AG's Wildcat Report

Random thoughts (and notes) while wondering if Arizona football coach Mike Stoops sent a congratulatory message to Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints. Their connection: They were teammates on the replacement Chicago Bears during the 1987 NFL players’ strike …

Say this, the Arizona basketball team is good at one thing: Giving up career highs.

It started with the season opener, when NAU guard Cameron Jones went for 29 points.

Later in the non-conference season, there was the epic 49 points from BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. And the 34 points allowed to Lipscomb’s superb post player Adnan Hodzic.

More recently, Oregon’s LeKendric Longmire came off the bench to tie his career-best with 18 points. On Jan. 31, Theo Robertson poured in 27 points, his personal best. And, on Feb. 6, Washington big man DeAngelo Casto had a career-high 19 points to go along with plenty of other mayhem in the paint.

In between those two games, Washington’s Quincy Pondexter lit up the Wildcats for 30 points, one off his career high. In any case, he used that to help grab Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.

Basically, if the other team has an elite scorer, Arizona usually can’t stop him, from Wisconsin’s Trevon Hughes (24 points), to Colorado’s Cory Higgins (28), to UNLV’s Tre’Von Willis (25), to Oklahoma’s Willie Warren (25), to Louisiana Tech’s Kyle Gibson (25) to Stanford’s Landry Fields (31), to all the guys mentioned above. …

Mike Bell

Mike Bell became the ninth former UA player to earn a Super Bowl ring. The New Orleans Saints running back only had two carries against the Colts, slipping on an off-tackle third-and-goal attempt from the 1, but he was a key part in the championship season. Bell actually had the most rushing attempts (172) on the team during the regular season.

As for the other Super Bowl-winning Cats:

*Tedy Bruschi has three rings (Patriots — 2002, 2004, 2005 Super Bowls)
*T Bell has two (Steelers — 1979, 1980)
*The following have one — Ron Gardin (Colts, 1971), Edwin Mulitalo (Ravens, 2001), Chris McAlister (Ravens, 2001), Josh Miller (Patriots, 2005), Michael Johnson (Giants, 2008) and Antonio Pierce (Giants, 2008).

For the complete list of ex-Cats in the Super Bowl, go to our sports network partner WildAboutAZCats.com. …

Scout.com released its initial list of top 150 football recruits for next season. How in the world did CDO running back Ka’Deem Carey not make the list? … Reason No. 5,871 to not get put too much stock into recruiting rankings: There was a lot of buzz when running back Ryan Bass — the 31st-best player in the nation, according to Scout.com — committed to Arizona a couple of years ago, and much angst when he then signed with Arizona State. He spent two unspectacular years with the Sun Devils, was suspended at the end of last season and has now transferred to Idaho. …

Jamelle Horne

UA junior forward Jamelle Horne is nothing if not consistently inconsistent, but how in the world has he scored single-digit points in six of the past seven games? Is he injured in some way that has not become public? He began Pac-10 play by averaging 16 points through four games. In the seven games since then, he is averaging 6.3. Something is not right … Four of the 23 football players in Arizona’s recruiting class have spent time on a Division I roster. They are defensive lineman Willie Mobley (redshirted at Ohio State in 2008), defensive end Mohammad Usman (had 10 tackles in nine game with Houston in 2008), linebacker Paul Vassallo (redshirted at Nevada in 2007) and, of course, Texas transfer receiver Dan Buckner. …

Among the football newcomers, long snapper Chase Gorham from Scottsdale is the one most guaranteed of playing time in 2010. The Wildcats lose two seniors on the long-snapping depth chart, and Gorham is supposed to one of the best around. He is the son of Charlie Gorham, a UA kicker in 1972 and 1973. “I know how much I really, really, really love the Cats,” Charlie said in a video interview with Wildcat Sports Report, part of the TucsonCitizen.com sports network. “The minute he steps foot on the football field at the U of A, I am going to be bawling.” …

The father of Arizona basketball commit Jordin Mayes, a point guard from Los Angeles Westchester High School, offered this honest assessment of his son to WildAboutAZCats.com: “Jordin has to learn more about managing the game and getting better at that,” Darryel Mayes said. “He has the skills to score big points when he needs to. As a point guard, he has to get others involved. But as he matures, he will understand more that he must keep the defense on its heels. Sean (Miller) and his staff can see the ability of Jordin scoring when the opportunity presents itself. When the play calls for a bucket, get that bucket. Don’t pass up that shot. That’s called playing too nice.”…

The Arizona softball team begins its season Friday at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe. Mike Candrea’s team has its home opener on Feb. 20 with a doubleheader against Missouri. One of the changes at Hillenbrand Stadium is a padded outfield fence, replacing the wooden face that has been a hazard to outfielder’s faces. “I’m really looking forward it,” said junior centerfielder Lauren Schutzler. “I was joking with my family that Coach put that up because he’s getting sick of me not catching the ball. That wood wall was kind of a big omen out there. Any time you would run into that wall, you would get splinters, you would bang your head. It was horrible.” The padding comes a few years too late for Caitlin Lowe, who became a YouTube sensation when she crashed into the fence during postseason play in 2007. The outfielders will now have a little security when going hard after fly balls. “But it’s going to be another thing that raises expectations,” Schutzler said. “Coach is going to be like, ‘I put that padding out there for you, you better be going into it.’”

