Pac-12 preview: Arizona

This is the tenth in an annual 12-part series previewing the Pac-12 teams for the upcoming season.

There is both bad and good news at Arizona this season.

The bad news is that the Wildcats, who finished 10-20 in 2014-2015 and eleventh in the Pac-12, graduated their top scorer in Candice Warthen and their vocal and emotional leader in Alli Gloyd.

The good news is that three returning starters, eight reserves and four freshman that make up this year’s roster are beginning the season healthy and eligible for the first time in several years.

Last season injury delayed the freshman debut of guard Taryn Griffey, who is the daughter of baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. She is ready to go now, as is junior guard Lauren Evans, who sat out last year after transferring from Virginia Tech. Arizona coach Niya Butts, who enters her eighth season, has been running fully-stocked practices.

Gloyd is also back, as assistant director of operations for the team.

“I’m fired up about the season…..I’m just excited to get the ball going,” Butts said. “We have a healthy team for the first time in a long time, and I feel really good about that. We’ve had some competitive practices so far, and I like what I’m seeing. I’m just looking forward to the season.”

Most anything would be a step up for the Wildcats, who have danced with mediocrity for quite some time. They went to the WNIT once during Butts’ tenure, in 2011, but have finished mostly near the bottom of the conference each year. Arizona’s last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2005; the program’s all-time record over 41 years is 537-642.

Returning starters this season are junior forward LaBrittney Jones (9 ppg, 5.7 rpg), junior guard Malena Washington (6.9 ppg) and senior guard Keyahndra Cannon (5.5 ppg). Key reserves Charise Holloway (6.6 ppg), JaLea Bennett (4.5 ppg), Breanna Workman (4.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Dejza James (3.6 ppg) are also back.

The freshman are a diverse group. Forwards A’Shanti Coleman and Destiny Graham both hail from the Bay Area, where they were high scorers. Michal Miller is a prolific guard from Indiana, where she averaged 24.9 points per game as a high school senior. Center Eugene Simonet-Keller is from France, where she played for the French Women’s National Team. At 6-foot-8, she is the tallest Wildcat player ever signed.

This looks to be a rebuilding year, with a total of six newcomers including Griffey and Evans. They will need to gel quickly with the seven potent returnees if they want to stay afloat in a conference that gets stronger by the month. It would undoubtedly help Butts keep her job, too.

Arizona’s pre-conference schedule is challenging as usual: they face Kansas, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Florida Gulf Coast, Gardner-Webb and George Mason before kicking off Pac-12 action Jan. 2 against Stanford, at home.