Out of the fog
Arizona radio play-by-play announcer Brian Jeffries missed the Wildcatsโ basketball game on Friday against Wichita State because it was a direct conflict with the UA football game at Washington State โ but he almost missed that one, too.
That is, the fog that enveloped the Martin Stadium press box on Friday meant Jeffries had to watch much of the game just like everyone in Tucson โ off a screen.
โMost of the second half, we couldnโt see the field,โ Jeffries said. โIโve never seen anything like it.โ
Jeffries said he became used to calling the game off a monitor after halftime and was OK with the slight delay from the action on the field โ until analyst Lamont Lovett managed to peek through the fog and notice that Michael Wiley was breaking free for a 27-yard touchdown.
โHe didnโt say it loudly but he said `It looks like Wiley scored,โ โ Jeffries said. โBut I was still trying to call what was on the monitor. I didnโt see it yet.โ
After the game, things didnโt get much better. Instead of the Wildcats being able to fly out of Pullmanโs recently extended airfield, the fog also prevented their charter flight from even landing there to pick them up. Instead the Wildcats had to bus 45 minutes to Lewiston, Idaho, and didnโt arrive home until 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
After getting a few hours sleep and a morning at home, Jeffries then caught a Southwest Airlines flight from Tucson to Las Vegas. At least the weather was clear for that one.
Bottoms up
While McKale Center has been selling beer and wine since 2018-19, fans are awash with alcoholic options at T-Mobile Arena.
On the main concourse between the upper and lower sections, there are no fewer than 17 separate stations for alcoholic drinks in addition to the standard concessions that often also offer beer or wine.
The dedicated alcohol stands are either named for a sponsor such as Jamesonโs Irish Whiskey, Elysian Brewing, Foley Family Wines โ or given generic names such as โCocktailsโ (two stands), โBarโ (four stands), or the one location known as โDrink Up.โ There are also new fewer than four stands called โLit Up.โ
Those interested could start with a 25-ounce can of domestic beer for $16 or trade up to cocktails priced between $20 (for a craft margarita) and $26 (for a โDouble Luxury Cocktailโ).
Radio swaps
While Jeffries was off in Pullman on Friday, he was replaced by Westwood One broadcaster Ryan Radke, who spent a decade earlier in his career working UA pre- and post-game shows.
Radtke is also scheduled to work play-by-play for UAโs game against Sacramento State on Nov. 27 at McKale Center, because the Wildcat football team will be playing at ASU earlier in the afternoon. He said the two games fit his schedule perfectly, since he just had to make the short hop to Los Angeles to cover a Sunday NFL game between Chargers and Steelers for Westwood One.
Radtke will be making the trip to Tucson for the Sac State game via Detroit, where he is scheduled to work the Lionsโ traditional Thanksgiving Day game.
First timers
While nearly every elite American high school player stops in Las Vegas at some point to play in club-ball events, the Wildcats have several international players who were making their first trip to the city.
As a result, their Instagram stories were full of video from their brief free time on Thursday night. Estonian Kerr Kriisa even reposted a video Pelle Larsson took of him playfully shrugging his shoulders in front of the Bellagio fountains while Adama Bal of France simply posted video of the nighttime Strip action.
However, their activity was considerably more limited over the weekend. Both Larsson and Kriisa were banged up in UAโs win over Wichita State on Friday and given repeated treatments on Saturday and Sunday.
Ryno, Geary will split road duties
Veteran UA analyst Ryan Hansen made the trip to Las Vegas, saying heโll split up road duties this season with former Wildcat Reggie Geary.
Hansen said Geary will make all four of UAโs two-game Pac-12 road trips, plus upcoming trips to Oregon State and Illinois, which has been designated as the annual โdonorโ trip in which some are invited to take a charter flight with the team to a game.
Hansen said he would make the trip to UAโs Dec. 21 game at Tennessee, along with the UAโs game at ASU and all home games.
As the COO of Bon Voyage Travel, Hansen said the pairing works out well because his job makes it difficult to spare the time needed for two-game Pac-12 road trips while Gearyโs job involves staying in contact with UA donors, many of whom travel to Wildcat road games.
It also helps that Hansen and Geary know each other pretty well: Hansen joined Lute Olsonโs program as a manager during Gearyโs sophomore season with the Wildcats in 1993-94.
โWe got back a long way,โ Hansen said.
Aloha spirit
Just as the Wildcats moved out of Las Vegas after Sundayโs game, the Maui Invitational moved in.
Thanks to continued COVID-19 concerns, the Maui Invitational will be held down the street at Mandalay Bayโs Michelob Ultra Arena. Itโs the second straight year the prestigious multi-team event has moved off Maui, having been playing in the decidedly non-tropical environment of Asheville, North Carolina last year.
This year, at least, it is being played in what has long been an especially popular vacation spot for Hawaiians.
A Maui Invitational release spun it this way: โLas Vegas is full of Hawaiian food, culture and community and has been a mainland home to Hawaiians for decades, hence earning its name as the โNinth Islandโ.
As it turns out, though, the Maui Invitational will go head-to-head for local attention, since the โGood Sam Empire Classicโ is moving into T-Mobile Arena for games involving UCLA, Gonzaga, Bellarmine and Central Michigan on Monday and Tuesday. UCLA and Gonzaga are scheduled to meet in the marquee matchup Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Martelli finally faces Wildcats
Now an associate head coach at Michigan, former St. Joeโs head coach Phil Martelli never did face Arizona again after Lute Olson infamously called off a 1995-96 game in Philadelphia because of bad weather that never materialized.
In fact, they never even talked. After Olson passed away in August 2020, the Philadelphia Inquire phoned Martelli to ask if he ever ran into him since that season.
โA number of times,โโ Martelli said. โNot only at the Final Four. Sometimes more intimate than that. Nike would take their coaches on a quote, unquote retreat. You went to a lot of places. Lute was there and I was there.โ
โNever was a word exchanged. Never once.โ
The big number
13.9 โ Seconds for an average Arizona possession entering Sundayโs game, the third-fastest nationally.
Quotable
โWe have lunch together, we have dinner together, we ride the bus together. This is the time where a team becomes that brotherhood, that family that weโve talked about, with our culture and we have the chance to know and be forced to communicate and talk to one another. So I love a tournament like this at this time of the year. Because I think this is what growth starts.โ
โ Michigan coach Juwan Howard
