# 2014–15 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Sean Miller and played home games at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 34–4, 16–2 in Pac-12 play to win their second straight Pac-12 regular season championship title for 14th time. In the Pac-12 Tournament, the Wildcats defeated 8-seed California; 73–51 in the quarterfinal game, 4-seed UCLA; 70–64 in the semifinal game, and 2-seed Oregon; 80–52 in the championship game. The Wildcats won their first Pac-12 Tournament title for the fifth time since 2002. As the #2 seed in the West Region NCAA tournament, The Arizona Wildcats defeated the #15 seed Texas Southern; 93–72 in the round of 64, #10 seed Ohio State; 73–58 in the round of 32, 6-seed Xavier; 68–60 in the Sweet 16, advancing to the Elite 8 for second straight year, losing to 1-seed Wisconsin (the rematch from the NCAA tournament's Elite 8 loss in 1-point overtime last season); 85–78.

## Previous season

The 2013–14 Arizona Wildcats team finished the season with an overall record of 33–5, and 15–3 in the Pac-12 to win their 13th Pac-12 regular season championship. In the Pac-12 tournament the Wildcats defeated Utah and Colorado to advanced to the Pac-12 Championship Game, where they lost to UCLA. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a 1–seed in the West Region, where they defeated 16-seed Weber State, 8-seed Gonzaga, and 4-seed San Diego State to advance to the Elite Eight, where they lost to 2-seed Wisconsin in overtime.

## Off Season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jordin Mayes | 20 | G | 6’3” | 190 | Senior | Los Angeles, California | Graduated |
| Nick Johnson | 13 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Junior | Gilbert, Arizona | Declared for 2014 NBA draft. |
| Zach Peters | 33 | PF | 6'10" | 240 | RS Freshman | Plano, Texas | Retired from playing basketball due to concussion issues. |
| Aaron Gordon | 11 | F | 6'9" | 225 | Freshman | San Jose, California | Declared for 2014 NBA draft. |
| Eric Conklin | 54 | PF | 6'6" | 235 | Freshman | Scottsdale, Arizona | Elected to transfer. |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ryan Anderson | 12 | PF | 6’9” | 216 | Senior | Lakewood, CA | Elected to forgo playing his senior season at Boston College to transfer to Arizona. Anderson will redshirt for the 2014–15 season, under NCAA transfer rules. Will have one year of eligibility for the 2015–16 season. |
| Kadeem Allen | 20 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Junior | Wilmington, NC | National JC Player of the Year, at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. Allen will redshirt for the 2014–15 season, and will have two years of eligibility starting for the 2015–16 season. |

### 2014 Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Parker Jackson-Cartwright PG | Los Angeles, CA | Loyola H.S. | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | Feb 24, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Craig Victor II F | New Orleans, LA | Findlay Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 17, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kadeem Allen G | Wilmington, NC | Hutchinson C.C. | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 28, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Stanley Johnson F/G | Fullerton, CA | Mater Dei H.S | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Nov 15, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Dušan Ristić C | Novi Sad, SRB | Sunrise Christian Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Mar 8, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #3 Rivals: #4 ESPN: #6 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Arizona 2014 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014. "2014 Arizona Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014. "2014 Arizona Wildcats Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014. ||||||

## Personnel
### Roster

* On January 6, 2015, Freshman forward Craig Victor II announced he would be transferring. Three days later, it was announced Victor would be transferring to LSU.

#### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Kaleb Tarczewski | Dušan Ristić | | |
| PF | Brandon Ashley | Matt Korcheck | | Ryan Anderson |
| SF | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | Elliott Pitts | Drew Mellon | |
| SG | Stanley Johnson | Gabe York | Trey Mason | |
| PG | T. J. McConnell | Parker Jackson-Cartwright | Jacob Hazzard | Kadeem Allen |

### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Year at Arizona | Alma Mater (year) |
| Sean Miller | Head Coach | 6th | Pittsburgh (1992) |
| Joe Pasternack | Associate head coach | 4th | Indiana (1999) |
| Emanuel Richardson | Assistant Coach | 6th | Pittsburgh-Johnstown (1998) |
| Damon Stoudamire | Assistant Coach | 2nd | Arizona (1995) |
| Ryan Reynolds | Director of Basketball Operations | 6th | Xavier (2007) |
| Ben Tucker | Assistant Director of Basketball Operations | 1st | Arizona (2010) |

## Schedule

The team's non-conference schedule will include road games at UNLV and UTEP, home games against Mount St. Mary's, UC Irvine, Oakland, Gardner-Webb, Michigan, Gonzaga, Utah Valley and Cal State Northridge (Maui Invitational opening game) and three neutral-site games as part of the 2014 Maui Invitational Tournament. In conference play, the team will face neither the Washington teams at home nor the Los Angeles teams on the road.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/09/2014* 4:00 pm, P12N | No. 2 | Cal Poly Pomona | W 67–51 | – | 12 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 11 – McConnell | McKale Center (10,000) Tucson, AZ |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/14/2014* 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 2 | Mount St. Mary's | W 78–55 | 1–0 | 21 – Ashley | 10 – Tarczewski | 7 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 11/16/2014* 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 2 | Cal State Northridge Maui Invitational Opening Round | W 86–68 | 2–0 | 17 – Johnson | 8 – Hollis-Jefferson | 8 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 11/19/2014* 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 2 | UC Irvine | W 71–54 | 3–0 | 19 – Hollis-Jefferson | 10 – Johnson | 4 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 11/24/2014* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | vs. Missouri Maui Invitational Quarterfinals | W 72–53 | 4–0 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Tarczewski | 9 – McConnell | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/25/2014* 5:30 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | vs. Kansas State Maui Invitational Semifinals | W 72–68 | 5–0 | 18 – Tarczewski | 8 – Hollis-Jefferson | 6 – McConnell | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/26/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | vs. No. 15 San Diego State Maui Invitational Championship | W 61–59 | 6–0 | 18 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 3 – McConnell | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 12/02/2014* 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 3 | Gardner–Webb | W 91–65 | 7–0 | 18 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 8 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,150) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/06/2014* 3:15 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | No. 9 Gonzaga | W 66–63 $^{OT}$ | 8–0 | 14 – Ashley | 7 – Tarczewski | 3 – Jackson-Cartwright | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/09/2014* 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 3 | Utah Valley | W 87–56 | 9–0 | 14 – Johnson | 10 – Hollis-Jefferson | 3 – Tied | McKale Center (14,321) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/13/2014* 3:15 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | Michigan | W 80–53 | 10–0 | 17 – Johnson | 7 – Tied | 7 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/16/2014* 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 3 | Oakland | W 101–64 | 11–0 | 18 – Johnson | 8 – Ashley | 10 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,405) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/19/2014* 9:00 pm, FS1 | No. 3 | at UTEP | W 60–55 | 12–0 | 17 – Johnson | 7 – McConnell | 8 – McConnell | Don Haskins Center (12,000) El Paso, TX |
| 12/23/2014* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 3 | at UNLV | L 67–71 | 12–1 | 14 – McConnell | 13 – Johnson | 7 – McConnell | Thomas & Mack Center (15,387) Paradise, NV |
| Pac-12 regular season |||||||||
| 01/04/2015 5:00 pm, FS1 | No. 8 | Arizona State Rivalry | W 73–49 | 13–1 (1–0) | 13 – Tied | 8 – Hollis-Jefferson | 4 – Hollis-Jefferson | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 01/08/2015 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 7 | at Oregon | W 80–62 | 14–1 (2–0) | 21 – McConnell | 10 – Tarczewski | 3 – Tied | Matthew Knight Arena (8,829) Eugene, OR |
