Arizona basketball: Miller, MacLean on Mannion's development
Arizona freshman point guard Nico Mannion has been good. Maybe not great. But he is leading the nation's freshman in assists -- 5.3 per game -- and that's not nothing.
But the bar was set so high for the former five-star recruit -- perhaps too high, and that's not his fault -- that it seems like Mannion has had a disappointing season. Especially when his shots aren't going through the hoop.
That's been the case lately.
In the past five games, he is 15 of 57 from the field and has a hit a mere 4 of 23 from behind the arc in that span. His overall shooting percentage is down to 39.3 percent, including 32.0 percent (39 of 122) from 3-point range.
Coach Sean Miller thinks that will change -- perhaps as soon as this week against Oregon State on Thursday night and Oregon on Saturday night.
"It's just a matter of time before Nico breaks through," Miller said. "He can't let what has happened, or the last game or the last shot, affect the shot he's taking, or the next game or the next week."
ESPN's NBA mock draft this week had Mannion going 10th to the Phoenix Suns. His draft projections has slid a few spots since the beginning of the season, but an NBA team could still end up betting on the upside of Mannion, who turns 19 next month.
"When you're a young player, particularly Nico, there's so much pressure on him to perform. But he does a lot of other very, very important things for our team," Miller said.
"One of the aspects of his game that I'm really the most pleased with -- and I think it bodes well for his future and ours -- is he's a continuing, improving, defensive player. He defends his man better; he's in better position off the ball; he makes more defensive plays for our team; he's more consistent. That has really helped us become a better defensive team.
"He did a really good job in the Bay Area on that side of the basketball. That's also good because he didn’t have his two best games overall on offense."
Arizona swept Cal and Stanford as Mannion missed all seven attempts from beyond the arc and was 5 of 19 from the field while scoring 17 points. He averages 13.6.
That it has taken until February to show defensive improvement should not be a surprise. His father, Pace, talked about the transition to college on JohnJay's Riding the Bench podcast back in October.
"In high school, he could rest (on defense)," said Pace, a former NBA player.
"When you're playing against kids who aren’t as good as you, you take those plays off. He's finding out at Arizona now, I can't take a play off. It's a lot harder than I thought. Of course it is. I told you it was going to be harder. … Defensively, he's never had to work as hard in his life. It's just a whole new concept with bigger bodies and better athletes."
Beyond the physical challenge, Pace said, was the early learning curve of understanding the defense and then being able to communicate quickly to his teammates on defense. At this point of the season, all that is coming more naturally.
Pac-12 Network analyst Don MacLean, on this week's Inside Pac-12 Men's Basketball podcast, said Mannion "hasn't disappointed" this season.
"When you talk about Nico Mannion playing at the next level, the physical attributes are there. He jumps really well. But what sets him apart for me is his burst. He has a burst that all NBA players need to have. Not only from a standstill in the half court getting by guys, but he's got a burst in the open court where he can change gears and blow past people. That's why I think NBA people are excited about him."
MacLean did acknowledge that Mannion hasn't shot the ball as well as expected.
"I chalk that up to just being a freshman," MacLean said.
"If you look at him mechanically, he is sound. He looks like a good shooter. I've talked to NBA people about him and about this. Once it's just pure basketball and there is no more school … you would think Mannion will improve. I don't think anybody's worried about Nico Mannion as a shooter at the next level.
"Decision-making, he's shown his age at times at Arizona. … I wouldn't say he's a great decision-maker, but I wouldn't say he's a poor decision-maker, either."
MacLean noted that Mannion is shooting lower-percentage jumpers off the dribble in college because he's adjusting to having a more difficult time than he did in high in terms of getting whatever he wants on drives to the hoop.
"That will continue to develop," MacLean said. "Now it's just a matter of reps and confidence."