Scelfo

In a story first reported by our sports network partner Wildcat Sports Report, Arizona head coach Mike Stoops will announce the hiring of Frank Scelfo as his quarterbacks coach in an ironic spin of the coaching carousel.

Scelfo had been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Louisiana Tech, elevated to interim head coach two weeks ago when Derek Dooley left to become the head coach at Tennessee.

Louisiana Tech then hired Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes to lead the Bulldogs.

A good trade? Let’s see how it all shakes out at Arizona.

Although it was first reported that Scelfo would be a co-coordinator, those titles will fall to well-respected offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and running backs/tight ends coach Seth Littrell, both of whom have backgrounds in the Texas Tech-style spread offense.

Scelfo is an experienced assistant and has a good reputation as a play-caller who understands the passing game.

Prior to his three-year stint with Louisiana Tech, he spent 11 years on the staff at Tulane, including the final eight as offensive coordinator.

While there, he tutored four future NFL quarterbacks — Patrick Ramsey, J.P. Losman, Lester Ricard, and Shaun King – which is four more quarterbacks than Arizona has sent to the NFL in its entire Pac-10 existence.

Stoops said Wednesday he had interviewed three candidates for the position. Scelfo attended a UA fan recruiting event in the Phoenix area on Thursday.

Stoops has had two previous offensive coordinators. The first one, Mike Canales, was recently hired as coordinator at North Texas after he wasn’t retained by new South Florida head coach Skip Holtz.

From his Louisiana Tech bio about his days with Tulane:

Scelfo directed one of the most innovative offenses in the college game as the Green Wave finished ranked in the top 30 nationally in passing offense five times, including ranking 3rd in passing offense (324.45) in 2000, 5th in passing offense (327.3) in 1999 and 12th in passing offense (291.50) in 2001.

Marquis Flowers was on the cover of the Arizona edition of ESPN Rise magazine in October.

As of late Wednesday night, with all but a trickle of signees still to come across the country, Arizona’s recruiting class was ranked close to the bottom of the Pac-10.

Rivals.com ranked the Wildcats eighth in the Pac-10 and 36th in the nation. Scout.com pegged Arizona ninth in the league and 40th nationally, even below Washington State.

That’s not quite the ratings that were expected after two bowl seasons and plenty of positive momentum in the past two years, but I’m a big fan of taking the rankings as a good dose of entertainment, not gospel.

Arizona signed a total of 23 players, including Texas transfer receiver Dan Buckner (who has to sit out this season under transfer rules) and two mid-year junior college transfers.

Coach Mike Stoops doesn’t need a lot of immediate help on offense, needing mostly depth on the offensive line, which he got. Defense is a different story, with pressing concerns at defensive tackle, linebacker and safety. Stoops and his staff seemed to address that just fine.

So, no, the class rankings aren’t exactly going to send the fan message boards into a buzz, but it appears as if the impact players come at all the right spots … and, at this point, Stoops has earned a bit of trust in the kind of players he identifies and signs.

Here are five players we’re most looking forward to seeing in action right away. Call them the top five impact players:

1. S Marquis Flowers, Goodyear Millennium High School
He’s the headliner of the class, the top-rated recruit in the state, which is a rare get for the Wildcats. “Marquis Flowers is a very unique individual,” Stoops said. “A big safety who can run. A very athletic safety. One of the best I have seen all year.” At 6-3, 200, Flowers gives Arizona two young, big, athletic safeties, joining one of the top recruits from the 2009 class — Adam Hall.

2. DT Willie Mobley, Orange Coast CC
Arizona tried to recruit him out of high school, but Mobley signed at Ohio State, where he redshirted in 2008. He tried to transfer to UCLA (where the Bruins thought he was the answer to their decimated defensive tackle position), but he didn’t qualify, and his recruiting relationship with UA assistant Mike Tuiasosopo led him to Tucson. He didn’t play in junior college and has three seasons of eligibility remaining. Stoops said Mobley, combined with Saneilia Fuimaono and Kirifi Leuta-Taula, are the “best three interior defensive linemen we have recruited in some time.”

3. LB Derek Earls, North Dakota State College
Arizona has to replace all three of its starting linebackers, which meant it was critical to get immediate help. Finding a couple of talented mid-year transfers was critical and Earls (6-3, 230) fits the bill as a NJCAA first-team All-American. Stoops said he saw Earls and the other JC transfer linebacker, Paul Vassallo, work out Wednesday for the first time. “They did some things athletically that I thought we were getting from them, but it’s nice to see it with your own eyes,” Stoops said.

4. LB Paul Vassallo, Sierra College
Stoops said he didn’t know yet where Earls and Vassallo (6-3, 240) might fit into the linebacker group — inside or outside — but that will be sorted out in spring ball. “They’re big; they’re long. These guys are pretty athletic for their size and they give us a lot of different options,” Stoops said. Vassallo redshirted at Nevada for a season before transferring to junior college, where he has 14.5 sacks in 2008. He missed seven games last season because of a concussion.

