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Twenty games into last season, the Wildcats were 14-6 and trudging through a tough Pac-10 season.

Sound familiar?

It really isn't.

The Wildcats share last season's record, but little else. In the wake of the team's three-game winning streak, players and interim head coach Kevin O'Neill cannot stop praising the Wildcats' unselfishness.

That, by itself, is a banal statement — until you read between the lines. It has not always been that way.

"There were times last year when I don't even think we wanted to play — or practice," guard Jawann McClellan said. "We all wanted to win, but I think when we went on the losing skid and things, people started thinking about themselves instead of trying to rebound from a streak of losing and trying to turn it around."

In its 20th game last year, the UA fell to North Carolina by a staggering 28 points, its fourth loss in five games.

"Last year, we had team meetings, I honestly want to say, every week," McClellan said. "It got to a point where even Ivan (Radenovic) stepped up and said he's not showing up. It was pointless."

Coaches and players each called the team meetings, wanting to talk through the UA's chemistry issues.

"This year, that's a positive for us," McClellan said. "We haven't had any team meetings."

There hasn't been any reason to; the team's selfishness has been self-policed.

Last year, 59 percent of the UA's 846 field goals came with assists. This season, 64 percent of the club's 516 field goals have been assisted.

"I want us to shoot uncontested shots as often as we can," O'Neill said.

The UA spent most of last week's games running the same play — called "double-wide" — in which Budinger and guard Jerryd Bayless run off forward Jordan Hill's screens to either the wing or the corner.

They could not seem to miss. Last week, the UA made 50 of 85 shots from the field.

"If I'm playing with someone who won't pass me the ball, and I'm a kid, I'm not gonna pass him the ball," O'Neill said. "If some guy shoots 25 shots, and six of them are bad shots, nobody's going be very happy with that."

O'Neill said he will bench his players for two reasons: "The total lack of effort and respect for his team or being selfish. If somebody's going to be selfish, I don't care how good they are, I'm not going to play him."

The Wildcats have not had to worry about that — this year.

"I think we have a bunch of unselfish guys, actually," Bayless said. "Everybody realizes the further we go, the more individual awards they'll get. I think everybody's embraced that concept of just winning. Everybody has to, for this team to be successful."

McClellan has embraced his less-prominent offensive role behind Budinger and guard Bayless.

"Two people have the green light, which is fine by me," he said.

Even Hill said with a smile Monday that he tries to get at least one assist per game.

"It goes back to that winning thing," O'Neill said. "If you want to win, you'll make the pass. If you don't wanna win, you might as well go ahead and shoot it and hope it goes in."

There's a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg factor. The UA wins, so players are happy to share. And the players share because it helps them win.

Saturday, the Wildcats were on a fast break when Bayless found Budinger, who drained a 26-foot three-pointer. Bayless might have been the most excited person on the floor.

"Just the happiness you bring to someone else making a shot, you can't really replace that," he said. "I know I can hit shots myself, but watching someone else get better is the ultimate."