Garrett Chachere at Wednesday's practice.
Photo by Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Wildcats football team, without any fanfare or announcement, tweaked its offensive coaching staff this spring.

The shuffle moves inside receivers coach Garret Chachere to running backs, puts outside receivers coach Dave Nichol in charge of the inside receivers as well, and frees up coordinator Seth Littrell to focus on play-calling and take a bigger-picture look at the entire offense.

Littrell last season was the running backs coach and shared the coordinator duties with now-departed offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.

“Everybody got a chance to do something they kind of wanted to do,” Chachere said after Wednesday night’s practice.

“It just fit perfectly. It is like anything else, any job you’re in. If you get a new challenge, it kind of gets your batteries charged again. I really have been loving every minute of it.”

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Jake Fischer (left) and Paul Vassallo are two of Arizona's three returning starting linebackers.
Photo by Chris Morrision-US PRESSWIRE

The Arizona Wildcats depth chart at linebacker has taken a hit, as sophomore R.J. Young and redshirt freshman Trevor Erno have left the team.

“We’re working with five linebackers right now,” coach Mike Stoops said after Wednesday’s practice. “Yeah, we’re thin.”

The three starters return — 2010 leading tackler Paul Vassallo, Derek Earls and Jake Fischer. The backups for now are freshman Kyle Benson, a Tempe Corona del Sol graduate who redshirted last season, and senior Bilal Muhammed, who walked-on to the team last August.

The good news?

“We’re two-deep with our nickel package,” Stoops said.

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Greg Nwoko has been Arizona's third-string back in each of the past two seasons.
Photo by Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

The junior season of Arizona Wildcats running back Greg Nwoko is in jeopardy because of a knee injury suffered in a scrimmage last weekend.

“He was just making a cut, trying to elude a tackler,” said Arizona coach Mike Stoops. “Just a freak injury.”

Stoops said the preliminary diagnosis is a torn ACL.

“We’ll see how that progresses, but it looks like it will be a long-term deal with him,” Stoops said. “This looks like a seven-month total injury for him. I would imagine we would get him back at some point during the season, but I would imagine it would be the latter end.”

Senior Keola Antolin is expected to be the lead tailback for the Wildcats; he has rushed for 1,830 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career.

Nwoko, who has been third-string behind Antolin and now-departed Nic Grigsby for the past two years, has been Arizona’s bigger-back option. He was listed at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds last season.

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Nick Foles will be throwing to what should be one of the best receiving corps in the nation.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images.

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles held court for a few reporters after last week’s first spring practice, and he was even more fired up than usual. I’m hoping that energy translates to the internet in this Q&A.

With all the hoops stuff going on, I didn’t get this particularly quickly, but I think there’s still timely stuff here as Foles answered questions from me, Channel 11′s Vinnie Vinzetta and the Arizona Daily Star’s Sarah Trotto.

Foles, a senior, will be entering his third season as the starter, and he will be directing an offense that is focusing more on an up-tempo spread attack this spring.

Arizona has the receivers to make it work, as coach Mike Stoops calls this the best skill players he has had as he enters his eighth season.

Here is Foles:

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Derrick Williams won't be saluting AP voters.
Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats sophomore Derrick Williams was selected a second-team AP All-American on Monday, and I’m guessing the reaction of Wildcats fan is, “What?!”

Followed by words that we translate onto the internet as @#^%&!

Williams’ made a first-team All-American kind of statement with a spectacular NCAA Tournament — which came after winning Pac-10 Player of the Year honors, which came despite playing several weeks with a hand/finger injury.

Here’s the thing: Voting was done before the NCAA Tournament.

And as Arizona coach Sean Miller said Friday at a press conference in Anaheim, Calif., as his team prepared to play in the West regional final, some of the college basketball world was late to wake up to Williams’ wonderful season.

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Arizona fans would miss a lot of things about Derrick Williams, including his dunking.
Photo by Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

The immediate aftermath of a season-ending loss is never a great time to ask a player about his future. But you have to ask. You never know the answer.

