Hansen's Sunday Notebook: Cats' staff intact for spring ball

Cats' staff intact as spring ball nears 

The first of Arizona’s 14 spring football practices will be held Wednesday in what has been a surprisingly drama-free Pac-12 offseason.

Rich Rodriguez brings back his entire coaching staff from 2014, which hasn’t happened at Arizona since 2003-04, and rarely happens anywhere in the fluid Power 5 conferences.

In fact, five Pac-12 teams return their entire nine-man coaching staffs from 2014 — Stanford, ASU, Washington, Oregon and Arizona. Why? A lot of it is that the salary market has become so attractive, with position coaches routinely making in excess of $200,000, that climbing the ladder strictly to get a raise has diminished.

The not-so-subtle change in the coaching industry is the addition of “analysts” to ever-growing college staffs. Following Alabama’s lead — the Crimson Tide has eight analysts on staff — the UA has hired intern/graduate assistants Jahmile Addae and Miguel Reveles as full-time analysts.

It’s the same everywhere in the Pac-12. ASU gave ex-GA Matt Butterfield a full-time job and a title of “senior associate offensive analyst.” Colorado uses a different term. It hired Omar Young as “director of quality control.” USC hired two full-time “recruiting analysts.”

Reveles and Addae are valuable in the UA’s recruiting structure. Both are in their 20s and relate well to high school prospects. And their communication skills allow veteran position coaches to spend more time on game preparation, evaluation, player development and coaching.

It’s not like these are pure entry-level jobs, either. Addae was the running backs coach at Cincinnati in 2010 and 2011. Before ASU hired Butterfield, he spent seven years in the Pac-12 in various capacities of football operations.

College football is a growth business. Coaching staffs at Arizona and in the Pac-12 reflect that.

Younger Beyer, Nettling overcoming medical issues

During their college days, Ron Beyer and Bill Nettling were teammates and standout tight ends on Arizona football teams in the 1970s.

They share more in common than that now. Both of their daughters, standout athletes in Tucson high school sports, are recovering from serious injuries.

Britt Beyer was one of Tucson’s top volleyball players at Catalina Foothills, but in the 2013 national club volleyball championships in Dallas, she broke her tibia and fibula in an awful incident reminiscent of former Louisville basketball player Kevin Ware’s injury during the 2013 Final Four.

Beyer missed the 2013 prep volleyball season, but returned this season. A few days ago, she was offered and accepted a scholarship to Division II Concordia (Oregon) University. She has a 4.02 GPA.

Sammy Nettling, an all-state catcher on some of CDO’s nationally ranked softball teams, accepted a scholarship at Northwestern last year. But a few days before Thanksgiving, doctors discovered a blood clot in her throwing arm and she underwent surgery in Chicago. She was in intensive care for a week and ultimately required a procedure in which a vein from her leg replaced the damaged vein in her right arm.

Nettling has rejoined the Northwestern softball team, has begun catching bullpen sessions and now suits up when the Wildcats play. She did not play in the year’s first 15 games and redshirting is a possibility.

Candrea poised to become softball's all-time winningest coach 

When Mike Candrea coached his 1,400th victory at Arizona on Friday, it put him closer to college softball’s record of 1,457, set by retired Fresno State coach Margie Wright. Candrea is likely to become the sport’s all-time winner early in the 2016 season. He is being pursued by 58-year-old Michigan coach Carol Hutchins, who had 1,359 victories through Friday. Wright won one NCAA title at Fresno State; Hutchins has one national championship at Michigan. Candrea has eight at Arizona. 

CDO grad Noland on a tear at Oregon State 

Former CDO softball all-star Sammi Noland, who mostly sat on the bench in two seasons at Nebraska, is now Oregon State’s starting right fielder. Through games of Friday, Noland was hitting .385 with four home runs, including what must have been a sweet 11-10 victory over Nebraska last week, when she hit a homer and had five RBIs against her former teammates. 

Former Dorado Bonstrom hitting cover off the ball 

Noland’s CDO teammate, Kayla Bonstrom, Arizona’s 2012 Player of the Year, is bidding to become an All-Pac-12 player at Stanford. Bonstrom is hitting .446, starting at first base for the Cardinal. 

Ex-UA All-American Lowe to retire 

UA softball assistant coach Caitlin Lowe, an Olympian and consensus All-America outfielder during her Arizona days, announced her retirement from active pro softball last week. She distributed a farewell letter via her former team, the USSSA Florida Pride. It was outstanding and heartfelt. Wrote Lowe, “This game doesn’t owe me anything, it’s pretty much the other way around. … You get what you put into it. If you respect the game in all its glory, if you do it with passion, then it will pay you back in ways you could never even imagine.” 

Cotton becomes fourth member of Tucson's NBA fraternity 

Palo Verde grad Bryce Cotton entered his first NBA game with 8 minutes 39 seconds remaining in the Utah Jazz’s Friday night victory at Denver. Cotton, who played at Providence, swished a three-pointer with 3:34 remaining, his first NBA points. He became the fourth Tucsonan to play in the NBA, joining Santa Rita center Dave Feitl of UTEP; Cholla’s Sean Elliott of Arizona; and Pueblo’s Fat Lever of ASU. Cotton signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz, which is worth $28,834. He had been on a $25,500 contract with the NBA D-League’s Austin Toros, where he had been the league’s Player of the Week, with a 43-point outburst against Reno. The Jazz could sign Cotton for the remainder of the regular season when his contract expires Thursday. 

