The Star's longtime columnist on Arizona's winning streaks, the loss of a "Kiddie Korps" member and Arizona's dominance over ASU.
Zags knock Lute-era Cats from Top 10 list
Arizona’s men’s basketball program dropped out of the Top 10 last week, but it’s not what you think.
After 32 years, McKale Center is no longer among the Top 10 home-court winning streaks in college basketball. Arizona won 71 consecutive games at McKale Center from 1987-91, a streak that was not challenged for three decades until Gonzaga beat Montana last week to win its 72nd consecutive home game.
There is some consolation. Arizona’s 81-game winning streak at Bear Down Gym, 1945-51, remains No. 5 on this all-time list:
129 games: Kentucky, 1943-55
99 games: St. Bonaventure, 1948-61
98 games: UCLA 1970-76
86 games: Cincinnati, 1957-64
81 games: Arizona, 1945-51
81 games: Maryland, 1967-73
80 games: Lamar, 1978-84
75 games: Long Beach State,1968-74
73 games: Gonzaga, 2018-22
72 games: UNLV, 1974-78
71 games: Arizona, 1987-91
When Arizona had its 71-game McKale streak broken in January 1991 against UCLA, Lute Olson said: “I don’t think anyone will win 70 straight (home) games again for 20 or 30 years.”
He was correct. Olson probably knew more about home-court winning streaks than any coach in college basketball history. While the head coach at Long Beach State, 1973-74, Olson led LBSU to a 10-0 home record, running the streak to 75. It was broken in the home opener a year later after Olson had gone to Iowa.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few reacted giddily to the news that the Zags had moved ahead of Arizona onto the Top 10 list.
“It’s huge, it’s a big, big accomplishment that everybody in our community can share,” said Few. “Winning 72 in a row is something that may never be broken in our lifetime. I told my guys, anytime you can make history, that’s something very special.”
Gonzaga’s 73-game streak and Arizona’s 71-game streak were not created equally.
The Zags beat just three Top-25 teams in their streak: No. 4 Kentucky, No. 5 Texas and No. 25 Creighton.
Arizona beat No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 7 Duke, No. 7 UCLA, No. 9 Duke, No. 10 UNLV, No. 13 Illinois, No. 16 LSU (with Shaquille O’Neal), No. 16 Oregon State and No. 19 Stanford.
Coach Adia Barnes and the Wildcats are ranked No. 18 nationally heading into a tough stretch that begins with Monday's showdown against No. 2 Stanford.
Loss to Kansas changed Adia Barnes
Reflecting last week on Arizona’s stunning mid-December 77-50 home-court loss to unranked Kansas, UA coach Adia Barnes said: “I think it was great. I think we needed that.”
Really. The Wildcats played so poorly against Kansas that Barnes said it changed her as a coach.
“If that wouldn’t have happened then, it would’ve happened now,” she said. “(My players) listened to me after that.” She described the forgettable night at McKale Center as “Romper Room.”
In her seventh season as Arizona’s coach, Barnes has changed as much as her team has.
“This team has demanded I coach a little bit differently; I’m growing as a coach,” she said. “I have to coach in a different way than I normally coach. I had to do a lot of adjusting, and that’s OK.”
What happened? Barnes’ roster is now stocked with much better players than in her first five years at Arizona. Three transferred from other Power 5 schools. She has three McDonald’s All-Americans on this team, and two of them are substitutes. The abundance of talent and higher expectations created day-to-day challenges about playing time. Egos have been bruised.
Barnes said that work ethic and accountability among her players, and at other Top-25 programs, has changed significantly from her UA playing days, 1995-98.
“A good coach has to adjust every year,” said Barnes. “You adjust to the team you have, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Barnes faces the most difficult on-court challenge of the regular season Monday, playing at No. 2 Stanford. The Wildcats are 3-32 at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion dating to 1986. Adding to the difficulty, the Pac-12 gave Arizona an unprecedented schedule with three conference games in five days.
“I didn’t agree with it; I stated my disagreement,” said Barnes. “But it is what it is. I can’t control that.”
