Hansen's Sunday Notebook: With Sun Devils vanquished, Wildcats can move ahead

The Star's longtime columnist on what Arizona's win over ASU means, why Mary Hines' legacy lives on — and how ex-Wildcat Lauri Markkanen is developing into an NBA star:

Any way you slice it, Wildcats' win over ASU is meaningful

The state of Arizona’s football program in five easy pieces:

1. Arizona couldn’t fully move forward until it won the Territorial Cup, putting an end to five disconcerting seasons, and the toxic "No Pity For The Kitty’’ days.

Beating the Sun Devils is nowhere near the final stage of a rebuilding job. Conquering ASU isn't an end-all. ASU is merely 31-36 in the last eight years of conference games and hasn’t finished in the AP Top 25 since 2013.

But as Winston Churchill said of the early stages of World War II: "It’s not the end, but it is the end of the beginning."

In a sense, it’s an unburdening, sort of like when Arizona fired men's basketball coach Sean Miller in the spring of 2021. You clear the air, inhale the freshness, and move forward knowing that you’ve been through the worst.

2. Arizona rose to superiority over ASU from 1980-2000 because Larry Smith and Dick Tomey made a practice of getting the most out of the two-star and three-star recruits ignored by ASU and the league’s power teams. The list is well-documented: Byron Evans, Chuck Cecil, Rob Waldrop, Tedy Bruschi, Trung Canidate, Brandon Sanders and on and on.

That process almost became extinct in the last 20 years. There was an occasional Scooby Wright and Spencer Larsen, but nothing like the Smith/Tomey years. Player development under Rich Rodriguez and Kevin Sumlin was not a strength.

There’s no way Arizona would’ve beat ASU on Friday without two-star recruit Michael Wiley, who rushed for 214 yards, and three-star linebacker Jacob Manu, who made the game’s two most telling plays, forcing a fumble and interception in the final four minutes.

Wiley’s only other scholarship offers were from McNeese State, Princeton and Yale.

Manu’s only other offers were from Charlotte and Army. That’s amazing. Without those two under-the-radar players the Wildcats would’ve lost Friday’s game by two touchdowns.

3. Arizona State began to dominate Arizona in the 1960s after it built Sun Devil Stadium, increased stadium capacity to 40,000 (and subsequently 50,000 and 72,000). The UA had not averaged more fans per home season than ASU since 1958.

But that changed this year. Arizona averaged 44,210 at home; ASU fell to a historic low of 43,081, its lowest figure in more than a half-century. Pity for the Kitty? That theme has shifted to the other side.

4. The introduction of Arizona’s seniors in Friday's pregame ceremony came off as a genuine sad-to-see-you-go ceremony. Not only was every senior embraced by Jedd Fisch, but also by Fisch’s wife, Amber. UA president Robert C. Robbins stood a few yards away, an encouraging presence.

That’s a 180-degree change from the days of Sumlin and Rodriguez, two men who rarely showed emotion (unless it was a tantrum by RichRod). Administrative support in those days was also on the cool-to-icy side.

One thing to watch during the off-season will be the status of Fisch’s assistant coaches. If they are fully bought into this building process — if they believe a winning season lies ahead — most of the 10 assistants will stay.

If four or five exit, unless it’s a clear promotion to a Top-25 program, it will be a clear sign that Fisch will have to adjust.

5. You may wish to temper your enthusiasm for a big jump to a bowl game and, let’s say, an 8-4 regular season next year. Arizona’s defense remains at historic levels of ineffectiveness.

The Wildcats entered Friday’s game ranked No. 125 (of 131) in total defense at 461 yards per game and yielded 537 to a bad ASU team. Arizona was ranked No. 125 in scoring defense, at 36.6 per game, and gave up 35. Arizona was also No. 127 in sacks.

Unless those numbers improve significantly next season — let’s say to the No. 80 or thereabouts — continued improvement in number of victories will be difficult.

And remember this: the schedule could be more difficult in 2023. Arizona will play five Pac-12 road games (it played four this season) and the nonconference schedule includes a road game at Mississippi State. Arizona will play Stanford and Oregon State, which it missed this season. It will not play Oregon or Cal.

Courtney Ramey is an experienced X-factor

The reason Arizona senior transfer Courtney Ramey did not appear fazed at the Maui Invitational, making 10 of 16 3-point shots against upscale competition Creighton, San Diego State and Cincinnati, is that Ramey is one of the most experienced players in college basketball.

In four seasons at Texas, Ramey played 13 games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, including No. 1 Baylor and No. 1 Gonzaga.

He arrived in Tucson having played 3,816 minutes. To put that in perspective, All-American Damon Stoudamire played 3,666 minutes for the Wildcats, and he never seemed to be off the court.

I think Ramey will prosper playing for a teacher/coach like Tommy Llloyd, who probably leads the NCAA in one undocumented statistic: give and take with his players. At Texas, Ramey ended his career playing for Chris Beard, an in-your-face, defense-first coach who over-coaches, if anything, not unlike UCLA’s sideline orator Mick Cronin.

In Hawaii, Ramey told reporters: "Coach tells me to smile and show my personality. That’s something different for me now. Being able to do it is pretty fun for me. My team allows me to be me."