But Arizona Wildcats sophomore Derrick Williams wasn’t biting on any such questions after Arizona lost 65-63 to UConn in the West regional final on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

“I’m not answering any questions about that,” he said, sitting in front of his locker at the Honda Center.

“I don’t really care about the NBA right now. As of right now, I’m in school. So it doesn’t matter about the NBA. I haven’t even thought about it. I’m still thinking about the game.”

Williams isn’t apt to make a rash decision. He has until April 24 to declare for the NBA Draft. If he doesn’t hire an agent, he has until May 8 to withdraw from the draft and return to school.

Williams isn’t an on-the-fence prospect. He is and will be projected to be drafted high. Let’s say top five, for sure. Draftexpress.com puts Williams at No. 2 right now.

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Even with foul trouble, Derrick Williams stayed aggressive in the second half, like on this dunk between two UConn players.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Arizona led 18-10 in the first half, was on the attack, had a pro-Wildcat crowd at the Honda Center ready to get louder.

And then UA sophomore Derrick Williams picked up his second foul about 20 feet from the basket. There was 10:36 left before halftime.

Williams went to the bench … and UConn went on a 9-0 run.

Williams re-entered the game with 6:19 to go in the first half. Arizona led 22-20. He picked up his third foul 27 seconds later.

“It changed the game. It really did,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said of Williams’ foul trouble in the first half.

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Jamelle Horne, alone with his thoughts. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jamelle Horne’s first reaction was to bring his hands, balled into fists, near his face. Disbelief. Dismay.

Time had run out. UConn was celebrating. Arizona was stunned.

Just moments earlier, Horne had launched a 3-point attempt from the right angle with about three seconds left. UConn star guard Kemba Walker watched in fear. This was it. Make or miss. Win or lose. Final Four on the line for both teams. With the ball in the air, Walker shouted, “Game time!”

The shot looked good. Horne said later it felt good.

It wasn’t good.

Arizona’s season — the one with 30 victories, a Pac-10 title and a thoroughly memorable and satisfying run to the West Region final — took an unkind bounce off the front of the rim and came to an end with a 65-63 loss to UConn on Saturday at the Honda Center.

Horne immediately turned to walk off the court toward the locker room. An official wouldn’t let him leave. It’s the NCAA Tournament. There is no damn place to hide.

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Derrick Williams spent a lot of time looking on from the bench in the first half. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

It’s over. On the last possession, Derrick Williams misses a 3-pointer from straightaway, but the ball bounces to Kyle Fogg who dishes to Jamelle Horne on the angle right.

With a good look at the basket, his 3-pointer — released with 3 seconds left — goes off the rim.

Time runs out.

Season runs out.

UConn wins 65-63.

* * *

Setting the scene: Arizona trails 65-63 with 18.2 seconds left. The Cats have the ball and have called timeout.

Jamelle Horne’s 3-pointer with a minute to go set this up.

* * *

Jeremy Lamb has been a guy who stepped up for UConn. he hits one free throw for his 19th point at 2:31 to go. UConn leads 63-57 … and Arizona responds with a turnover out of bounds because of pressure from Kemba Walker.

* * *

Derrick Williams will be going to the line with 2:44 left, Arizona down 62-55.

* * *

Nervous time. Beyond that, really. Arizona trails 62-55 with 2:58 left as UConn on a 10-0 run.

An unfortunate series of plays for Arizona, as Derrick Williams misses a 3 at the end of the shot clock. On the other end, UConn’s Jeremy Lamb launches a desperation 3 at the end of the shot clock, but the Huskies grab the rebound and score.

Lamb then picks off a Williams’ pass and drives for a dunk.

* * *

Arizona attacking again — eight of past 10 points have come on dunks.

* * *

Derrick Williams gives Arizona the lead with a huge jump stop in the lane, and then he elevates over two UConn players for a dunk. Another poster moment for D-Will. And then Jesse Perry comes down and throws down another dunk for a 53-50 advantage with 7:16 to play.

