Arizona Wildcats basketball: On McKale Enemy No. 1, Red Panda, 'SportsCenter's' shoutout
- Updated
Seen and heard at McKale Center during Arizona's 91-75 win over Arizona State.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Whatever Bobby Hurley meant in his postgame locker room speech last week — where he said to the Sun Devils, paraphrasing, that if another team wanted to win in Arizona they should “go to Tucson” — came back to haunt him Thursday night.
Arizona’s fans booed the Arizona State coach when he first came out onto the McKale Center court, then again when he ran out of the tunnel just before the start of the game.
Often, during ASU’s timeouts, free throws or stoppages in play, the ZonaZoo cheered “Bobby! Bobby!” Posters scattered throughout the crowd made cracks at Hurley’s emotional coaching persona.
Some of the standouts:
• “Win in Tucson? You can’t even win in Tempe.”
• “Who throws better tantrums, Grayson Allen or Bobby Hurley?” Allen is star guard at Duke who is now famous for his tendency to trip opposing players.
• “Bobby Hurley cries every night.”
The ZonaZoo also had “bighead” cutouts of an angry/sad Hurley face.
The “Bobby” cheers returned in the second half when Hurley received his first technical foul. As Lauri Markkanen shot two free throws, two fans loudly proclaimed “Thank you, Bobby!” and “Bobby, you’re trash!”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
54: Combined margin of victory for Arizona in the two games that Hurley has coached the Sun Devils in Tucson.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Markkanen was probably the game’s MVP on Thursday night, leading all scorers with 30 points.
But the loudest cheers were reserved for McKale’s halftime performer — The Red Panda Acrobat, famously a performer on a past season of the NBC reality show “America’s Got Talent.”
Krystal Niu, the famous acrobat, rode around the McKale court on a very tall unicycle and proceeded to flip an escalating number of bowls from her foot to her head. Progressively, the cheers kept getting louder.
Niu has performed at NBA games and other college arenas in the past, too.
Athletic director Greg Byrne welcomed Niu to perform on Thursday to go along with the game’s “Red Out” theme, as everyone in the crowd, of course, wore red.
#RedPanda in the house!#ASUvsAZ #APlayersProgram @APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/fttZ8xdqnJ
— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) January 13, 2017
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Another day, another game without Allonzo Trier suiting up for the Wildcats.
Trier didn’t play on Thursday, and, expecting this, Arizona fan Paul Dias had T-shirts made with the words “Free Zo” written on them. Dias tweeted he had a handful made including, he said, “one for ’Zo.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Arizona’s vast student section returned from winter break, and, as a result, the energy at McKale Center was as good, and loud, as it’s been all season.
It helps that ASU, and Hurley, were in town.
The Zoo exploded in the first half following a couple of alley-oop dunks, both by Rawle Alkins on assists from Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Kadeem Allen; and after Markkanen made the third of three straight 3-pointers at the tail end of a 12-0 run to start the game.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
At McKale Center, Arizona fans don’t sit down at the start of either half until the opposition makes its first shot.
By the time Arizona State made its first shot on Thursday night, nearly three minutes had passed and Arizona was up 12-2.
Had the fans at McKale waited to sit until ASU corralled its first rebound, strangely they would’ve been standing even longer. The Sun Devils didn’t grab their first miss until the 15:03 mark.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Byrne — donning a flashy red blazer — watched the game with some friends from up North.
That would be Arizona Cardinals executives Michael Bidwill and Steve Keim.
Arizona has a close relationship with the Cardinals’ front office. The NFL team allowed the football Cats to use its facilities for a couple of days during fall camp.
Also at McKale: former Arizona football standouts Cayleb Jones and Will Parks. Parks spent his rookie season as a special teams standout with the Denver Broncos. Jones recently signed with the Minnesota Vikings after spending most of the season as a free agent.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
“(Lauri Markkanen) is my new favorite player for this reason alone.” — Play-by-play man Dave Pasch (“@DavePasch) earlier on Thursday in a tweet attached to a photo of Markkanen putting “bunny ears” on analyst Bill Walton.
.@MarkkanenLauri is my new favorite player for this reason alone. @APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/080eZR6AsX
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) January 12, 2017
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
“Rawle Alkins is out here trying to tear down rims.” — ESPN’s “SportsCenter” (@SportsCenter) after one of Alkins’ two alley-oops.
