The Star columnist shares how imperative Tommy Lloyd's team-first culture has been for the Arizona Wildcats, how Azuolas Tubelis' injury compares to other notable setbacks, and a basketball-heavy Sunday for the UA.Β
If you askΒ Tommy LloydΒ to choose a favorite quote from his first 16 games as a head coach, my guess is that it wouldnβt be about being ranked No. 3 or averaging 88 points per game.
It would be substitute centerΒ Oumar Balloβs allβs-well statement after the Wildcats beat Stanford 85-57 on Thursday. Said Ballo, who scored 21 points: βThey were happy for me, because every time someone has a great night, everyone is happy for them. Thatβs the best thing about our team, just being happy for each other.β
Arizona is near the NCAA lead in points scored and victories, but its leading statistic is probably βhappy faces,β a category no one ever tracks.
If a college basketball coach can avoid chemistry problems, jealousy issues and me-first shooters, itβs as valuable as knowing Xβs and Oβs or successfully recruiting from a list of Top 100 prospects.
So far, so good for Lloyd, who doesnβt have to look far to see how the other side lives.
Three years ago, Memphis hired alumnus and four-time NBA All-StarΒ Penny HardawayΒ to coach the Tigers. Although he was a high-profile hire, Hardawayβs only head coaching experience was at Memphis East High School. Hardaway immediately took advantage of his name, signing five top-50 prospects.
But it hasnβt worked. Memphis hasnβt reached the NCAA Tournament. Its leading recruits have since transferred to USC, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State or jumped into the NBA draft. Memphis has lost this season to Murray State, UCF and East Carolina. Hardaway blew his stack after a loss at SMU last week.
βThe main reason we have these losses is the veterans donβt want to take the young guys under their wings. They want it to be about them,β Hardway said in a profanity-laced press conference.
βEverybodyβs trying to get to the NBA off the ranking we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches, anything. Itβs been miserable. Iβm going to have to be a complete (jerk) from this point on and only play the players that care.β
A year ago, Arizona State was the Pac-12 example of Memphis. ASUβsΒ Bobby HurleyΒ assembled what looked to be a 2020-21 conference title contender, voted No. 18 in the AP preseason poll. But the Sun Devils imploded, finishing ninth in the (bad) Pac-12.
Me-first shootersΒ Remy MartinΒ transferred to Kansas,Β Josh ChristopherΒ turned pro andΒ Alonzo VergeΒ went to Nebraska; evenΒ Jalen House, son of former ASU scoring championΒ Eddie House, bailed out, signing with New Mexico.
Lloyd has thus far created a team-first culture. As long as he can produce smiles, they are as important as 3-pointers.
Wildcats' tennis victory ranks with the best
Until Friday, I had not attended a college tennis match for 20 years or longer. So when I took a seat at the Robson Tennis Center β No. 5 Texas at No. 14 Arizona β it became an enlightening experience. Arizona won 4-3.
Three observations:
What an intimate and comfortable facility. The shade-blessed bleachers were packed. There was no room for the late-arriving UA softball team to sit down. The fans were loud and energetic. The scoreboards at the 32-year-old facility are of high-tech quality. Even a tennis dummy like me could easily see all the scores at all times. The Robson Center hasnβt been a place to see championship-level tennis since the UAβs womenβs teams (Alix Creek,Β Vicki Maes,Β Banni Redhair) of the mid-1990s. That has changed.
I had no clue the skill level of college tennis is so advanced. I donβt know a thing about elite tennis except for what I watch during Wimbledon, but this isnβt your grandpaβs college tennis. What was it that PGA Tour commercial used to say: βThese guys are goodβ? Thatβs what I discovered aboutΒ Clancy Shieldsβ Wildcats. They are legit, having beaten seven top-25 teams last year and reaching the NCAAβs Sweet 16. The bar has been raised to a level not seen at the UA since the 1960s.
