipped to 10.5 per contest over the past four outings.
Imagine what a good conversation with former Wildcat Luke Walton would do for Budinger right about now?
Imagine what Budinger could learn from Walton, a-carefree-but-intense player on the court. No one - except for maybe Jason Gardner - hated to lose more than Walton on those UA teams from the early 2000s.
You'd never guess it because of his off-court demeanor, but Walton despised not winning a game.
Budinger needs to be like that. To be sure, it doesn't happen overnight. It might not come this season. But if UA wants to get back to the NCAA Tournament this year, Budinger needs to take more control of his game and the team.
Now would be the time to do it. Pennell continues to say it's going to happen, but what else is he going to say? UA needs Budinger to get back on track with the Oregon schools coming to town this week.
And if he does break out of the slump this week, the worst thing he can do is say, "I told you so.'' He needs to be humble and enjoy playing the game.
Maybe that's been part of the problem. Is he worrying too much about his NBA future, instead of taking care of the present and enjoying himself?
Embracing his role as a leader might help.
In two-plus seasons at Arizona, he has not been comfortable in the Batman role - or so it appears.
In his freshman season, he was second fiddle to Marcus Williams and didn't need to be. Last season, he was Jerryd Bayless' sidekick.
Some just like the in-the-background role.
He'll have to get out of that comfort zone and change his approach.
Again, Pennell thinks it will happen. It takes time.
"When you have a player who shoots poorly, it takes him a few days to get out of that and a couple more to put it into a game,'' Pennell said.
The coach says Budinger has shot the ball well in practice.
"You're going to see that when he gets it going, he's going to really get it going,'' Pennell said.
Now, it's about doing it.
What's "liberous"? I am unfamiliar with that word :-) :-) :-)
Oh, and Jose.....I haven't even received my 1st warning yet - let alone my 3rd! :-) :-) :-)
Robert
I am in GREAT spirits! As you know, I don't like you, and it does my heart a great deal of good, whenever I see you begging for help from "management".
Your post above doesn't remove the fact that you were crying like a little girl, AGAIN, and everyone reading this site knows that your subsequent post here is just a failed attempt to reclaim your dignity :-)
God, I love it when you get revealed! Keep up the "great" work, Jose :-)
Robert