Alkins remembers peoples’ names. He smiles and shakes hands; he jokes. There’s a reason why he’s become a fan favorite. His personality on the court is tough, straight-forward. Off the court, his teammates say he’s “unique”. After all, Alkins has started a staying — “Savage Life” — and a movement.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright, UA junior guard: “He’s very unique, man. Level-headed, even-keeled. He’s not loud at all, he barely says much actually. I expect that, but everything about him is different from how he handles himself and carries himself, on or off the court.”
Kobi Simmons, UA freshman guard: “His personality is great. Off the court he’s fun to be around, he’s funny. On the court, he likes to take care of business. He likes to do whatever for the team to win. It’s great to have somebody like that to play with.”
Arbitello: “We were playing Cardova (in New York) one day and I had a two-guard named Jared Withers that went to LIU-Post. And Rawle was terrible. He was just terrible in the game. He worked his game around Jared and he was so happy that Jared got a scholarship after that game, and it couldn’t even bother him that he had a bad game. Most kids would be down and upset and he was so happy for Jared. That’s the kind of kid he is.”
Alkins: “It’s crazy. When I first started saying ‘savage life,’ I didn’t think of it as blowing up but right now everyone on the team is starting to use it, the fan base for Arizona is starting to use it, and it’s becoming a serious thing. It’s the Arizona mentality. It’s a mindset and it’s a mode that I get in before games. I can only speak for myself, but it’s different with everyone. You can take it how you want. Savage can mean a lot of things. It can be used in things other than basketball. I always wanted to play hard and play my best, and the word savage is the first thing that came to mind.”
