Not only did Arizona entertain about a dozen of the nationโs highest-ranked basketball prospects at Fridayโs Red-Blue Game, UA womenโs basketball coachย Adia Barnesย pig-tailed the big event by bringing two 5-star recruits to McKale Center for the weekend.
Ugonne Onyiah, a 6-foot-3-inch prospect from Los Angeles andย Anaya Boyd, a 5-11 combo guard from Georgia, were at McKale Center โ as was the entire UA womenโs basketball team.
Such is the magnitude of what has become โMcKale Magic,โ an event that no other Pac-12 school can match, or even attempt to match.
Oregon has been the leagueโs No. 2 basketball franchise of this decade, but the Ducks hold a modest โGreen and Yellowโ scrimmage on Oct. 30, a Wednesday night. Why not celebrate-yourself festival to match Arizonaโs Red-Blue Game?
Because it would be difficult for the Ducks, or any other Pac-12 school, to draw even 3,000 fans to a scrimmage. That wouldnโt impress many 5-star prospects.
To its credit, Arizona maximizes the Red-Blue Game and turns it into a spectacle. Fridayโs pre-game video was almost over-the-top, featuring everyone fromย Steve Kerrย andย Sean Elliottย to the schoolโs latest NBA lottery picks:ย Lauri Markkanenย andย Deandre Ayton.
The importance of the Red-Blue Game is such that UA presidentย Robert C. Robbinsย was sitting on the UA bench 40 minutes before tipoff. The schoolโs most significant athletic department donor,ย Cole Davis, was sitting behind the UA bench to watch pre-game festivities
You wonโt see anything like that at Colorado or UCLA or Washington.
The UA took advantage of its most important recruiting platform, showcasing its history and its ever-loving fans. It worked.
Colorado will open the season as the Pac-12 favorite, a once-in-a-decade team, but the Buffaloes do not list any type of pre-season scrimmage on their official website.
Otherwise, Fridayโs scrimmage had five notable developments. Hereโs the list:
โข Itโs difficult to remember a player who improved more from his freshman year to his sophomore year than multi-position sophomoreย Devonaire Doutrive. Maybe point guardย Matt Muehlebachย in 1989-90 orย Jason Terryย in 1996-97. Doutrive has a confidence that wasnโt evident last season. He can play.
โข Cornell grad transferย Stone Gettingsย is a significant upgrade on last yearโs Pitt grad transferย Ryan Luther. He mixes it up. He plays with a forceful demeanor, and he can hit the 3-pointer, too.
โข Freshman forwardย Zeke Nnajiโs piano version of the Star-Spangled Banner was electric. If heโs anywhere near as good at basketball as he is at music, heโll be a lottery pick. I think itโs the first time Iโve had tears running out of my eyes at McKale Center since Senior Day, 1989.
Arizona freshman Zeke Nnaji (@ZekeNnaji_Hoopz) just played the national anthem on his keyboard before Red-Blue Game! ๐ฑ ๐น pic.twitter.com/zDb20RgbXi
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) September 28, 2019
โข The new, significantly longer 3-point line โ 13 inches beyond last yearโs distance โ wasnโt a factor. Arizona shot 8 for 23, which is 34 percent. A year ago, Arizona shot 33 percent. UC Irvine grad transferย Max Hazzardย went 3 for 6 and it was clear opposing defense will learn not to leave him open.
โItโs a new season; we have a long journey ahead of us,โย Sean Millerย told a capacity crowd before the game. But unlike the 2018-19 season, this one could have a happy ending. If youโve got a point guard likeย Nico Mannion, youโve got a chance every night.