5. WR Garic Wharton, Las Vegas Valley High
Arizona has dependable possession-type receivers, but is looking for a bit more pizzazz from the position, such as what Mike Thomas brought to the team in 2008. The Wildcats have moved quarterback Richard Morrison to the position and have added Wharton, whom Stoops called “probably the fastest football player in the country coming out of high school.” Wharton (5-11, 168) is a sprinting star who was an all-around skill player in high school, including returning three kicks for touchdown last season. “He has unique size to him and he is a guy who can the distance at any time,” Stoops said. “He has crazy speed.” (JC transfer Dexter Ransom is a 6-4 receiver who could make a quick impact on the outside for the Wildcats.)

Stoops

Arizona coach Mike Stoops said Wednesday he could have a new offensive coordinator by the end of the week.

Stoops said he has brought in three coaches for interviews.

“We’re close,” Stoops said. “I’d say by Friday we’ll make some kind of decision.”

Stoops must replace Sonny Dykes, who left to become the head coach of Louisiana Tech on Jan. 20 – two weeks before signing day. The Wildcats lost quarterback recruit Matt Brown because of it; Brown signed with TCU.

“I’ve liked everyone I’ve had in,” Stoops said. “There are a lot of unbelievable coaches out there who have great experience and great ideas. We’re trying to find someone who will fit in with our staff the best.”

Even with a new coordinator, there likely won’t be a major shift in scheme as the Wildcats figure to remain a spread team, using plenty of four-receiver sets and the shotgun formation.

“The decision is going to be very difficult,” Stoops said. “I have interviewed three tremendous guys I have taken a liking to. That really is the hardest part of our job sometimes, hiring people and telling other people no.”

The new hire could possibly have a co-coordinator title with Bill Bedenbaugh, the offensive line coach and running game coordinator. Arizona will have co-defensive coordinators next season, with linebackers coach Tim Kish and newcomer Greg Brown, who will be coaching the secondary.

RELATED: Free press conference video from ArizonaWildcats.com

The official Arizona release on its 20-player signing class

SWITCHING POSITIONS
Richard Morrison, who redshirted as a freshman quarterback last season, has moved to a slot receiver position. Morrison, who is listed at 6-0, 180, was a dual-threat quarterback at Royce City (Texas) High School.

DeWayne Peace, who redshirted at receiver last season, will now try cornerback. Peace is 5-11, 180.

“They’re both tremendous athletes that we need to get on the field,” Stoops said. “I have been really impressed with both players.”

UPDATING MATT SCOTT
Junior quarterback Matt Scott, who was a transfer possibility after losing the starting job to classmate Nick Foles after the third game of last season, is back to compete at the position. Arizona also has junior Bryson Beirne.

“There is always the possibility of redshirting,” Stoops said of Scott.

Scott also is athletic enough to play another position.

“We’ll look at all our options, see what Matt feels comfortable doing, where he’s at, how he’s playing,” Stoops said. “All those things we’ll research and prepare for by the season if he’s not the starter.”

OPENER ON ESPN
Arizona announced Wednesday that the team’s season-opener at Toledo has been moved from Saturday, Sept. 4, to Friday, Sept. 3, to accommodate ESPN television.

“It’s going to be great,” Stoops said. “The Friday night before the first football (weekend), playing that game on ESPN, it just continues to give us national exposure … you know, if we play well.

“I think it’s certainly going to get our players’ attention.”

Toledo was 5-7 last season under first-year coach Tim Beckman, and Stoops noted that the Rockets defeated visiting Colorado last season, 54-38.

“I keep reminding Coach Brown about that,” Stoops said of his new co-defensive coordinator. “I think we will be well prepared.”

NEW UNIS
Stoops said Arizona is tweaking its uniforms for next season, and that he wouldn’t rule out using the white helmets, which the Wildcats wore for the first team in his tenure during the Holiday Bowl loss at Nebraska.

“We’re going to have a bunch of different looks that we will be able to accessorize our players with,” Stoops said. “That is kind of the fad we’re in right now with kids and players. We’re trying to keep up with it.

“If it makes them happy, then I’m happy. I really don’t care what we wear.”

Stoops said the uniforms would be “more toward our old look and a little more traditional but still modern” … whatever that means.

At least the colors will stay the same.

NOTABLE
Redshirt freshman defensive end Jackson Powell has left the program, Stoops said. … Stoops on safety recruit Josh Robbins from Canyon del Oro High School: “I think Josh Robbins is kind of a diamond in the rough. He has a huge upside.” … UA officially announced the hiring of Dave Emerick as the assistant director of operations/director of on-campus recruiting. He has spent the past six seasons with Texas Tech, the last two in a “chief of staff” position.

Safety Tony Bouie (far right) and linebacker Sean Harris (top) were part of Arizona's 1990 recruiting class.