* * *

Troubling for UConn: Starting big man Alex Oriakhi picks up fourth foul with 8:47 to play.

* * *

A couple of heavyweights here. Arizona throws the latest blows with a quick 6-0 run, highlighted by a steal and dunk from Jesse Perry, and a dunk from Derrick Williams to bring UA within 50-47 with 9:16 left.

UA responds by trying to press and trap (rare for the Cats), and the Huskies solve it for a dunk.

* * *

Huskies pay the price for not double-teaming Derrick Williams. He spins along the baseline, draws the foul from Roscoe Smith, hits two free throws.

* * *

Arizona with only two 3-point baskets with 11:50 to play. Will anybody get hot for the Cats? It is going to be hard for UA to counterpunch without a few knock-downs from long range. Huskies up, 46-39.

* * *

Arizona re-took the lead at 37-36 on a Derrick Williams’ inside basket, but UConn responded with seven quick points, forcing Sean Miller to call timeout at 13:09. Miller angry at Kevin Parrom, who just gave up an open 3-point basket.

Lots of action, crowd into it … Arizona just needs to stop this run.

* * *

Thanks to Jesse Perry — Jesse Perry! — the Cats and the crowd are back into it.

He has all six of Arizona’s points in the second half — on a reverse layup, a dunk off an entry pass from Derrick Williams and another layup. It’s 34-31 UConn with 17:16 to play, as Jim Calhoun calls timeout.

* * *

I was about to write that Arizona weathered the Derrick Williams-less storm, but a horrible final minute for the Cats gives UConn momentum and a seven-point lead.

In that final minute, the Huskies’ Tyler Olander left a layup at the front of the rim, but the ball got batted out, where UConn regained possession. The Huskies missed the ensuing shot, but Jesse Perry fumbled the ball out of bounds.

With yet another, chance, Kemba Walker buried a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer.

Arizona can’t answer on its final possession, and the Cats go into the locker room down 32-25.

How will Derrick Williams (six points, two rebounds) play in the second half with foul trouble? Will Arizona start hitting shots (11 of 37 overall, 1 of 11 from 3-point range)?

* * *

Sean Miller will be questioned for bringing in Derrick Williams with two fouls. To my recollection, that seems consistent with how Miller has handled things in the past; he’ll play guys with two fouls in the first half. Anybody remember anything differently?

* * *

Dangerous final stretch for Arizona, which trails 27-22 with 3:37 to go before halftime. Derrick Williams, with three fouls, has been — as TucsonCitizen.com’s Scott Terrell noted on Twitter, banished to the Fortress of Solitude.

Like with Duke two nights ago, the Cats have to stay in touch at the break … and then try like heck to attack the Huskies after halftime.

* * *

Derrick Williams with third foul with 5:52 to go in half. Gulp.

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Steve Kerr always has something interesting to say. 2010 photo by Emmanuel Lozano, The Arizona Republic

Let’s start with Arizona Wildcats legend Steve Kerr, who has been a game analyst during the NCAA Tournament.

Kerr was a guest on XTRA 910-AM in Phoenix on Friday, talking about where UA sophomore Derrick Williams stands in the program’s lore. Sean Elliott still is No. 1.

“Derrick is probably the next-best player in Arizona history when all is said and done,” Kerr said. “Just an incredible talent.”

* * *

Kerr on Arizona’s second-year head coach Sean Miller: “We should all get down on our knee and thank somebody that we got Sean Miller.”

* * *

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic:

LA MIRADA, Calif. — The basketball hoop outside Derrick Williams’ childhood home is sufficient but non-descript. It looms above a white garage door, weathered and barking for action.

It’s hard not to stare. How did a skinny 10-year-old use this birthday gift as a springboard for college greatness? The answer, of course, has only a little to do with this 18-inch diameter rim and much more to do with the choices he and his mother made in this southeast suburb of Los Angeles.