Kenyon College star found AD with Tucson ties at Division III school
When Catalina Foothills High School 2013 state swimming championย Hannah Orbach-Mandelย arrived at Division III NCAA swimming juggernaut Kenyon College in Ohio, she discovered that Kenyonโs athletic director had similar Tucson success stories.ย Jill McCartney, who coached Salpointe Catholicโs girls soccer team to a 22-1-1 season and the 1998 state championship, is Kenyonโs AD. Orbach-Mandel thrived at Kenyon, graduating with a 3.9 GPA, becoming a 25-time All-American and, impressively, becoming one of 30 finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year, an honor that will be announced on Oct. 21 in Indianapolis, where Orbach-Mandel works in the NCAA headquarters.
Ex-Cat Gigi Stoll impressing on pro tour
After being a key part of Arizonaโs 2018 NCAA championship womenโs golf team,ย Gigi Stollย decided to bypass her final year of eligibility and turn pro. How is it going? Stoll last week finished second in the LPGA Tourโs Symetra Tour event in Alabama, earning $16,410. Stoll has finished in the top 10 three times this season and is qualified for the LPGA Tour Schoolโs Stage II next month.ย
Former big-leaguer Tom Waddell, 60, diesย
Sad news: Tucsonanย Tom Waddell, co-owner of The Yard, an indoor baseball-softball training facility on Tucsonโs east side, died of a heart attack last week. He was only 60. Few in big-league baseball had a better back story than Waddell, who was born in Scotland, moved to New Jersey as a child and pitched at Manhattan College. After no MLB team drafted Waddell, he worked as a clothing salesman in New York City before signing as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians. By 1984, he was in the big leagues, winning 15 games for the Cleveland Indians in 1984-85. He spent his spring training years at Hi Corbett Field and ultimately made Tucson his home after an arm injury ended his career in 1987. Waddell impacted scores of Tucson baseball and softball players for many years.
Wildcats are a hot ticketย
The Arizona womenโs basketball team has sold about 2,700 season tickets, which is probably close to double the school record over the last 30 years. It probably wonโt lead the Pac-12 in attendance because Oregon State and Oregon are in the middle of unprecedented success and routinely draw 5,000 per game. But I think the Wildcats will draw more than 5,000 for regular-season games many times this season.
I mean, who doesnโt want to watch junior point guardย Aari McDonaldย play?
Sheโs got a full-speed motor and an engaging personality and is one of the top three or four players in a loaded Pac-12. The UA still hasnโt scheduled a big-name team for a McKale Center non-conference game, but to her credit, Barnes scheduled a roadie at Texas in November; the Longhorns won 23 games and played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
The Pac-12 is so good that Arizona was given a daunting opening run in January, beginning the conference season at ASU, UCLA and USC, which is about as tough as it gets in any womenโs basketball league.ย
Seth Mejias-Brean finally cashing in after long minor-league tenure
Cienega High School and UA baseball productย Seth Mejias-Breanย made the most of his September call-up to the San Diego Padres. He was hitting .241 with two home runs through Friday, showing that itโs never too late to change. He didnโt play a minor-league game at shortstop until 2018, but has started at short for the Pads in addition to playing third and first.
Mejias-Brean has earned about $90,000 in his month with San Diego, a pro-rated cut of baseballโs minimum salary. His value as a utilityman has probably increased significantly this month; look for him to open the 2020 season in the big leagues for the first time.
CDO, UA grad David Korn having best season yet
CDO and UA gradย David Korn, who has coached Division II Maryville University of Missouri to the 2017 and 2018 NCAA menโs soccer tournaments, is having his best season as a head coach yet. Maryville moved to 7-0 on Friday, ranked No. 6 among Division II menโs soccer programs. Big time.
Sabino grad Willie Wood 52nd on Champions money list
After Sabino High School gradย Willie Woodย came out of nowhere, finishing tied for second in the Cologuard Classic last spring at Tucson National, he completed a strong year as a basic PGA Tour Champions โwalk on.โ At 58, Wood is 52nd on the Champions money list, with close to $255,000. At 58, thatโs against the odds and then some. Wood has only qualified to play in two Champions Tour events the last three months.
