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

Herb Sendek (left) and Sean Miller meet for the first team in the state rivalry/Photos by the Arizona Republic

Arizona State has won five in a row in men’s basketball against Arizona. It probably will be six by late Saturday night.

The difference is defense. The Devils play it. And play it. And play it. They play it like they enjoy it. It’s what they do. They knew it would be expected when they signed on to play for coach Herb Sendek.

That matchup zone defense? Sendek has been using that for four years, so his veterans are masters, having done nothing else during their time in Tempe. Blessed continuity.

Here’s the deal. In ASU’s five-game winning streak over Arizona, the rebounds are exactly even (161). The steals are exactly even (30). The turnovers are nearly identical — 58 for Arizona, 56 for ASU.

The difference is that the Wildcats have hardly been able to buy a bucket, especially when the game has been on the line.

Arizona has made 97 of 265 shots — a miserable 36.6 percent.

Arizona State has made 109 of 247 shots — a respectable 44.1 percent.

That’s the five-game winning streak right there.

No doubt, Arizona State is playing great defense this season. The Sun Devils lead the nation in scoring defense (54.7 points allowed per game), which is also a factor of their often slow pace. But their defensive shooting percentage backs up their stingy reputation. They allow opponents to shoot just 38.6 percent.

RELATED:
TC.com: Steve Rivera: Miller’s turn to take crack at ASU’s win streak
WildAboutAZCats: Lots of hoops items in Saturday’s “Nothing but the Notes” column
Arizona Republic: Plenty of notes in Doug Haller’s blog

It’s really strange to say, but ASU is the team Arizona wants to be when it grows up.

The Wildcats will get there … and then some. I’ll take Arizona’s upside under Sean Miller over the potential of Sendek’s program. But, for now, Miller is still trying to push all the right buttons on his young team.

“It is very, very hard to get our team to compete every play,” he said. “It’s the hardest team I’ve ever been around to get them to do that. The newness of everything … it’s a real challenge.”

It should be no surprise that Arizona is not a great — certainly not a consistent — defensive team.

Senior point guard Nic Wise is short and is learning his fourth defense in four years, including Miller’s man-to-man, which is, of course, 180 degrees different that the zone Arizona used last season and is a different man-to-man flavor that interim Kevin O’Neill used two seasons ago.

Junior forward Jamelle Horne isn’t consistent in any aspect of his game, so there is no reason to think he’d be consistent on defense. Sophomore guard Kyle Fogg is a willing defender but isn’t very strong. The freshmen are, well, freshmen.

Freshmen don’t usually play much defense anyway, because they never had to in high school or when trying to showcase their scoring on the AAU meat market.

“It’s a huge adjustment, and we don’t have the cushion of having a lot of players who have been here to show them the way,” Miller said.

Miller said he and his coaching staff continue to emphasize defense, which was Miller’s calling card at Xavier.

“I would give Arizona State one of many compliments … that’s a problem they don’t have,” Miller said of effort on defense. “They compete hard on every possession and they play with great togetherness.”

And that right there is pretty much why Arizona State is a 10- to 12-point favorite Saturday night. But the Sun Devils better take advantage while they can.

Arizona is going to better defensively a month from now when the teams meet in Tucson (Feb. 21).

A year from now, when the freshmen are sophomores and far more physical and tough they are now, Miller probably won’t be complaining too much about his team’s defense. In the meantime, get ready for a six-game losing streak to the Devils.

“I really believe, and it should be obvious to everyone, that our team has gotten better,” Miller said.

“It hasn’t been by leaps and bounds, but very slowly … and you can make the case right now we’re playing as well as we have.”

Buckner

The University of Arizona football team has added a wide receiver transfer from the University of Texas.

Dan Buckner has enrolled at Arizona for the spring semester and will sit out next season under NCAA transfer rules, the UA announced today. He will have two seasons of eligibility left.

Buckner and the Longhorns parted ways last week soon after he was arrested in College Station, Texas, on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest.

“We’ve talked to Dan and his family about his recent situation and they’ve assured us that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong and they’re confident that it will be cleared up through the legal process,” Texas coach Mack Brown said last week.

“During our discussion with Dan and his family, we all decided that the best thing for him would be to transfer to another school and get a fresh start.”

Buckner (6-4, 215 pounds) caught 29 passes, four for touchdowns, through the first five games of the 2009 season. Listed as a “flex tight end” on the depth chart, Buckner and his position was phased out during the season as the Longhorns went with fewer four- and five-receiver sets later in the season.

Buckner ended up with 45 catches for 442 yards, the third-best reception total for Texas, which lost to Alabama in the national championship game.

He was a rated the 95th-best prospect in the nation, according to Rivals.com, in the 2008 recruiting class. Buckner is from Allen (Texas) High School, where he was teammates with Matt Brown, who is expected to sign with Arizona in February.