Ronnie Allen of 'Kiddie Korps' dies at 71
Sad to learn that Ronnie Allen, one of the “Kiddie Korps” basketball players recruited by first-year Arizona basketball coach Fred Snowden in the spring of 1972, died last week in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. Allen, a 6-foot 2-inch shooter, was named Arizona’s Outstanding Senior in 1973-74, and its Most Inspirational player as a junior, 1972-73. He averaged 8.9 points over two Arizona seasons. A junior-college transfer, Allen returned to Wichita after his two UA seasons and became a high school basketball coach, winning state championships in 2002 and 2006 and being inducted to the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame. Allen was the first Black basketball player at Wichita’s Southeast High School, in 1969. He was 71. …
Ex-Cat Brandon Ashley shines in Japan
Brandon Ashley, one of Sean Miller’s key players on the No. 1-ranked team of 2013-14, is experiencing his best pro basketball season. Ashley, a 6-8 forward, was the player of the week in the Japanese B Pro League last week, scoring 32 points and grabbing 12 rebounds on Christmas Day for the Chiba Jets, who are 20-4 and in first place in Japan. Now 28, Ashley is averaging 17.5 points and 7.8 rebounds. He left Arizona after his junior season, 2014-15, undrafted, and has since played in Germany, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. …
Ex-Cat Peter Hansen part of Broncos' mess
Peter Hansen, who played both football and basketball at Arizona from 1998-2000 and blocked seven kicks, two for the 12-1 Wildcats of 1998, is in his first year as a linebackers coach for the Denver Broncos. Bad timing. The Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett last week, which puts Hansen’s job security in jeopardy. Prior to becoming an NFL coach, Hansen was UNLV’s defensive coordinator and spent five years coaching on David Shaw’s staff at Stanford.
Los Angeles Chargers' Chris Rumph II (94) sacks Indianapolis Colts quarterback Nick Foles (9) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Future success awaits ex-Cats QB Nick Foles
It was sobering to watch former Arizona quarterback Nick Foles of the Indianapolis Colts struggle in last week’s 20-3 loss to the Chargers on Monday night. Foles was sacked seven times and threw three interceptions in his first appearance this season. But the 33-year-old Foles could be the subject of a terrific made-for-TV movie or a best-selling book. Although he has never started more than 11 games in a season, he has led the NFL in touchdown percentage and yards-per attempt. He was released outright in Year 5. He was Super Bowl MVP in Year 7. But his “Philly Special” play in Super Bowl LII guarantees him a spot in NFL history. And, oh, yes, he has been paid $82 million. …
Pac-12 attendance hits historic lows
Pac-12 men’s basketball attendance set historic lows Thursday night. The Utah-Cal game at Haas Pavilion drew 1,468 fans, which is surely the fewest fans to attend a Pac-12 league game ever in a non-COVID season. A few miles south, the Colorado-Stanford game at Maples Pavilion drew 2,640. Pretty sad. On the same night, the Arizona-ASU women’s game at McKale Center drew 9,995, the sixth-highest ever for Arizona women’s basketball.
Kelsey Slade has committed to Oklahoma.
Gymnast Kelsey Slade belongs on list
I blew it in my annual Tucson’s Top 100 Sports Figures list last weekend. I failed to include Tucson gymnast Kelsey Slade, who should’ve been in the Top 25. I blanked out. Slade, a senior at Cienega High School, is the gymnastics equivalent of a five-star recruit who signed a letter-of-intent with defending NCAA champion Oklahoma last month. Slade has won a long list of regional and state competitions while competing for coach Gina Mueller-Martin at Arizona Gymnastics. …
Sahuaro's head coach Steve Botkin calls his Cougars together before they re-take the court in the early going at Desert View High School, Tucson, Ariz., December 2, 2022.
Sahuaro's Steve Botkin celebrates No. 600
Sahuaro High School’s girls basketball coach Steve Botkin, who is 17-1 this season to extend his Tucson girls basketball record to 607 career victories, got his 600th win in mid-December: He walked into the administration building at Sahuaro to work the following Monday morning and was soon in (happy) tears: The Sahuaro band was lined up, playing the fight song. Administrators, co-workers and his basketball team lined the hallways, applauding. Celebratory balloons decorated his office. Cake, donuts and coffee were served to all. Now that’s a celebration. If you want to see Botkin’s Cougars, I recommend a Jan. 11 showdown with 15-2 Pueblo on coach Izzy Galindo’s turf at Pueblo.