| 01/11/2015 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 7 | at Oregon State | L 56–58 | 14–2 (2–1) | 14 – Hollis-Jefferson | 6 – Tied | 6 – McConnell | Gill Coliseum (6,191) Corvallis, OR |
| 01/15/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | Colorado | W 68–54 | 15–2 (3–1) | 22 – Johnson | 11 – Ashley | 6 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 01/17/2015 5:00 pm, P12N | No. 10 | No. 8 Utah | W 69–51 | 16–2 (4–1) | 18 – Johnson | 10 – Johnson | 6 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 01/22/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7 | at Stanford | W 89–82 | 17–2 (5–1) | 19 – Johnson | 7 – Johnson | 5 – McConnell | Maples Pavilion (6,943) Stanford, CA |
| 01/24/2015 8:30 pm, P12N | No. 7 | at California | W 73–50 | 18–2 (6–1) | 18 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 6 – McConnell | Haas Pavilion (11,877) Berkeley, CA |
| 01/28/2015 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 6 | Oregon | W 90–56 | 19–2 (7–1) | 16 – York | 7 – Hollis-Jefferson | 6 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 01/30/2015 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 6 | Oregon State | W 57–34 | 20–2 (8–1) | 12 – Ashley | 9 – Johnson | 6 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 02/07/2015 2:30 pm, FOX | No. 6 | at Arizona State Rivalry | L 78–81 | 20–3 (8–2) | 25 – McConnell | 9 – Tarczewski | 4 – McConnell | Wells Fargo Arena (10,876) Tempe, AZ |
| 02/13/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Washington | W 86–62 | 21–3 (9–2) | 20 – Johnson | 9 – Hollis-Jefferson | 10 – McConnell | Alaska Airlines Arena (6,999) Seattle, WA |
| 02/15/2015 4:30 pm, FS1 | No. 7 | at Washington State | W 86–59 | 22–3 (10–2) | 17 – Tied | 10 – Hollis-Jefferson | 8 – McConnell | Beasley Coliseum (5,331) Pullman, WA |
| 02/19/2015 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 7 | USC | W 87–57 | 23–3 (11–2) | 15 – Tarczewski | 9 – Tarczewski | 7 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 02/21/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | UCLA Rivalry; ESPN College GameDay | W 57–47 | 24–3 (12–2) | 13 – York | 10 – Johnson | 5 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 02/26/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Colorado | W 82–54 | 25–3 (13–2) | 15 – Johnson | 8 – Hollis-Jefferson | 6 – McConnell | Coors Events Center (11,120) Boulder, CO |
| 02/28/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at No. 13 Utah | W 63–57 | 26–3 (14–2) | 12 – Tarczewski | 11 – Johnson | 5 – McConnell | Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,165) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 03/05/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | California | W 99–60 | 27–3 (15–2) | 21 – Ashley | 8 – Tarczewski | 11 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| 03/07/2015 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 5 | Stanford | W 91–69 | 28–3 (16–2) | 15 – Ashley | 9 – Ashley | 11 – McConnell | McKale Center (14,655) Tucson, AZ |
| Pac-12 Tournament |||||||||
| 03/12/2015 1:00 pm, P12N | No. 5 | vs. California Quarterfinals | W 73–51 | 29–3 | 19 – Johnson | 7 – Tied | 6 – McConnell | MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, NV |
| 03/13/2015 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 5 | vs. UCLA Semifinals | W 70–64 | 30–3 | 24 – Ashley | 12 – Hollis-Jefferson | 11 – McConnell | MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, NV |
| 03/14/2015 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | vs. Oregon Championship | W 80–52 | 31–3 | 20 – Ashley | 9 – Hollis-Jefferson | 6 – McConnell | MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| 03/19/2015* 12:10 pm, TNT | (2 W) No. 5 | vs. (15 W) Texas Southern First round | W 93–72 | 32–3 | 23 – Hollis-Jefferson | 10 – Hollis-Jefferson | 4 – McConnell | Moda Center (13,616) Portland, OR |
| 03/21/2015* 3:15 pm, CBS | (2 W) No. 5 | vs. (10 W) Ohio State Second round | W 73–58 | 33–3 | 19 – Tied | 10 – Tied | 6 – McConnell | Moda Center (17,370) Portland, OR |
| 03/26/2015* 8:17 pm, TBS | (2 W) No. 5 | vs. (6 W) Xavier Sweet Sixteen | W 68–60 | 34–3 | 17 – McConnell | 12 – Tarczewski | 5 – McConnell | Staples Center (18,809) Los Angeles, CA |
| 03/28/2015* 4:09 pm, TBS | (2 W) No. 5 | vs. (1 W) No. 3 Wisconsin Elite Eight | L 78–85 | 34–4 | 17 – Tied | 8 – Hollis-Jefferson | 5 – McConnell | Staples Center (19,125) Los Angeles, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||