It’s football signing day, and the fun of it is to get caught up in all the hope, all the rankings. Somewhat sadly for Arizona, those rankings are expected to be fairly average.

Whatever.

The thing is, you just never know how these classes are going to work out. (Related: Cats get three signing day surprises.

Several seasons ago, I wrote a story for the Tucson Citizen that revisted what is almost inarguably Arizona’s greatest recruiting class ever. I reached into the archives for the story from February 2005, which is posted below in its near entirety (taking out parts that are now irrelevant).

It is, to me, nearly impossible to believe it has been 20 years since these guys signed, but, anyway, here is the story …

* * *

In 1990, Dick Tomey signed 24 players in a class that had some sizzle — including Parade All-Americans Mike Ciasca and Chuck Levy — but was largely relegated to the middle of the Pacific-10 Conference by recruiting analysts.

The headline in the Tucson Citizen read: “UA recruits get ‘average’ tag.”

Average?

“There was a lot of attitude in my class,” said Rob Waldrop, a defensive tackle who became the cornerstone of the Desert Swarm defenses.

“You couldn’t tell us that we couldn’t do something. We knew we were going to be better than a lot of people who were already there, and I think that rubbed some of the older guys wrong sometimes. But we knew we would change things.”

Individually, the group is without peer in the history of UA football and, judging by the postseason honors, would rank as one of the best in the Pac-10.

The class signed in early 1990 featured:

**Two national award winners: Waldrop (Outland Trophy, Football Writers Association of America defensive player of the year) and place-kicker Steve McLaughlin (Lou Groza Award).

**Four All-Americans: Waldrop, McLaughlin, free safety Tony Bouie and punter Josh Miller.

**Five first-team All-Pac-10 players: Waldrop, McLaughlin, Bouie, Miller and linebacker Sean Harris.

**Two second-team All-Pac-10 players: Wide receiver Terry Vaughn and offensive lineman Mike Heemsbergen.

The depth of the class was also impressive, with starters such as offensive linemen Mike Ciasca, Pulu Poumele and Mu Tagoai, defensive end Richard Maddox, defensive back Mike Scurlock and several others, including Vincent Smith, a mammoth transfer from Colorado.

“Anybody would be hard-pressed to point to any class at any school during the period we were at Arizona and say that that class had a better result,” Tomey said.

Collectively, this group would provide the main thrust to Tomey’s best days in his 14-year UA career, including a 16-3 victory over No. 1 Washington in 1992, a co-Pac-10 title in 1993, a 29-0 shutout of Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl and the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1994 season preview issue.

How did Arizona pull it off?

The recruiting pitch was simple.

Tomey had just completed his third season and was coming off a 17-10 Copper Bowl victory over North Carolina State, only the second bowl win in school history.

“You know, they weren’t overselling anything. That was the neat thing,” said Ciasca, who was rated the top offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep magazine.

“Michigan, USC, Florida State … they were selling tradition, ‘we’ve done it, we’ll do it again.’ One of the things that stood out in my mind was the chance to be the first to start the history, to not just be a spoke in the wheel.

“It was all the same pitch to everybody. We all bought into the fact that we wanted to be the first.”

Tomey’s plain talk appealed to Waldrop, even if the coach might have taken the regular-guy approach a bit too far.

“Tomey came into my house on a recruiting visit, opened the fridge and pulled out a carrot cake and starting eating it,” Waldrop said. “Who was I to argue? I mean, he must have been comfortable.”

Ciasca led a large Tucson contingent that included Harris and his uncle (but more like a brother) Lamar, who were considered “at-risk” academically but earned degrees. Ciasca’s teammate, Joe Lohmeier, suffered a broken leg in his senior season of high school, but Tomey visited him in the hospital and assured him he still had a scholarship.

In all, six local high school players signed with the Wildcats, most of whom weren’t heavily recruited.

“I think back then, diamonds in the rough were what we were looking for,” said former UA assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Bill Morgan, now the Arizona athletic department’s compliance director.

“We had a good feeling about so many in that class. There was a kind of a satisfaction when it was over. And then we got them here in August for camp and some of the luster goes off and you say, ‘Hey, he doesn’t look as tall as when we were recruiting him.’”

Waldrop and Vaughn were a couple of the instant hits, playing as true freshmen. Others took longer to develop.

“The first time I saw Josh Miller punt — and we laugh about it to this day — he was awful,” Tomey said.

Much of the class signed in 1990 was rushed into duty as redshirt freshmen in 1991, when injuries decimated the starting lineup. By early 1992, it was all systems go, and an 8-7 loss at No. 1 Miami — when the Wildcats were four-touchdown underdogs — signaled that the class had arrived.

“Something happened on that trip,” Waldrop said. “Everyone just let loose. We lost, but we destroyed them statistically. That is where a lot of frustration came out.”

It was this class that propelled Arizona to the second-most overall victories (71) in the Pac-10 during the 1990s.

“I think that the run in the 1990s is probably underappreciated in Tucson, but as time goes on it will be looked at as a real outstanding decade of football for Arizona,” Tomey said. “And, no question, this class really helped get it going.”