Fred Snowden's daughter to celebrate McKale milestone
Stacy Snowden, daughter of the late Arizona coach Fred Snowden, the first Black head basketball coach at an NCAA Division I college, will be a featured speaker on Feb. 3 for the 50th anniversary of the opening of McKale Center.
Snowden will join with the African-American Museum of Southern Arizona for a Fireside Chat at the Loft Theater at 6 p.m. that day
The African-American Museum of Southern Arizona will sponsor Snowden’s return to Tucson. Bob Elliott, who was one of Fred Snowden’s first recruits and the career leading scorer in UA history from 1977-1989, is one of 10 founders of the museum, located in the UA Student Union.
For ticket information to the Feb. 3 event, email aamuseumofsouthernAZ@gmail.com.
Ohio quarterback CJ Harris (10) hoists the trophy after the Bobcats defeated Wyoming 30-27 in overtime at the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., December 30, 2022.
The good and bad of the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Good: The Mariachi bands that greeted Ohio and Wyoming football teams at the Westin La Paloma and the JW Marriott Starr Pass — and again on the UA Mall Friday in pre-game festivities — were terrific. The coaches, staff and players of those teams are likely to remember the Mariachi music as much as anything in their five days in Tucson.
Good: Wyoming’s fight song, “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” is as good as any in college sports. It is on equal footing with Notre Dame’s “Victory March,” Michigan’s “The Victors” and Tennessee’s “Rocky Top.” I almost wish Wyoming would be added to the Pac-12 just to hear that song again and again.
Bad: I appreciate the charitable endeavors Barstool Sports has created in Tucson. But of the 44 bowl games, the Arizona Bowl is the only one not on linear TV. Relatively speaking, few see the Arizona Bowl. And maybe that’s a good thing. The streaming coverage of Friday’s game was sophomoric. The Barstool announcers often came off as a bunch of 19-year-olds sitting at a bar, quarreling about the officials and coaching decisions.
Good: A crowd of 27,691 attended and was treated to Ohio’s dramatic overtime victory. That was more people than watched the Oklahoma State-Wisconsin game at Chase Fieldin downtown Phoenix (23,187) for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley reacts after one of his Sun Devils was called for a defensive foul in Saturday’s first half.
My two cents: Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils are team that can't shoot straight
Two years ago I performed an eye-test at the UA-ASU basketball games and, for the first time in 40 years, thought the Sun Devils probably had a better future than the NCAA investigation-scarred Wildcats.
Remy Martin, Josh Christopher, Jaelen House, Marcus Bagley, Alonzo Verge and Jalen Graham were all Top-100 recruits. They were scorers, legit threats to beat any defense. And although none was a big man, they seemed to fit Bobby Hurley’s system.
I suspected that by 2021-22, a year after the COVID-19 interrupted season, ASU would be able to make its first true run at a Pac-12 championship. Ever.
But then it all blew up.
Martin split for Kansas, House went to New Mexico, Graham fled to Arkansas, Verge transferred to Nebraska, Christopher entered the NBA draft and Bagley, perhaps the most talented of the group, has only played five games the last two seasons due to injuries and disciplinary issues.
No Pac-12 program in memory has been gutted like the 2020-21 Sun Devils, and it showed in their 69-60 loss to No. 5 Arizona on Saturday.
Hurley’s new roster is a mash-up of transfers from Nevada, Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn and Illinois State. Bottom line: They can’t shoot with any reliable consistency. No wonder they were available.
The Sun Devils went 0 for 13 from 3-point range to start the game, finishing 3 for 27. Game over. It was Exhibit A that shooting is the most important variable in college basketball.
Hurley has no go-to guy.
ASU, which shot 36% overall, hasn’t been able to replace the firepower of Remy Martin and his friends. The Sun Devils rank No. 11 in the Pac-12 in shooting percentage this season at 41.9%. They were even worse, 41.4%, the club’s worst shooting percentage in more than 30 years.
Until Hurley can develop an inside threat like Azuolas Tubelis, or develop and deploy a legitimate 3-point threat, the transfer-heavy approach will be just good enough to get you beat.
Azuolas Tubelis led No. 5 Arizona with 21 points and nine rebounds as the Wildcats hold off Arizona State 69-60 in Tempe.
