The Star's longtime columnist on Arizona's basketball changes, Antoine Cason's new clothing line and Azuolas Tubelis' dazzling dexterity.
Wildcats' practices are physical, frenetic β and fun
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd speaks to his team as they watch video during Thursday's practice.
A large color image of Arizonaβs 1993 Pac-10 basketball player of the year Chris Mills, maybe 6 feet by 8 feet, overlooks every UA workout at the Richard Jefferson Gymnasium.
Mills was the toughest player Iβve ever seen at Arizona, an opinion backed by longtime UA assistant coach Jim Rosborough as we watched Tommy Lloydβs team practice Friday afternoon.
"By a mile," said Rosborough.
Unfortunately, Chris Mills isnβt walking through the door of the RJ Gym any day soon, but Lloyd is doing his best to create the kind of edge, the never-give-an-inch way Mills displayed before becoming a first-round NBA draft pick, playing 10 NBA seasons.
To begin Fridayβs workout, Lloyd staged a drill in which each player would take turns drawing a charge β being knocked to the groundΒ β and then scrambling to his feet, sprinting 20 yards and diving for a loose ball.
"Boys," said Lloyd, "this drill isnβt for the soft."
What struck me most about Fridayβs practiceΒ β about the "pants on fire" drillΒ β was that the Wildcats seemed to enjoy it. They cheered for their teammates, reacting enthusiastically to each dive on the court. What mightβve been a dreaded 20 minutes was fun.
While replacing three NBA draft picks, Lloyd probably has yet to discover the alpha male on his second UA team. It could be one of the two pillars of physical strength, Pelle Larsson or Azuolas Tubelis. I think itβs possible that Larsson could be the most improved player in the Pac-12, emerging as an impact player his junior season.
He regularly swished 3-pointers during Fridayβs scrimmage sessions. In two seasons of Pac-12 basketball, Larsson has made 58 of 145 3-point attempts, exactly 40%. Not bad when your team averages 35%. But Larsson enters this season in a new role: a full-time starter. The thing I like about Larsson is that he plays not just with a look of determination, but also an undeniable body language that heβs having fun.
That is what usually comes through when I have been given access to Lloydβs practice sessions. Itβs an enjoyable experience.
Lloyd has created significant competition in what, at some schools, can become dreary, letβs-get-this-over-with practice sessions. He has seven walk-on players on the roster, which must be an NCAA record. Sean Miller and Lute Olson rarely carried more than two or three walk-ons.
"Thereβs tremendous quality among those seven," said Lloyd, speaking of Jordan Mains, Luc Krystkowiak, Salpointe Catholic High School's Grant Weitman and Catalina Foothills High School's Will Menaugh, among others. βThey can really simulate things for us; they can play (the starters) straight up.
"We practice with everybody. If you come here, youβre going to be used."
That type of inclusion surely leads to better team camaraderie and competition. Itβs surprising more college coaches donβt have the same approach.
Ex-Wildcat Antoine Cason hopes clothing line follows example of Nike, Under Armour
College football has changed significantly in the 15 years since Antoine Cason was a consensus All-American cornerback for Mike Stoops at Arizona.
When Cason visited the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility on Thursday, he stopped at the barber shop and got a free haircut. Yes, many college football compounds include barber shops.
"There was nothing like that when I was here," said Cason, a 2007 Jim Thorpe Award winner who went on to play seven NFL seasons.
Cason was in Tucson for Homecoming week and also to market his new line of apparel, Reach Unlimited, which includes a collegiate collection line for University of Arizona-branded apparel. He launched, displayed and sold theΒ gear on the mall at Saturdayβs tailgate festivities.
"I figured if Nike began at the University of Oregon and since Under Armour began at the University of Maryland, that our brand, Reach Unlimited, should begin at Arizona,ββ said Cason, who lives in Long Beach, California "This has been 2Β½ years in development. We think this will create quite a buzz."
Casonβs apparel can be purchased online at reachunltd.com.
In whatever spare time he has, Cason has embarked on a football officiating career he is determined will soon reach the NFL. He has been officiating high school and junior college football in Southern California for two years, a move inspired by his friend, NFL referee Mike Carey.
"As I continue, I would like to move up to the Pac-12 and work top college games," he said. "Iβm just 36, just getting started. Iβve got ambitious goals."
Tucsonans' horse a Breeders' Cup favorite
When the Breedersβ Cup is televised Saturday from Keeneland Race Course in Kentucky, an old familiar face will return with the favorite horse: Nogales native and UA grad Bob Baffert.
Baffertβs 2-year-old Cave Rock is the early favorite for the 2023 Kentucky Derby. Cave Rock is undefeated this year and will race in Saturdayβ featured Juvenile event in Kentucky.
Cave Rock is owned by Tucson auto dealers Paul Weitman and Karl Watson and by long-time Baffert associate Mike Pegram.
"Cave Rock is very good," said Weitman, who was also an owner of Baffertβs 2011 Kentucky Derby favorite, Lookinβ at Lucky. "Heβll go off as the favorite. He's got that look."
Baffert has four horses entered in the Breedersβ Cup, his first major event since serving a 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission earlier this year. The penalty was the result of Medina Spirit testing positive for the medication betamethasone after the 2021 Kentucky Derby.
Baffert can enter horses at Keeneland since the track is not owned by Churchill Downs. Besides Churchill Downs-owned tracks, he is banned at New York Racing Association tracks. Both entities suspended him separately from the KHRC penalty and he is suing both.