Related links from the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network:

Brad Allis, Wildcat Sports Report: Cats mostly fill their needs, Part I

Brad Allis, Wildcat Sports Report: Cats mostly fill their needs, Part II

Former Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski is writing (or dictating) a draft diary for the Sporting News, with the first installment on line here.

Gronk is training in Miami but will be back in Tucson on March 12 for pro day on the UA campus, as scouts evaluate individual Wildcats and their NFL potential.

Gronkowski also has been invited to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis later this month, although it’s not clear how much he will be able to participate as he continues his rehab from back surgery.

“One thing I’ve improved upon significantly since I was a freshman at Arizona is my route running,” Gronkowski wrote. “My coaches taught me a lot, and now I know how to get open more consistently. I still can run crisper routes, get better there like in all areas of my game.”

Scout.com NFL draft analyst Chris Steuber was asked about Gronkowski’s draft prospects in an on-line chat last week. His response:

“Gronkowski has to show that his back is fully healthy. I think he’s a third rounder at this point, but he could move up with a great offseason.”

Prediction: I don’t think Gronkowski will fulfill his first-round dreams but, if his back allows him to show his stuff for scouts, he also won’t fall to the third round. Looks like he’s right in the middle in the second round to me.

Click here for a video clip from Gronkowski’s news conference last month to announce he was leaving early for the NFL.

Derrick Williams is the team leader in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (8.6) in Pac-10 games/Photo by Wildcat Sports Report

Given the overwhelming success of Arizona freshman post player Derrick Williams, I was curious to check exactly how he stacked up in last year’s recruiting rankings.

I went to Rivals.com and clicked on the list of the top 150 prospects.

I found Latavious Williams at No. 17.

Shawn Williams was at No. 67.

Jordan Williams at No. 85.

Rodney Williams at No. 100.

And Erik Williams checked in at No. 104.

So, basically, Derrick Williams was, at best, considered the sixth-best player in the country with his surname.

Turns out, he might be about the sixth-best freshman in the country.

And he wasn’t even on the Rivals.com list of the top 150 prospects.

This is just another of those “you never know” moments, like the one that finds Arizona tied for first with Cal in the Pac-10 halfway through the conference season. You never know.

Williams had scored at least 20 points in four consecutive games before Sunday’s game against Cal, which turned out just fine as Arizona won 76-72 at McKale Center. Williams had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

“He’s really an amazing player right now for us,” UA coach Sean Miller said after Thursday’s win over Stanford.

“I have a hard time believing there are many freshmen in college basketball who are better than Derrick or who are impacting their team more than him. It’s just great to see.”

The list of impact freshmen better than Williams is becoming an increasingly short list.

More coverage from the TucsonCitizen.com sports network:

Steve Rivera: Wise to the rescue again in victory over Cal

Scott Terrell: Nerve Rack: Big win happily returns Arizona fans to worrying ways

There are John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, who led Kentucky to a 19-0 start. Avery Bradley of Texas and Xavier Henry of Kansas have been key players for teams that have been ranked No. 1.

The Kentucky guys are in a class by themselves, but after that, Williams is right in the discussion.

The difference among those five players mentioned is that four were can’t-miss prospects, either ranked in the national top 10, or top five or No. 1.

Consider this: Williams wasn’t ranked among the Pac-10’s top 20 incoming recruits by Rivals.com.

Some of this is Williams’ opportunity meeting ability and coachability … and some of this is to make a mockery of the recruiting rankings. The two best freshman in the Pac-10 — Williams and Washington State point guard Reggie Moore — weren’t in Rivals’ top 150.

The consensus — unanimous? — preseason freshman of the year in the Pac-10 was ex-Arizona commit and Washington signee Abdul Gaddy. The guard has yet to find his offensive rhythm and is no threat from 3-point range, disappointing so far.

You never know.

Meanwhile, Moore is slicing through Pac-10 zones at will and Williams is drop-stepping and spinning and dunking and averaging 15.9 points and 7.3 points per game.

“He has definitely surpassed status as a freshman,” Miller said, “and I really think that he is one of the best players in our conference.”

Williams is getting stronger, averaging 17.1 points and 8.6 rebounds through nine conference games.

“One of the things with Derrick Williams is his consistency,” Miller said.

“The last piece for him is to become an improved defender and a player who gives a lot of effort on every play. Although he has a long way to go in that area, he is a far cry from where he used to be.

“He is very coachable and a fantastic kid. I couldn’t imagine where we would be without him.”

Not in a tie for first place, that’s for sure.

