The Star's longtime columnist writes about the week that wasn't throughout Tucson, where Arizona's former football coaches have landed, why Bobby Wade is now a Sun Devil and how long it might be until Ernie McCray's scoring record falls:
Sean Miller's contract questions overshadow busy weekend
Arizona forward Ira Lee (11) hugs head coach Sean Miller as he’s honored on senior day before the game against Washington at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 27, 2021.
Normally, this would’ve been the year’s most anticipated weekend in Tucson sports.
Boots and chaps and cowboy hats, a pro rodeo with 10,000 fans at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds. Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and their pro golfing friends playing in front of 15,000 sun-worshippers at Tucson National. An emotional Senior Day before a sellout crowd of 14,664 at McKale Center. Another Mike Candrea juggernaut hitting softballs into orbit at sold out Hillenbrand Stadium. Daytime baseball at Hi Corbett Field.
Maybe next year, right?
Those are the lyrics of the makeshift anthem for Sean Miller’s UA basketball operation. Maybe next year. Or maybe not.
After escaping with a 75-74 victory over a cratering Washington program Saturday afternoon, Miller used the phrases “moving forward” and “look forward to the future,” both of which are preferable to anything of the past three years.
Arizona is 37-13 at McKale over those three seasons. Good? Bad? Well, let’s just say that from 1987-2001, Arizona went 204-13 at McKale.
That should offer a strong perspective on how far the UA basketball program has fallen. The losses are the same, 13, but the Wildcats would need to win 167 straight home games to match the program’s standard of excellence.
Arizona’s not bad. It entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 39 in the NET calculations used by the NCAA Tournament and No. 38 by Kenpom.com. Miller used to litter his press sessions with terms such as “Arizona good,” and for three years UA fans have come to understand this isn’t “Arizona good.”
A week or two ago, Miller mentioned that after Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier exited the program after a 2018 first-round NCAA blowout loss to Buffalo, that the Wildcats “started over.” Arizona has gone 29-26 in the Pac-12 during that period, which might be acceptable at Utah or Oregon State, but it shouldn’t be acceptable at Arizona.
Given the progress made at McKale Center for the previous three decades, going 29-26 against a conference lacking national basketball relevance — a conference that didn’t have a team ranked in the final 2019 AP poll, and just one team, No. 13 Oregon, in the final 2020 poll, and one team in the current AP poll, No. 21 USC — it’s a stretch to say that Arizona is making genuine progress.
Beating a bad Washington team 75-74 on Senior Day isn’t a we’re-on-the-right-track development.
The Wildcats are 2-7 this season in conference games against the league’s five leading teams: Colorado, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Stanford. It is 9-1 against the bottom half.
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, whose team has plummeted from relevance the last four seasons, is playing the give-me-more-time card.
“There’s no question about the woulda-coulda-shouldas, but I also need to be realistic,” Krystkowiak said on a Zoom call Friday. “We have certainly competed against everybody. We’ve had some shining moments and some not-very-proud moments, but I’m not going to lose sight of the fact that we’re a young team.”
Realistic in Tucson is winning now.
The Utes haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2016. Arizona hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2017.
The difference is that Utah has not been in the glare of an NCAA/FBI investigation since the fall of 2017. The Utes have not banned themselves from the postseason, as Arizona did this year.
When Miller and Washington coach Mike Hopkins exchanged post-game chatter on Saturday, it was difficult to tell which coach faces the most uncertain future.
Hopkins has gone 9-29 in the last two Pac-12 seasons, but his contract runs through May 2025.
Miller has gone 21-16, but his contract expires in 15 months. Compare that to the contending coaches in the Pac-12:
UCLA’s Mick Cronin is under contract through 2025;
Oregon’s Dana Altman’s deal runs through 2026;
Colorado’s Tad Boyle is good through 2025;
Even Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley, whose team faded from view, is under contract through 2024.
The scrutiny of Miller’s contract status has become more important than wins, losses, recruiting and retention of those on the roster.
If Arizona’s administration is comfortable with what's included in the NCAA's notice of allegations against the UA basketball program, why hasn't it extended Miller’s contract yet? Why wouldn’t it share that news with its stakeholders and fan base and move forward?
