Bri Matthews, a sophomore pitcher at Mater Dei High School who recently committed to the University of Arizona, committed suicide Thursday night, according to a story in the Orange County Register.

Matthews was 16.

“We’re devastated and shocked,” said Arizona coach Mike Candrea, whose team is in Cathedral City, Calif., for a tournament. “Right now, we just want to do whatever we can to comfort the family.

“She was a bright young lady. You search for answers. You don’t know why. It just kind of shocks the softball world.”

According to a coroner’s report on Friday afternoon, the manner of suicide was “by ligature hanging,” according to the Register.

Matthews was one of two star sophomore pitchers from California who had committed to Arizona, the other being Nancy Bowling from Royal High in Simi. They were teammates last summer for the Orange County Batbusters, one of the elite travel ball teams in the country. Even at their young age, Matthews and Bowling pitched in the 18-and-under ASA Gold Championships, the top event of the summer.

Matthews, according to the Register, was 14-4 with a 0.98 ERA for Mater Dei, in Santa Ana. She struck out 138 in 107 innings.

Matthews had attended Candrea’s softball camp last December and had been scouted by the coaching staff, including pitching coach Teresa Wilson.

“We were very excited,” Candrea said. “And we’re very saddened right now.”

(An earlier version of the story withheld Candrea’s comments until UA received NCAA clearance to allow the coach to speak about an unsigned athlete.)

Our pals at NFLDraftScout.com are on the scene at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and were kind enough to send us Thursday’s group interview transcript with ex-Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski.

(You can find the work of NFLDraftScout.com on CBSSports.com and they also publish information on other platforms, such as USA Today.)

A couple of things about the interview with Gronkowski, who talked with TucsonCitizen.com on Monday. He was more definite Thursday about not working out at the UA Pro Day on March 12, waiting until the end of the month for an individual workout. That March 26 workout was still being finalized on Monday.

And, assuming the transcript (done by the Arizona Republic’s Kent Somers) is correct, I have no idea why he referred to UA as “Arizona University.”

Anyway … on to the transcript, which is available here on the internet before anyone else:

Q. What do you bring to the table?
A. “Being a true tight end, being able to block, being able to go out for passes, being able to catch the ball.”

Q. How’s the back?
A. “My back is holding up great. It’s 100 percent now. No pain. I’ve never felt this great in a while. I’m ready to go with my back. My back is 100 percent.”

Q. Upper back, lower?
A. “It was L-2, L-3, lumbar spine, lower back.”

Q. What did they do in surgery?
A. “It was a microdisectomy. Basically, the doctor shaves off the disc that’s sticking out on to your spinal cord. It’s a real minimal invasive surgery, it’s a real easy process, but it takes about three to five months recovery rate. It’s been more than five months but I’m ready to go.”

Q. Hearing a lot of questions about your back?
A. “I’m definitely facing some but handling it well. I’m going to be 100 percent because I’ve been cleared by many doctors. There really are no issues about my back any more.”

Q. Can you walk us through the process about whether to come out after your junior year?
A. “It was definitely a tough decision. Leaving the Arizona family was hard; it was definitely a family there. Great atmosphere. Great football. I always wanted to play in the NFL. It was always a dream of mine and I wanted to fulfill my dream. When I have an opportunity, I step on board. I don’t like waiting around. Those were definitely the two biggest decisions.”

Q. Did the injury prompt you to go or were you just ready?
A. “Going into my junior year, I definitely felt I was going to be ready. That was my goal. That’s why I chose to go to Arizona University because I knew Arizona University was going to be a place to get me to the next level.”

Q. What do you want to accomplish at the combine?
A. “Definitely prove that I’m medically sound. I believe I passed everything today with flying colors. It was real easy. I’m only benching here. I wanted to have a great interview process. It’s been going well so far.”