Pac-10 recruits who were ranked in the national 150 by Rivals.com

No. 13 — G Abdul Gaddy, Washington
No. 27 — F Solomon Hill, Arizona
No. 28 — F Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA
No. 49 — F Brendan Lane, UCLA
No. 68 — G Lamont Jones, Arizona
No. 76 — G Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
No. 78 — G Roberto Nelson, Oregon State
No. 80 — G Trent Lockett, Arizona State
No. 81 — C Kyryl Natyazhko, Arizona
No. 86 — F Reeves Nelson, UCLA
No. 92 — F Mike Moser, UCLA
No. 94 — F Jamil Wilson, Oregon
No. 106 — G Xavier Thames, Washington State
No. 108 — G C.J. Wilcox, Washington
No. 114 — F Victor Rudd, Arizona State
No. 115 — G Demetrius Walker, Arizona State
No. 122 — F Kevin Parrom, Arizona
No. 130 — F Joe Burton, Oregon State
No. 144 — C Anthony Stover, UCLA
No. 147 — F Clarence Trent, Washington

(note the lack of Derrick Williams and Reggie Moore on the list)

Sean Miller shows his intensity during last weekend's game at Arizona State/Photo by Nick Oza, The Arizona Republic

Arizona is beginning to look more and more like Sean Miller’s Xavier teams.

There is the defense. None of Miller’s five Xavier teams allowed teams to shoot better than 43.3 percent in a season. Arizona is at 43.0 percent this season.

There is the rebounding. Arizona is basically breaking even on the boards for the season, but is at plus-5 per game through eight conference contests. That’s more like it. Miller’s Xavier teams out-rebounded their opponents by more than four per game over five seasons.

There is the toughness, which the Wildcats showed in last weekend’s victory at Arizona State, exemplified best by freshman forward Kevin Parrom … or, as Javier Morales of our sports partner WildAboutAZCats.com calls him, “Scare ‘Em Parrom.”

And, ultimately, there is the winning.

Arizona has won three games in a row for the first time this season, emerging from a Pac-10 free-for-all to be alone in second place after Thursday night’s 76-68 victory over Stanford.

The Cats won despite a rec-game shooting performance, hitting 21 of 64 for 32.8 percent. It’s not like UA was jacking up poor shots; the shots — even a couple of dunk attempts — just weren’t falling.

That’s going to happen from time to time, but hustle and defense and rebounding should never go into a slump. And that’s why Arizona won. The Wildcats had 19 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second-chance points, and they had nine steals that contributed to Stanford’s 18 turnovers.

“If you’re a good defensive team and a good rebounding team, you have a chance to do it,” Miller said of winning when shooting such a low percentage. “The odds are against you. … But we’re making progress on defense and it really helped us tonight.”

He said it
“That’s just effort. They came at us hard in that aspect of the game. I hate to say it, but they wanted it more than we did.” — Stanford forward Landry Fields, on Arizona’s 19 offensive rebounds.

More-than-fair foul shooters
Derrick Williams, Kyle Fogg and Nic Wise have combined to take nearly 80 percent of Arizona’s free throws in Pac-10 play, which helps explain why Arizona is making nearly 80 percent of its attempts in Pac-10 play.

Or something like that.

In any case, if you had to send three guys to line, those would be the three. In Pac-10 games:

–Wise is hitting 84.9 percent (45 of 53).
–Fogg is making 82.6 percent (38 of 46).
–Williams is hitting 81.3 percent (52 of 64).

That’s just more of the same for Wise. Fogg’s increased attempts come from a recent epiphany — Hey, I can dribble the ball into the lane! Williams’ free throw shooting — shaky earlier in the season — helps explain why he has scored at least 20 points in four consecutive games.

Overall, Arizona is hitting 79.5 percent of its free throws in Pac-10 play, way ahead of second-place Arizona State (74.7 percent) in that category. UCLA is last at 61.7 percent.

He said it, Part II
“I can’t imagine nationally there are many forwards better than him. I don’t think he gets nearly the respect he deserves.” — Arizona coach Sean Miller, on Stanford’s Landry Fields, who scored 31 points.

Look … over there in the corner … it’s B-Lav
Arizona had a cold shooting night against Stanford but it did heat up for a couple of key runs, including a stretch late in the first half when it took the lead for good.

The Wildcats got 12 points out of four consecutive possessions — beginning with a 3-pointer by Jamelle Horne and ending with a traditional three-point play from Williams. In between, were two 3-pointers from Brendon Lavender.

Miller keeps saying that Lavender has been the team’s best 3-point shooter in practice, but you couldn’t tell from games, as the sophomore guard was 10 of 40 from behind the arc heading into Thursday night’s game. Lavender has been making his coach look like a liar for most of 20 games.

“Sometimes you hit a couple in a game and it really takes the pressure off of you,” Miller said. “It was great to see him make a couple. He helped us by doing that.”

What has helped Arizona was the addition of Parrom to the rotation 10 games ago. His emergence after a stress fracture injury has helped Miller more clearly define roles.

That has meant a significant reduction in minutes for Lavender. He averaged 25.6 minutes in non-conference games, but is playing just 10.8 minutes through eight Pac-10 games.

That is more in fitting with his ability … and if he can start hitting shots, then those can be 10 or 11 really good minutes for the Wildcats.

Battle for first place
Arizona will move into a tie for first place in the Pac-10 on Sunday if it knocks off Cal, which is 6-2 in the league after beating Arizona State on Thursday.

The Bears won in Tucson last season for the first time since 1995, getting a huge game out of point guard Jerome Randle, who scored 31 points and hit 8 of 11 3-point shots. He came out of a shooting slump Thursday by scoring 25 points against the Sun Devils.

