Arizona Wildcats basketball: On Lauri's dazzling debut, a borrowed band, Heeke's arrival
- Updated
Seen and heard at Vivint Smart Home Arena during Arizona's 100-82 win over North Dakota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Wednesday marked Lauri Markkanen’s first time on the Jon M. Huntsman Center floor. Arizona practiced at the Utah Utes’ arena leading up to Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opener against North Dakota.
It almost wasn’t that way.
Markkanen was a star for Arizona on Thursday night, scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds in a first-round win. Local fans surely imagined what life would have been like had the Finnish freshman chosen the Utes over the Wildcats.
Utah was once seen as Markkanen’s likely landing spot. The Utes had a few things in their favor, namely that one of Markkanen’s mentors is Hanno Mottola, a Utah alum and the last great Finnish basketball star in the Pac-12.
Markkanen remembers his visit to the Utah campus quite well.
“I like Utah a lot,” Markkanen said. “I remember that it was College GameDay in football against Cal, and I left at halftime. I remembered the gym, and we practiced there (Wednesday). It’s bringing a lot of memories from two days.”
Markkanen visited North Carolina. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams mentored Markkanen’s father, Pekka, at Kansas.
He also visited Tucson.
“When I got to Tucson it was pretty close,” to picking Utah, Markkanen said, “but that (Arizona) was the best choice for me and I don’t regret it.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
1: Three-pointer attempted by Markkanen in Thursday’s game. Despite that, the Finnish freshman still managed to score 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Saint Mary’s beat VCU before Arizona’s game, winning by eight points, though the game was closer in the second half than the Gaels would’ve liked.
SMC coach Randy Bennett didn’t spend too much time worrying about it. A showdown with Arizona looms.
“It will be just like conference,” Bennett said. “You’re pretty much on the clock. You have about 48 hours. Just like conference. Our guys are used to it. Obviously we want more time. But it’s just the way it is. You play Thursday, Saturday. So we should be good.”
As Bennett spoke, Arizona and North Dakota were just tipping off. The coach wasn’t counting on an upset.
“We’ll go watch to see who wins this game,” he said, “most likely Arizona.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
North Dakota is not a basketball school.
There are more important things going on at the school’s campus — namely hockey. The Fighting Hawks’ hockey team is the defending national champion currently participating in the playoffs. The pep band went with them.
North Dakota took on the Wildcats on Thursday with a band borrowed from Davis High School in nearby Kaysville, Utah.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Late in the first half, arena cameras focused on fans in the stands — and their gear.
Boos rained down when a Duke shirt was shown; ditto for a fan wearing Arizona State gear.
The loudest heckles, though, came when a fan donning a BYU shirt and hat came on the screen.
Hey, local rivalries die hard.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona is usually the main event at NCAA Tournament sites.
That wasn’t the case Thursday.
Northwestern was the show in town, with fans and alumni traveling from around the country to watch those Wildcats play in their first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
“Seinfeld” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus attended the game with her husband to watch her son, Charlie Hall, who is a walk-on on the Wildcats. Shawn Bradley has no connection to Northwestern, but the 7-foot-6-incher squeezed into a seat.
NBA analyst Doug Collins also was in the crowd. He got emotional watching his son, NU coach Chris Collins, lead the school to its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
The Northwestern-Vanderbilt game was nearly a sellout.
“When I saw that purple in that arena, man, that was awesome,” Chris Collins said. “Just to see all the people that came cross-country, came from all over the place, that have never seen this before, they willed us through. There were times I thought we were really tired and our crowd just kept us in it.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
New Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke made the trip to Salt Lake City, sitting alongside a group of Arizona players’ parents, alumni and athletics staffers.
Heeke doesn’t officially begin his tenure as Greg Byrne’s replacement until April 1.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
“Markkanen is hämmästylttävä! #BackThePac” — The Pac-12 Networks official (@Pac12Network), using the Finnish language to call Arizona’s star freshman “amazing.”
