The Star's longtime columnist on Arizona's quest for toughness, Alex Verdugo's future and the silly idea to expand the NCAA Tournament:
Tommy Llloyd wants Cats to be more physical
A few minutes after Houston limited free-wheeling Arizona to 60 not-so Sweet 16 points and knocked the Wildcats out of last season’s NCAA Tournament, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson rubbed it in a bit.
Arizona had averaged 85 points during the regular season, No. 3 in the nation, but the Wildcats did most of that high-scoring playing in the Pac-12, a finesse league.
Said Sampson that night in San Antonio: "Those teams let Arizona be comfortable. I wasn’t going to let them be comfortable."
Under duress, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, Christian Koloko and Azuolas Tubelis combined to shoot 4 for 20 on 2-point shots, almost all of them strongly contested, fighting through bumps, pushes and in-your-face pressure.
"It’s not a beauty contest," said Sampson.
Unless you regularly attend Tommy Lloyd’s practice sessions this month, you’ll never be sure how he has adjusted for Year 2 as Arizona’s coach. But last week Lloyd allowed a few reporters to watch the first 30 minutes of a practice at McKale Center and let’s just say it wasn’t sugarcoated.
"You’ve got to hit," Lloyd said sternly while watching a half-court, five-on-five set. "You’ve got to deliver blows."
A minute later, Lloyd stopped play and said "It’s a little tug-of-war out here. You’ve gotta win the leverage battle" as he instructed Tubelis to hold his position with more authority.
Lloyd continued: "If you don’t love to fight, you’ve got a problem."
Some have referred to Tubelis as a "gentle giant," but that may change during his junior season.
"I will be more physical," Tubelis said last week. "I am concentrating more on using my body."
No one except Sampson accused Arizona of being soft last season. The Wildcats held up physically in three early-season games against Michigan, Illinois and Tennessee — the games at Illinois and Tennessee were almost hand-to-hand combat — and then won two of three games against UCLA that a soft team would’ve lost.
But things began to change in the NCAA Tournament when a so-so Big 12 club, TCU, implemented basketball’s version of trench warfare, forcing Arizona to overtime before the Wildcats prevailed 85-80.
Now, seven months later, Lloyd appears to be taking measures to ensure that Arizona is prepared for push-and-shove tactics that will surely be applied when the Wildcats play neutral court games against Cincinnati, Indiana and, probably, nationally-ranked Ohio State, Creighton or Arkansas.
"We’ve got to make sure that physically we bring the fight," Lloyd told reporters on media day last week. "It’s the price of entry; you’ve got to be tough."
Message received.
Arizona’s Callista Balko throws to first for an out in the opening game of the 2005 Women’s College World Series.
Former CDO, UA star Callisto Balko Elmore appreciates hall's call
At a press conference last week introducing the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022, few were more appreciative than Callista Balko Elmore, a standout catcher who led Canyon del Oro High School to the 2001 state championship and Arizona to 2006 and 2007 NCAA championships. "It makes me realize how meaningful my softball days were," she said. "I started playing at 8 and was done when I was 22 but those 14 years are now priceless memories." Elmore, who is the UA athletic department’s lead fundraiser in the greater Phoenix area, is married to former Arizona defensive end Ricky Elmore and has two young children. "I’ve been so fortunate," she said. "It’s such an honor to be in this Hall of Fame class." …
Pima College coach David Cosgrove wins No. 400
Pima College men’s soccer coach David Cosgrove produced his 400th career victory last week with a victory over Paradise Valley College. Cosgrove, an Amphitheater High and UA grad, can appreciate what it has taken to win 400, third-highest in NJCAA men’s active soccer. In his first year at Pima, 1998, the Aztecs started 0-2-1 and finished 9-6-2, although it beat national champion Yavapai, breaking a 91-game home-field winning streak in Prescott. Cosgrove’s team has one regular season game remaining this week before the postseason begins. The NJCAA championships will be held Nov. 14-19 at Kino North Stadium.
Christian Koloko shines in exhibition game
Arizona’s 2022 All-Pac-12 center Christian Koloko completed his five-game NBA preseason schedule Friday with a sizzling performance. Koloko shot 6 for 6 for the Toronto Raptors, with four rebounds and two blocked shots in just 16 minutes. Koloko averaged 14 minutes in the Raptors’ preseason and played well enough to earn a spot on this week’s opening day 15-man roster rather than be assigned to the G League. Whether he makes Toronto’s regular eight- or nine-man rotation is another story.
Guard Courtney Ramey lines up a shot during Tuesday’s practice on campus. The Texas transfer vetted five different programs before choosing the Wildcats.