Pima's Gershman runner-up for Player of the Year

It was disappointing last week when Pima College basketball player Murphy Gershman was not chosen as the ACCAC Player of the Year. Gershman, a Tucson High grad, led the ACCAC in scoring (24.6) and rebounding ( 12.1). He finished second in the voting to Phoenix College guard Brandon Brown, who averaged 23.1 points and 6.1 assists. Brown has a compelling story; he was incarcerated for felony armed robbery while at Laveen Cesar Chavez High School and spent three years in prison. He returned a year ago to lead PC to the NJCAA national title. In the two games between Pima and PC this year, Gershman outscored Brown 52-45 as each team won on its home court. 

Ex-Cat Holt receives honor 

Former UA defensive line starter Julius Holt will be honored April  24 at the UA Student Union Ballroom as the 2015 University of Arizona Black Alumni Club’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Holt is the director of counseling at Eloy’s Villa Oasis High School. 

CDO grad, ex-Cat Anderson working on comeback 

CDO grad and former UA All-Pac-10 outfielder Brian Anderson is in minor-league camp with the Chicago White Sox, attempting a comeback at 32. He has not played for two seasons. He told Sports Illustrated last week: “If I could talk to these young kids in camp, I would tell them to stay focused on the job. Don’t get me wrong, when I was on the field, I made sure I did my work and took it seriously. But I guess you could say I had too much fun with other things. I was young and could have handled it better.” Anderson, the White Sox No. 1 draft pick in 2001, has been working in the medical supply industry in Phoenix. 

Fred Couples returning to Tucson 

Fred Couples’ commitment to play in the inaugural Tucson Conquistadores Classic, a Champions Tour event March 20-22 at Omni Tucson National, renews old acquaintances. Couples, then 23, played in the Joe Garagiola Tucson Open at Randolph North in 1982. He missed the cut. A year later, he had the best finish of 10 appearances in the Tucson Open, finishing fourth, earning $11,812. Couples last played in Tucson in 2001. 

PGA Tour signs Dell as sponsor 

The PGA Tour’s ability to sign a major corporate title sponsor, Dell, at what is probably close to $12 million a year, will move the Match Play event from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, in 2016. It’s another step in a long journey that began with the Seiko Tucson Match Play Championship 31 years ago at Randolph North. 

Amphi grad Derksen playing well for Dons 

Amphitheater High grad Tim Derksen, who helped the Panthers win the 2012 state basketball championship, had his best week as a college player last week. Derksen scored 19 points in back-to-back games against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. He is averaging 12.3 points for the San Francisco Dons as a junior forward. 

End of the road for Butts? 

Could Sunday’s game against Utah at McKale Center be the final Tucson coaching appearance by Arizona’s Niya Butts? In the last three seasons, Butts has gone 7-46 in the Pac-12. By comparison, her predecessor, Joan Bonvicini, went 11-43 in her final three Pac-10 seasons before AD Jim Livengood fired her in 2009. 

Former referee Booker still involved in Pac-12 

In the Pac-10 basketball era, the league’s most notable referee was Booker Turner, a six-time Final Four official. Turner is still working for the Pac-12 even though he last called a game in 1991. He reviews and grades women’s referees for the league each week. 

Ex-Cat, Olympian Young inducted into Hall of Fame

It took a while, but Arizona grad George Young, a four-time Olympic distance runner, is finally being inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday in Albuquerque. Young arrived in Tucson in 1960, a freshman from Silver City, New Mexico. He made Olympic teams in 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972 – he won the bronze medal in the steeplechase in 1968 — and set the stage for the UA as one of America’s top distance running destinations. Young has been followed by national champions Amy Skieresz, Martin Keino, Marc Davis, Aaron Ramirez, Robert Cheseret, Lawi Lalang and others. Young, who lives in Casa Grande, spent his career as a coach and athletic director at Central Arizona College. 

Cienega AD Holland making right moves 

Cienega’s girls and boys basketball teams finished a combined 55-5 this season, which is a reflection on the excellent work done by longtime Bobcats athletic director Whitney Holland, who hired girls coach Matt Ruiz and boys coach Matt Johnson. 

My two cents: Resources give Phoenix schools advantage

Two weeks ago, I sat in the gymnasium at Sunnyside High School, watching as Rob Harrison and assistant Dwight Rees prepared the Blue Devils for the postseason.

“We’ve got neighborhood kids,” said Harrison. “This is true high school basketball.”

The Blue Devils, 25-6, were eliminated in the state quarterfinals last week by upscale Shadow Mountain High School, a team overseen and operated by Mike Bibby — yes, THAT Mike Bibby — which is a high-profile, high-pressure program.

It’s 180 degrees different from Sunnyside, and also Cholla, which finished 25-2 after losing in the state quarterfinals.

“Our kids can’t afford to go to clinics and camps in the summer,” said Cholla coach Masai Dean. “They’re more like real high school students. They do other things. It’s not 24/7 for them.”

An eleventh-hour fundraising campaign at Cholla helped the Chargers raise enough money to rent a 55-seat, tourist-level bus for players, support staff and coaches to take to Phoenix for last week’s quarterfinals. That’s the game at its most genuine level.

At the highest line of prep basketball in Arizona, the Tucson teams don’t have the resources of Phoenix superpowers like Gilbert Christian and Shadow Mountain.

In various divisions, Tucson teams have only won three bigger-school boys state basketball championships dating to 2001. It might take 25 years to get three more.

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