Q. If you are 100 percent healthy, why aren’t you taking part in drills at the combine?
A. “My back is 100 percent. I just started running two, three weeks ago. I need to get my conditioning back. Get all my times back. Every single week my speed is improving but I feel like I need two, three more weeks until it improves to where it was before my back surgery.
My doctors and I, my agents and I, talked and we decided it would be best to work out the end of March. The pro day (at Arizona) is March 12 but I’ll probably have an individual pro day at the end of march in Tucson.”

Q. So when will your pro day be?
A. “We’re still working on it but we’re going for March 26.”

Q. What kind of player is an NFL team going to get?
A. “They are going to get a tough, physical player who likes to do the dirty work and likes to make big plays down the field.”

Q. Any goal for the 40?
A. “4.6′s. That’s what I’m going for.”

Q. Is your dad responsible for your skills?
A. “I guess. I’ll give him credit. The genes. Thanks, dad.”

Q. Why did you think Arizona would prepare you for the NFL?
A. “They showed me how they wanted to use me. The blocking schemes we had, lots of power which is used big-time in the NFL. Just teaching me about receiving. They helped me out a lot and it definitely got me to where I am.”

Q. Blocking?
A. “A lot of teams say my blocking’s good and a lot of teams say my blocking needs improving. I believe I had some great games blocking, I also believe I had some all right games blocking. I definitely need work in that area.”

Q. Where do you rank in this class of tight ends?
A. “I believe I rank right up in the top 3, if not No. 1.”

Q. Height, weight?
A. “6-6, and 264 pounds.”

Q. What did your brother Dan tell you about preparing for the draft?
A. “He gave me a lot of advice. We went over plays, how the interviews will be. He just basically mentally prepared me to do well.”

Q. Tell us about the sibling rivalry. Your brother, Chris, didn’t get invited to the combine but could get drafted. (He also went to Arizona, a fullback).
A. “Growing up, there was big fights in the house, big competitions. We would always be playing sports, basketball, mini-baseball in the backyard. We were always competitive. I believe that’s why my family is to where it is now, with the help of us brothers pushing each other.”

Q. Do you pattern game after someone?
A. “I don’t pattern my game after, ‘Oh, I’m like that guy.’ Jeremy Shockey brings some intensity to the table. Tony Gonzalez is a great tight end. I like watching those two guys a lot. I respect their game, big time.”

Q. How did Arizona use you?
A. “At Arizona, I spread out at wide receiver, I was in the slot a lot and I put my hand down next to the tackle a lot. I probably put my hand down about 50 percent of the time.”

Q. Your greatest skill?
A. “My hands. I believe I have great hands. I’ll catch anything in my path. I would say I’m the top tight end because I bring the whole package. I’m ready to take on the big D-ends. I’m ready to go out there and catch some passes.”

Q. Tell us about Chris, your brother.
A. “He graduated from Arizona. He didn’t get invited here. He’s out training with me in Miami. He signed with Drew Rosenhaus, too. He’s doing great. He’s in the greatest shape of his life. He’s as strong as he ever been. He’s faster than he’s ever been. He’s going to impress some people when it comes down to his pro day.”

Q. Why are all-around tight ends so rare?
A. “There are some great receiving tight ends out there and there are some great blocking tight ends but the greatest ever can usually do both.”

Q. You moved to Pittsburgh before your senior year. It seemed to work out?
A. “It came out well. My goal was to get to the National Football League and going to Pittsburgh, there is some great football down there, some great coaches, a lot of great players on my team and some great coaches. It ended up being great.”

Q. Where do you want to be picked?
A. “My goal has always been to be a first-round tight end.”

Q. How much thought have you put into who needs tight ends?
A. “A lot. A lot of agents gave me a sheet, who needs tight ends the most, who doesn’t.”

Q. You grew up in Buffalo, were you a big Bills fan?
A. “Yes. That was my No. 1 team. Since I was right outside of Buffalo I always watched the Bills.”

