The Star's longtime columnist on: Dan Hicks' Hall of Fame rΓ©sumΓ© ... the rest of the Pima County class of 2023 ... Azuolas Tubelis' falling draft stock ... another middling Directors' Cup finish for UA ... Ryan Maddox's potential impact ... more.
NBC's Hicks is a no-brainer Hall of Famer
In the late 1970s, Sabino High Schoolβs Dan Hicks would sometimes sit in the bleachers at Hi Corbett Field, tape recorder in hand, and perform his own play-by-play account of Tucson Toros baseball games.
So began one of Americaβs most successful sports broadcasting careers. Sunday, Hicks will be the play-by-play voice of NBCβs coverage of the U.S. Open, the 23rd time Hicks has been NBCβs lead voice in Americaβs biggest golf event.
The one-time Sabino basketball standout, a UA grad who grew up captivated by late-night radio broadcasts of Los Angeles Dodgers legend Vin Scully, is also the lead play-by-play voice of NBCβs Summer and Winter Olympics in swimming and skiing.
Hicks last week became one of 11 to be voted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame class of 2023, said Pat Darcy, president of the PCSHOF. Hicks is scheduled to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the DoubleTree Hotel on Nov. 12.
I first became aware of Hicks and his budding talent while sitting in the football press box at Arizona Stadium in the mid-1980s. Hicks would announce the official details of each play to guests in the luxury suites and those sitting on press row.
At one point, Hicks described a short run that ended when a running back stumbled and fell in the open field as βself-tackleization."
Everyone laughed. It was typical of his refreshing approach to a same-old, same-old business. Over the last 40 years, every announcer inside the Arizona Stadium press box has carried on Hicksβ βself-tackleization" declaration.
From there, he became the PA announcer for womenβs basketball at McKale Center and the PA voice of Arizona baseball games. He soon was hired by a Tucson radio station and, ultimately, as a weekend sports anchor at Channel 4. It wasnβt long until CNN hired him to be one of its lead studio sports personalities, which led to his move to NBC 30 years ago.
HIcks joins an impressive PCSHOF class of 2023 that includes the following:
β’Β Willie Morales. After leading Tucson High School to back-to-back state baseball championships in 1987 and 1988, Morales became an All-Pac-10 catcher at Arizona and, ultimately, a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles.
β’Β Jeff Kiewel. After a standout football career at Sabino, Kiewel became an All-Pac-10 tackle at Arizona and, subsequently, a three-year lineman for the Atlanta Falcons.
β’Β Tyler DeBerry. A state champion swimmer at Sabino, DeBerry went on to be a 13-time All-American at Arizona.
β’Β Rich Hall. After completing his football career as a UA lineman in the early β70s, Hall began to officiate Tucson prep football games, leading to an 18-year career as an NFL official.
β’Β Todd Holthaus. The Pima College womenβs basketball coach won his 500th career game last season, leading the Aztecs to the NJCAA quarterfinals. Holthaus earlier won 160 games at Flowing Wells High School and spent three years on the UA womenβs basketball staff.
β’Β Ashley Monceaux. An all-city softball and basketball player at Flowing Wells, Monceaux went on to lead Pima College to the 2004 NJCAA national championship. She was a first-team All-American who became an All-Big 12 first baseman for Baylorβs WCWS team.
β’Β Marty Parker. The native Tucsonan became a three-time swimmer in the Paralympics, winning a gold medal in 1996 at Atlanta and setting more than 20 American records in Masters swimming.
β’Β Carla Garrett. A three-time NCAA champion in the shot put and discus at Arizona, Garrett has become a prominent strength and conditioning coach at Pima College and Salpointe Catholic High School.
β’Β Stacy Redondo. A key member of Arizonaβs 1991 and 1993 NCAA champion softball teams, Redondo later coached softball at Salpointe Catholic and Pima College. She died in April after suffering a stroke.
β’Β Tom Wiedenbauer. A standout quarterback and baseball player at Sahuaro High School in the 1970s, Wiedenbauer made baseball his lifeβs work. He reached MLB, playing for the Houston Astros in 1979, and spent four decades coaching in the big leagues at the minor-league level.
β’Β Heather Moore-Martin. Salpointeβs girls volleyball coach won her ninth state championship this season in beach volleyball, a run that began by coaching the Catalina boys volleyball team to the 2010 state title.
After examination, Tubelis unlikely to be drafted
How can Azuolas Tubelis, a second-team All-American and backbone of Arizona teams that went 61-11 the last two seasons, not be a future NBA player or even a second-round draftee on Thursday? How do those who make a living evaluating draft-eligible players see him?
Hereβs how: The Athleticβs Sam Vecenie, that organizationβs senior writer and NBA draft analyst, annually produces one of the most insightful looks into the NBA Draft. His thorough exam of Tubelis leaves no stone unturned. He lists Tubelis at No. 65 overall. Hereβs what Vecenie says:
βTubelis doesnβt do a lot of the things modern NBA big men are asked to do. He has significant defensive concerns. He has good hand-eye coordination, so occasionally produced offensive plays when Arizona would hedge him on middle ball screens. But thereβs not much else positive.. Heβs not a real rim protector. Not a great shot blocker. Wasnβt awesome as a post defender. More importantly, though, he canβt guard on the perimeter. He was blow-by city a lot of the time.
