LOS ANGELES — For Parker Jackson-Cartwright, watching Arizona play in the Sweet 16 in downtown L.A. was a full-circle moment.
Actually, a full-circle-the-globe moment.
After helping Arizona reach the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games at what was then known as the Staples Center in 2014-15, Cartwright spent three more seasons with the Wildcats and then launched on a professional journey that has taken him to England, France, Germany, Turkey and New Zealand.
“I’ve been around,” Jackson-Cartwright said, sitting about 20 rows behind the Wildcats’ bench with a blue Block A letterman’s jacket on. “It’s good to be home.”
The timing and location of the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 game was fortuitous for PJC. Not only is Jackson-Cartwright from the nearby San Fernando Valley but he played this season for the New Zealand Breakers this season, whose season in the NBL ended on March 4. He then played a game in Turkey on March 17 but said he had an injury and decided to return home for the offseason.
Cartwright said he has met UA coach Tommy Lloyd and hoped to work out in Tucson at some point to prepare for next season.
“It would be good for me to spend some time there,” Jackson-Cartwright said.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) gets fouled by Clemson guard Dillon Hunter (2) as Lewis attempted to get into the lane in the first half Thursday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
More familiar Cats
Other UA basketball alumni on hand included Richard Jefferson and Rick Anderson, while former UA baseball star Terry Francona was in attendance, as he is often at courtside at McKale Center.
UA president Robert Robbins and UA athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois sat in the first few rows behind the Wildcats’ bench.
Also attending was Daniel Posner, the New York-based head of the Athletes for Israel, the organization that sponsored the Wildcats on their exhibition trip to Isreal and the United Arab Emirates last season.
Judi Kessler, Arizona’s associate AD for major gifts, said Arizona received 1,000 tickets, 500 of which were located in the upper section. Fans who had donated enough to UA to qualify for lower-bowl seats were able to buy them for just $180.
It’s still portal season
Despite the NCAA Tournament’s dominance over college basketball this month, the transfer portal has been humming at full speed, and the Wildcats were pulled into it Thursday.
Sort of.
Curiously, ex-Florida guard Riley Kugel posted that he’s considering Arizona along with UConn, Houston and Kansas. But Arizona is not believed to be recruiting him.
Kugel was an all-freshman SEC pick in 2022-23 who lost his starting role early this season and was benched for two games in the SEC Tournament.
Arizona could become somewhat active in the transfer portal this spring, but the Wildcats already have four incoming freshmen lined up for next season and only have one player who will be out of eligibility, forward Keshad Johnson.
However, Johnson, Pelle Larsson, Caleb Love and Kylan Boswell are all listed among ESPN’s top 75 NBA Draft prospects this spring, indicating they will at least test the NBA Draft process.
That was then
Before coaching his Wildcats into their second Sweet 16 game, UA coach Tommy Lloyd was asked again about not being endorsed by some former Wildcat players.
Lloyd basically said he didn’t blame them.
“They had a right to feel that way,” Lloyd said. “This is an amazing program, and it’s an amazing legacy and an amazing tradition. If I did not know myself so well, I probably would have wondered what the heck are they doing hiring an assistant coach from the WCC?
“Our former players are a huge part of what has put our program in such a great position nationally, and it’s (their) the blood, sweat and tears. So those guys have a right to feel that way. I wasn’t an Arizona guy at that time, but I’ll tell you what, I am now.”
ACC love
The narrative over the ACC and its four Sweet 16 teams sounded like ones that have come ouit of the Pac-10 or Pac-12 over the years: Maybe not that much respect, maybe not enough NCAA Tournament bids (five) and maybe a better conference than it is rated (fifth in Kenpom).
So we asked Caleb Love, who spent three seasons playing for North Carolina, what he thought.
“I really don’t have feelings on if the ACC was undervalued in its performance,” Love said. “But they got four teams in the Sweet 16. Things that people may have said, obviously it really doesn’t have meaning to it.”
Home sweet home?
While the Wildcats have historically had multiple players from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas playing in front of friends and family at UCLA, USC or Crypto.com Arena, guard Kylan Boswell was the only one doing so Thursday.
And Boswell considers Champaign, Ill., his hometown, though his family moved to Southern California when he was in high school. Boswell played for Corona (Calif.) Centennial as a sophomore in 2020-21 before playing his junior season of 2021-22 at AZ Compass Prep – and then skipping his senior season to join the Wildcats last season.
Boswell said he had a lot of family planning to attend Thursday’s game, though he didn’t get too involved with it.
“My parents kind of let me know who’s coming,” Boswell said.
Only two other Wildcats are from California: Freshman walk-on guard Will Kuykendall, from the central coast town of Santa Maria, and forward Johnson of Oakland.
Football brat
Clemson, naturally, doesn’t have anybody listing a hometown from California, though forward RJ Godfrey grew roots in San Diego while his father passed through town during a 12-year NFL career.
Randall Godfrey was a second-round NFL Draft pick out of Georgia in 1996, going on to play four seasons for the Cowboys, three for the Titans and one for the Seahawks before spending 2004-06 with the San Diego Chargers. He then spent a final season with Washington while moving his family back to his native Georgia.
RJ said he planned to also have some family at the game Thursday.
“I just can’t wait to see them,” he said before the game. “When I moved to Georgia, I was about seven years old. But I always came back. I always came back in middle school high school so I’m pretty familiar. Now come to San Diego and L.A. for some vacation times.”
Merch madness
Among the officially licensed items on sale Thursday at Crypto.com Arena included a red Sweet 16 Block A Arizona T-shirt, a white West Regional T-shirt featuring the logos of the four teams on hand and a black Sweet 16 shirt with logos of all 16 participating teams.
Prices started at $40 for the T-shirts, while hoodies were available for $70.