Arizona freshman forward Kevin Parrom will miss this week’s games at Cal and Stanford because of a foot injury, sports information official Richard Paige confirmed in a text message.

Arizona was expected to release more information Thursday afternoon after the team’s shootaround in advance of the game against the league-leading Golden Bears on ESPN. Cal is a 12-point favorite.

(UPDATE: UA did indeed send out a press release, which had this to say about the foot injury: ” All medical tests to this point have been negative, but the UA medical staff wants to ensure a safe and pain-free return to participation.”)

Arizona says Parrom is out indefinitely.

Freshman Solomon Hill, who had been a starter before Parrom’s emergence, figures to be the new starter for coach Sean Miller. Parrom missed the first 10 games of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot, the same one in which he is experiencing pain, albeit in a different part of the foot.

Oddly, the news of Parrom’s absence from the trip first appeared on tweets from Arizona players, and Parrom later updated his Facebook status to reflect the fact he was in class.

Parrom is averaging 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes. He has played in 16 games, starting nine.

Jerome Randle

Arizona coach Sean Miller, whose team desperately needs a win after losing four of five games, will play the two leading candidates for Pac-10 Player of the Year this week.

First up is Cal senior point guard Jerome Randle on Thursday.

“Jerome Randle is one of my favorite players that plays in the Pac-10. I love watching him play from an offensive perspective. I don’t know if there are many guards who bring to the table what he does at Cal,” Miller said on Tuesday’s Pac-10 coaches conference call with reporters.

“I mean, his shooting percentage is remarkable when you look at what he has shot from the 3 throughout his career and this year what he shoots from the foul line. The way he can shoot inside the arc for such a small player, and the way he makes his teammates better, he’s a really, really special player.”

Arizona held Randle to a quiet night in this season’s first meeting. Randle scored 15 points, but was just 5 of 14 from the field, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range.

But his UA counterpart, senior Nic Wise (another sub-6-foot point guard), knows the danger. Randle scored a then-career-high 31 against Arizona late last season, drilling 8 of 11 3-pointers.

This season, Randle is shooting 92 percent from the free throw line (104 of 113) and is shooting 40.9 percent from behind the arc, which is right at his career accuracy.

He is averaging 19.1 points and 4.2 assists in conference games, and he’d be a fine choice for league player of the year, especially because coaches tend to give extra weight to players who are on teams that win the league … or are in strong contention.

Cal, at 10-5 in the league, enters the week with a half-game lead over Arizona State (9-5).

Stanford senior forward Landry Fields leads the league in scoring (21.2 points per game in league play, which is the fairest way to compare players) and Randle is second. Fields is second in rebounding (8.5) and Randle is third in assists.

Fields had 31 points and 11 rebounds in Stanford’s loss at Arizona last month.

“I’ll put those two guys up against any players in the country in any conference in terms of their ability level at their respective positions and their experience,” Miller said. “They are both terrific, terrific players who deserve national recognition.”

Miller also mentioned Washington senior forward Quincy Pondexter “in that same category,” but it’s Randle and Fields who are the leading contenders for the Pac-10′s top honor.

And Arizona has to go through both to get back on track after losing four of five games since beating Cal on Jan. 31.

Rob Gronkowski will wait until later to do a full workout for NFL scouts/Tucson Citizen photo

Former Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski isn’t ready to show his stuff for scouts. He will head to the NFL combine on Wednesday scheduled to only do the bench press and the full round of interviews.

Gronkowski, who missed all of his junior season because of back surgery and then declared early for the draft, has been training in Miami at the Bommarito Performance Systems. He has been sprinting and running routes.

“As far as my back and my health, I’m definitely 100 percent,” Gronkowski said by phone Monday.

“I’m just getting my legs back into it. Strength-wise, endurance-wise, I just want to be 100 percent. I’m probably about 90 percent. I’m going to be doing the bench press at the combine, and I will show off all my stuff on a different day.”