Rawle Alkins is out here trying to tear down rims. https://t.co/8bal396oni
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 13, 2017
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Whatever Bobby Hurley meant in his postgame locker room speech last week — where he said to the Sun Devils, paraphrasing, that if another team wanted to win in Arizona they should “go to Tucson” — came back to haunt him Thursday night.
Arizona’s fans booed the Arizona State coach when he first came out onto the McKale Center court, then again when he ran out of the tunnel just before the start of the game.
Often, during ASU’s timeouts, free throws or stoppages in play, the ZonaZoo cheered “Bobby! Bobby!” Posters scattered throughout the crowd made cracks at Hurley’s emotional coaching persona.
Some of the standouts:
• “Win in Tucson? You can’t even win in Tempe.”
• “Who throws better tantrums, Grayson Allen or Bobby Hurley?” Allen is star guard at Duke who is now famous for his tendency to trip opposing players.
• “Bobby Hurley cries every night.”
The ZonaZoo also had “bighead” cutouts of an angry/sad Hurley face.
The “Bobby” cheers returned in the second half when Hurley received his first technical foul. As Lauri Markkanen shot two free throws, two fans loudly proclaimed “Thank you, Bobby!” and “Bobby, you’re trash!”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Markkanen was probably the game’s MVP on Thursday night, leading all scorers with 30 points.
But the loudest cheers were reserved for McKale’s halftime performer — The Red Panda Acrobat, famously a performer on a past season of the NBC reality show “America’s Got Talent.”
Krystal Niu, the famous acrobat, rode around the McKale court on a very tall unicycle and proceeded to flip an escalating number of bowls from her foot to her head. Progressively, the cheers kept getting louder.
Niu has performed at NBA games and other college arenas in the past, too.
Athletic director Greg Byrne welcomed Niu to perform on Thursday to go along with the game’s “Red Out” theme, as everyone in the crowd, of course, wore red.
#RedPanda in the house!#ASUvsAZ #APlayersProgram @APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/fttZ8xdqnJ
— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) January 13, 2017
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Another day, another game without Allonzo Trier suiting up for the Wildcats.
Trier didn’t play on Thursday, and, expecting this, Arizona fan Paul Dias had T-shirts made with the words “Free Zo” written on them. Dias tweeted he had a handful made including, he said, “one for ’Zo.”
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Arizona’s vast student section returned from winter break, and, as a result, the energy at McKale Center was as good, and loud, as it’s been all season.
It helps that ASU, and Hurley, were in town.
The Zoo exploded in the first half following a couple of alley-oop dunks, both by Rawle Alkins on assists from Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Kadeem Allen; and after Markkanen made the third of three straight 3-pointers at the tail end of a 12-0 run to start the game.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
At McKale Center, Arizona fans don’t sit down at the start of either half until the opposition makes its first shot.
By the time Arizona State made its first shot on Thursday night, nearly three minutes had passed and Arizona was up 12-2.
Had the fans at McKale waited to sit until ASU corralled its first rebound, strangely they would’ve been standing even longer. The Sun Devils didn’t grab their first miss until the 15:03 mark.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
Byrne — donning a flashy red blazer — watched the game with some friends from up North.
That would be Arizona Cardinals executives Michael Bidwill and Steve Keim.
Arizona has a close relationship with the Cardinals’ front office. The NFL team allowed the football Cats to use its facilities for a couple of days during fall camp.
Also at McKale: former Arizona football standouts Cayleb Jones and Will Parks. Parks spent his rookie season as a special teams standout with the Denver Broncos. Jones recently signed with the Minnesota Vikings after spending most of the season as a free agent.
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
“(Lauri Markkanen) is my new favorite player for this reason alone.” — Play-by-play man Dave Pasch (“@DavePasch) earlier on Thursday in a tweet attached to a photo of Markkanen putting “bunny ears” on analyst Bill Walton.
.@MarkkanenLauri is my new favorite player for this reason alone. @APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/080eZR6AsX
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) January 12, 2017
- Zack Rosenblatt Arizona Daily Star
“Rawle Alkins is out here trying to tear down rims.” — ESPN’s “SportsCenter” (@SportsCenter) after one of Alkins’ two alley-oops.
Rawle Alkins is out here trying to tear down rims. https://t.co/8bal396oni
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 13, 2017
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