“You just have to try your best to slow him down,” Fogg said. “He’s one of the quickest players in the country and he can shoot from anywhere, so it’s tough to guard him.”

Final, Arizona wins 76-68. It’s hard to win when you shoot 32.8 percent, but Arizona did just that after making only 21 of 64 shots. The advantages at the line (UA was 27 of 34) and rebounding (38-32) were a large part of the difference as the Wildcats overcame the high-scoring duo of Landry Fields and Jeremy Green, who combined for 66 points.

Check back later for postgame coverage…

* * *

43.0 seconds left, Arizona leads 69-64: Derrick Williams hasn’t been in for Arizona down the stretch. Nursing an injury, it appears.

* * *

2:11 left, Arizona leads 68-59: Stanford won’t quite go away, thanks for 31 points from Landry Fields. That’s one off his career-high, set in the last game against Oregon State.

* * *

3:32 left, Arizona leads 64-55: Stanford entered the game with the worst field goal percentage defense in the Pac-10, allowing opponents to make 46.6 percent of their shots. UA has made a miserable 31.1 percent of its shots. So, why are the Cats winning? Offensive rebounding have led to many second-chance points, UA has nine fewer turnovers (16 to 9) and have attempted 12 more free throws. Arizona is 19 of 24 from the line, Stanford is 8 of 12.

* * *

7:57 left, Arizona leads 55-50: No quit in the Cardinal after Johnny Dawkins’ technical foul and Arizona’s fun. Landry Fields has 22 points for the Cardinal. One thing to watch: Guard Jeremy Green has four fouls and is currently out of the game. When will he come back?

* * *

11:58 left, Arizona leads 51-43: The momentum of the game changed in Arizona’s favor, with a little help from a technical foul on Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins. He got the technical at 13:07 left after complaining about a no-call after Landry Fields missed a 3-pointer and Derrick Williams grabbed the rebound. Nic Wise made two free throws for Arizona and Kyle Fogg nailed a 3-pointer for a five-point possession and a 49-40 lead.

* * *

15:44 left, Arizona 44-34: A hot start to the second half by the Wildcats, fueled by Derrick Williams, who has six points — including a 3-pointer — in a 7-1 run after the break. Stanford has missed all six of its shots from the field in the half.

* * *

Halftime, Arizona leads 37-33: The first half finishes with a flourish. Arizona went up 35-28 after a 14-4 run in which the Wildcats scored 12 points on four possessions — a 3-pointer from Jamelle Horne, two 3-point shots from Brendan Lavender (no, that is not a typo) and a three-point play from Derrick Williams. The Cardinal responded with five consecutive points before Nic Wise capped the half with two free throws with 0.9 seconds left.

Arizona ended up at 36.1 percent shooting for the half, helped by the late surge. Stanford’s Landry Fields — Pac-10 Player of the Year? — has 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and five rebounds.

Stanford is 15 of 30 from the field.

* * *

3:59 timeout, game tied at 24: Jamelle Horne, who is shooting 45.6 percent from 3-point range this season, hits his first attempt of the game from behind the arc to tie the game. Still, the Cats are having a woeful shooting night, hitting 29 percent (9 of 30). Yeah, they have a lot of offensive rebounds … if only because they are missing so many shots.

Meanwhile, Stanford’s Landry Fields is a bit ahead of his normal output, with 11 points and five rebounds.

* * *

7:16 timeout, Stanford leads 20-19: Can’t fault Arizona’s hustle so far. The Cats’ last four baskets have all come following offensive rebounds, including Kyle Fogg tracking down his missed 3-point shot to score in the lane and a second-chance dunk from Derrick Williams. Mostly, it’s been a case of Arizona’s initial shots not falling.

* * *

11:19 timeout, Stanford leads 16-13: Nic Wise broke an 11-0 Stanford run with a long 2-point jumper to get the Cats within 14-11. Arizona got into trouble with cold shooting (although not necessarily poor shot selection) and sloppy play, such as the bad pass up top that led to a fast-break dunk by Jarrett Mann. Arizona is 5 of 15 from the floor. Stanford is 7 of 14.

* * *

13:27 timeout, Stanford leads 10-9: Cardinal star Landry Fields was quiet for about minutes before hitting a short jumper for his first shot and first points with 15:03 to go. UA’s Jamelle Horne has drawn the defensive assignment, which will be one of his toughest of the season. A recent cold stretch for the Cats, combined with a Stanford run, gave the Cardinal the lead at the first break. Fields and Jeremy Green have combined to take eight of the team’s first 10 shots.

* * *

With a victory tonight over Stanford, Arizona could move into a tie for first place in the Pac-10, as long as Arizona State then beats Cal in a game that starts a half-hour later.

The Bears lead the league at 5-2, with five teams, including Arizona and Stanford, tied for second at 4-3

Stanford has exceeded expectations to get here, winning all of its conference home games and losing its three road games. Senior forward Landry Fields, the most improved player in the Pac-10 over the past few seasons, is averaging 21.8 points and 8.7 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jeremy Green averages 17.5 points.