βOffensively, he can be a bit turnover prone as a passer and driver. Donβt love him as a driver if he must put the ball on the deck one or two times. Doesnβt play above the rim. Heβs also not a shooter at this point."
Summary: βI think Tubelis is likely to have a hard time in the NBA unless he really improves defensively. I thought he was often at the root of a lot of Arizonaβs defensive issues the last couple of years. He was extremely valuable and useful offensively. But defensively, he was a bit too easily exploited in big moments.
βThe worst-case scenario for Tubelis is he becomes one of the best players in the EuroLeague over the next decade. But if he can become just a bit more mobile with his footwork and a bit more polished as a shooter, significant money in the NBA could occur as an offensively minded backup center."
Arizona sitting at No. 43 in Directors' Cup
When the Learfield Directors' Cup was created for the 1993-94 school yearΒ β a sport-by-sport points measurement of every college athletic departmentΒ β Arizona was a blueblood.
The Wildcats ranked No. 6 in 1994, followed by successive finishes of No. 4, No. 7, No. 6, No, 6 and No. 9. The 1990s were the glory years of UA sports.
This year Arizona is No. 43, which is ninth in the Pac-12. Thatβs about the UAβs average finish of the last decade. Only baseball is left to be counted, and the Wildcats are projected to move up only a spot or two when their NCAA Tournament points are added.
Whatβs changed? More than anything, the proliferation of non-revenue sports now controls the Directors' Cup standings. Stanford has clinched the No. 1 athletic program in Division I athletics this year, which is no surprise. Itβs not about the high-profile sports.
Even though the Cardinal earned no points in football and menβs basketball, they scored a max value of 100 points in womenβs rowing and womenβs water polo and close to that amount in womenβs golf, softball, womenβs tennis and menβs track and field.
Those Pac-12 schools that thrive on non-revenue sports were again highly ranked. USC is No. 4, UCLA No. 11. Even No. 28 Utah will post its best-ever finish, but thatβs a bit misleading: The Utes won the NCAA title in skiing and scored heavily in gymnastics and menβs lacrosse.
No. 33 ASU again will finish ahead of Arizona, but not because of anything the Sun Devils did in high-profile sports. ASU outscored Arizona in the Directors' Cup because of high-level finishes in menβs swimming, menβs and womenβs indoor track and gymnastics.
Short stuff: Incoming Cat in elite company; ex-OSU coach has a point; Nnaji cashes in
Incoming UA freshman softball pitcher Ryan Maddox of Clovis North High School near Fresno was named Californiaβs Gatorade Player of the Year last week. She was 21-1 with an 0.64 ERA and is the No. 3 overall prospect in softballβs recruiting class of 2023. Oh, how the Wildcats need her to be good ASAP.
Californiaβs Gatorade Player of the Year has often become a high-profile collegian. Witness recent UCLA All-Americans Rachel Garcia, Bubba NicklesΒ and Megan Faraimo, and two of Oklahomaβs best players this year, Nicole May and Tiare Jennings.
Arizona has deployed three California POYs this century, all pitchers: Alicia Hollowell, Taylor McQuillin and current UA sophomore Sydney Somerndike. Hollowell was a first-team All-American and McQuillin a first-team All-Pac-12 pitcher. ...
β’Β Former Oregon State assistant basketball coach Tim SheltonΒ β who left OSU last week for a similar position at Colorado StateΒ β said what many in college basketball believe when he left Corvallis:
The Beavers canβt compete in NIL opportunities. Itβs not an even playing field in recruiting. βWeβre never going to be Arizona," Shelton told a Portland newspaper.
Said Shelton, whose comments drew the ire of OSU athletic director Scott Barnes: βMy biggest fear is that the guys here donβt feel like we have enough resources to keep them. Weβre asking them to do that for very little to nothing."
Follow the money: The Beavers have gone 6-34 in the Pac-12 the last two seasons. ...
β’Β Arizonaβs 2019-20 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Zeke Nnaji, celebrated joyously with his Denver Nuggets teammates in last weekβs downtown Denver parade that drew an estimated 1 million people. And why not? Nnaji will receive a bonus of close to $1 million for being part of the Nuggets active roster during the playoffs.
Nnaji, a 6-9 forward, played just 29 seconds in Denverβs championship series victory over Miami. He did not play at all in a four-game Western Conference Finals sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. But he is smiling all the way to the bank. He earned $2.6 million this season and will be paid $4.3 million next season in guaranteed salary.
My two cents: Give Tubelis assist for recruiting Murauskas
One of the unwritten legacies of Azuolas Tubelis is the role he played in the recruiting pursuit of versatile 6-8 Lithuanian shooter Paulius Murauskas, who, I believe, based on his video highlights, will be an impact player in the Pac-12.
In a Twitter message before signing with Arizona last week, Murauskas wrote: βI weighed all the options, but since Azuolas played there, we know the coach and the University of Arizona. I played there last summer. We asked Azuolas a lot of questions about everything last summer, and he really helped.
βLooking at it now, with a Lithuanian player there (7-2 recruit Motiejus Krivas) I think it will be stronger and more fun because of that. "
No coach in the Pac-12 has the global recruiting network of Tommy Lloyd. True, he inherited Tubelis from the previous staff, but you canβt say he didnβt get the most out of him, both on the court and off.