That’s a win-win for Ramey and Lloyd.

Mary Hines' legacy will live forever

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A week before the induction ceremony for the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022, I phoned Catalina High School coaching icon Mary Hines, one the pioneers of women’s sports at Tucson High School in the 1940s and at the UA in the 1950s.

Hines coached Hall of Fame inductee Lacy Williams Benson, who helped Catalina win the 1983 state volleyball championship. I didn’t know much about Benson, and thought Hines was the best source.

"I’m in hospice care," said the 93-year-old Hines in her matter-of-fact tone. "I’m not sure I’ll be alive when Lacy is inducted on Sunday." I apologized for calling, but Hines said she would be delighted to talk about her former volleyball standout.

By the end of our conversation, I had more than enough to write a profile of Benson for the Hall of Fame program.

Hines died a few days later.

The daughter of a Tucson policeman and a nurse, Hines’ coaching tree included 15 of her student-athletes who went on to be head coaches, including state championship coaches Juanita Kingston of Rincon and Heather Moore-Martin of Catalina and Salpointe Catholic.

"Mary was heavily involved in the Title IX progress we enjoyed in Tucson," said Kingston. "She not only made it possible to play, she made it enjoyable. We loved the game, and she instilled that in us."

Longtime UA assistant Stacy Iveson to retire

Stacy Iveson, who coached Pima College to NJCAA softball national championships in 2004 and 2006, and was Mike Candrea’s assistant coach on Arizona’s 1996, 1997 and 2001 NCAA championship teams, revealed on her Facebook page last week that she will retire next month. The former Catalina High School softball, baseball (yes, baseball) and volleyball standout has been part of the UA softball staff for 18 years. She was an All-Pac-10 catcher on Candrea’s second UA team, 1986. Talk about a tough person to replace. Iveson’s character and knowledge touched every level of softball in Tucson, including coaching Salpointe Catholic High School to the 1993 state championship. She leaves big shoes to fill. …

Brent Lingel named golf pro of the year

Tucson golf pro Brent Lingel, who became the head pro and general manager at Tucson executive golf courses Rolling Hills and Dorado Golf and Country Club six years ago, was honored as 49th recipient of the PGA Southwest Section golf professional of the year earlier this month. Lingel has helped to turn those once-diminishing golf facilities into first-class operations. (Both are short courses with no par 5s). Lingel, a UA grad, started at the bottom in the Tucson golf industry, working his way up, and has helped to revive the two facilities that were created in the 1960s. …

Good news for local baseball fans

According to the website for Tucson Parks and Recreation, the eight-month study and possibility of closing three of the four baseball fields at Reid Park — immediately behind the right field wall at Hi Corbett Field — is no longer on the table. The Master Plan on the Parks and Rec website now includes all four fields, which will be happy news for Tucson’s baseball community. The Reid Park annex is the top baseball facility in the greater Tucson area, with more than a half-century of baseball history in the books. …

Two locals have inside track to Cologuard Classic

When the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic is held at Tucson National in early March, it might include familiar Tucson golf faces Willie Wood of Sabino High School and Arizona's 1992 All-American, David Berganio. Wood and Berganio both finished in the top 12 at the Champions Tour qualifying school last week in Nevada. They advance to the final stage of Q-school next month in Phoenix. One must finish in the top five in that event to get the full playing privileges on the 2023 Champions Tour. …

Bryanna Cote wins again

Tucson’s Bryanna Cote, who is probably the top women’s bowler in Tucson history, added to her growing list of championships last week, winning the women’s singles gold medal in the IBF World Cup in Queensland, Australia. The Canyon del Oro High School grad was the PWBA’s 2021 player of the year after winning two PWBA championships in Texas and another in New York. Now Cote is in the picture for winning back-to-back player of the year awards.

My two cents: Trust turning Lauri Markkanen into NBA star

Every time I check Lauri Markkanen’s impressive NBA statistics this season — he is averaging 22 points per game for the Utah Jazz, shooting a career-best 53% afield — I think back to the 2017 Sweet 16, when the Arizona freshman did not get a shot in the final six minutes of second-seeded Arizona’s crushing loss to 11th-seeded Xavier.

Markkanen averaged 15.7 points per game for Arizona in his only year at the school, but the 6-foot 11-inch "stretch-4" from Finland was not the UA’s go-to weapon. That was Allonzo Trier, who is now out of basketball. I’ll always believe that coach Sean Miller’s reluctance to give Markkanen the green light to shoot kept Arizona from a Final Four.

In that loss to Xavier, Trier took 11 more shots than Markkanen. Dusan Ristic also took more shots than Markkanen.

Last week, Markkanen told Fox Sports that he is thriving in his first year at Utah because the Jazz trust him as a go-to player.

Said Utah coach Will Hardy: "At Chicago last season, the Bulls used Lauri as a ball-handler, they put him in isolation, they used him as a screener, they moved him around off the ball — and so really, the thing I learned from that is don't put him in a box."

Sound familiar?

"With Lauri, I'm willing to live with a few mistakes here and there. And just live with the fact that he's a really, really good player, and his size and athleticism and skill is a rare combination."

That bit of wisdom is five years too late in Tucson.

Photos: Arizona defeats Arizona State, takes the Territorial Cup