Minutes after 8 a.m. Saturday, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas walked toward the “College GameDay” desk located at midcourt in McKale Center.
The moment Bilas’ 6-foot-8-inch figure was spotted by Arizona fans? Boos. And lots of them.
Arizona fans don’t much like Duke graduates. And the relationship between some Wildcats faithful and ESPN is tense, to say the least.
It was just four years ago that, while appearing on “College GameDay,” Bilas called the scandal surrounding now-former UA coach Sean Miller “a career-ending thing.” Miller was away from the Wildcats following an ESPN.com report that said Miller and would-be agent Christian Dawkins discussed paying $100,000 to ensure former star Deandre Ayton signed with the Wildcats. The reporter, Mark Schlabach, cited people with knowledge of the FBI investigation into college basketball.
“I can’t imagine him ever coaching in college again,” Bilas said of Miller that day.
Miller returned to the Wildcats just days later, and coached for three more seasons before he was fired in April. Tommy Lloyd replaced him, and led the Wildcats into a No. 3 national ranking heading into Saturday night’s late game against Oregon.
Arizona self-imposed a postseason ban in Miller’s final season after the NCAA hit the UA with five Level I infractions — one of which says Miller failed to monitor two assistant coaches accused of academic misconduct and improper recruiting inducements. Arizona requested that its case be moved to the NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution Process, where it remains. Miller himself said on a podcast a few days ago that he “100%” expects a ruling this offseason.
Arizona fans were loud and enthusiastic during Saturday morning’s live ESPN broadcast, the first in Tucson since the Wildcats’ coaching change. But the ongoing tension between some fans and ESPN remains, even with this year’s Wildcats poised for a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed. Bilas was booed nearly every time he appeared on camera. Arizona fan Anthony Humbert said Saturday that he felt “Arizona and Miller were made the poster child by ESPN.”
Another fan, Brent Edwards, said Bilas “condemned Miller before facts were apparent.”
“I don’t know if Miller was clean or not, but that’s the point: Nothing has been conclusively shown, and yet UA and Miller were put on what felt like 24/7 blast from several heads at ESPN,” he said. “Not neutral, not straight, not unbiased.”
Another UA fan, Ray Stoeser, said: “The bungled reporting on the Miller scandal was just too much for me, particularly when they double-downed on it and then haven’t made any effort to admit error. People’s livelihoods and the prestige of our program was on the line.”
Bilas wasn’t the only ESPN analyst to catch the ire of UA fans.
As he walked into McKale Center at dawn, Seth Greenberg was asked by a UA fan if the crew was going to apologize. After a back and forth, Greenberg asked the fan: “Last season, did you go to the (NCAA) Tournament?”
“No,” the fan responded in a video that he posted to Twitter, “we self-imposed.”
“OK, just checking,” Greenberg said as he stepped through the doors.
In a Zoom call on Friday, Greenberg told reporters that he’s met with Miller since his dismissal at the UA and added: “There are certain things that impact your career, and the things that were being alleged surely impact your career. And to be honest with you, it was a very, very difficult situation to be in.
“But I can only speak from my experience. I’m not in the NCAA. I could just report on the information that I received and have an opinion on it. And that’s what I did.”
If there’s one thing Bilas, Greenberg and Arizona fans could agree on Saturday, was questioning “College GameDay” host Rece Davis’ eating form while he scarfed down tacos during the show. Davis held his taco on both ends like a sandwich and bit the top part of the shell in the middle.
“That’s not how you eat a taco, by the way,” Bilas told Davis mid-bite during the show.
If there’s anything “T-Locs” take seriously, it’s college basketball — and tacos.
Rim shots
Arizona players handed out donuts to fans who attended “College GameDay” at McKale Center.
Five-star 2023 point guard Kylan Boswell is in Tucson for an official visit and sat next to Lloyd at McKale Center during “College GameDay.” The 6-1 Boswell is rated by 247Sports.com as the second-best point guard in the Class of 2023.
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff sat courtside during “College GameDay.”
Several signs were confiscated before the airing of College GameDay, including a “We paid players before it was cool” sign. Some UA students donned rain ponchos with a “Mac Spit-ienne” sign, referencing UCLA forward Mac Etienne‘s spitting incident with fans at McKale Center earlier this month. The UCLA player was cited by UA police for assault.