Nick Johnson, T.J. Leaf teammates in China
Nick Johnson, Arizonaβs 2014 Pac-12 basketball player of the year, is now playing for the Beijing Ducks, part of the vast EuroBasket network of pro basketball. Johnson is averaging 10.4 points for the Ducks; his clubβs leading scorer is ex-UCLA standout T.J. Leaf. After playing in 28 games for the 2014-15 Houston Rockets, Johnsonβs career has taken him to the G League, followed by full seasons in Turkey, Germany and France. Johnson turns 30 in December. Johnsonβs Arizona teammate, Gabe York, was unable to make the final cut of the Indiana Pacers this month and will open the 2022-23 season playing for the G Leagueβs Fort Wayne Mad Ants. York played two NBA games last season. β¦
Local golf legend Margie Masters dies
Sad to learn of the death of Margie Masters, 87, who became one of the leading golf instructors in Tucson after she retired from the LPGA Tour about 40 years ago. Masters taught golf at both Rolling Hills Golf Course and Tucson Country Club in her Tucson years. A member of the Australia golf Hall of Fame, Masters played on the LPGA Tour from 1965-79, finishing as high as seventh in the U.S. Womenβs Open and winning two LPGA events. A memorial to honor her and her Tucson career is being planned for late November. β¦.
Former Citizen sportswriter part of 'Candlepin' doc
Add movie producer to the list of career achievements of former Tucson Citizen sportswriter Dave Petruska. The former UA football beat writer is a producer of "Candlepin, The Documentary," a short film by Ricky Leighton about candlepin bowling, a popular pastime in Maine. The film explores rural Maineβs connection to the sport and the small business culture that is struggling to shift their business model to keep this tradition relevant. The Maine Arts Commission, provided a grant for partial funding of the film. A free online premiere is set for Thursday at youtu.be/xBL303PV3tw β¦
Ex-Lancer Michael Carreon sets weightlifting record
Michael Carreon, who first made a name for himself in the Tucson sports community by being a key part of the 1973 Cactus Little League All-Starsβ epic run to the Little League World Series, continues to make an impact. The retired Tucson firefighter last week set the Arizona state record in the Masters division bench press, 315 pounds, breaking the old record of 303 pounds. Carreon, the son of former Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians catcher Cam Carreon, finished in first place in the Masters Full Power division, which puts him in the top 60 in the USPA rankings. The competition was held at Tucson Strength Gym.
Cienega High School graduate Andre Jackson made his big-league debut in 2021.
MLB trend follows local figures
Major League Baseball last week announced that the ongoing Philadelphia-Houston World Series is the first since 1950 played without an American-born Black ballplayer. It also announced that 7.8% of MLB players this year were American-born Black players. That figure fits almost exactly with the number of Black Tucson ballplayers to reach the big leagues. Of the 50 Tucsonans to play in the majors, four are Black, or 8%. They are Santa Rita High Schoolβs Anthony Sanders, Cholla High Schoolβs Mel Stocker, Cienega High Schoolβs Andre Jackson and Canyon del Oro High School outfielder Scott Hairston. The UAβs number of Black ballplayers in MLB is much smaller. Of the 92 ex-Wildcats to reach the big leagues, only Dwight Taylor, star centerfielder for UAβs 1980 national championship team, is Black. β¦
Dr. Don Porter honored at homecoming
Dr. Donald Porter, the UA athletic departmentβs team physician since 1989, was honored Saturday at Bear Down Field before the UA-USC game. Porter, who retired after 33 years this summer, was presented with the T. Bruce Huffman Award, signifying his community service. He earlier was presented with the John "Button" Salmon Award on campus. Porter is hardly forgotten. He will speak at the Pac-12 DEI Health Equity Summit symposium at UCLA in late January. Porter, a former all-city basketball player at Rincon High School, was the dean of Pac-12 sports physicians. β¦.
Pusch Ridge Christianβs Brysen Barrios (5) runs for an 80-yard touchdown during the opening drive of the first quarter against Chandler Valley at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy in Oro Valley, Ariz. on Oct. 14, 2022.Β
Pusch Ridge Christian among region's best
Coach Kent Middletonβs Pusch Ridge Christian football team completed the regular season with a 9-1 record on Friday, routing Safford 62-7. For the year, Pusch Ridge, the No. 3 ranked team in Class 3A, outscored its opponents by an average of 47-10 per game. That is a close reflection on prep football's haves vs. have-nots season in the greater Tucson area. In Fridayβs 17 high school games involving Tucson teams, the average final score was 42-10. Only four games were competitive, with scores of 22-14, 36-26, 27-14 and 14-7. Tucson appears to have three teams with a chance to go deep in the playoffs: Marana, 7-1, is ranked No. 7 in 5A, and 7-1 CDO is ranked No. 2 in 4A. How about Salpointe Catholic? The 5-3 Lancers, ranked No. 13 in 6A, have some heavy lifting ahead, although it should be favored to win its final regular season games against Mesa Mountain View and Queen Creek.
Azuolas Tubelis #10
My two cents: Azuolas Tubelis impresses with dazzling dexterity
The best thing I saw this week: Twenty minutes after Arizona completed its basketball practice Friday afternoon, one player remained on the court at Richard Jefferson Gym: Azuolas Tubelis.
The 6-foot-11-inch gentle giant spent 10 minutes running 40 yards, up and back, over and over, while dribbling balls with his left and right hands simultaneously. In the 10 minutes I watched, Tubelis didnβt lose control of either ball.
Try it sometime. If you can get 10 yards without losing control of both basketballs, you are something of a Magic Johnson.
If the left-handed Tubelis can frequently use his off hand during his junior season, going to his right instead of predictably to his left, heβll be a much more productive player.
Practice makes perfect, right?
