Ayton shines in McKale Center debut

He is the highest-rated prospect Sean Miller has brought in to Arizona during his time at the school, so there were going to be some expectations when Deandre Ayton took the floor for the first time in front of the home crowd at McKale Center Friday night. It was just the Wildcats' annual Red-Blue Game, but what Ayton showed during the intrasquad scrimmage certainly put college basketball on notice.

It is going to take a lot to slow down the 7-footer this year. Ayton finished the game with a contest-high 21 points and nine rebounds for the Blue squad in a 55-37 win. It left the crowd astounded and it left his coach talking about how impressed he even has been by his star freshman.

"The thing about Deandre is, he's obviously a terrific basketball player, but he's a remarkable kid," UA head coach Sean Miller said. "He's done every single thing that we've asked him to do since he stepped foot on our campus. ... There's a lot of freshmen who have never lifted weights before they came to college, he was one of them. He may have had a sampling, but not a real strength and conditioning program.

"... Sometimes when you're like him you don't think the strength and conditioning part is for you, but he's really embraced it. He's one of our hardest workers in the weight room. ... It's up to us I think to really adjust and make sure to take advantage of all the talents and skills that Deandre brings to the table.

"... Tonight I thought Deandre really stood out."

It doesn't count for anything and sometimes big performances in the Red-Blue Game can be a bit misleading, but Ayton did everything that he has become known for as one of the top recruits over the last few years. He was efficient from the field only missing four of his 14 shots on the night. He showcased his rebounding ability on both ends of the floor with five of those nine boards coming on the offensive glass.

And he did it all in just 19 minutes while not taking anything away from his teammates.

"I think physically he's just way more far ahead," senior point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright said after Friday's game. "I think anyone in the country it's gonna be a tough task to just battle down low with him because he's so big. On top of that he's so smart and unselfish.

"When you have a great talent like that that is unselfish it's special."

Ayton and Allonzo Trier were both on the Blue squad Friday night with both finishing in double figures. Being able to coexist as scoring options and alpha dogs will be key for the Wildcats this season, but the duo has found a nice balance heading into the season.

"It's really rare to see somebody that's that physically imposing, can run, jump and you know move the way he does," Trier said. "It's rare to have bigs that have all that combination, so he's really tough. ... Having a guy like that really makes our bigs get challenged every single day so that when we go against other teams they should be well prepared."

Miller likened Ayton to another former player of his, David West, from back in his Xavier days and the UA head coach feels "the best is yet to come" for his talented freshman big man.