That day could be the UA’s Pro Day in Tucson on March 12, when scouts will come in to check out all of Arizona’s prospects. Or it could come later in March in a Tucson workout for scouts.

Gronkowski’s dad, Gordy, said that his son’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, advised the family to not work out too soon.

“They want him crisp, they want him sharp,” Gordy said. “They say, ‘Don’t rush in if you don’t have to.’”

In the meantime, Rosenhaus’ staff has been preparing Rob on a different front — testing Rob on NFL game film and reading defenses, as well as running him through interview scenarios. NFL personnel tend to ask anything and everything to gauge reactions, critical thinking and character.

“Teams want smart, intelligent football players,” Gronkowski said. “The interviews are going to be a big part of it for me because that is all I’m going to be participating in, really, at the combine.

“I have sat down with many experts, former players and the people our agent hires to help us out. I’m confident my interview skills will be good there.”

His brother, Dan, a former tight end at Maryland who played in two games as a rookie with the Detroit Lions last season, also has been giving advice. Dan went to the combine last season and has spent the past couple of weeks in Miami, helping Rob break down NFL schemes.

Chris Gronkowski, a fullback who completed his eligibility at Arizona last season, also has been working out in Miami. He was not invited to the combine in Indianapolis, although he is considered a draft prospect and will work out at the UA Pro Day.

Gordy said, in terms of the physical tests, Chris is exceeding the numbers posted by fullbacks at last year’s combine.

“His times are unbelievable right now,” Rob said.

Two other former Wildcats will work out at the combine — defensive tackle Earl Mitchell and cornerback Devin Ross.

More coverage from TucsonCitizen.com:
Press conference video: Gronkowski talks about his jump to the NFL
Scott Terrell, UASports.net: An ode to Gronk

The Arizona Wildcats basketball team will have one more late start and one early start to close out the regular season.

Times and television have been set for the final home weekend — UCLA on March 4 and USC on March 6. Fox Sports Net will nationally televise the UCLA game beginning at 8:30 p.m. Tucson time. The USC game will begin at 11:30 a.m., with Fox Sports Arizona and KWBA-TV having the telecast.

Arizona is 9-5 at home, including a 4-3 home mark in conference games.

Now that I’ve had time to digest Arizona’s loss to Arizona State, catch up on my Olympic curling and have a couple of cups of coffee, here are five thoughts on UA basketball:

Derrick Williams was the lone UA player to speak to the media after the painful loss to Arizona State / Photo by Wildcat Sports Report

1. Don’t blame Sean Miller just because he sat at the table when the bill was due.

Players leaving early, lost recruiting classes, two years of interim head coaches, all kinds of off-court drama, four systems in four seasons … none of this is Miller’s fault.

Amid all the uncertainty, Arizona duct-taped together NCAA Tournament seasons in each of the past two years, thanks to NBA talents such as Jerryd Bayless, Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger.

Miller has a down-the-road NBA prospect in freshman Derrick Williams, who has to play out of position right now at center.

Take a look at an 18-year span of Arizona hoops, from 1987-88 to 2004-05. Amazingly, the Wildcats were no worse than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament in all but two of those seasons.

Could Nic Wise have started for any of those teams? No.

Kyle Fogg? Definitely not.

Kevin Parrom? He’d probably be redshirting.

Jamelle Horne? He’d be a Gumby.

Derrick Williams? Yeah, he might have started for a few of those teams, but he mostly would have had to get behind a veteran in the frontcourt rotation.

Point is, let’s not kid ourselves about the talent Miller inherited.

2. Miller’s media policy needs tweaking.

Miller is definitely a “control the message” kind of coach, allowing no regular one-on-one interviews, very limited access to assistant coaches, no open locker room … with nearly everything funneled through those face-the-cameras news conferences that don’t inspire in-depth discussions.

I know, I know. This will come across as a media whine. But when only Williams, a freshman, is made available after Sunday’s loss to Arizona State, the real losers are the fans who might be interested in a range of emotions and explanations.

