Can he get his secondary to play like this? Ryan Walters causes a fumble from Arizona State tight end Brent Miller in a 2007 game in Tempe.
Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE.

When Mike Stoops was hired to coach the Arizona Wildcats after the 2003 season, Ryan Walters was a senior quarterback. In high school.

Now, Walters is Stoops’ secondary coach.

It took a strange set of circumstances to make it happen, but Walters, at age 25, was officially announced Monday as Arizona’s new secondary coach after spending one season as a graduate assistant with the Cats.

“To be able to do this at the age I am is a humbling experience and very gratifying,” he said.

“It speaks a lot to Mike’s confidence in me. I don’t want to let him down, the fans down, the players down. I am working tirelessly to be the best defensive backs coach I can be.”

(more…)

Arizona will try to get things righted this week against the Oregon schools.
Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona, after being swept at USC and UCLA last week, dropped from 10th to 18th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and in the AP media poll.

I would have thought the Wildcats (23-6) would have dropped further.

As it is, they are the only Pac-10 team in the poll. UCLA, tied with Arizona for the league lead at 12-4, ranks 28th in the coaches poll.

The Wildcats’ record still looks nice, and being tied for the conference lead counts for something. But coach Sean Miller’s team still lacks a signature road victory (winning at Washington State and Cal was nice, but it hardly moves the national needle).

To me, Arizona is more of a fringe-y Top 25 team with a resume that probably doesn’t merit inclusion in the polls. But that’s the state of college basketball this season. There is an excess of teams in that same boat … and some of them have to get ranked.

Not that the rankings mean all that much anyway.

The two losses caused everyone to re-evaluate these Wildcats, but they can still deliver at least a share of the Pac-10 title by beating Oregon State and Oregon at home this week. And that would be a fine accomplishment for Miller in his second season … no matter what the rankings say.

Arizona appeared on 50 of 65 ballots in the AP poll. The team’s highest ranking came from Roger Clarkson of the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald; he put the Cats at No. 12. Check out all the individual votes for Arizona at pollspeak.com

Madera Canyon on Sunday morning.

I awoke to a tap on the shoulder a little after 7 a.m., my wife exhorting me to look outside.

Really? Do I have to?

We had slipped out of Tucson with our 9-year son for a 48-hour jaunt to Madera Canyon — although I returned to the TucsonCitizen.com office on Saturday to write the Arizona-UCLA game blog — hoping to enjoy some hiking and cooler temperatures.

But even knowing that we were under a winter storm advisory, and having heard howling winds during the night, I wasn’t prepared to sit up, put on my glasses, look out the window and see … snow!

There was about four inches of the soft stuff outside the cabin, always a thrill for long-time desert dwellers (and a certain 9-year-old who has lived most of his life in Tucson).

Let’s just say we need some help with our snowman-making skills.

In any case, we got some unexpected memories and a couple of hours in the snow before making the short journey back to Tucson.

Here are some more photos from Madera Canyon:

(more…)

Walters

It’s not much of a secret, but Arizona Wildcats coach Mike Stoops will soon officially announce Ryan Walters as his new secondary coach.

The official announcement could come as soon as Monday.

Walters, 25, will be moving from the graduate assistant’s role to the full-time position. He arrived at Arizona last year with then-new secondary coach Greg Brown, who came from Colorado.

When Brown left after the 2010 season to return to the Buffaloes for new coach Jon Embree, Stoops made a widely heralded move by luring Duana Akina from Texas. But Akina, who spent 14 seasons as an assistant to Dick Tomey at Arizona, lasted only a few weeks on the job before returning to his old position in Austin, citing family reasons.

(more…)

Arizona saw too much of this from Reeves Nelson and UCLA. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US PRESSWIRE

Arizona comes up empty on its road trip to the Los Angeles schools, as UCLA finishes off the Wildcats 71-49 on Saturday afternoon.

Good thing Arizona had that two-game lead in the Pac-10 heading into this week’s games.

That advantage is now gone.

The Wildcats and Bruins are tied for the conference lead at 12-4 — and with young teams, these traditional powerhouses are poised to lead the Pac-10 … well, Pac-12 … back to prominence in the near future.

In the meantime, the problem for the Wildcats has been the inability to defend the interior. Some of that is size-related, but coach Sean Miller will also point to effort and discipline.

UCLA’s Reeves Nelson had a career-high 27 points against Arizona, as well as 16 rebounds. That follows games in which big men Matthew Bryan-Amaning and USC’s Nikola Vucevic exposed the Wildcats’ ineffectiveness in the post.

Arizona returns home next week to play the Oregon schools. UCLA has to go to the Washington schools.

Given the schedule, the Wildcats have the edge over the Bruins. If Arizona takes care of business at home, it will have no worse than a share of the Pac-10 title and will get to celebrate in Tucson.

That’s not so bad, is it?

* * *

Tweets Jody Oehler of 1490-AM: “If Jimmer Fredette and Reeves Nelson ever played on the same team, they’d beat Arizona by 70.”

* * *

No comeback here. UCLA is up 66-48. This was going to be a tough game for Arizona — with UCLA’s final home game at Pauley Pavilion before a renovation and first place in the Pac-10 on the line — but getting blown out will not serve the Wildcats well when it comes time for NCAA seeding.

* * *

Arizona got within single digits at 57-48, but big Josh Smith tips in a rebound for UCLA with 4:01 to play to push the lead back to 11. Time is ticking away, and the Wildcats haven’t yet shown the offensive punch to rally late.