Courtney Ramey appreciates experiences
Arizona senior shooting guard Courtney Ramey, a transfer from Texas, said he will benefit from playing in Tommy Lloyd’s fast-pace offense, compared to last year at Texas when slow-and-go coach Chris Beard’s team ranked No. 336 in the NCAA in offensive tempo. Arizona was No. 9. "It’s all a plus for me," said Ramey, who has scored 1,275 points in college basketball. "Playing two completely different styles, under two completely different coaches, is something that will benefit me for a long time in my career. The key to a long basketball life is adjusting to changes, and that’s what encouraged me to come to Arizona and try something different. I’m also benefiting from playing with all of our European players. Who knows, I might play overseas next year. I am fortunate to get to know them." …
Ricky Hunley keynote speaker at luncheon
Arizona’s Hall of Fame linebacker Ricky Hunley, 1979-83, is a skilled public speaker. Now the UA’s defensive line coach, Hunley was the featured speaker last week at the UA’s annual Arthritis Center Bear Down Celebration, in its 39th year, which has raised more than $2 million. This week, Hunley and his brother, 1984 All-Pac-10 linebacker Lamonte Hunley, will be the featured speakers/cooks at the Flying Aprons of Tucson event, a cooking school. The "Cooking With the Wildcats" event will be held Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the dining facility at the Catalina United Methodist Church, 2700 E. Speedway Blvd. The Hunley brothers will cook baked salmon, bok choy salad and key lime pie, among other things. To register: flyingapronstucson.com.
Red Sox want to push Alex Verdugo
Sahuaro High School grad Alex Verdugo hit .284 with 12 homers and 68 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox this season, but manager Alex Cora last week said Verdugo must improve in 2023, the last season of his contract. "We’re going to push Verdugo hard this offseason to play quicker," Cora told Boston reporters. "He has to become a better defensive outfielder and improve running the bases and hit for more power." Verdugo is expected to be paid $7 million next season via an arbitration deal.
Top UA commit enrolls at Mountain View
Mountain View High School’s softball team, coming off a 14-12 season, got the biggest possible boost over the offseason when Aissa Silva moved to Tucson from Elk Grove, California, to complete her high school softball career. Silva, possibly the West’s top pitching prospect in the recruiting Class of 2023, will sign with Arizona next month. At Elk Grove, she had an 0.56 ERA and 552 strikeouts in three seasons. Silva’s move to Tucson isn’t a total surprise. She was born in Sierra Vista and attended Tucson’s Gridley Middle School through seventh grade before moving to Northern California with her family.
USC-UCLA talk grows tiresome
When UCLA and USC announced they were abandoning the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten in 2024, I couldn’t get enough of the story. But now it has played out — worn out — and the real issue is what happens to Oregon, Washington and Stanford? Will they flee to the Big Ten, too? My answer: No chance. Why would Minnesota, Rutgers, Purdue and Indiana, among others, approve further expansion? It would just dilute their status and chances for future success. The Ducks, Huskies and Cardinal would not add to the media rights haul for each school. Washington’s athletic department has little appeal. Except for a few years under football coach Chris Petersen recently, the UW has been middle-of-the-road, if that. End of story.
Matt Grevers joins elite company
Tucsonan Matt Grevers, a six-time Olympic swimming medalist, was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame among names like Willie Gault, Chris Chelios and Brian Urlacher last week in Chicago. Talk about big-time company. Grevers grew up in Chicago and graduated from Northwestern before moving to Tucson to train with the Tucson Ford Aquatics program. Grevers is married to former Arizona All-American swimmer Annie Chandler. They have two small children and live in Tucson.
Two Tucsonans join basketball ranks
Tucson has produced numerous college and NBA coaches, from Salpointe Catholic's Jay John, former head coach at Oregon State, Sabino's Dan Tolzman, now assistant GM of the Toronto Raptors, to Salpointe’s Jesse Mermuys, now assistant coach of the Orlando Magic, to Matt Brase, a former Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers coach who is now a head coach in Italy’s EuroLeague.
Now comes the next generation: Bradley Feig and Brandon Rosenthal.
Feig, who played at the Gregory School and for the Tucson Academy, is believed to be the youngest Division I college basketball director of operations. At 23, Feig is the New Orleans Privateers' director of ops.
"Bradley is a bright young star in the coaching world," said UNO coach Mark Slessinger. "He is a relentless worker who is intelligent and creative. Throughout his years with our program, he consistently excelled at every assignment he has taken on. Bradley has a basketball mind and is constantly looking to grow and improve."
Feig was previously UNO’s student manager and later director of video and analytics operations.
Rosenthal was recently named a full-time assistant coach on Bobby Hurley’s staff at ASU. Rosenthal was a standout basketball player at Catalina Foothills in the mid 2000s, and has since been employed by the Phoenix Suns in the video/scouting department and in a similar role for both the Houston Rockets and at Santa Clara.
My two cents: Expand NCAA Tournament? C'mon, man
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips last week said "it’s time to look at" expanding the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, possibly to 96 teams.
Hello? Earth to Phillips: the NCAA Tournaments are perfect. Don’t touch them.
Unfortunately, Phillips is a member of the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee and has considerable influence.
"I really would like us to expand," he said at ACC media day last week.
Remaking March Madness, which is perfectly aligned over three weeks and 68 teams, does not need to be adjusted, tweaked or realigned. If Phillips is allowed to interfere simply to pull in more TV money, it would be a colossal mistake.
Someone please stop him.
