On Tommy Lloyd’s 'ethical' Wildcats, a lingering concern for Becky Burke, more | Michael Lev

Current and former Arizona Wildcats are making news. We’ve got views.

News: The No. 1-ranked UA men’s basketball defeats Abilene Christian 96-62 to improve to 10-0.

Views: Victor Wembanyama would have enjoyed playing for Tommy Lloyd.

No college basketball team plays a more “ethical” brand of basketball than Lloyd’s Wildcats.

Wembanyama made headlines this week when he described the San Antonio Spurs’ style of basketball in that way — and implied that the way some other teams play is, well, unethical.

“In modern basketball, we see a lot of brands of basketball that don’t offer much variety in the dangers they pose to the opponents. Lots of isolation ball. Sometimes kind of forced basketball,” Wembanyama said. “We try to propose a brand of basketball that can be described as more old-school sometimes. ... It’s tactically more correct basketball, in my opinion.”

Lloyd’s Wildcats always share the ball — even in lopsided games like Tuesday night’s. They made 30 field goals and had 18 assists, a number that would have been higher if ACU had provided any resistance on Brayden Burries’ pick-and-roll drives in the second half.

This easily could have been a “get mine” game. Not on Lloyd’s watch. The Wildcats shared the ball and shared in one another’s triumphs, such as when Sidi Gueye threw down an alley-oop dunk and the bench went wild.

Six Wildcats scored in double figures, a season high. But hardly an outlier. Arizona had five players hit double digits in each of the previous four games.

Lloyd said Tuesday that he challenged his players to “hone in on our on-court values and on-court identity.” He didn’t describe what that is exactly, but did say what it isn’t.

“We want to ... understand what’s important to us,” Lloyd said, “as opposed to thinking maybe this can be a certain game where I can play well or I’m gonna get a highlight tonight. We don’t want to think like that.”

Wemby would approve.

News: The UA women’s basketball team defeats Chicago State 89-70 ahead of its final nonconference game vs. Bellarmine.

Views: The final margin was somewhat deceiving; Arizona led by only two points, 63-61, with 7:09 to play before pulling away.

“We have to find consistency,” UA coach Becky Burke told reporters afterward. “We’ve gotta be mature about it. Reality’s gonna hit us pretty quick if we don’t do that.”

As she said those words, point guard Noelani Cornfield, seated to Burke’s right, nodded her head. They both know the Wildcats will have to play much better to compete against Big 12 programs.

With all due respect to Chicago State, the Cougars on their best day aren’t as good as the worst team in the Big 12. Per the official NET rankings, the lowest-rated Big 12 team entering Tuesday night’s games was Houston at 178. Chicago State was No. 331.

(Bellarmine, which comes to McKale Center on Thursday, is ranked even lower — No. 337. One of the Knights’ two wins came against Division III Spalding University. This game won’t help Arizona’s strength of schedule, which likely will be in the 300s entering conference play.)

The Wildcats’ Big 12 opener Monday afternoon is against Utah, No. 41 in the NET. Twelve of the 16 Big 12 programs are in the top 72. The four that aren’t: UCF (116), Cincinnati (144), Arizona (168) and Houston.

The one thing Chicago State did have was bulk, leading to a deadlock in rebounds. UA bigs Nora Francois, Daniah Trammell and Achol Magot combined for five boards, which won’t be enough most nights.

Most opponents will have a size advantage over this season’s Wildcats. It’s no secret. They have to make up for it with effort and grit.

Burke’s team plays hard. The lulls usually stem from a lack of attention to detail, not hustle.

Regardless of how things go in Big 12 play, that’s a positive sign for the program moving forward.

News: The UA football program pursues replacements for running backs coach Alonzo Carter and general manager Gaizka Crowley.

Views: Their successors could be announced any day now or might already have been by the time you read this; such is the pace of play in college football this time of year.

Arizona will feel Carter’s loss more in recruiting than on-field instruction. Not that he isn’t a quality coach; he just so happens to be an elite recruiter with a ton of connections, especially in Northern California.

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Staff changes are inevitable every offseason, no matter the pedigree of the program. A 100% retention rate is rare, if not impossible. So no cause for alarm here.