As it is now, pretty much everybody — from the Arizona Daily Star, to the TucsonCitizen.com Sports Network, to the local TV stations, to the websites — has the same audio and video in the same antiseptic environment.

Miller doesn’t have to open the locker room (although Lute Olson did for much of his time at Arizona, other than when he was mad at the media), but he also doesn’t have to insist on the press conference setting, either.

As was the case for years, several players could be made available on the court or in a room in McKale during weekly interview times, allowing for less-informal — and better — discussions.

In those cases, as a media member, you could work on stories or angles that didn’t have to be shared with all your competitors. And the fans received cumulative deeper coverage to help satisfy their passion.

3. I can’t hate Nic Wise.

He’s not the ultimate leader or the ultimate point guard. He’s not headed to the NBA.

In the past three seasons, he’s had to play minutes far above his skill level, and he hasn’t always made the play. But he’s certainly not afraid to take a big shot. He’s made a few of them, too.

Bottom line: The season would have been disaster without him.

4. Let’s put Arizona’s chances in the Pac-10 tournament at 14.3 percent.

I’m still bullish on UA’s ability to pull it all together and get hot in the Pac-10 tournament, where a championship would earn a ticket to the NCAAs.

Let’s break it down. USC is out because of self-imposed sanctions. Oregon isn’t good enough to compete. I don’t like Stanford’s depth or its road record.

That leaves seven teams of fairly equal ability, with the capacity to get hot or to really stink. Let’s give them equal 1-in-7 chances … or 14.3 percent.

5. It will once again be an Arizona-UCLA league.

Miller is lucky in this sense: He came into the Pac-10 not having to chase any program.

He doesn’t have to play catch-up on the court or on the recruiting trail to a UCLA program in the midst of three consecutive Final Four appearances. The Bruins have struggled right along with the Wildcats this season.

Arizona State should be more-than-solid for years to come, although the program has a lower ceiling than UCLA or Arizona. Washington hasn’t shown staying power. Cal might win its first Pac-10 title in 50 years, but will lose four seniors.

Other teams will rise and fall, but only UCLA and Arizona have dynasty potential. And they will go into next season neck-and-neck in the race to get back to the top.

Trying a little something different from courtside at the Arizona-Arizona State basketball game this afternoon. FoxSportsArizona.com invited TucsonCitizen.com to participate in a live chat, similar to what it did for the team’s first meeting this season.

Steve Rivera originally was scheduled to be the guest chatter, but I’m pinch-hitting for Steve this afternoon, so jump on in once the game tips off and ask any questions you have about the teams of Sean Miller and Herb Sendek.

ASU should read in no bias that I listed Miller first. Let’s just say it was alphabetical order.

When FoxSportsArizona.com held a chat for the team’s first meeting, ex-Cat Joseph Blair and ex-Devil Kyle Dodd offered their opposing views. I can’t claim their basketball experience, as my brush with basketball greatness came when I played a game of H-O-R-S-E here at McKale more than 20 years ago with Steve Kerr, while he was rehabbing from his knee surgery.

No surprise, he won. The kicker: He was shooting left-handed. He’s good.

Would you vote for Jerryd Bayless (Phoenix St. Mary's) as the best high basketball player in Arizona history?/Tucson Citizen photo

That is the question asked Saturday by the Arizona Republic’s Richard Obert, who makes the case that Corey Hawkins, a senior guard from Goodyear Estrella Foothills High school, deserves to be in the discussion.

Hawkins will play at Arizona State next season.

The poll at azcentral.com lists Hawkins, along with Mike Bibby, Sean Elliott, Fat Lever, Jerryd Bayless, Richard Jefferson and Mark Alarie (as well as a “someone else” option).

As of Saturday mid-afternoon, Hawkins was leading the voting. He recently passed Bibby’s career state scoring record.

