Arizona AD Dave Heeke asks ZonaZoo to avoid 'degrading comments' after UCLA spitting incident

Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke said he has spoken with leaders and members of the ZonaZoo after a UCLA player was arrested for spitting at the student section following UA’s 76-66 win over UCLA on Thursday at McKale Center.

UA police arrested UCLA's Mac Etienne on a misdemeanor assault charge after an officer and media video saw him spit twice at the crowd on his way off the floor. During the game, "F--- You" chants toward UCLA players Tyger Campbell and Johnny Juzang were heard from the UA student section.

“We're not gonna lower ourselves to the level of degrading comments directed at individuals,” Heeke said. “We can be better than that. We'll support our team. We'll make it an intense environment. That was my message to our students.”

Heeke said he messaged all UA students who had tickets for Saturday’s UA-USC game and also spoke to several of them when he walked through the crowd during the game. Obscenities were not heard except early in the game, when “F You 0” chants broke out after USC guard Boogie Ellie (No. 0) bumped heads with UA’s Dalen Terry.

“We had a couple of small breakdowns today,” Heeke said.

After Saturday's game, UA coach Tommy Lloyd also made a plea to the UA student section, he said he didn’t know what was said or done at the end of the UCLA game. The Arizona bench is on the opposite side of McKale Center from the Zona Zoo and the exit route for visiting teams.

“It's disappointing probably on both sides,” Lloyd said. “I think we can all come to this deal, and we can be rowdy, and we can have a good time. But I don't think we need to be getting personal with student-athletes. I don't even know if it was — I'm just saying if that happened — and obviously the reaction is disappointing on their end. I think at Arizona our goal should be to be the rowdiest, classiest fan base in the country.”

Heeke indicated he and UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond felt similarly after they discussed the incident.

“Both institutions have addressed it, and we don't want those types of things to happen,” Heeke said. “We want great atmospheres, high intensity, great competition, and the team that plays the best wins. That's kind of our focus. We have great fans here. We're gonna continue to do it and emphasize doing it the right way.”

Lloyd said Terry checked out fine during a brief examination after he and Ellis collided a minute into Saturday’s game. The statistics indicated that, too: Terry still played 29 minutes, posting nine points, four rebounds and four assists. (Ellis had eight points and five assists in 30 minutes).

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“Justin (Kokoskie, UA athletic trainer) came up and told me he was fine,” Lloyd said. “Then he played really well after. Dalen’s a really good player and you guys know what I think of him. He had a plus/minus of 17. That can be a little bit of a dodgy stat, but that says something.”

Lloyd committed a somewhat surprising first on Saturday, breaking a clipboard early in the game while saying he was trying to “light a fire” under the Wildcats.

“I was just a little frustrated,” Lloyd said. “The first time ever I broke a clipboard. It was totally unintentional. Steve Kerr told me you get three breaks a year on the clipboard deal. But at the end of the game it’s not about being fired up.It’s about making sure they're confident.”

Lloyd said he was calmer in the second half.

“I said what I needed to say at halftime and I took a breath,” Lloyd said. “I just wanted to win the game. I didn't want to be emotional.”

NCAA rules now allow teams playing three games a week to not have to take an off day, as long as they make up for it in the preceding or following week.

While UA might take advantage of that while playing at ASU, WSU and Washington over the next week – since they did take two days off after beating ASU on Jan. 29 -- they aren’t likely to have a physical workout of any type that lasts over an hour or so.

“We're gonna see how we get through Monday,” Lloyd said. “Whether we take Tuesday off or we walk through or whatever, we'll figure that out as we go.”