Markkanen is hämmästyttävä! 🇫🇮 #BackThePac
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 17, 2017
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Wednesday marked Lauri Markkanen’s first time on the Jon M. Huntsman Center floor. Arizona practiced at the Utah Utes’ arena leading up to Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opener against North Dakota.
It almost wasn’t that way.
Markkanen was a star for Arizona on Thursday night, scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds in a first-round win. Local fans surely imagined what life would have been like had the Finnish freshman chosen the Utes over the Wildcats.
Utah was once seen as Markkanen’s likely landing spot. The Utes had a few things in their favor, namely that one of Markkanen’s mentors is Hanno Mottola, a Utah alum and the last great Finnish basketball star in the Pac-12.
Markkanen remembers his visit to the Utah campus quite well.
“I like Utah a lot,” Markkanen said. “I remember that it was College GameDay in football against Cal, and I left at halftime. I remembered the gym, and we practiced there (Wednesday). It’s bringing a lot of memories from two days.”
Markkanen visited North Carolina. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams mentored Markkanen’s father, Pekka, at Kansas.
He also visited Tucson.
“When I got to Tucson it was pretty close,” to picking Utah, Markkanen said, “but that (Arizona) was the best choice for me and I don’t regret it.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Saint Mary’s beat VCU before Arizona’s game, winning by eight points, though the game was closer in the second half than the Gaels would’ve liked.
SMC coach Randy Bennett didn’t spend too much time worrying about it. A showdown with Arizona looms.
“It will be just like conference,” Bennett said. “You’re pretty much on the clock. You have about 48 hours. Just like conference. Our guys are used to it. Obviously we want more time. But it’s just the way it is. You play Thursday, Saturday. So we should be good.”
As Bennett spoke, Arizona and North Dakota were just tipping off. The coach wasn’t counting on an upset.
“We’ll go watch to see who wins this game,” he said, “most likely Arizona.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
North Dakota is not a basketball school.
There are more important things going on at the school’s campus — namely hockey. The Fighting Hawks’ hockey team is the defending national champion currently participating in the playoffs. The pep band went with them.
North Dakota took on the Wildcats on Thursday with a band borrowed from Davis High School in nearby Kaysville, Utah.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Late in the first half, arena cameras focused on fans in the stands — and their gear.
Boos rained down when a Duke shirt was shown; ditto for a fan wearing Arizona State gear.
The loudest heckles, though, came when a fan donning a BYU shirt and hat came on the screen.
Hey, local rivalries die hard.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Arizona is usually the main event at NCAA Tournament sites.
That wasn’t the case Thursday.
Northwestern was the show in town, with fans and alumni traveling from around the country to watch those Wildcats play in their first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
“Seinfeld” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus attended the game with her husband to watch her son, Charlie Hall, who is a walk-on on the Wildcats. Shawn Bradley has no connection to Northwestern, but the 7-foot-6-incher squeezed into a seat.
NBA analyst Doug Collins also was in the crowd. He got emotional watching his son, NU coach Chris Collins, lead the school to its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
The Northwestern-Vanderbilt game was nearly a sellout.
“When I saw that purple in that arena, man, that was awesome,” Chris Collins said. “Just to see all the people that came cross-country, came from all over the place, that have never seen this before, they willed us through. There were times I thought we were really tired and our crowd just kept us in it.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
New Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke made the trip to Salt Lake City, sitting alongside a group of Arizona players’ parents, alumni and athletics staffers.
Heeke doesn’t officially begin his tenure as Greg Byrne’s replacement until April 1.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
“Markkanen is hämmästylttävä! #BackThePac” — The Pac-12 Networks official (@Pac12Network), using the Finnish language to call Arizona’s star freshman “amazing.”
Markkanen is hämmästyttävä! 🇫🇮 #BackThePac
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 17, 2017
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