Former Wildcat Mark Lyons on 'he touched the ball,' Sean Miller back at Xavier, and life after Arizona basketball

LAS VEGAS — The first time Arizona met up with UCLA at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas 10 years ago, UA point guard Mark Lyons was called for a double-dribble in the second half of the Wildcats’ 66-64 loss to the Bruins.

However, UCLA’s Jordan Adams knocked the ball away from Lyons’ hands, which shouldn’t result in a double-dribble.

Pac-12 refs, man.

As a result of the clearly incorrect call, then Arizona head coach Sean Miller repeatedly said, “He touched the ball,” in a postgame rant about his technical foul subsequent to Lyons’ double-dribble call. A decade later, Lyons still isn’t blaming the officials or Miller’s technical foul.

“That’s one of those games we wish to get back, because we felt like we blew that game,” he said. “I’m not going to blame it on the refs or ‘He touched ball.’ That was just us as a team not pulling through. It wasn’t the coach or the refs, it was us. We didn’t pull through.”

Since Lyons — a New York native who transferred from Xavier for his last season — led the Wildcats to a Sweet 16 appearance, he’s played professionally on four different continents, a chapter of his life he cherishes.

“Life is more precious to me now. Embracing people, everyone is different,” Lyons said. “Growing up, I always felt like I had to do so much to make it and push myself extra. But honestly, everything is already written. You just have to take things one day at a time and stop worrying about things that are so far ahead. I just take things one day at a time and follow the script.”

The Star spoke to Lyons about his one season at Arizona, his relationship with Miller, “he touched the ball,” and his next journey after basketball. Here’s what Lyons had to say:

Looking back over a decade ago, what was the ultimate deciding factor for you to transfer to Arizona?

A: “Honestly, I was either heading to Kentucky or Kansas, which I would’ve did, because Arizona had Josiah Turner (at point guard). When I got the call from Coach Miller, I was shocked. He was like, ‘Yeah, I need you to come play for me.’ I’m like, ‘You got a point guard, coach. I’m trying to playing point guard in my last year.’ Next thing you know, he was telling me that Josiah was no longer on the team anymore, and we wanted to rekindle that flame since I didn’t get to play for him. To me, it was a no-brainer, because the plays were similar, the coaches there were the ones who recruited me. It was the ideal fit to go to ‘Point Guard U’ and play for the coach I’ve always wanted to play for.”

When was the first time you met Miller, and how did the relationship grow since then?

A: “I put trust into Coach Miller off rip. He was a guy who I knew I was going to respect, he was going to coach me hard and be the best I can be, and he’s a tough-nosed coach and I’m a tough-nosed guy, so I love playing for a coach like him. When I met him, there was a tournament going on in Rhode Island, and my high school coach called me out of the locker room and said, ‘Hey, there’s someone here to see you.’ It was Coach Miller. He said, ‘Hey, Mark, nice to meet you. I just want to let you know I’m offering you a scholarship. From that day, I knew I was going to play for Coach Miller. I had offers from other schools — some schools some people would say are bigger than Xavier — but I knew that was the guy I wanted to play for.”

How did your relationship with Miller evolve over time?

A: “It was different, because we lost connection. Once he left for Arizona, I really lost connection with all of those guys, because they obviously said they were leaving Xavier. When he left, I was hurt. Once I finally got to play for him and got that phone call, it was a feeling of relief, because I always liked Miller. I’ll always love him. That’s my guy. But when he left, it was hard to communicate with someone when they told me one thing, then did another. But once we got that out of the way, I understood why he did it. It’s a business, and I would’ve done the same thing. I can’t hold a grudge against him for that. I’d play for him again.”

How did you view the federal investigation into the program and NCAA infractions case five years ago, which resulted in a self-imposed postseason ban, and what do you think about Miller back coaching Xavier again?

A: “I don’t know all the details, what’s true, what’s not true. I didn’t really follow the case, but players were getting paid in college and it’s been going on for a long time under the table. Now they’re getting paid legally and everything is OK, so it doesn’t really matter to me. But Miller going back to Xavier? It’s beautiful. He changed the culture back to what it used to be. They’re back as a top-25 team and they’re looking good. Honestly, I would’ve loved to see Miller stay at Arizona, because I live in Arizona now. But if he could go anywhere else besides Arizona, I’m glad it’s Xavier.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

How would you describe Miller as a coach?

A: “If you’re a tough guy who can take constructive criticism well, he’s a great coach to play for. If you’re a soft guy and always need to be catered to, he may not be the guy to play for, because he’s always going to tell you the truth and expect the most out of you. If you’re the best player on the team or the worst player on the team, he’s not going to let you be above anybody else. He holds everyone accountable, and I love that about him.”

Did the Arizona players ever bring up Miller’s ‘he touched the ball’ moment from the Pac-12 Tournament?

A: “I don’t remember it happening until I saw it on TV. It didn’t stand out to me until I saw it on TV, and I was like, ‘Yo, coach is going crazy over that one.’ It was definitely a part of the game that changed things, but we were still in it, so I wasn’t thinking about it. But when I saw that on TV, I was like, ‘Whoa, maybe coach is on to something.’ That was funny for sure.”

Is there something you’ve learned from Arizona that you apply to your daily life?

A: “Yeah, our motto at Arizona was being all-in. You can’t really be playing around; if you want to be all-in, then you have to be all-in. You can’t just be about me. When you’re all-in, you gotta sacrifice for the team and do certain things for the team. Winning is everything, and I learned that from Sean Miller from the first day I met him to when I played for him at Arizona. It’s bigger than me. It’s always been bigger than me. That’s something I’ve always learned from Sean Miller.”

Is it safe to say your best moment at Arizona was the game-winning layup against Florida at McKale Center?

A: “From the world’s perspective, yes. For me? Yeah, I’ll still go with Florida (laughs). That was amazing and a great feeling.”

You still keep up with Arizona? What’s your evaluation of this year’s squad?

A: “I’m always keeping tabs on the Wildcats and Coach (Tommy) Lloyd. I always send my love. The team looks good. The bigs are really good, the guards are solid, and I honestly think we can make a Final Four run. It’s all going to come down to how the guards handle their end, because the bigs are going to be the best bigs on the court every game. But who’s going to be the guy on the perimeter or the wing to step up, hit big shots, make big plays? In March, guards win.”

How has your professional-playing career and world travels shaped you over the last decade?

A: “I’ve been blessed to play in one of the top leagues all over the world. The only league I haven’t been able to play in was the NBA. To be able to play in one of the top leagues in the world, win championships and show my family around the world and make money doing it, I’m honestly blessed for the opportunities I was given, especially from Arizona and Xavier. They put me in a great position to make money professionally.”

What’s next for you?

A: “I want to give back. The talents that I have and the knowledge that I have, I want to give back to the youth, so hopefully I can get into player development or maybe I’ll be on one of them benches down the line, but I got about two more years of pro basketball and then I’m going to hang my shoes up. I’ll figure out in those two years what situation is best for me.”