If Stanford goes with a bit of a smaller lineup, Arizona small forward Kevin Parrom likely will end up on Green, but Parrom, who has earned kudos for his physical defense, probably will see time on both Cardinal scorers.

After that, the Cardinal doesn’t have much, and the team has added former Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard for tonight’s game to help fill out the roster after losing forward Andrew Zimmermann (5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds) and guard Gabriel Harris (2.2 points, 1.1 rebounds) to stress fracture injuries.

Senior guard Emmanuel Igbinosa (2.0, 1.0) did not travel because of an academic commitment, according to Stanford.

PREGAME LINKS:
Matchup analysis from Javier Morales at wildaboutazcats.com. He picks the Wildcats to win by eight points. I’ll believe what I saw from Arizona’s game against Arizona State and say Cats by 14.

Jason King at Yahoo! Sports leads his conference power rankings with a feature on Sean Miller, who praises the UA fans for sticking with the team through some early struggles.

Check back during the game for live updates and commentary.

Arizona's Kevin Parrom (left) and ASU's Ty Abbott had to be separated in the second half/Photo by Pat Shannahan, The Arizona Republic

Arizona smacked Arizona State 77-58 on Saturday, but it is a specific smack that everyone will be talking about.

That would be Kevin Parrom’s intentional foul from behind on ASU’s Ty Abbott, who was going up for a fast-break layup in the second half. Parrom ended up giving Abbott a good wallop across the head, preventing the basket, and Abbott responded after the play by trying to get chest-to-chest with the bigger Parrom.

Parrom responded with a little smile that seemed to say, “You want a piece of me?”

Both players ended up drawing technicals, which fouled out Parrom with 8:35 to play.

“I was disappointed that Kevin Parrom had to leave the game because I really think he made a very competitive play with no intent to hurt anybody,” UA coach Sean Miller said on Fox Sports Arizona’s postgame show.

It was a hard foul, and there is nothing wrong with the officials trying to protect players. No argument here about the call, but the thing that really resonates is Parrom’s and Arizona’s reaction.

UA used the emotion boost for a 9-1 run in the next 91 seconds … and no opposing player even had to step on a Wildcat’s face for Arizona to get tough.

Parrom, in particular, gives Arizona a no-nonsense air that has been lacking. Remember, this kid from the Bronx was once committed to Xavier, where Miller built successful teams around guys just like Parrom.

For sure, it’s going to take a lot more than Ty Abbott to intimidate Kevin Parrom.

*** ASU coach Herb Sendek is 5-0 against Arizona interim head coaches. He is a combined 0-3 against UA’s Lute Olson and Miller.

*** Which team had a worst game than ASU? The Fox Sports Arizona production crew.

FSA came back late from commercial breaks and had technical hiccups, including a painful pregame interview with dueling student beat writers because an earpiece wasn’t working. The live chat on FoxSportsArizona.com, featuring ex-Cat Joseph Blair and ex-Devil Kyle Dodd, was entertaining, however, as both guys were lively and appropriately partisan.

Dodd late in the second half as the Cats extended their lead: “This isn’t fun anymore.”

*** Even during the five-game losing streak to ASU, Arizona did a nice job of stopping the shooters of the Sun Devils. ASU was only 32 of 108 behind the arc during the winning streak, 29.6 percent. Nothing changed Saturday night as UA held the Devils to 31 percent (9 of 29) from 3-point range.

“It is one of the things we have really done well from start to finish this year,” Miller said, noting the exception of the BYU game. “Today, we were more of the same.”

Arizona is allowing opponents to shoot just 30.5 percent from beyond the arc.

*** Anybody seen Eric Boateng?

*** I almost never think a Jamelle Horne 3-point shot is going in, but dropped in three rainbows in the second half and finished with 11 points. Horne, sidelined briefly early because he turned his ankle, was nearly invisible in the first half.

“I thought Jamelle Horne was a big factor in us really pulling away in the second half,” Miller said on Fox Sports Arizona’s postgame show. “For whatever reason, he didn’t get off to a good start — and to his credit; it’s the hardest thing to do as a player — he recharged after halftime.

“I thought his play and just his presence really helped us.”

Horne is now shooting 45.6 percent from the 3-point range (36 of 79).

*** Miller has talked about the Wildcats had a great chance to be much better at the end of the season because he expected his young team to grow up and because seven of the last 11 regular-season games are at home.

That stretch starts Thursday against Stanford.

“Just because it’s a home game doesn’t all of a sudden mean — especially with our team and some of the inconsistencies we’ve experienced — that it’s going to be a win,” Miller said on his radio postgame interview on 1290-AM.

“But, nonetheless, playing at McKale is an advantage. We have to feel that way. We have to continue to work hard and grow. And if we do, we have all the makings of a good finish.”

If Arizona plays with the same intensity on defense as it did Saturday night — and that still has to be considered a big if — the next seven weeks will be very interesting.

Related:
Steve Rivera: This just in: Cats growing up

Arizona Republic photo gallery