he spoke with players to iron out the problem. "From a management standpoint, yes, my conc | Forum

TUCSON, Ariz. Jason Williams Jersey . -- Arizonas towering European tandem had a big night Tuesday.Wildcats 7-footers Dusan Ristic and Lauri Markkanen scored 18 points apiece, and No. 20 Arizona bounced back from its loss to Gonzaga with a 79-57 victory over UC Irvine.Ristic, a Serbian who was two points shy of his career high, scored 14 in the first half and finished with 10 rebounds. Markkanen, the standout Finnish freshman, had 13 points in the second.They are very different players with some shared traits, coach Sean Miller said.They are incredible kids, Miller said. I mean, in the classroom, off the court, in practice, as teammates, love the game, two of our hardest workers. ... Theyre from the other side of the world. Theyre not going home for Christmas and yet theyre really, really great kids.The Wildcats (7-2) pulled away in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half and never were threatened again.Jaron Martin scored 12 points and Max Hazzard had 10 for the Anteaters (4-5).Rawle Alkins added 14 points and Kadeem Allen 12 for the Wildcats, who shot 54 percent from the field to UC Irvines 38 percent.After a sluggish start, Arizona ended the first half on a 15-3 run to lead 39-23.The Wildcats jumped out to leads of 14-5 and 16-7, but Martins second 3-pointer cut Arizonas advantage to 24-20 with 6:40 left in the half. Ristic scored four of the next six points and Arizona was finally rolling.Allen scored seven and Ristic six in the run.Arizona led by as many as 30 points. UC Irvines only lead was 1-0.Markkanen was coming off the worst shooting game of his young career, when he went 4 for 14 -- 0 for 3 on 3s -- in Saturdays loss to Gonzaga. He was 7 of 10 against the Anteaters, including 4 of 6 on 3s.I didnt think about the last game, Markkanen said. My game is to let the game come to me, not force it. ... Im not worried about my shooting. My self-confidence is still up. Nothing changes.Ristics game is close to the basket, and he shot 8 of 11 from the field.All the outside guys did a great job of getting the ball to me, he said. And they (UC Irvine) played zone probably 80 percent of the game. A lot of times the low post was open and that is how I score the majority of my points.Down to seven scholarship players, Arizona switched from its traditional man-to-man to a 2/3 zone for a time in the second half. Miller said he did it to give his team some rest. He might do it again, but not often, he said.The more zone we play, the worse well be in man-to-man, he said.Anteaters coach Russell Turner thought perhaps the Wildcats player shortage would work to his teams advantage.I thought if we played our style of basketball, he said, played good defense and rebounded well, that we would have had a chance to keep this game close given their roster situation. But we werent really able to maintain our focus on doing the things we said.BIG PICTUREUC Irvine: The Anteaters lost four starters from last seasons team. They are big but not very athletic inside. If they expect to be competitive in the Big West, the Anteaters need to shoot better from long range. They went 4 of 20 on 3s against Arizona.Arizona: The Wildcats needed a win, regardless of the opponent, after dropping two of their last three -- to Butler and Gonzaga on neutral courts -- with a tough game coming up at Missouri.STILL SHORT-HANDEDWith starting point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright sidelined by an ankle injury and the status of Allonzo Trier still unclear, the Wildcats go with just two scholarship players on the bench.Jackson-Cartwright, whose right ankle remains in a boot, might not be back until sometime in January. Trier could finally have his situation resolved soon, but thats been said before. The school has not officially given a reason for his absence but its apparently an eligibility issue.UP NEXTUC Irvine: The Anteaters face Pomona-Pitzer on Friday in their second home game of the season.Arizona: The Wildcats play on an opponents home court for the first time this season at Missouri on Saturday. Jonathan Isaac Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Cheap Magic Jerseys Authentic . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.cheapmagicjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-mario-hezonja-jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break.WINNIPEG -- Kyle Walters knew there was a problem. He heard the complaints and confusion from jilted Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterbacks Justin Goltz and Buck Pierce after Mondays practice and the criticism of the decision to make Max Hall the clubs new starter. When Walters was named acting general manager Tuesday, those comments exemplified exactly what he feels needs to change within the organization. "That will not happen," Walters said at his introductory news conference. "The way you stop that from happening is be open and honest. "I was a former player, I was a former head coach. You look players in the eye, you tell them matter-of-fact, This is where you fit in, this is why. Players dont necessarily have to agree or like the news but Ive found they respect and accept their roles and buy in and thats what needs to happen." Walters promised better internal communication amid the turmoil of Winnipegs 1-5 start and firing of GM Joe Mack and CEO Garth Buchko. That includes "having much more open lines of communication" with coach Tim Burke. "All the decisions moving forward will be a collaborative effort," Walters said. "As a whole organizational infrastructure from top to bottom we will be much more open with our communication, keeping everybody in the loop on all decisions." In theory, that also means a collaborative effort in setting the depth chart. Walters said Burke has the authority to do that and change it as he sees fit. Walters immediate focus is to maintain the normal course of football operations. That includes communicating with U.S. scouts, working on extensions for impending free agents and preparing for the off-season and December dispersal draft. "Just make sure that things continue to run smoothly in our organization is what my main objective is short-term," he said. Whether Waltters, a former head coach of the Guelph Gryphons, is around longterm to run the Blue Bombers football operation remains to be seen. Bismack Biyombo Jersey. . Acting CEO Wade Miller expressed confidence in Walters ability to know the team and its inner workings but made no promises hell be the GM beyond this season. "Were still going to look at the end of the year to find and make sure we do an exhaustive search for a general manager, and Kyle will definitely be one of the top candidates for that role," Miller said. "No matter where we go with that search, he will be part of this organization going forward and start providing some stability to the football operations." Walters had served as Winnipegs assistant GM after spending three years on the coaching staff. He won a Grey Cup as a safety with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1999. Miller said the football decisions would be made by Walters and Burke, explaining that the demarcation of duties was an ongoing process. "This is a change that this organizations going through where we actually work together and proper people are making the right decisions now in charge of players, whos playing each week, and were getting to that process of getting the roles defined where we can all work together," Miller said. Ideally, more defined roles will keep issues like Mondays confusing quarterback upheaval to a minimum. Goltz said the situation was "poorly managed" and that he felt betrayed while Pierce said "a lot of people (in the organization) are making decisions very quickly." Walters insisted he spoke with players to iron out the problem. "From a management standpoint, yes, my concern was that it appeared as though the communication at some level was not where it needed to be and thats been addressed and fixed today," he said. "I can assure you of that." ' ' '