Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) gets tangled with Cal forward Sam Alajiki (24) trying to get to the bucket in the first half of their Pac 12 basketball game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 4, 2022.
One manβs βpretty serious sneaker problemβ is another kidβs gift for the holidays.
Longtime Arizona basketball fan and program booster Paul Dias, whose Dias Management Inc. owns 22 McDonaldβs restaurants in Tucson, gave away 200 pairs of Nike sneakers to kids ages 7-13 years old on Saturday at the McDonaldβs on River Road and La Cholla Blvd.Β
βIβve got a pretty serious sneaker problem, and my wife likes to jab me about it pretty frequently,β Dias said on ESPN Tucson this week. βIt was actually her idea. She always said, βYou know, weβre always looking at a way to give back to the community, and you love sports and you love kids, love to help out,β β¦ My youngest daughter told me a while back, βDad, you know why I love sneakers? It doesnβt matter how fat you get, how many pimples you got or what your hair looks like, when you put on a new pair of sneakers, it always lifts you up and makes you feel good.βΒ
In partnership with SPL Sports, a nonprofit organization founded by ex-Wildcat Corey Williams, which organizes local sports camps and clinics and donates equipment to youth athletes in need, Diasβ sneaker giveaway β called βMcKicks 4 Kidsβ β also came with a McDonaldβs meal for the children who received a pair of shoes. Several members of the UA basketball team were there to meet with kids, including Oumar Ballo, Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson, Azuolas Tubelis, Adama Bal, Henri Veesaar, Courtney Ramey, Cedric Henderson and Kylan Boswell, among others.Β
“Our whole family has gotten into sneakers. I started buying sneakers on Nike.com about a year ago. I bought about 10 or 15 pairs a month, then I started collecting them,” Dias said. “We have various kids sizes and we want to put them on the feet of young kids that are in need, and we want to uplift their spirits and give them a little something extra.”
Dias said Saturday was βan opportunity to take a step back, appreciate the opportunity we have and put some new sneakers on kids' feet.β
βItβs a feel-good moment for my employees, my family, and weβve been blessed in so many ways. β¦ Itβs a way to give back,β said Dias. βI love youth athletics, I love sneakers, I love our community, and weβve always told our employees about giving back to our community and being involved in our community.βΒ
35-57: Mark Foxβs all-time record at Cal. Fox is 15-45 in Pac-12 games over three-plus seasons.Β
5: Sunday marked the fifth game Arizona had a βwhite-outβ crowd for a game, albeit the plethora of red shirts sprinkled in the crowd made the crowd at McKale Center akin to a peppermint milkshake. Arizona first attempted the βwhite-outβ in 2011, when the Wildcats beat the Washington HuskiesΒ on a game-winning block by Derrick Williams.
2:Β Tubelis' 25 points and 12 rebounds marked his second double-double of the season. Tubelis has nine double-doubles in his career at Arizona.Β
43: Former UA guard Gabe York scored 43 points for the G Leagueβs Fort Wayne Mad Ants in a 121-115 win over the Windy City Bulls on Saturday. York tallied seven 3-pointers in the win and set a Mad Ants record for most 35-plus-point games in franchise history.Β
Mild draft buzz
NBA draft experts aren't high on the Wildcats this season like they were last year with the trio of Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko.Β
In Jonathan Givony's latest mock draft for ESPN for 2023, no Wildcats are mentioned. Sports Illustrated's mock draft projects Larsson landing to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 52 overall in the second round.Β
NBADraft.net currently has Tubelis as the only Wildcat drafted in ’23, going 40th overall to the Miami Heat.
Photos: Arizona scraps to 81-68 win over Cal in Pac-12 home opener