Seen and heard from McKale Center: Electric atmosphere, early risers and ex-Cat returns

In the turbocharged atmosphere of McKale Center this weekend, officials were watching not only the players on the court but also everyone else.

On Thursday, UA’s decision to place red glo-sticks on every seat created extra atmosphere in the darker areas of the stands but also nearly a technical foul.

A glo-stick landed near the Washington State bench late in the Cougars’ 77-74 win on Thursday, resulting in a warning that fans could trigger a technical foul if other objects were thrown, an announcement that was met with boos.

On Saturday, after a late dunk from Keshad Johnson, officials called a technical foul on spectators — the Wildcat players who bolted from the UA bench to celebrate a late dunk from Keshad Johnson that put the Wildcats in control of their 91-75 win.

UA coach Tommy Lloyd indicated he saw two sides to the call.

“Our guys got to class up a little bit,” Lloyd said. “It’s hard with some of these things. These officials do a good job, but they’ve got a lot on their plate and what’s hard for us is things are called so inconsistently like that.

“If they call that a technical every time, the kids would quit doing it, but it’s the first time has been called a technical in my three years. Usually they give you a warning, and tell them to get back. That’s what makes it hard.”

Lloyd said he was told it was simply a matter of players extending too far on the court — officials have been known to allow players to step out a foot or two — not anything verbally exchanged.

“Our guys need to be smarter,” Lloyd said. “When you start doing things like that, I know you’re supporting your team, but you’re also kind of doing it for yourself. You know why? Because you get shown on TV. So our guys havegot to grow up. We need to hit our standards at Arizona.”

Breakfast club

Noon tipoffs less than two days after a night game always pose a dilemma for college coaches: Do you maximize players’ preparation time by holding a lot of drills and talks the morning of the game, or maximize your guys’ rest?

They’re also limited by having to hold a pregame meal no sooner than three or four hours before tipoff for obvious digestive purposes.

“The main thing is getting them up out of bed to eat. That’s what we’re doing,” Lloyd said. “We cover a few things just to make sure we’re putting our minds on the game but traditionally not (holding) a full shoot around on these early tips.”

Lloyd asked the Wildcats to report to McKale at 8 a.m. for a quick film session, then they had a walk-through on the court, followed by their customary pregame meal at the Sands Club in Arizona Stadium.

Anderson returns

There weren’t any visible celebrities or former Wildcats on hand Saturday, but the Wildcats did welcome former standout forward Rick Anderson back on Thursday in their game against WSU.

Now living back in his hometown of Long Beach, California, Anderson was a captain for UA’s 2002-23 team, which carried the No. 1 national ranking most of the season and reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight before losing to Kansas.

The 2002-03 team, considered one of the best in UA history, was also led by guard Jason Gardner and forward Luke Walton. It also had future NBA players in Andre Iguodala, Channing Frye and Hassan Adams — while yet another future NBA player, Will Bynum, left the team in midseason.

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UA trainer Justin Kokoskie said Anderson and Gardner, now UA’s player relations director, were around for the telling of plenty “old Jason Gardner-Luke Walton stories.”

White-out basket

Zona Zoo student fans had white “Arizona 24” T-shirts draped over their seats Saturday, making for a white-out look behind the north basket.

Washington made 8 of 11 free throws against that basket in the second half but shot just 37.8% from the field

Triathlon team recognized

Arizona introduced members of its newest sports program, triathlon, during a second-half timeout.

The Wildcat triathletes finished fifth out of 13 teams in the NCAA championships during their first season, with three receiving national honors: juniors Laura Holánszky and Lydia Russell were second-team all-Americans while freshman Dana Prikrylová was an honorable mention pick.

B-Will lights up G League

Former UA guard Brandon Williams has spent most of his time with Dallas since signing a two-way deal with the Mavericks in late December but made the most of it when shuttled to the Mavericks’ Texas Legends affiliate in the G League.

In his Legends regular-season debut on Friday, Williams had 31 points, seven assists and two steals, including the go-ahead basket in Texas’ 135-133 win over the Stockton Kings.

The big number

8 — Times Arizona has scored 90 or more points in Pac-12 play this season, the first time it has done that since 2003-04, when the Wildcats hit the mark in 10 games. UA has four conference games left to play.

Another big number

99 — Straight games the Wildcats have gone without losing twice in a row.

Quotable

“After a loss, we knew they were going to come out and play with that type of intensity and fire that got the crowd involved and we didn’t handle it well.” — Washington coach Mike Hopkins, according to the Seattle Times.