The final loss wasn't the one that will hurt the most.
Sure, Arizona's season ended unexpectedly with a 65-54 home loss to Bucknell in the NIT, but that game seemed almost an afterthought for the Cats. They simply had not gotten past their 53-51 loss to Colorado in the Pac-12 championship game. That one cost the Wildcats a spot in the NCAA tournament.
"I think we left a lot in L.A.," senior shooting guard Kyle Fogg said of the Pac-12 final. "It's tough coming back from such a loss like that. I know I'm still kind of numb. That loss still hurts."
"It messes up your mind," senior power forward Jesse Perry added. "You almost have to be mentally strong to get ready for the NIT. We didn't do that."
Coach Sean Miller did not overreact to the Bucknell loss. He understood the context within the season, the bigger picture.
"We just didn't have the juice," he said. "And we really need it because we're not going to overwhelm teams with size and depth. We just ran out of gas."
So the Wildcats (23-12) turn the page on a season of close calls and what-ifs.
The roster next season will be entirely the result of Miller's recruiting, with no leftovers from the awkward transition period that followed Lute Olson's departure.
Arizona will have more size and depth next season -- and more talent. Miller's roster will be young -- with as many as four freshmen and two sophomores in the rotation -- but there should be more options to explore.
Senior-to-be Solomon Hill, who will be the club's most experienced player next season, actually apologized to the 8,433 fans who showed up at McKale Center for an NIT game few of them wanted to see. Those fans remember the 25 consecutive NCAA appearances, a streak that ended just three years ago. And just last season, Derrick Williams carried Arizona to within a single victory of a Final Four appearance.
The Wildcats intend to return to the NCAAs soon and often, but Hill made it clear they will put their own stamp on the future.
"We aren't living off anybody's past," he said.
NOTES, QUOTES
-- The Wildcats, devastated after a 53-51 loss to Colorado in the Pac-12 tournament championship game, did not seem to have their hearts in a first-round NIT game at home against Bucknell. A No. 1 seed in the event, they shot just 35 percent and were ousted by the visitors from the Patriot League.
-- Half of the Wildcats' defeats -- six of them -- came by four points or fewer or in overtime.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We've listened too much to the outside world. Guys didn't understand that we had another chance to play in front of our home crowd, to play again with each other one more time and get another win, even if it wasn't the (NCAA) tournament." -- Junior F Solomon Hill, on the Wildcats being unprepared emotionally for the NIT.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THE GOOD NEWS: Coach Sean Miller enters his fourth season and will have only the players he recruited on his roster next year. Among them are four players in the nation's top-rated recruiting class -- all of them rated among the top 50 in the country by Rivals.com. The best of the group is expected to be 6-foot-8 forward Brandon Ashley, rated No. 13 by Rivals. There is also a solid nucleus in place, led by senior-to-be F Solomon Hill and sophomore G Nick Johnson.
THE BAD NEWS: The status of freshman PG Josiah Turner is cloudy. He was suspended twice this past season, the last time before the Pac-12 tournament. He did not play in the team's final four games, and his future with the program is uncertain. The Wildcats lose three productive seniors, including All-Pac-12 SG Kyle Fogg and backup SG Brendon Lavender, their two best 3-point shooters. Also gone is senior PF Jesse Perry, who produced 12 double-doubles.
KEY RETURNEES: Junior F Solomon Hill will be back for his senior year after blossoming this season following the exit of star Derrick Williams to the NBA. Freshman Nick Johnson, a spectacular athlete, was moved from shooting guard to point guard when Josiah Turner was suspended late in the season, and he could remain at that spot permanently. Reserve Jordin Mayes can also play point guard. Freshman PF Angelo Chol gives the Cats muscle inside, and junior SG/SF Kevin Parrom should be stronger after his season was marred by a shooting incident and then the death of his grandmother.
ROSTER REPORT
-- Senior SG Kyle Fogg led the team in scoring at 13.5 points and shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range. He was the club's top scorer 11 times in the second half of the season.
-- Freshman G Nick Johnson averaged 9.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while playing both off the ball and at the point. He is penciled as a point guard for next season, but he struggled some late in the season. He averaged just 6.2 points over the final five games, shooting 8 for 37 from the field and 3 for 20 from the 3-point arc.
-- Junior SF Solomon Hill had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Bucknell for his 12th double-double of the season. Hill, who needs just 23 points to reach 1,000 for his career, averaged 16.6 points over the team's final five games.