All UA tennis recruits should receive a video of Fridayβs highlights: The packed grandstands, the sun on a 70-degree January afternoon, and the tenacity with which the self-described βSaguaro Soldiersβ play. Itβs no longer a stretch to think Shieldsβ program can compete eye to eye with Pac-12 mega-powers UCLA, Stanford and USC.
No, it wasnβt the grandest victory in UA tennis history. The Wildcats finished No. 3 in the NCAA finals in 1962 and 1967. But if Shieldsβ team gets that far this season, it wonβt be much of a surprise.
UA's β22 season debuts with Alumni Weekend
When first-year Arizona baseball coachΒ Chip HaleΒ was a sophomore infielder, batting No. 2 inΒ Jerry Kindallβs 1985 lineup, the Wildcats staged an Alumni Weekend for the ages.
The celebrity manager for the UA alumni team wasΒ Pete Rose, then five months shy of breakingΒ Ty Cobbβs all-time hits record of 4,191. Rose not only managed a team of ex-Wildcats with MLB experience such asΒ Terry Francona,Β Ron Hassey,Β Brad Mills,Β Johnny Moses,Β Craig LeffertsΒ andΒ Greg Bargar, but he hit second in the order, batting five times, including sliding hard into second base to break up a potential double play.
A crowd of 4,952 attended that Alumni Weekend game at Sancet Field. Haleβs first Alumni Weekend as Arizonaβs coach will be Friday and Saturday at Hi Corbett Field, and although there is no official game scheduled against ex-Wildcats, it will continue a legacy that Hale will probably never forget. He hit a triple in that β85 game.
What made Roseβs appearance on the UA campus so special is that he refused the $3,000 appearance fee offered by Kindall, asking instead to be presented with a UA lettermanβs jacket.
Former Arizona pitcherΒ Tod BrownΒ of Sabino High School, now in his first season as head coach of the New Mexico Lobos, kicked off his first UNM season in a big way this weekend. He arranged for 10-time baseball All-StarΒ Steve GarveyΒ to be the guest speaker at the Lobosβ First Pitch Banquet. Brown and Hale hooked up to schedule a home-and-home series this season; the Lobos will play in Tucson on March 8 and Arizona will play in Albuquerque on March 23.
Simultaneous Sunday for UA men, women
For one of the few times ever, Sundayβs Arizonaβs menβs and womenβs basketball games will be televised simultaneously on the Pac-12 Networks. The UA-Colorado womenβs game begins at noon on Pac-12 Mountain. Arizonaβs menβs game at Cal begins at 1 p.m. on the main Pac-12 Network.
βWe donβt want to play at the same time,β UA coachΒ Adia BarnesΒ said. βItβll cost us some fans.β
The only other conflict this season will be Thursday, Feb. 24, when Barnesβ team plays at home against UCLA on Pac-12 Los Angeles at 7 p.m. The UA menβs team follows at 8 p.m. at Utah on Fox Sports 1.Β
Tubelis injury could be costly for Cats
Arizona sophomore forwardΒ Azuolas Tubelisβ ankle injury isnβt the first to cause significant concern among Wildcats fans. At the outset of the 2002-03 season, No. 1 Arizona lost shooting guardΒ Salim StoudamireΒ for six weeks, from late October until early December. Stoudamire missed two games and returned as an off-the-bench player for three games, his job filled by bothΒ Hassan AdamsΒ andΒ Will Bynum. Stoudamire didnβt return as a starter until a Dec. 21 game at LSU, a game Arizona lost, knocking it from No. 1 after a six-week run.
Tucson native joins NY Mets coaching staff
Tucson High gradΒ Craig Bjornson, part of the Badgersβ 1987 state championship baseball season, is back in the major leagues. Bjornson was the bullpen coach for the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros and 2018 world champ Boston Red Sox before leaving Boston in 2020 and sitting out the β21 season. He was hired last week to be the New York Metsβ bullpen coach.
