The Pride of Arizona picked up some size Wednesday, and it was hard not to notice.
A former 7-foot-4 NBA center, Boban Marjanovic was an unmistakable figure in the back row of the UA student band, banging on a triangle before and during Wednesday’s game at McKale Center.
On break from playing professionally in Serbia, Marjanovic was appearing as part of his Bleacher Report video series in which he has been a part of student fan sections around the country, recently at a UConn women’s game and a Villanova game.
He made the trip to McKale after attending the NBA all-star game in Los Angeles and is expected to return to Serbia to continue his season.
Marjanovic, incidentally, is a close friend of former UA center Dusan Ristic and attended Ristic’s wedding. But a UA spokesman said Ristic didn’t even know Marjanovic was coming to his former home, where Ristic was known for wearing a “Dusan loves Tucson” T-shirt under his jersey on his senior night.
Former NBA player Boban Marjanović takes a turn on the triangle with the Pride of Arizona Pep Band just before the Wildcats tip off against BYU in a Big 12 game, February 18, 2026, Tucson, Ariz.
Miller-era standouts return
Two of the more notable figures from the Sean Miller era returned to take in Wednesday’s game from the second row near the southeast corner: Kaleb Tarczewkski and Nick Johnson.
Tarczewski, who has been playing in Japan for the Gunma Crane Thunders since 2022, is nursing a rib injury while Johnson is on break from playing in France with Saint Quentin. Johnson actually played on Sunday against Paris, with 21 points and nine assists, but Saint Quentin isn’t scheduled to play again until March 7.
Arizona Wildcats guard Nick Johnson (13) and Arizona Wildcats center Kaleb Tarczewski (35) are pumped after a turnover in the second half at the NCAA West Regionals in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, March 29, 2014. Wisconsin won 64-63.
Another Miller-era UA player, Rawle Alkins, took in UA’s Jan. 7 game against Kansas State when he was on break from playing in Japan.
Other notables on hand Wednesday included former Lute Olson-era player and major league baseball standout Kenny Lofton, and well as rock-'n-roller Alice Cooper.
Starry night
All of it left enough of an impression on UA coach Tommy Lloyd that he started his postgame press conference this way:
"So what's cooler? Boban? Alice Cooper? Nick Johnson? Kaleb Tarczewski? I mean, that's a lot. That's a lot for one day," Lloyd said, admitting that he might have missed someone.
He was. He was told Lofton was also on hand.
"Yeah, I did see him up there," Lloyd said. "I didn't know he was going to be here. He's a great dude."
Light up towels
Draped over each seat at McKale was a white rally towel bearing a block A and a corporate logo.
That’s hardly different. Except that these towels had white lights embedded around their edges, making for a glittering scene when fans waved them, especially when the light was low during pregame introductions.
Love posters
After former Wildcat Caleb Love was inducted into the UA Ring of Honor, posters were given out of him Wednesday.
The posters featured a montage of photographs of Love during his Wildcat career. He’s now with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Galaxy gear
While the Wildcats were wearing their midnight blue “Galaxy Slam” uniforms for Wednesday’s game, prompting BYU to put on its home whilte, gear was also naturally pitched to UA fans via the McKale video board.
Among the gear available is a dark t-shirt featuring Wilbur’s image against a planet.
The Wildcats' dark uniforms featured subtle stars embedded in the word "Arizona" and in the stripe along the side of the shorts. They featured smaller numbers and names on the backs and fronts of the jerseys than the 1997-inspired outfits the Wildcats normally wear.
"I think they were cool," wing Anthony Dell'Orso said. "If it was up to me, I'd wear them every game."
Dark mode
UA students got into the spirit Wednesday with many of them wearing black “Zona Zoo” dark mode T-shirts, while others wore Arizona navy and other dark colors.
Their efforts made for a notably dark swath behind McKale’s north basket, while the usual red filled up most of the building otherwise.
Temporary Tucsonans
After working Saturday’s UA-Texas Tech game, ESPN’s broadcasting team of Jay Bilas and Dan Shulman were back on the McKale sidelines Wednesday. Both games were shown on ESPN’s primary platform nationwide.
Bilas also worked ESPN’s GameDay show early Saturday morning.
The big number
0 -- Times Arizona has lost three straight games under fifth-year coach Tommy Lloyd, a fate the Wildcats avoided with their 75-68 win over BYU on Wednesday.
Quotable
