When we asked Arizona players their favorite underdog or comeback story in sports during the Wildcats' preseason media day earlier this month, Chase Jeter said, "To be continued, I guess."
Clearly, the Wildcats have plenty of motivation this season to prove they are that underdog story. The Wildcats are being left off the vast majority of preseason top-25 lists, and they now have motivation as individuals, too.
The Basketball Hall of Fame has been putting out 20-player "watch lists" for its five positional awards this week, and when the final one was issued today (the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list of top centers), the Wildcats finished without a representative on any of them.
(CBS Sports also didn't have any UA players among its top 101 players in college basketball).
There were plenty of Pac-12 representatives on the Hall of Fame positional award watch lists, however:
Point guard (Bob Cousy)
Payton Pritchard, Oregon
Jaylen Hands, UCLA
Shooting guard (Jerry West)
Jaylen Nowell, Washington
Small forward (Julius Erving)
Louis King, Oregon
Tres Tinkle, Oregon State
Kris Wilkes, UCLA
Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Robert Franks, WSU
Power forward (Karl Malone)
Bennie Boatwright, USC
Noah Dickerson, Washington
Center (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
Bol Bol, Oregon
Moses Brown, UCLA
The Hoop Hall says players can work their way onto or off the lists at any point this season.
Arizona's Deandre Ayton captured theΒ Karl Malone Award as the nation's top power forward a season ago.
Four-star UA recruiting target Terry Armstrong is visiting New Mexico this weekend.
Official Visit #Lobos pic.twitter.com/53hzMXTryQ
— TheDeal (@jones_deal) October 19, 2018
Five-star class of 2020 forward Jalen Johnson is taking advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows five official visits during the junior year and another five after.Β
Duke this weekend π΅βͺοΈπͺπ½@TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/tSFn1OwZ0C
— Jalen Johnson (@Jalen_J23) October 19, 2018
He's visiting Duke this weekend and has reportedly scheduled a visit to Arizona on Nov. 2, with plans to visit UCLA on Nov. 17.
Book Richardson has been posting some positive messages about his time at Arizona on Twitter (Richardson wasn't on Twitter as a UA assistant coach but has confirmed this is now his account).
Thank you. Tucson and The University of Arizona has been my home for the last decade! The people have treated me as one of their own! No other place like this in the world!
— Book Richardson (@richardson_book) October 19, 2018
Arizona is a destination spot! Like I said Iβve been blessed by the basketball Gods to have served at The University of Arizona.
— Book Richardson (@richardson_book) October 19, 2018
Incredible program awesome coaches. Best fans and basketball community in the nation. Coach Snowden got it going Coach Olsen made this an ELITE basketball DESTINATION AND Coach Miller has carried on the tradition! Iβm blessed to have served here in Tucson
— Book Richardson (@richardson_book) October 18, 2018