Ex-Wildcat Sorenstam set to return to Old Pueblo
Arizonaβs 1992 NCAA womenβs championship golferΒ Annika SorenstamΒ hasnβt played competitively in Tucson since she won back-to-back Ping/Welchβs LPGA championships at the Randolph Golf Complex in 2000 and 2001. They were Sorenstamβs 19th and 24th LPGA victories; she went on to win a record 72 LPGA titles.
Sorenstam will return to Tucson on Feb. 26, a Saturday, to play in the PGA Tour Championsβ Cologuard Classic Celebrity Shootout. The field for the Cologuard Classic will include 1999 Tucson Open championΒ David Duval, 50, who said last week his rookie year on the Champions tour will include a stop in Tucson.
UA men's golf team debuts TCC
Arizonaβs defending Pac-12 champion menβs golf team will debut at the new home course of UA golf, the Tucson Country Club, for the Monday-Tuesday Arizona Intercollegiate. UA coachΒ Jim AndersonΒ arranged for elite programs Duke and Arkansas to be in the field; the Razorbacksβ roster includesΒ John Daly Jr., who is in his freshman season at Arkansas, the alma mater of his father.
Arizona opens at home ranked No. 36 by Golfweek, which trails just ASU and Stanford in the Pac-12.
Tucson product Trevor Werbylo hits Korn Ferry Tour
UA and Salpointe Catholic High School gradΒ Trevor Werbylo, winner of the PGA Tourβs Forme Tour last season, made his Korn Ferry Tour debut last week, finishing 33rd in the Bahamas Exuma Classic, earning $4,538. Werbylo, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, plans to spend the next five weeks playing in Korn Ferry events in Colombia, Panama, Florida, Louisiana and Georgia.
Pima College coaching icon dies
Sad news:Β Eli Noble,Β the first Black head coach at Pima College, died in Tucson last week. He was 76. Noble was hired to be PCCβs wrestling coach in January 1973, a role he served for 14 years. A UA grad who earned an undergraduate degree in North Carolina, Noble was part of historic group of Black head coaches in Tucson, joining Cholla football coachΒ Ed Brown, UA track coachΒ Willie WilliamsΒ and UA menβs basketball coachΒ Fred SnowdenΒ at helping to break color barriers here. Among Nobleβs many wrestling standouts at PCC wasΒ Bobby DeBerry, who went on to coach Sunnyside High School to 15 state championships.
My two cents: Salpointe's move to 6A makes little sense
The Arizona Interscholastic Associationβs governing board last week assigned Salpointe Catholic to play in Class 6A football from 2022-24. The Lancers are the only Tucson school among the 35 in 6A.
Salpointeβs appeal to play in 5A was denied.
That puts Salpointeβs players, coaches, fans and administrators in a spot that couldβve been avoided. It means at least five Phoenix road trips each for the Lancersβ varsity and JV football teams. High school sports have lost so much of their neighborhood feel and historic connections; this is another move in that direction.
Salpointeβs move to 6A isnβt as much about the increased difficulty in competition, playing in a division with football mega-powers such as Scottsdale Saguaro and Chandler Hamilton. Hamilton has an enrollment of 3,911 and Saguaro 2,149 compared to Salpointeβs 1,253; yet the Lancers have proven they are one of the stateβs eight or 10 leading football programs.
But it wouldβve been more appropriate to place Salpointe in 5A with Cienega, Mountain View, Ironwood Ridge, Tucson, Sunnyside and Desert View. Fortunately, the 6A assignment is only for football; all other Salpointe boys and girls sports will remain in 4A.
High school sports in Tucson are in a transition like never before. Sabino, long a power in most sports, now has an enrollment of just 953 and was assigned to 3A, with, among others, Benson, Safford and Thatcher. Palo Verde, which won a state football championship as recently as 2005 and a state baseball championship in 2014, is now a 3A football school with an enrollment of 679.
Now Tucson prep football teams will find it increasingly difficult to test themselves against the best local competition.