Nico Mannion and Arizona’s freshmen class give the Wildcats the skill set they’ve always needed

TUCSON — Before every game at the McKale Memorial Center, a booming intro video featuring Arizona basketball legends greets the sold-out crowd. The segment counts off the accolades the program has earned over the years, except soon you realize it is counting down. Dozens of tournament appearances becomes four Final Fours, but remarkably just one championship, with legendary coach Lute Olsen showing his ring finger to the screaming fans.

The video does the trick in terms of hype, but it’s also something of a bizarre way to get people excited. The reality at Arizona is that despite annually recruiting as well as any program this side of Kentucky Duke, and Kansas, its last (and only) national championship came 23 years ago. As another top-ranked class takes over Tucson, the question before Sean Miller and the Wildcats is: Can this one be different?

During a runaway 90-69 victory over Illinois Sunday night, a sense of style and identity surfaced that could act as a rising tide.

Led by Nico Mannion, winner of the Arizona state championship as a high school student this year and a standout in the Jordan Brand Classic and McDonald’s All-American game this summer, the Wildcats flew. The team tallied 20 assists on 34 made baskets and made Illinois pay for mistakes. By the end of the game, the Illini couldn’t keep up.

Mannion can’t help himself but put his foot on the gas. They may seem simple, but plays like this come straight from Mannion’s chemistry with fellow five-star recruit Josh Green and their determination to push the ball:

Though Miller bears a reputation as a defense-first coach, he admits offense is where this team shines. Since the team started practicing, the coach has made an effort to build up the pace of play.

“We’ve been focusing on playing fast since we got here,” Mannion said. “The past two weeks, it’s been focused on even more, getting the ball up the court and getting into our sets quick. When we do that, we’ve got guys who can make the right play, great passers, so when we’re playing unselfishly and playing fast, things go well for us.”

Arizona hasn’t had a guard like Mannion in a long time. This year, Miller won’t rely on miscast wings like Stanley Johnson or Aaron Gordon to run the offense.

The truism that college basketball is ruled by guards is worn out, but teams make magic when they surround those star playmakers with talent to support him. Mannion is joined by Green, his AAU teammate the past three years, as well a deeper roster than Miller can ever remember having.

Against Illinois, Green went 4-of-7 from deep and hounded Illinois ball-handlers. Freshman Zeke Nnaji is the team’s most versatile defensive piece and went above the rim repeatedly to finish the break, scoring 19 points of his own. UC-Irvine transfer Max Hazzard fit right in as a devastating spot-up threat.

Still, Miller knows that playing at top speed can be difficult, especially for young teams.

“One thing that never changes is that playing fast doesn’t mean you’re playing smart,” Miller said. “If you can do that at a faster pace, especially if you have a deep team, awesome. That’s the one thing that I think we’re learning, but as you can see, I think we have a pretty good starting point. We’re better when we’re pushing it.”

The star point guard scored 23 points and had nine assists, but more shocking for the smaller guard who can shoot the lights is how he contributed on defense. Mannion chipped in two steals and was consistently in the right place rotating from the week side and helping in the paint.

Unlike some stud playmakers, Mannion isn’t a pushover defensively:

With an attentive, smart defense one through five and athleticism to turn turnovers into instant offense, the Wildcats may finally have put together a group that fits. They’re developing chemistry quickly.

“Me and Nico obviously have a connection, but I’ve never been around a group of kids where we’ve been able to have amazing chemistry,” Green, who just won a national championship at IMG Academy, said. “Our team are all having fun and that can just continue to grow and you can see that on the court every game, every practice.”

The season is young and the Pac-12 figures to be a bloodbath, but it’s rare for teams to gel this quickly. That’s especially true in Tucson, where in the past great big men failed in the spring because guards couldn’t make plays for them.

Mannion in many ways — a local kid, a two-way player, a true point guard — is the recruit Miller always needed. Getting players selected near the top of the NBA Draft was never an issue for Miller, and Mannion looks like a lottery pick already, but the difference is Mannion can actually lead a team.

While great guard play can raise the floor of a team, elite guard play can put you in the national championship conversation. The fact that Mannion is getting Miller — always focused on defending above all else — to adjust already says a lot.

“If you’re a tough-minded defensive team, you’re solid, no matter how much you want it to be frenetic, it’s going to slow down, and that’s OK,” Miller said. “You have to do both.”

But, Miller added, “when you have depth like we do and skill level like we do, I think it is better when we’re able to get up and down.”

As Arizona continues to cycle through elite freshmen awaiting a breakthrough, Mannion presents an answer: How about right now?