## Ranking movement

Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Post | Final |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | N/A |
| Coaches | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 |

## Player statistics

* As of March 28, 2015
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FGM-FGA | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Brandon Ashley | 38 | 38 | 27.8 | 166–323 | 12–36 | 121–172 | 5.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12.2 |
| Jacob Hazzard | 17 | 0 | 1.6 | 1–10 | 0–6 | 0–0 | 0 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | 38 | 25 | 28.7 | 138–275 | 6–29 | 145–205 | 6.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 11.2 |
| Parker Jackson–Cartwright | 34 | 0 | 9.6 | 34–75 | 9–23 | 22–34 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| Stanley Johnson | 38 | 37 | 28.4 | 174–390 | 43–116 | 132–178 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 13.8 |
| Matt Korcheck | 21 | 1 | 3.7 | 10–14 | 0–0 | 6–6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.05 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
| Trey Mason | 9 | 0 | 1.3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 |
| T. J. McConnell | 38 | 38 | 30.5 | 156–313 | 25–78 | 58–70 | 3.8 | 6.3 | 2.2 | 0.07 | 10.4 |
| Drew Mellon | 12 | 0 | 1.9 | 0–7 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elliott Pitts | 38 | 1 | 14.9 | 43–109 | 27–74 | 19–24 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.05 | 3.5 |
| Dušan Ristić | 36 | 0 | 8.6 | 48–78 | 4–5 | 21–41 | 2.1 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Kaleb Tarczewski | 38 | 37 | 26.0 | 123–215 | 0–0 | 107–153 | 5.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 9.3 |
| Gabe York | 37 | 13 | 23.1 | 107–243 | 66–165 | 60–74 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 9.2 |

## Awards
### Stanley Johnson

* All-Freshman Team USBWA (2015)
* District IX All-District Team USBWA (2015)
* Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Year (2015)
* Pac-12 All-Freshman Team (2015)
* Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team (2015)
* First-team All-Pac-12 (2015)
* 2014 Maui Invitational MVP, All-Tournament Team
* 2x Pac-12 Player of the Week (December 1, 2014, January 19, 2015)
* NCAA National Player of the Week (January 19, 2015)
* Wayman Tisdale National Freshmen of the Week (January 18, 2015)
* Wayman Tisdale National Freshmen of the Year Award Finalist
* Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award Finalist
* Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year (2015)
* Third-team USA Today All-American

### Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

* NCAA Tournament West Regional All-Tournament Team (2015)
* Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team (2015)
* 2014 Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team
* Pac-12 Player of the Week (February 16, 2015)
* Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (2015)
* First-team All-Pac-12 (2015)

### T. J. McConnell

* NCAA Tournament West Region All-Tournament Team (2015)
* Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team (2015)
* District IX All-District Team USBWA (2015)
* NCAA National Player of the Week (March 9, 2015)
* First-team All-Pac-12 (2015)
* Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (2015)
* Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Finalist

### Brandon Ashley

* Pac-12 Tournament MVP (2015)
* All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention (2015)