Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne often keeps his hands free in order to use Twitter.
Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Twice in the past couple of months, Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne has released Wildcats football news on Twitter — announcing that Robert Anae was the new offensive line coach and making public that secondary coach Duane Akina was leaving to go back to Texas.

Welcome to the media’s new world.

Byrne, who spoke Wednesday morning on a panel discussion for the College Sports Information Directors of America, said he was initially skeptical of the value of Twitter. He has, however, become a convert, even if his two most high-profile coaches — football coach Mike Stoops and men’s basketball coach Sean Miller — have not.

(You can read the full transcript of the panel discussion at CoSida.com)

Byrne uses Twitter to break news, to inform on events, to give away tickets and to reveal a bit of a personal side. He also has to devote athletic department resources in the compliance office to monitor the activities of Arizona athletes in social media.

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Kevin O'Neill's team sent Derrick Williams to the foul line eight times in the teams' first meeting.
Photo by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

It didn’t take long for Arizona Wildcats forward Derrick Williams to hear what USC coach Kevin O’Neill said after Tuesday’s practice.

Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times, at 8:31 p.m. Tucson time, posted a story on the newspaper’s website about O’Neill calling Williams “the most protected dude I’ve seen since Michael Jordan.”

About an hour later, Williams tweeted: “I don’t get Michael Jordan treatment… Just stop fouling me and we will be good.”

Mentioning Jordan and Williams in the same sentence was not a compliment, as O’Neill was suggesting that referees are calling too many fouls against players trying to guard Williams.

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Sidiki Johnson has returned home to New York City.
ESPN3 screenshot

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller did not express concern Tuesday that forward Sidiki Johnson — one of the team’s three signed high school recruits for next season — has left Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

Johnson has returned home to New York City, where he will finish the academic year at Wadleigh, a public high school in Harlem, N.Y. He will not play basketball there.

“These days, there are so many young kids who leave home to go to school,” Miller said.

“In Sidiki’s case, being able to return home at this time is a really positive thing in his own home life. He returns home to the school, really, in his neighborhood. … It’s in his best interest to return home where he’s from.”

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Tom Savage won nine games as a true freshman starter at Rutgers in 2009.
Photo by Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

I’m not inclined to look up every team — at least right now, maybe in the summer — but Arizona is potentially set up as well at quarterback as any team in the country.

Put it this way: Which other team has proven winners stretched out over the next three seasons?

Other teams might have bigger stars and more five-star recruits waiting in the wings, but the Wildcats’ possibility of having Nick Foles in 2011, followed by Matt Scott and Tom Savage in 2012, and then Savage in 2013 would be a comforting feeling for any program — especially for one whose star-crossed quarterback history coincides with its Rose Bowl-less past.

Savage’s decision last week to transfer from Rutgers to Arizona gives the Wildcats the kind of long-range plan at quarterback they haven’t had since 1997, when Keith Smith was a sophomore and Ortege Jenkins was a freshman.

While those two had to co-exist for a couple of seasons — spectacularly so in 1998 when the Cats went 12-1 — Arizona seems to have a cleaner succession plan this time around.

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Terry Francona managed the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.
Photo by Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Before he managed the Boston Red Sox to two World Series championships, before he managed the Philadelphia Phillies, before he coached up Michael Jordan in the minor leagues, before an injury-plagued major league career, Terry Francona was one splendid outfielder for the University of Arizona.

He was an All-American. The 1980 national player of the year. The MVP of the 1980 College World Series after leading the Wildcats to the national title.

With all he has accomplished with the Red Sox in the past seven seasons, deftly handling the media cauldron and some of the game’s most eccentric characters, it’s sometimes easy to forget all that Francona accomplished at Arizona more than 30 years ago.

Now, those achievements will have a permanent home in the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Francona and six others will be inducted this summer into the Hall, located in Lubbock, Texas.

“When you look at his college career at the University of Arizona, there are few people who achieved more,” said former Wildcats coach Jerry Kindall.