“He could play just about any sport well,” his mother, Rhoma Moore, said, Friday. “But basketball …”

Continue reading at azcentral.com…

* * *

Eric Prisbell, the Washington Post:

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Having played on the same team as Derrick Williams during a summer camp in Ohio, Kemba Walker was well aware of Williams’s talents. But after seeing him score 25 points in the first half of Arizona’s West region semifinal victory over Duke on Thursday night, Walker had another thought.

“The first thing that came to mind was that he might be the best player in the country,” Walker, Connecticut’s star junior guard, said of the Wildcats’ standout sophomore forward. “The best player I have seen this year.”

Continue reading at the Washington Post…

* * *

UConn coach Jim Calhoun on Arizona’s second-half blitz against Duke:

“I talked to a friend of mine who went to Arizona, and he said it’s the best basketball half he’s ever seen in the history of Arizona basketball. I don’t know how it ranks in Arizona basketball, but it’s probably as good of a half as you’re going to see any team play.

“Obviously, Duke has a terrific basketball team, clearly one of the best teams in America. Quite frankly, Arizona made it look easy, and I know it wasn’t.”

* * *

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas was a guest on Zagsblog and SNY.TV, talking about the Arizona-UConn matchup:

“They’re not going to be able to guard Kemba Walker, but the problem is UConn can’t guard Derrick Williams, either,” Bilas said.

“There will be some intriguing matchups in the game. The key will be UConn’s ability to get out in the open. They have to figure out a way to get easy baskets, and I think their big guys have to play a lot better than they played in the regional final against San Diego State.

“Alex Oriakhi got caught flat-footed a lot, not blocking or changing shots, and that is a big part of their defense — shot blocks. I think they have to do a much better job against Arizona because Arizona is hot. I mean, both these teams are hot, but I think Arizona is red-hot right now and really confident.”

* * *

Gerry Ahern, Yahoo! Sports:

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Kemba Walker says Derrick Williams is the best college player in America.

Jim Calhoun rates Williams the second best, behind Walker.

However you rank them, the nation is in for a treat Saturday as two of the most prolific talents in college basketball lead their teams with a berth in the Final Four on the line.

It will be Walker’s Connecticut Huskies (29-9) vs. Williams’ Arizona Wildcats (30-7) in the NCAA West Regional final at Honda Center.

With Brigham Young and Jimmer Fredette eliminated, no two players have captured more headlines or become more ingrained in fans’ memories this March. Both Walker and Williams have put together the types of individual performances that people will talk about decades from now.

Continue reading at Yahoo! Sports…

* * *

Walker was asked if his old pal from New York City, Arizona sophomore guard MoMo Jones, ever beat him one-on-one.

“Never,” Walker said. “He knows that.”

* * *

Anthony Witrado, Sporting News:

ANAHEIM, CALIF.—In a city known for producing point guards as a natural resource, two of its most recent success stories forged an unbreakable bond along with one of the coaches that helped them to that point.

As teammates at Rice High in Harlem, N.Y., Kemba Walker and Lamont “MoMo” Jones struck a relationship that borders on brotherhood. And they also formed a tight one with Emanuel “Book” Richardson, whom Walker calls a brother and uncle and Jones calls his godfather.

Continue reading at the Sporting News…

* * *

More Kerr from XTRA 910-AM on the matchup against UConn:

“I think it’s a tougher matchup than Duke was because of the front-line defense that UConn has. Those guys don’t score, but they are long and athletic. They can bother Derrick Williams at the rim and on the perimeter more than Duke’s players could.”

* * *

Jack Magruder, FoxSportsArizona.com:

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jimmer and Kemba have been no-surname-needed rock stars all season.

Now add “D-Will.”

It has taken Arizona forward Derrick Williams a little longer to get there, but every conversation about the national player of the year now must include Williams, who is as indispensible to his team as guards Jimmer Fredette to BYU and Kemba Walker to UConn.

It is not about Williams’ game.

Continue reading at FoxSportsArizona.com…