What would cause consternation? With no disrespect intended for any of their colleagues, I consider these four assistants the most important members of Brent Brennan’s staff:

Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, offensive coordinator/QB coach Seth Doege, defensive line coach Joe Salave’a and receivers coach Bobby Wade.

Gonzales is arguably the MVP of the 2025 Wildcats. Doege has Noah Fifita playing his best ball — and played a key role in the recruitment of four-star quarterback Oscar Rios. Salave’a and Wade are UA alums who have expertly guided and developed their groups while also kicking butt on the recruiting trail.

The reaction to Crowley’s departure among fans has been fascinating. Some had no idea who he was — even though colleague Justin Spears and I both have written about his background and his role in the organization. Others understand that general managers are rising in power in the college ranks and are becoming as important as their (mostly) higher-profile pro counterparts.

Crowley did an excellent job of identifying talent, especially in the last transfer-portal cycle. He’s an old-school scout with modern sensibilities whose contributions will be missed.

Fortunately, Arizona has retained equally skilled director of scouting Fletcher Kelly and added UA alum Andrew Morgan as recruiting operations coordinator. Brennan and his chief of staff, Ben Thienes, recognize the importance of having smart people in the front office. What once might have been considered a luxury is now a necessity.

News: UA product Tetairoa McMillan catches only two passes in the Carolina Panthers’ loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Views: Our guy T-Mac’s production has dipped lately. The rookie receiver has just five catches in his past three games. He averaged six over the previous four contests, including a career-best eight grabs for 130 yards and two touchdowns vs. Atlanta on Nov. 16.

McMillan’s targets have dropped, too. He’s been targeted just six times over the past two games. He averaged eight over the previous 12.

Theories abound as to why this has happened. It could be that McMillan is hitting the proverbial “rookie wall.” He might not be 100% healthy. Some blame quarterback Bryce Young. Others blame head coach and play-caller Dave Canales.

Whatever the case, McMillan has three more regular-season games to rebound. And those might be the most scrutinized games of his young career.

Carolina is tied with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South — and the two face each other twice over the final three weeks. In between, Carolina hosts Seattle, which is tied with two others for the second-best record in the NFL.

Depending on how it all shakes out, the Panthers and Buccaneers could meet in the final regular-season game on “Sunday Night Football,” a spot reserved for games with playoff implications.

The Carolina-Tampa Bay matchup is noteworthy in another way. The Bucs last week got star receiver Mike Evans back. If there’s one player McMillan ought to emulate, it’s Evans.

Like McMillan, Evans is a tall “X” receiver who has superb hands and the toughness and timing to win jump balls against just about anyone. The difference is, Evans has been doing it for 12 years; he has mastered those skills. McMillan is still figuring it out.

News: UA baseball interviews candidates to succeed John DeRouin as pitching coach.

Views: DeRouin’s December departure could be classified as a curveball; he’d been on the job for less than six months.

But MLB clubs have been poaching young, smart coaches from the college ranks with increasing frequency. Chip Hale always knew this was a possibility with DeRouin, who’s about to begin his second stint with a big-league organization before he turns 26.

It was a matter of when, not if. The “when” is a bit awkward with preseason practices about a month away. But Hale is moving quickly on this one — again, it could be done by the time you read this — and knows exactly what he wants.

In addition to being well-versed in all the technological tools that have changed the way pitching is taught, the new pitching coach will, ideally, have extensive experience calling games. That’s one area where DeRouin was lacking. It’s something that requires not just the ability to analyze data but a feel for the game that can only but cultivated over time.

Time was of the essence when Hale made the decision to promote DeRouin after Kevin Vance left for San Diego State. Arizona risked losing some of its top arms, including right-hander Smith Bailey, who could have named his price on the transfer market. Elevating DeRouin ensured continuity.

Would Hale like to have less volatility at the critical position of pitching coach? Of course. DeRouin’s successor will be the fourth pitching coach to work under Hale in five seasons.

But each change was unavoidable in its own way. And whoever the new guy is will step into a situation that’s set up for success.