Arizona basketball: Christian Koloko is the shot-blocker Sean Miller has lacked
The Arizona Wildcats have not been a good shot-blocking team under Sean Miller. That might be changing thanks to freshman Christian Koloko.
In Miller's 10-plus years in the Pac-12, the Wildcats rank 10th in blocks per game (see chart below). That's partly a result of style -- his pack-line defense is supposed to minimize shots near the rim that have a higher chance of getting swatted -- but some of his teams have otherwise lacked the necessary height while others had space-eaters (Kaleb Tarczewski) rather than pogo-sticks in the post.
Miller's best shot-blocker was 7-footer Deandre Ayton, the one-year wonder who averaged 1.9 per game in 2017-18, although he got by on elite size and athleticism rather than defensive instincts. It seemed like he could have/should have had about another 1.9 blocks per game.
Now comes Koloko.
| No. | Team | Games | Blocks | Blocks per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Washington | 365 | 1,802 | 4.94 |
2. | USC | 358 | 1,508 | 4.21 |
3. | UCLA | 368 | 1,.523 | 4.14 |
4. | Oregon | 390 | 1,600 | 4.1 |
5. | Oregon State | 347 | 1,355 | 3.9 |
6. | Cal | 360 | 1,342 | 3.73 |
7. | Arizona State | 354 | 1,292 | 3.65 |
8. | Colorado | 301 | 1,097 | 3.57 |
9. | Utah | 292 | 1,039 | 3.56 |
10. | Arizona | 379 | 1,347 | 3.55 |
11. | Stanford | 360 | 1,227 | 3.41 |
12. | Washington State | 349 | 1,098 | 3.15 |
The three-star freshman is playing a small, but increasing role, for the Wildcats late in the season. Heading into Saturday night's showdown against Oregon, he has played 10 minutes in each of the past two games, including against Oregon State on Thursday, when he rejected three shots.
The 7-footer has six blocks over 26 minutes in the past three games. He's important because Arizona has nobody else like him. Instincts? Sure looks like he has those.
"He keeps getting better," Miller said.
"We're trying to inch his minutes up, get him closer to double-figure, 12 minutes But, boy, I tell you, he comes in and he's different. The same shots that (opponents) seem to be able to get around the basket and go in sometimes, they're eliminated with him."
While the Wildcats' other three freshmen are projected to be one-and-done prospects, the still-raw Koloko figures to be around Arizona for a while. He has a block rate of 4.3 per 40 minutes. The next-best player on the Wildcats is Zeke Nnaji at 1.3.
Koloko is quick off the floor and looks like the kind of elite rim-protector that Oregon has had multiples of in recent seasons, and that Miller has lacked.
In Lute Olson's golden age, Arizona led the Pac-10 in blocked shots in eight of 18 seasons, from 1986-87 through 2003-04, when Channing Frye was the last Wildcat to be the best shot-blocker in the league. Olson benefited from Anthony Cook, Ed Stokes, Loren Woods and Frye.
While Koloko's future is bright, his present (and presence) should be a factor for Arizona down the stretch. He has earned Miller's trust as a rotational player after Chase Jeter sat with back problems.
Koloko is still working on his offensive skills, but he runs the court well and doesn't look out of place.
"Christian has good hands. As he gets stronger, he's going to be fine in the post," Miller said. "In my mind, if we're playing better as a team, he's a big part of the solution."