Arizona also officially announced the December signing of a pair of junior college transfers — linebackers Derek Earls and Paul Vassallo. Both should contend in spring ball for starting roles at a position where UA loses all three starters.

“They appear to be physically ready for Pac-10 play and we’ll get a quick look in spring ball,” coach Mike Stoops said.

Sonny Dykes at his introductory news conference in Ruston, La./Photo by Arely D. Castillo, The (Monroe) News-Star

Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes was announced as Louisiana Tech’s head coach late Wednesday afternoon, leaving the Wildcats without a key coach two weeks before signing day.

At his introductory press conference, Dykes said that as of yesterday, he still “fully expected” to be at Arizona. “That’s the way this business goes sometimes,” he said about a fast-moving coaching search.

Dykes thanked Arizona coach Mike Stoops and the Wildcat players, although he did incorrectly refer to his former school as “Arizona University.”

“Without them,” he said of the Arizona coaches and players, “I wouldn’t have this great opportunity to represent Louisiana Tech.”

Dykes replaces Derek Dooley, who resigned late last week to become the coach at Tennessee, which had to replace Lane Kiffin, who left for USC when Pete Carroll bolted for the Seattle Seahawks.

RELATED:
What’s coach Mike Stoops’ next move on offense?

UA fans, welcome to big boy football

It was an unkind late spin of the coaching carousel for the Wildcats, who already have replaced defensive coordinator Mark Stoops with Greg Brown, hired from Colorado to coach the secondary and be co-coordinator with returning linebackers coach Tim Kish.

Dykes, 40, spent the past three years at Arizona, importing a lite version of the pass-happy spread offense he learned under Mike Leach at Texas Tech.

Arizona set team records for most pass attempts in his first season, averaging 44.3 per game in 2007, before settling on a more balanced approach. Dykes has been considered head coaching timber for the past couple of seasons, but Wednesday’s news — especially coming so late in the “coaching change” season — mostly came out of the blue.

“This has been a crazy 48 hours and 24 hours and six hours,” Dykes said. “It’s been a whirlwind.”

He added later: “It’s something I have worked my entire life to get to this point, and I have had a lot of great mentors.”

He further added: “There are not two more different people in the world than Mike Stoops and Mike Leach. They’re polar opposites. When you have an opportunity to work with those kind of guys, you can’t help but learn something.”

Dykes inherits a team that was 8-5 last season, including a 17-10 win over Northern Illinois in the Independence Bowl.

He called it the “right program at the right time” and said that he asked his dad, legendary former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, for advice. “The advice he gave me is that there is no reason to look at any job if you don’t think you can win there,” Sonny said.

Added acting athletic director Bruce Van De Velde said Dykes was on his list as a potential head coaching replacement, which was reinforced by the school’s executive search committee. Van De Velde said Dykes absolutely nailed the interview for the job.

“What a big day for Louisiana Tech, huh?” Van De Velde said.

Yep. Not so much for Arizona, though.

Sonny Dykes/Tucson Citizen photo

Now that Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes is going to be the head coach at Louisiana Tech, UA head coach Mike Stoops, entering his seventh season, will be looking for his third offensive coordinator.

Previously, he replaced Mike Canales after the 2006 season with Dykes. (Hey, Canales is available, having been cut loose after the head coaching change at South Florida.)

Most of the assistants on Arizona’s offensive coaching staff have experience at Texas Tech and with the basis of UA’s spread offense. But no one among the group of line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, inside receivers coach Garret Chachere, running backs coach Seth Littrell and outside receivers coach Dave Nichol has experience calling plays at this level.

Bedenbaugh carries the additional title of running game coordinator.

Too bad Stoops’ pal from his Oklahoma days, Chuck Long, was hired by new Kansas coach Turner Gill last month. Long was out of coaching last season after being fired as head coach of San Diego State. Long and Darrell Wyatt, an assistant at Arizona in 2007, will be co-coordinators with the Jayhawks. Could either be pried loose?

What about this as a possibility: Josh Heupel. He, too, has no experience in play-calling, but Oklahoma’s quarterbacks coach, who will be 32 in March, is considered a rising star in the profession.

Heupel spent the 2005 season at Arizona as the tight ends coach before jumping back to Oklahoma, where he has coached quarterbacks (including 2008 Heisman winner Sam Bradford) for the past four seasons. He quarterbacked the Sooners to the 2000 national title.

Dykes’ departure would be the second big blow for the Arizona offense in the past week. Tight end Rob Gronkowski announced Friday he was leaving early to enter the NFL Draft.

Still, Arizona loses only two seniors starters on offense — receiver Terrell Turner and left tackle Mike Diaz.