Arizona can’t truly move forward until there is some closure. The silence is deafening.
Top-ranked Wildcats will face immediate test in San Antonio
Arizona’s men’s golf team, newly ranked No. 1 by Golfstat.com, will get more than a significant test when it plays in the Cabo Invitational at TPC San Antonio on Monday through Wednesday. The field is loaded like few others in college golf. According to Golfstat’s rankings, coach Jim Anderson’s Wildcats will be in a field with No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 Florida State, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Texas, among others. It’s a field much stronger than an NCAA regional field.
Tucson's Delaney Schnell claims Pac-12 diving title
United States’ Delaney Schnell performs in the women’s 10m platform diving final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Tucson diver Delaney Schnell, a redshirt junior at Arizona, pulled off a rare “double-double” last week during the Pac-12 championships at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. She became just the third diver in Pac-12 history, dating to 1987, to win both the platform championship and the 1-meter championship. The former Tucson High student scored 383.35 points during the platform competition, the highest in conference history. The only three Pac-12 divers to win the double-double were Stanford’s Katie Connors in 1988, Stanford’s Megan Gardner in 1997 and USC’s Blythe Hartley in 2003. What’s next for Schnell? The NCAA Championships will be held March 17-20 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and then the USA Olympic Trials, if held, will take place in June. Schnell has no doubt become the No. 2 diver in school history, trailing only Michele Mitchell, Class of ‘83, who went on to win silver medals at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
Citing pandemic, Pima cancels more games
Pima Community College Chancellor Lee Lambert
Pima College chancellor Lee Lambert again canceled the Aztecs’ men’s and women’s ACCAC basketball games this week. That means Pima’s basketball/volleyball programs can play, at maximum, seven ACCAC games in March before the NJCAA Tournament — if at all. What is most disconcerting for Pima players and coaches is that neither the men’s nor women’s teams have been shut down by COVID-19 issues, and continue to practice and scrimmage as the Lambert-ordered shutdown of outside competition now stretches back to Jan. 26. ACCAC rivals Arizona Western, 8-2 in men’s games, and Eastern Arizona, 7-1 in women’s games, have been playing for five weeks. I’m not saying Lambert is wrong, but it seems a bit extreme.
Cats need players other than Aari McDonald to shine
Aari McDonald won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award last year as a shooting guard. This year, she’s a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award.
Arizona senior point guard Aari McDonald plays her final regular-season game for the Wildcats on Sunday, at Arizona State. She told the Star’s PJ Brown last week that she will not take advantage of the NCAA rules that would permit her to play a fifth season in 2021-22. This might be McDonald’s most difficult year since she began as a Washington Huskies freshman in 2016. Her overall shooting percentage is at a career low, .387, down from .458 and .452 her first two Arizona seasons. She is shooting .299 from 3-point distance. McDonald has more defensive and rebounding talent around her now than she did in earlier UA seasons; in her sophomore year, she scored a UA-record 24.1 points. Now she is at 18.8. It’s no secret Adia Barnes' team is desperate for another shooter, another scorer, and McDonald’s shooting percentages suggest opposing defenses have chosen to gang up on her and take their chances with the other UA players.
Former UA coaches finding new jobs at far-flung places
Marcel Yates was let go as UA’s defensive coordinator Sunday after the Wildcats gave up at least 41 points Saturday for the third straight game.
Kevin Sumlin’s 2020 coaching staff is getting back on its feet, but those newly employed didn’t land prime spots. Michigan hired offensive line coach Kyle DeVan as an analyst. Ohio State hired defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads as an analyst. UTEP hired receivers coach Theron Aych to a similar role. Oregon State hired running backs coach A.J. Steward. Illinois hired linebackers coach Andy Buh. Jeremy Springer is the new special teams coach at Marshall. Former UA defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, fired in mid-season 2019 by Sumlin, has survived and advanced. After earning $320,000 to coach the Cal secondary last year, Yates last week signed a two-year contract worth $980,000 to coach Oregon’s defensive backs.