I’m sticking with Bibby as my selection, although my sentimental pick is Alarie, if only because he was a senior at Phoenix Brophy in the early 1980s when I was a freshman. He had some epic prep battles against 7-footer Brad Lohaus from Phoenix Greenway (usually winning those head-to-head matchups), and then went on to help launch Mike Krzyzewski‘s program at Duke.

Anyway, with four ex-Arizona Wildcats on the list, as well as two local candidates in Elliott (Cholla High) and Lever (Pueblo), I thought the TucsonCitizen.com readership might want to have their say in the voting.

So … check it out at azcentral.com.

More on Hawkins from TucsonCitizen.com from January:
Unrated ASU recruit out to prove he is the best player in the state

Sean Miller has been preaching about effort this week/Photo by Wildcat Sports Report

It’s as Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller was saying the other day. “The dynamics of a team change in a week, let alone a few.”

UA fans were ecstatic at end of January after a win over Cal gave Arizona a share of the Pac-10 lead. Nic Wise for Pac-10 Player of the Year! Sean Miller for Pac-10 Coach of the Year! NCAA Tournament here we come!

And then UA fans — and Miller — were seriously bummed two weeks later after the Wildcats had dropped three of four games, including one at home at Oregon State last Saturday. What’s wrong with Wise? Did we really just get swept by Washington State AND Oregon State? What in the name of Ben Lindsey is going on here?

The team’s dynamics — its fortunes — didn’t exactly change overnight. It took all of a fortnight.

But if the outlook quickly changed for the worst, it can change for the best.

Nothing has fundamentally changed from the Arizona team that was hot a few weeks ago. Perhaps the players’ heads swelled a few sizes too big. Perhaps they lost focus. It happens. More importantly, it happened. Past tense.

How Arizona reacts is all that matter now.

“This is a resilient group,” Miller said Thursday. “I want them to be resilient. It’s the coaches who are miserable to no end.”

The cure: Take two aspirin and beat Arizona State on Sunday.

“There is going to be a lot more fire,” promised junior forward Jamelle Horne.

Here’s the deal. With Oregon State’s upset victory over first-place Cal on Thursday night — maybe the Beavers aren’t so bad, after all — Arizona controls its fate in the Pac-10 race.

Arizona is tied with UCLA for fourth with a 7-6 league record. The Wildcats still have to play the Bruins, as well as Cal (9-5) and the teams tied for second at 8-5 (ASU and USC).

Arizona also plays at Stanford.

I’m not saying the Wildcats can or will win all five games, but if they did … well, they would win the regular-season title in the Pac-10. That’s just the simple math.

“People have asked, ‘Coach are you going to be able to pick everyone up off the mat?’” Miller said. “We’ve been doing that from day one. We’ve never not been on the mat. We’ve had a tough loss; we’ve worked hard to respond. …

“To be at our very best at the end has always been our goal.”

Yes, Wise has been slumping, neither shooting well nor setting up his teammates. Kyle Fogg forget how to shoot, then didn’t want to play defense against Oregon State. Horne is an enigma. Just about everyone else is a freshman.

You expected these guys to be good every game?

Certainly, Miller didn’t expect that, but the lack of grit and toughness that was evident against Oregon State could drive him to madness … or for him to set him alarm clock earlier.

Miller tried to get everyone’s attention with a 6 a.m. practice Monday.

“I just wanted to make sure that the guys understood that there is a responsibility that we have as a team,” Miller said.

We’ll find out Sunday if the message was received. Lucky for him, the team had a week off to practice, to think about the lack of effort and teamwork against Oregon State and to get fired up to sweep ASU.

This will be a test of Arizona’s pride, a chance to re-change the dynamics. Whatcha got, Cats?

More basketball coverage from TucsonCitizen.com:
Trade could be good for first-round ‘bust’ Jordan Hill
Yes, Sean Miller really does expect you to stay in a defensive stance
Miller: Entitlement not a good thing