Assist, Miller
Among the buzz with scouts at the NBA combine was that Arizona’s T.J. McConnell was a last-minute invite to the event in large part — very large part — because of UA coach Sean Miller’s intense lobbying effort.
Neither McConnell nor his agent, Chris Emens, were disputing that rumor.
“I would say that Sean went to bat for him hard,” Emens said. “Put it that way.”
McConnell smiled when asked about it.
“I didn’t really talk to him about it,” McConnell said. “But when you’ve got a guy like coach Miller on your side, that’s like having the president of the United States on your side. If he helped me get in here, um, I’ve told you how much I love him. He’s a great guy.”
McConnell took advantage of the invite. He had six points, five rebounds and six assists Friday to total six points, six rebounds and 11 assists against four turnovers in the two five-on-five games he played. He shot 3 for 7 from the field.
Assist, Tucson
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was asked by a reporter if he’d feel any “trepidation” if he was drafted by a team in a big city.
“Arizona prepared me for that,” Hollis Jefferson said. “We’re in Tucson, a city of a million people and it’s just us there. We got football and us. And we get 14,000 people every night.
“So as far as being in a big city and playing in front of a crowd, I don’t think it gets any more exciting than that.”
Bruin brother
If it wasn’t weird enough seeing McConnell play against former teammate Brandon Ashley on Friday, there was also the sight of the ex-UA point guard sharing a backcourt with former UCLA standout guard Norman Powell.
And, after it was over, there was the sight of McConnell chatting amiably with Powell as they walked down a Quest Multisport Complex corridor together.
On top of that was Powell’s playful attempt to “interview” McConnell after the final game.
“What was going through your mind out there, when you’re coming off the screen and making those sick passes?” Powell asked McConnell, saying later he wished he’d had a chance to play with McConnell before.
Guilt trip
Center Robert Upshaw said he went home to Fresno the day after he was kicked off Washington’s team on Jan. 26 for an unspecified violation of team rules. Then he moved to San Diego to start training for the NBA … and never really could get U-Dub off his mind.
“It was terrible,” Upshaw said. “The team went 2-10 after my departure and I saw a lot of guys struggle and it really hurt. It was a big disappointment, not only for myself but the guys around me because those were my guys. They needed me there and I let them down. But it was a learning experience. I won’t do that ever again.”
Upshaw said he had a “long record of doing the wrong things there,” and “messed up” when it was most critical last season.
He found some mentorship in Pac-12 analyst Bill Walton, who invited Upshaw to his house and teepee.
“He kind of backed me up on my situation,” Upshaw said.
Duck surprise
Still wondering how Oregon finished second in the Pac-12 last season after it was picked to finish eighth following an offseason roster implosion a year ago?
So is Joseph Young. And he was a big part of the reason for the Ducks’ resurgence, winning the Pac-12’s player of the year award.
“It surprised me, but I thought I grew from that,” Young said. “The team came together and I did what I had to do for us to be successful.”
He’s hoping that experience helps push him in to the first round of the draft, too. Young is generally regarded as a ’tweener, too small for a prototypical two guard and not a natural point guard.
“It helps me. It shows I have a lot of heart,” Young said of Oregon’s finish. “I can play point guard and make big plays.”
X + Y = $1.10
At least one player managed to answer the Atlanta Hawks’ math quiz, but UCLA’s Kevon Looney took his time doing so.
The question: If you spent $1.10 on a ball and bat, and the bat cost $1 more than the ball, how much did the ball cost?
“I had to get out a piece of paper but I got it,” Looney said, smiling, about the ball’s price of five cents.
Quotable
“No. It’s totaled.” – Stanley Johnson, on whether his Dodge Challenger was repaired after a crash that occurred within an hour of his UA news conference to announce he was leaving for the NBA.
The big number
10.51 – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s lane agility test time in seconds, first among all frontcourt players and third overall among 48 players tested in the combine.
Bruce Pascoe