Pete Carroll‘s decision to leave USC for the Seattle Seahawks could adversely affect Arizona.

The Trojans went out and hired Lane Kiffin from Tennessee, which brought in Derek Dooley from Louisiana Tech, which will announce the hiring of Wildcats’ offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes this afternoon, according to NewOrleans.com.

Louisiana Tech has called a news conference for 4 p.m. Tucson time this afternoon.

One of Dykes’ first coaching jobs, in 1998, was as a receivers coach at Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe), which is about 40 minutes away from Louisiana Tech’s campus in Ruston.

If Dykes leaves, that would put Arizona in the unusual position of having to replace both coordinators in the same season. Defensive coordinator Mark Stoops left for the same position to Florida State. Head coach Mike Stoops moved quickly and painlessly to hire Greg Brown from Colorado to be co-coordinator with well-respected linebackers coach Tim Kish.

Chris Gronkowski in a 2008 workout/Tucson Citizen photo

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski said one of the appeals of jumping to the NFL right now is a chance to play in the league — perhaps even on the same team — with one of his brothers.

Dan Gronkowski, who attended Maryland, spent last season with the Detroit Lions, appearing in two games. Chris Gronkowski, a fullback/H-back/tight end hybrid, just completed his final season of eligibility at Arizona.

We all know Rob has first-round talent — although his back injury, depth of this year’s talent pool and the lack of draft importance applied to his position might keep him out of the first round — but what kind of a prospect is Chris?

For sure, he’s going to get a chance.

“There are a bunch of different reports,” Chris said Friday, attending the news conference in which his brother declared early for the NFL Draft. “But I’ve heard as high as fourth to free agent. So, it’s all over the place. I just have to work hard, show what I’ve got, pretty much just get noticed.

“Hopefully, I can get a little help from Rob in getting noticed.”

Chris’ appeal to the NFL is his versatility as a guy who can fill some of those unsung roles on offense — and he can block and catch. He was never a focus of the Arizona spread offense, but he showed he could be a threat as a junior, when he had eight receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Arizona went more to an outside passing game this past season — mostly because of Rob’s season-long back injury — which diminished Chris’ touches, as well. He had four catches for 20 yards.

Draft analyst Rob Rang, of NFLDraftScout.com, said he sees Chris “as more of an undrafted free agent type right now.” He adds that Chris has value because of his ability to fill multiple spots and be a special teams player because he runs well.

“Certainly, the versatility is appealing,” Rang said. “I could see him getting some interest. You know he has versatile skills and he’s going to play hard.”

Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski made it official Friday morning, announcing at a news conference he had decided to enter the NFL Draft.

Gronkowski missed all of last season because of a back injury that required surgery, but he recently began working out again and hopes to participate at near full health for the NFL scouting combine that is held Feb. 24 to March 2 in Indianapolis. Gronkowski and Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, who missed last season because of a knee injury, are considered the two most talented tight ends in the draft.

Press conference video:
Gronk talks about the jump to NFL
UA coach Mike Stoops: “When you saw him healthy, he was a very dominant player”

Gronkowski could have applied for a medical redshirt at Arizona, so he leaves behind two years of eligibility.

He said Friday he has hired powerhouse sports agent Drew Rosenhaus.

“The hardest part about leaving is leaving the UA family here at Arizona. The atmosphere for football is unbelievable here,” said Gronkowski, flanked by his parents, Gordon and Diane, and his brother Chris, an NFL hopeful after completing his eligibility at Arizona as a fullback/H-back.

“I really wish I could have done more for the team this year,” Rob continued. “It was really frustrating sitting on the sideline with an injury. I missed playing football so bad, I didn’t know what to do. … I’m going to bounce back from injury. I’m good to go. I’m feeling great.”

Rob Gronkowski breaks away from Cal defenders for a touchdown in a 2008 game/Tucson Citizen photo

Gronkowski said he has been cleared by Dr. Robert G. Watkins III, who performed his September surgery, and renowned Dr. James Andrews, who reviewed Gronkowski’s case.

Gronkowski couldn’t guarantee he would be able to do everything at the combine, but said he was confident that he would be able to work out for scouts at some point before the draft.

“I’m not sure if I am going to be ready for the combine,” he said. “If I’m not 100 percent and I don’t feel like I’m ready to go, then I might just do interviews down there. Or, if I’m ready, I might just run a 40. Or I might be ready for the whole thing.

“It’s basically whatever my doctors say I can do there. But I’m definitely going to be ready before the draft. I’m going to be 100 percent. … I’m going to wow the teams.”

More on TucsonCitizen.com:
What kind of prospect is Chris Gronkowski?
Gronkowski going in first round could be a reach
Scott Terrell: An ode to Gronk