Imagine if the man with the vaporizing glare had walked into the hushed McKale Center media room Thursday and instead of solemnly reading his โI have done nothing wrongโ statement had raised his arms and yelled โIโM BACK, BABY!โ
And then, on cue, Allonzo Trier walked through the door and declared the Zo Show to be back on stage.
No? No room for levity yet.
UA senior Dusan Ristic described the week as โsad.โ
Gravity reigns when you have been on public trial for six days. On Thursday, the strongly-motivated Wildcats couldโve stolen a line from the Blues Brothers: โWeโre on a mission from God.โ
There wonโt be many smiles at Arizona this season unless it involves a ladder, scissors and a net. For that, check back Saturday night.
But on a day unlike any other in Tucson sports history, Arizona and its coach chose to delay the fun stuff until a more appropriate prime-time hour, on national television, clinching at least a share of the Pac-12 championship against an honorable opponent like Stanford.
Sean Miller and Trier combined to share the impromptu Comeback of the Week award and 14,644 people rocked the old place as if Sean Elliott and Lute Olson were back.
Stanford had no chance.
Miller described the thunderous pre-game ovation he received as โvery, very emotional. โฆ something Iโll never forget.โ
Arizona won 75-67 in its two-step process to march through March. The first step is rehab, and Thursdayโs victory was necessary therapy from the shock of last weekโs ESPN-generated imbroglio.
The second step is recovery. Based strictly on Thursdayโs between-the-baselines activity, the Wildcats came off as a Quadrant 1 team โ whatever that is โ ready for whatever the madness brings.
โI think weโre going to try to do something special now,โ Ristic said.
And is it too late to vote Ristic, who has averaged 15.6 points since January 17, to the All-Pac-12 team? He scored 21 points on Thursday. It seems like heโs been scoring 21 whenever Arizona needs it.
One thing that will be left out of the commentary of any victory over Stanford is that the Cardinal is surely the nationโs best 16-14 team. Stanford lost early season games to โ no kidding โ Portland State, Eastern Washington and Long Beach State.
But once coach Jerod Haase got all his pieces back from injuries and academic suspension, the Cardinal swept USC and UCLA and mashed Oregon by 35. If Stanford is among the last teams standing at the Pac-12 Tournament next week, do not be surprised.
OK, enough about Stanford. Thatโs not the story.
When Miller walked into the media room for the second time of the day, about 10:20 Thursday night, he was accompanied by president Robert C. Robbins and athletic director Dave Heeke. After Miller referred to the decisive way Robbins and Heeke handled a long investigation, he said โIโm very fortunate to be here.โ
By that he meant, working with Robbins and Heeke, and not that he somehow escaped termination.
Apparently, attorneys on both sides examined and re-examined evidence like they were working on the Zapruder film. The ordeal showed on Millerโs face. He routinely walks into the media room after home games looking like heโs as exhausted as, say, Rawle Alkins, by gameโs end.
But on Thursday, Miller looked vulnerable. It may take some time for that steely look of a DMV clerk to return.
Earlier in the day in Phoenix, after meeting with the Board of Regents, Robbins said โlet me tell you, there were a lot of tough questions I asked (Miller).โ
At halftime, Robbins left his front-row seat to chat with Amy Miller, Seanโs wife. She was sitting with two of the UAโs most notable donors, Cole and Jeannie Davis, just behind the coaches portion of the UA bench.
If there is any division between the president and the coach, it doesnโt show. On Thursday, there was no vagueness. Arizona won. The coach was back. Everybody went home happy.
