Arizona Basketball

Tarczewski turns 20 today as freshman, most improved Arizona player over course of Pac-12 season

By Javier Morales

Posted on February 26, 2013

WILDABOUTAZCATS.NET PRODUCTIVITY RATING
Productivity Points: (Points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, FGs made, FTs made added together and then subtracted by missed FGs, missed FTs, personal fouls and turnovers).
Productivity Rating: Productivity points divided by minutes played.

Kaleb Tarczewski turns 20 today, which means he will be an experienced 23-year-old when he ends his senior season

Not only is Arizona freshman 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski gaining maturity as he turns 20 today, he is getting better by the week, the Wildcat who has made the most gains over the last half of the season.

Arizona coach Sean Miller and his staff must be encouraged knowing that by the time Tarczewski becomes a senior in 2015-16, he will be an experienced 23-year-old at the end his UA career.

A look at this site’s player productivity rating shows that Tarczewski has steadily improved since the first three weeks of the Pac-12 season. His productivity rating has increased since dropping to his lowest rating of .397 after the Wildcats lost to UCLA 84-73 on Jan. 24 at McKale Center. Tarczewski and the Wildcats get a second crack at UCLA on Saturday but must take care of business first at USC tomorrow.

Tarczewski presently has a .482 rating, his highest mark since he was at .504 after the Wildcats defeated Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 23.

“In practice about a month ago, a couple of weeks ago in games, (Tarczewski’s improvement) really started to show,” Miller was quoted as saying by The Arizona Daily Star’s Bruce Pascoe. “If you’re watching us on film, that’s one of the things that you’re worried about because he’s more sure of himself. We’re getting the ball to him and he had a couple of good passes as well. He works so hard every day that it’s just a matter of time before he finds it.”

WILDABOUTAZCATS.NET graphic

Most of his teammates also started with a high productivity rating during the non-conference season, but have gradually decreased through the grind of the Pac-12 season. Fellow freshman Brandon Ashley, for example, had a productivity rating of .707 entering the conference opener Jan. 3 against Colorado. Ashley now stands at .596, still a respectable figure and above the average mark of the Wildcats’ primary eight-player rotation of .544.

Solomon Hill has been the most consistent player. He is the only player to remain above the .600 mark since the Pac-12 season started, although he also has dropped from .687 entering the Pac-12 season to a team-leading .615 heading into tomorrow’s game with the Trojans.

Tarczewski’s overall statistics are not out of the ordinary for a freshman center trying to make his mark in college basketball. He averages 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds a game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line.

What is impressive about Tarczewski, however, is his gradual improvement toward the end of what could be a grinding season for a young big who is adjusting to a faster and more physical game in the paint than what he was accustomed to in high school and AAU ball.