Jay Bilas says Arizona 'is as good as anybody'; Ernie McCray added to Ring of Honor

The top-15 showdown between No. 5 UCLA and No. 11 Arizona on ABC brought out the distinguished broadcasting crew of Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe.

Bilas — a panelist on ESPN’s “College Gameday,” the Worldwide Leader’s Saturday-morning pregame show during the college basketball and football seasons — participated remotely in front of the ZonaZoo while host Rece Davis and analysts LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg were in-studio. “College GameDay,” which usually travels each week to premier games around the nation, won’t air shows from campuses until next week due to NFL playoff coverage on ESPN.

During the show, Bilas interviewed Arizona guard Courtney Ramey for “94 feet with Bilas.” The two walked along a trail on A Mountain.

The first question: What was Ramey’s first interaction with backcourt counterpart Kerr Kriisa?

“I got a random text, and it was like, ‘This is your favorite player.’ At the time, I’m thinking it’s Isiah Thomas,” Ramey said. “But he texted me, ‘It’s Kerr Kriisa.’ We got on the phone and talked for a couple minutes. It was a great conversation.”

Next question: How is it playing with so many international players who speak different languages?

“My first week here I almost walked out of the locker room because they were speaking their own language,” Ramey joked.

Ramey also revealed his favorite food is Korean barbecue, and the most prominent players he’s guarded are Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. Ramey’s biggest fear is animals, because “animals have teeth and they bite.”

“College GameDay” ended with predictions on notable games around the country, concluding with the Arizona-UCLA game. Ellis and Greenberg both predicted UCLA would beat Arizona; Bilas didn’t predict the game since he was on the broadcast.

After the show, Bilas told the Star, “I love coming here.”

“I’ve been coming here for decades,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite places.”

Saturday marked the second time Bilas has trekked to Tucson since the UA hired Tommy Lloyd.

“Tommy is awesome,” Bilas said. “He’s such a great coach and innovative offensively. They get up and down the floor and do so many smart things with the way they game-plan. His staff is really good, too. Jack Murphy, he put together a great game plan for UCLA. Tommy is one of the best recruiters, one of the best game coaches. He’s the real deal.”

Bilas also praised Arizona’s frontcourt tandem of forward Azuolas Tubelis and center Oumar Ballo.

“Oumar has come as far as any big guy from last year to this year,” Bilas said. “Azuolas can run the floor as well as any big guy that I can remember in college basketball. He changes ends so quickly and puts so much pressure on opposing big guys when he runs, kinda wears them down. He leads the league in transition points as a 6-10, 6-11 guy. They’re so productive and work so well together, they’re really difficult to guard. As long as they space the floor well and handle pressure, get the ball inside — once they get the ball inside, they’re a handful.”

Added Bilas: “Offensively, Arizona is as good as anybody. As their defense improves, they’ll have a chance. They don’t have as many weapons athletically as they had last year, but who expected Dalen Terry to leave early? That’s one of the issues. But I don’t see anybody head and shoulders above the crowd this year. Arizona is in the mix. Hell, they’re a 2-seed if the (NCAA Tournament) started today, so they’re legit.”

McCray inducted into Ring of Honor

In the media room in the basement of McKale Center, Ernie McCray shuffled through the back door, clenching a half-full cup of iced orange juice, donning a black beanie and coat over his white shirt.

“I bet you’re all wondering why I called you all here today,” McCray said with a smile.

McKale Center held a ceremony at halftime for McCray to induct him into the Ring of Honor. McCray was added to the Ring amid the pandemic, so the UA acknowledged him in front of fans. McCray called Saturday “a great honor.”

“Growing up in Tucson, I was an Arizona sports fan. … To come up here and play — I just wanted to get a degree. That’s all I was thinking about was feeding my family,” McCray said. “I got to be pretty good at the sport and then to be honored — I wish I had known this was happening.”

McCray, a Tucson High School graduate, scored 46 points against Cal State Los Angeles in 1960, a total that remains a program record.

“I thought when I did all that stuff, it was over,” he said. “But here I am, 84 years old at a press conference. My mother would get a kick out of this.”

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Although he holds that record, McCray said his best accomplishment at the UA was graduating before he went on to have a long career as an educator.

“I’m not a bragging type of person,” McCray said, “but I can teach my ass off.”

McCray added he “wouldn’t mind” if his 46-point record was broken.

“I played on lousy teams,” he said. “The program has developed, so you don’t really need anyone to score 46 points — not that it’s stopping anyone from scoring 46 points.

“I wouldn’t really mind if someone broke it, but I like that because of doing that, I get mentioned with Sean Elliott and Chase Budinger. If I hadn’t done that, I would’ve been forgotten.”

Return of the Mac

UCLA forward Mac Etienne returned to McKale Center for the first time since he was charged with “assault-touch with intent to provoke” by UA police during last season’s contest between the Bruins and Wildcats on Feb. 3.

The injured Etienne spat toward members of the ZonaZoo while walking back to the team locker room. Etienne pleaded not guilty in Pima County Court and was assigned to a diversion program in May.

When Etienne took the floor for pregame warmups Saturday, he was met with jeers. Several UAPD officers and “A-Team” security guards — more than usual — were standing in the tunnels where UCLA and game officials walk through.

Twin cities

Among the NBA scouts making the trip to McKale was Minnesota Timberwolves college basketball scouting coordinator Josh Gershon.

Except for him, it wasn’t really a road trip. Not only is Gershon a UA grad who worked locally at goazcats.com and then in California as an analyst for 247Sports, his wife, Sarah Schram, lives in town as co-owner of Pima Dermatology — even though she’s from Minneapolis, where Gershon now lives and works.

“We got it all backward,” Gershon said.

Fortunately for Gershon, his personal and professional lives collided this weekend. Five of ESPN’s top 60 NBA draft prospects were inside McKale, including Tubelis (58). UCLA’s Amari Bailey (60) did not play because of a foot injury.

ESPN has three other UCLA players in its top 60: Jaime Jaquez (27), Adem Bona (48), and Jaylen Clark (54).

Budinger returns

Former Arizona standout Chase Budinger, now retired from the NBA and playing professional volleyball out of Southern California, made a full weekend out of his trip to Tucson.

Not only did Budinger take in the Wildcats’ game with UCLA on Saturday, but he spent Friday meeting with Wildcat players and Lloyd. Budinger also hung out with longtime athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie, who was on staff during Budinger’s UA playing days between 2006 and ‘09.

Kokoskie said he hoped to get Budinger’s family here for his next visit. Budinger’s wife was staying home this weekend with their infant son, Beckham.

Showcase for recruits

Arizona brought in three recruiting targets for Saturday’s game, including recent commit Jamari Phillips of AZ Compass Prep.

Two other highly regarded players from the NBA Academy Africa were on hand: Central African Republic guard Thierry Darlan and Cameroonian big man Ulrich Chomche.

Also present: Etop Udo-Ema, the influential director of the Adidas-sponsored Compton Magic.