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Derrick Williams goes up for a shot against Washington.
Photo by Monique Fimbers, SuperGold Productions/TucsonCitizen.com

In an announcement as surprising as the sun rising in the East, Arizona Wildcats sophomore Derrick Williams was selected the Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday.

The award was his from the moment he rose up and swatted away the potential game-winning shot from Washington’s Darnell Gant in the final second of Saturday’s game at McKale Center. The Wildcats won 87-86.

Williams finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds vs. the Huskies.

Two nights earlier, the 6-8 forward had 26 points and eight rebounds in a win over Washington State. He was 12 of 12 from the free throw line in that game.

His performance and his clutch play — don’t forget the late 3-pointer against the Huskies — have been earning Williams all kinds of national pats on the back.

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MoMo Jones celebrates the 87-86 victory over Washington on Saturday.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona, winners of eight games in a row, climbed to No. 10 in the AP media poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll on Monday.

The last time the Wildcats were in the Top 10, Lute Olson was still coaching. It was Jan. 8, 2007. Arizona was 10th in the AP poll and eighth in the coaches poll.

That was three head coaches ago.

On that day — Jan. 8, 2007 — Bret Brielmaier, a hard-working reserve power forward, underwent knee surgery. Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger were freshmen. Mustafa Shakur was still running the point.

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Sidiki Johnson is no longer with the prestigious Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill basketball program. ESPN3.com screenshot

Arizona Wildcats basketball signee Sidiki Johnson has left Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., for family reasons, according to Wildcat Sports Report, one of the partners in the TucsonCitizen.com sports network.

Earlier Sunday, Javier Morales of WildAboutAZCats.com, another partner in the TC.com sports network, reached Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith via text message.

Smith confirmed a USA Today report that Johnson is no longer at Oak Hill, but he said Johnson had violated an undisclosed team rule.

“Yes, all I can say,” Smith wrote to Morales.

In a premium post (subscription required) on the message board at WildcatSportsReports.com, Gary Randazzo said he had spoken with Johnson, who said he had to return home to help a family member. WSR has more details, although Randazzo is honoring Johnson’s wishes to keep much of the information private.

Johnson, a 6-9 forward from the Bronx, N.Y., missed much of his senior season because of a foot injury.

Arizona’s Derrick Williams, known for his highlight dunks, has a blocked shot for the ages.

Williams’ emphatic rejection of a potential game-winner from Washington’s Darnell Gant in the final second was the signature play of the Wildcats’ 87-86 victory Saturday at McKale Center.

Question is, goaltending or no goaltending?

Said Arizona coach Sean Miller: “I think that would be a tough call. He really went up and got it at the peak of the shot. That would have been a really tough call to make.”

Which was kind of Miller’s way of saying, “You better not make that call against us at McKale Center.”

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar was on the other side of that no-call, and he said:

“I don’t know if it was goaltending or not. I can’t wait to look at it on film. If I thought it would change the matter, I would be looking at it right now. But it’s not going to change anything whether it was or wasn’t.”

Of course, you can be the judge by watching the ESPN video.

Arizona forward Kevin Parrom (left) congratulates Derrick Williams after Williams' last-second block.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona’s Derrick Williams has won games with his offense. With his right hand, left hand, inside, outside, from the foul line, on the glass.

Add, now, with one shining moment of defense.

On ESPN, in the biggest game of coach Sean Miller’s two seasons with the Wildcats, with Arizona protecting the Pac-10 lead and aiming for a top 10 national ranking, Derrick Williams used his wrapped right hand to swat a potential game-winning shot out of bounds in the final second.

A walk-off block.

That block of Darnell Gant’s short jumper from the right side preserved 12th-ranked Arizona’s 87-86 victory over Washington at McKale Center. The white-clad crowd of 14,619 went wild as the final 0.2 seconds ticked off after a final in-bounds pass, and the Wildcats buried Williams under a celebration pile, with trainer Justin Kokoskie rushing over to hold Williams’ hand — still wrapped to protect what has been called a finger injury — away from the mass of humanity.

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