Ex-Falcon, Wildcat Gavin Cohen thriving at Loyola Marymount
Catalina Foothills golfer Gavin Cohen watches his tee shot find the fairway during a practice round at Ventana Canyon on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
In 2016, Catalina Foothills High School golfer Gavin Cohen won the individual state championship. He enrolled at Arizona, played in six events and then transferred to Loyola Marymount. Cohen is flourishing at LMU; he has won the school’s two most recent events, the Nick Watney Invitational with rounds of 70-66-67, and last week he won The Joust at Goose Creek, shooting 71-69-69.
Bobby Wade now on ASU's football staff
2001: UA’s Bobby Wade runs upfield while ASU’s R.J. Oliver goes flying behind him in the first quarter at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona beat ASU 34-31 in John Mackovic’s first season.
Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards quietly added Arizona’s leading career receiver, Bobby Wade, to the Sun Devils’ staff last season. ASU didn’t include Wade’s name on its staff directory; he was a volunteer. He was even on the ASU sideline during the Sun Devils’ 70-7 Territorial Cup victory last year. It’s not new that a standout Arizona athlete finds himself at ASU. Bill Lenoir, Arizona’s greatest-ever tennis player, a Wimbledon veteran from Tucson High, became ASU’s head tennis coach in the 1970s. According to The Athletic, Wade’s role will increase this season; he is becoming a graduate assistant. Speaking of his alma mater, Wade told the Athletic: “It’s the ‘School down south’ to me now. It is every part the 'Mildcats.’ Definitely the rivalry is real and then from the coaches’ standpoint I feel it the same way, just on the opposite side. I’m proud to be a part of it, man. For real.” Wade still holds UA records for season receptions, 93, and career yards, 3,351, although his UA career was ill-timed, arriving a year after Dick Tomey’s 12-1 finish in 1998 and winding up with two dreadful seasons under John Mackovic.
Roman Bravo-Young keeps winning
Sunnyside’s Roman Bravo-Young, right, celebrates beating Mesa’s Steven Jaman in the Division I, 132-pound weight class during the 2018 AIA State Wrestling Championships. Bravo-Young was 182-0 during his four years with the Blue Devils.
When Roman Bravo-Young went 182-0 and won four consecutive state wrestling championships at Sunnyside High School, 2014-18, he was widely viewed as the top wrestler in Tucson history, which is a considerable statement given Sunnyside’s domination of prep wrestling in Arizona. Bravo-Young has continued on that path at NCAA powerhouse Penn State, currently ranked No. 3. Bravo-Young is ranked No. 3 nationally at 133 pounds entering this week’s Big Ten championships. He was ranked No. 5 entering the NCAA finals last year but the meet was canceled. He was named a first-team All-American. COVID-19 restrictions this year have been such that Penn State’s wrestling team traveled by bus for meets against Indiana, Ohio State and Maryland. The Nittany Lions opened the season two months later than their customary November start.
My two cents: Don't be surprised if Ernie McCray's scoring mark lasts another 61 years
An Arizona Daily Star headline tells of Ernie McCray’s record-setting performance on Feb. 6, 1960.
When Ernie McCray’s name was unveiled in the McKale Center Ring of Honor on Saturday, 61 years after he left school as Arizona’s career-leading scorer, he put perspective to his school-record 46-point game at Bear Down Gym in February 1960.
“The teams are so good now they don’t need (46 points) from anybody,” he said.
I wouldn’t be surprised if McCray’s 46-point record lasts another 61 years. No Pac-12 player has scored more than 46 since Stanford guard Casey Jacobsen scored 49 in 2002. Washington State’s Klay Thompson, who was a scoring machine in his Pac-12 days, never scored more than 43 at WSU.
In the Sean Miller years, the highest-scoring Wildcat has been Deandre Ayton, who scored 32 points twice in 2018; Gabe York, Allonzo Trier and Derrick Williams all scored 32 points once.
To get to 46, something unusual must happen. McCray’s 46 points came on a night Arizona scored a then-record 104 points to beat Cal State Los Angeles. Damon Stoudamire scored 45 at Stanford in 1995, an overtime game.
What makes McCray’s 46-point effort stand out is that there was no 3-pointer then. Stoudamire made seven 3s when he scored 45. Without the 3-pointer, Stoudamire would’ve scored 38.
McCray’s 46-point night should continue to be in the record books for years.
