Seen and heard at the Galen Center: UA commit Kylan Boswell finally relaxes, Jay Bilas jumps at chance to see UA again

By the time he sat down to watch Tuesday’s USC-Arizona game on ESPN, UA commit Kylan Boswell was ready for a breather.

The five-star guard announced via CBS HQ on Monday that he would play for the Wildcats, launching a chaotic 30-hour period that followed with media and social media requests.

“It’s been kind of crazy,” Boswell told the Star by phone just before he watched the game. “I had to turn my phone off because I couldn’t handle all of it. It’s nice to get the recruiting process over with.”

Boswell said he did multiple interviews and also answered questions via Instagram, having said he felt both a good fit in UA coach Tommy Lloyd’s system and also a personal fit with the coaches and players.

“I really liked the atmosphere and really liked Coach Tommy and all the coaches,” Boswell said. “They made me feel like family.”

Big week all around

Boswell is scheduled to play his final home game this season for AZ Compass Prep against Taylor Made Prep on Wednesday — the same evening UA signee Dylan Anderson plays for Gilbert Perry against Chandler Hamilton for the Class 6A state title at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

Bilas ‘jumped’ at chance to call game

The Trojans and Wildcats weren’t the only ones switching things around when Tuesday’s game was added to make up for their postponed Jan. 2 matchup.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas also had swap out a Big Ten game and get over to Los Angeles to call USC-Arizona with Rece Davis.

“I was (scheduled to be) on Wisconsin-Purdue, and we were out at Baylor” for a game Saturday against Kansas, Bilas said. “My boss asked me if I’d be interested in this game and I jumped at it. Of course.”

Bilas said he was compelled by the matchup between No. 2 Arizona and what he said was a USC team that should be ranked higher than No. 16. Arizona beat USC 72-63 on Feb. 5 at McKale Center in what was a four-point game with 1:06 to go.

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“They’re both very good,” Bilas said before Tuesday's game, a 91-71 Arizona win. “Arizona is more balanced. They’re probably the more talented of the two teams, but USC is big, man. Their wings are big, they’re long and they defend the two (point shot) very well. They’ve had a little bit of an issue defending the 3-point line. But the first game was a nip and tuck game and then ’SC had a bunch of open shots and missed them down the stretch that they were making.”

Good times

Bilas also caught McKale Center at its best just 10 days earlier, calling the Wildcats’ 84-81 win over Oregon in front of a spirited sold-out crowd.

“Great game, both teams,” Bilas said. “Arizona is legit. I think Oregon’s just dragging a bad nonconference record (7-4) with them. They didn’t hit a stride until probably the middle of January where they started playing like themselves and playing to their talent level. But they showed when they play like that they could beat a lot of people. They’re a tournament team but you know, they just can’t have any more hiccups down the stretch.”

Earlier that day, Bilas and the ESPN “College GameDay” crew did their morning show from McKale Center, with Bilas attracting some boos from the fans in attendance. Bilas shrugged that off.

“It wasn’t one of our bigger ("GameDay") crowds,” Bilas said. “What you really care about is the game and the game was awesome. That’s one of the best arenas to see a game in the country, and the atmosphere was electric. But the morning is a studio show, so the fans are a backdrop.”

Budinger, Lee join UA section

Two former Wildcat forwards from Southern California, Chase Budinger and Ira Lee, showed up Tuesday and sat a few rows behind the UA bench.

Budinger was a freshman standout for the Wildcats during Lute Olson’s final season of 2006-07 and also under interim coaches in 2007-08 and 2008-09 before going on to play seven seasons in the NBA. Budinger also spent a year playing basketball in Spain and is now a professional volleyball player.

Lee played four seasons for the Wildcats through 2020-21, then took advantage of the COVID eligibility waiver to transfer to George Washington last summer. But Lee ruptured a patella tendon in his knee during a pickup game in August and has been sidelined all season.

Budinger, wearing a UA basketball T-shirt, sat next to his wife. Lee sat next to UA president Robert C. Robbins.

— Bruce Pascoe