Not too many players in the history of college basketball can say they’ve had four coaches in four years.
But Nic Wise can.
“It’s nothing I signed up for but everything happens for a reason and I feel it’s benefited me in the long run,” Wise, Arizona’s 5-foot-10, 177-pound senior point guard, said by phone from the Chris Paul camp in North Carolina. “After I finish playing I think I want to be a coach.”
Sean Miller will be the fourth man to coach Wise during his Wildcat career, following Lute Olson, Kevin O’Neill (now at USC) and Russ Pennell.
“Seeing four different perspectives on things that work and things that don’t, I think it helps me a lot and it will benefit me even more when I’m done playing,” Wise said.
Wise tested the NBA waters but returned to college after consulting with various people, including former Arizona and current NBA guards Jason Terry and Andre Iguodala.
“To have a chance to be preseason All-American and be one of the top five point guards in the country this year, I don’t think I could pass up on that,” Wise said.
Arizona lost Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill to the NBA, leaving Wise to run the show. Wise averaged 15.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in 35 appearances this past season.
“Nic Wise is the most established player that we have and I think he’ll be one of the better point guards in our conference,” Miller said.
After moving from Xavier to Arizona, Miller brought in a five-man recruiting class that has impressed Wise, especially New York natives Kevin Parrom and Lamont “Momo” Jones, who had previously committed to Louisville, Virginia Tech and USC.
“Both of them are going to have to contribute this year as freshmen,” Wise said. “We’re looking forward to having both of them on the team. Kevin, he’s a great scorer. He just needs to build up a little bit and put on a little weight.
“Momo, he’s a killer. He goes hard on pretty much anybody. He just needs to work on his defensive game and his play-making abilities, setting up other guys as well.”
Wise said he and Jones can play together in the backcourt, and can each play both positions, although Wise is clearly the more experienced point.
“Right now that’s how it looks depending on how Coach Miller wants to do it,” Wise said. “If he gets a rebound I can run the lane. Either one can shoot the rock.”
Wise is also impressed with freshman forward Derrick Williams, who first committed to USC.
“I think he’s gonna be a surprise to a lot of people,” Wise said. “He’s real athletic, about 6-8, long and he can shoot the outside shot. He’s gota nice little handle to him so I think he’s gonna be a surprise to a lot of people.”
Wise said he picked up a few tips from Paul, the NBA All-Star, about how point guards play at the pro level and he expects to bring those back to the PAC-10.
“Basically, the pressure’s gonna be on my shoulders to see how far we get this year,” he said.
CHRIS PAUL CP3 CAMP COLLEGE ROSTER
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Kevin Anderson, Richmond
Jerome Dyson, UConn
Ricky Harris, UMass
Dorenzo Hudson, Virginia Tech
Cameron Long, George Mason
Bobby Maze, Tennessee
Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette
AJ Slaughter, Western Kentucky
Ben Smith, Jacksonville
Ishmael Smith, Wake Forest
Isaiah Thomas, Washington
Edwin Ubiles, Siena
Tony White, College of Charleston
Nic Wise, Arizona.
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