* * *

Arizona has seven assists after having only two at USC. The Cats will just barely get over double-digits in assists (probably) for the weekend.

After Arizona’s loss at USC, the Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy wrote about UA’s lack of a true point guard.

MoMo Jones can score at times, and he’s usually fearless at the end of games. He’s hit some big shots in his two season at Arizona. So, credit for that. But he’s really only a point guard in the sense that he brings the ball up court. When Arizona gets into its half-court offense, Kyle Fogg is as much the point guard, if not more.

Point guard by-committee usually isn’t the best way to win in March.

(more…)

Arizona coach Sean Miller saw plenty of scary things from his team Thursday night. Photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

You know what happens after a loss: The rationalizing about the loss.

“I think it was good that we lost,” Arizona Wildcats sophomore forward Derrick Williams was quoted as saying by the L.A. Daily News following a 65-57 loss at USC on Thursday night.

“We were getting big-headed and we needed to come back to earth. It was good for us.”

Which is not the same thing as saying it was a good loss.

The eight-game winning streak to the top of the Pac-10 was a nice ride. Arizona got some favorable bounces — and one hellacious blocked shot — along the way. Being ranked in the Top 10 this week was nice and good publicity for the program, but let’s face it:

You’ve probably been following the Wildcats for some time. You know what a Top 10 team looks like. I know what a Top 10 team looks like. This team, on most nights, doesn’t play like a Top 10 team, even in victory.

(more…)

Everything was just a bit off-kilter for Jesse Perry and Arizona against USC.
Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The eight-game winning streak is over. Derrick Williams has a rare substandard shooting night, and the rest of the Wildcats can’t pick up the slack. USC wins 65-57, pulling away with late free throws.

Arizona falls to 23-5 overall and 12-3 in the Pac-10.

* * *

Shots just haven’t fallen. Kevin Parrom drives to the hoop but can’t hit the layup. Arizona corrals the rebound, but Derrick Williams misses a 3-pointer.

After a foul, USC makes two free throws with a 63-57 lead with 10.3 seconds left.

* * *

Kyle Fogg hits 1 of 2 free throws with 40.7 seconds left. Arizona just 3 of 6 from the line in the past three minutes. USC up 60-57.

* * *

USC swats MoMo Jones on back-to-back possessions, and the Trojans take a 60-56 lead with 58.2 seconds left.

* * *

Nikola Vucevic has been a handful in the lane, and his two free throws ties the game at 56 with 2:37 to play. He has four fouls. Derrick Williams has three.

* * *

Here we go. Under 4 minutes to play. Arizona is up 54-50. Jesse Perry has a team-high 11 points for the Wildcats. Didn’t see that one coming.

* * *

Buckle up for a close finish. I won’t say “thrilling” because this game has been far from it. But, really, it’s mostly what you should have expected — low-scoring and tight. Remember, oddsmakers had USC as a one-point favorite. Arizona leads 46-44 with 7:30 to go.

(more…)

Kevin Parrom never makes it easy for opponents around the basket.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller landed a one-on-one interview with Arizona Wildcats sophomore Kevin Parrom this week.

You can read the full interview here (and, of course, we encourage you to do so), but here is an excerpt:

Q: A year ago at this time Arizona was 13-13 and it was becoming clear your NCAA Tournament streak was going to end. What’s changed?

A: “We’re more of a team. We have a lot chemistry. Guys know their roles. When they come in, they know what they have to do. And then, we just get Derrick the ball. I mean, he’s the most efficient player in college basketball right now. He either scores or he gets fouled and goes to the free throw line and scores. We work everything through him, and if they double-team him, then we have some great guards on our team like myself, Solomon Hill and Lamont Jones that can knock down shots.”

(more…)

Derrick Williams has a lot of nifty moves around the basket.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Before he turned 1 year old, Derrick Williams was shooting a ball at a toy basketball hoop. Probably not long after that he was dunking and swatting a jump shot from a rival toddler into the kitchen.

Or maybe it just seems that way.

The son of Rhoma Moore isn’t all grown up yet — he’s still only 19 years old, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward with the Arizona Wildcats — but life is coming at him fast.

Williams has blossomed into an All-American player. He’s having a season that belongs among the Arizona greats. He’s a potential top five selection in this year’s NBA Draft, should he decide to leave early.

He has a standing reservation on ESPN’s top plays whenever Arizona has a game. He has highlight dunks, a highlight block and a team ranked in the national Top 10.

With his rapidly increasing exposure and accolades, mom sees the same old Derrick.

“A tall, goofy kid,” Moore said. “Just a lovable, big, oversized, goofy kid.”

* * *

(more…)

Showing he can play outside linebacker is the latest hurdle for Brooks Reed.
Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Former Arizona defensive end Brooks Reed passed his first test by performing well in practices at the Senior Bowl.

Now comes his next text — the NFL Scouting Combine.

That got underway today in Indianapolis, with Reed’s groups — the defensive linemen and linebackers — beginning the process on Friday.

Yes, defensive linemen and linebackers.

Reed will do drills with both groups as scouts evaluate whether they like him as a smallish pass-rushing end who plays with his hand on the ground or a bigger pass-rush outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme who plays standing up.

“It’s not very much different,” Reed said in a phone interview last week.

“You’re either rushing the quarterback or you’re going to be covering somebody in the flats, which you sometimes do as a defensive end. It’s not like you’re covering a wide receiver up the seam.”

(more…)