Salpointe grad Donovan Olumba one step away from NFL debut
Hereโs a name to keep in mind:ย Donovan Olumba. Doesnโt ring a bell? In 2012, Olumba was a useful receiver for one ofย Dennis Beneโs state title contenders at Salpointe Catholic High School, catching nine passes for 113 yards. He enrolled at Division II Alderson-Broaddus, made 63 tackles and intercepted six passes in three seasons, then transferred to Portland State, redshirted and became a starting cornerback.
At Olumbaโs 2018 pro day at Portland State, he was measured with a 78-inch wingspan and ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash. The Dallas Cowboys signed him as a free agent and for the second year he is on the teamโs practice squad. He had a pick-six in the exhibition season.
Olumba is now an injury away from completing an improbable run to the Cowboysโ active roster.
Salpointe Catholic-Sahuaro will be Tucson's Game of the Year
The Game of the Year in Tucson prep football is surely Fridayโs 7 p.m. showdown between 4-0 Salpointe and 6-0 Sahuaro in a battle of two of the five remaining Class 4A unbeaten teams. They have been so dominating that theyโve combined to outscore opponents 478-118.
Even more compelling, Salpointeโs transfers from Marana High School โ quarterbackย Treyson Bourguetย and his older brother, receiverย Coben Bourguetย โ will be eligible to play after sitting out five weeks as per AIA transfer rules. Both are potential game-changers.
Salpointe has also benefited from the emergence of senior transferย Jackson Sumlin, son of UA football coachย Kevin Sumlin, who has caught three passes of late and been a factor on theย Luke Regina-Trent Strong-led defense.
Sahuaro coachย Scott McKeeย isnโt new to big games; the Cougars went 10-3 a year ago. His team is, like Salpointe, a ground-based offense.ย Izaiah Davisย andย Trevion Watkinsย have combined to gain 1,037 yards already and itโs still September. After the Salpointe game, Sahuaro must play at 5-0 CDO. The season starts now.
My two cents: Conquistadores, Cologuard step up to help golf; expect the UA to join their efforts soon
By the time the Tucson Conquistadores stage the 2021 PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic at Tucson National, old ASU-UA rivalsย Phil Mickelsonย andย Jim Furykย will have turned 50 and be eligible to play where they were once budding stars in the old Northern Telecom Open/Nortel Open/Tucson Chrysler Classic.
PGA Tour Champions presidentย Miller Bradyย was in Tucson last week to announce a contract extension that will keep the Cologuard Classic here through 2025. By that date, Tucson will celebrate 80 years as part of the PGA Tour and its Champions division.
The credit goes to the Conquistadores, who began sponsoring the old Tucson Open in 1965. It was fitting that the first chairman of the Tucson Open,ย Fred Boice, attended last weekโs festivities.
Tucson National has been a wonderful site for more than 30 Tucson Opens. The one unknown is if the Conquistadores and PGA Tour will return to Randolph North before the 2025 season. The Tucson Open was held at Randolph through most of the 1980s.
You can book it that a combined effort of UA presidentย Robert C. Robbins, the Conquistadores and the City of Tucson is working on making Randolph prominent again. Randolph North will almost certainly be remodeled and made worthy of a PGA Champions Tour event in the next few years.
Randolph North is likely to become the home of the UA menโs and womenโs golf teams, with a new clubhouse where the tee of the No. 9 hole now sits. The course will probably be refitted, with new practice facilities at the No. 9 hole, and a redesign of a hole or two to accommodate the changes.
You may even see a statue or two of potential financial backers like ex-Wildcatsย Annika Sorenstamย andย Jim Furyk, where the grand history of UA golf teams can be celebrated.
Whatever happens, itโs a positive sign that the golf industry โ in a recession mode in Southern Arizona for the last 10 to 15 years โ is fighting back. Fittingly, it will be at the historic, nearly-century old home of all Southern Arizona golf.