Arizona Wildcats signee Brandon Ashley, fresh off an appearance in the McDonald’s All-American Game, led his team to the championship of the ESPNHS National High School Invitational on Saturday.

Ashley, a 6-foot-8 forward, fueled a big second-half comeback for Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nev., scoring 25 of his 31 points after halftime. Findlay rallied to beat Montverde (Fla.) Academy 86-83 in overtime.

“The one question I had for Brandon was, ‘What the hell were you waiting for?’” a joking Findlay Prep coach Mike Peck was quoted as saying by USA Today. “He was the Brandon Ashley he’s supposed to be. He put the cape on and the other guys went along and played their part.”

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Matt Scott receives instruction from quarterbacks coach Rod Smith in practice last week. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats quarterbacks coach Rod Smith walked by senior Matt Scott, doing an interview after Saturday’s scrimmage, and yelled, “Don’t ask him how many reads he missed today!”

Scott might have missed a few more reads than the demanding coaches would have liked, but as far as growing pains go, the quarterback seems to be doing fine halfway through the first spring in coach Rich Rodriguez’s read-option offense.

“Matt has probably grasped it as well as any first-spring guy I’ve had,” Rodriguez said after the scrimmage at the Jimenez Practice Facility.

“It’s because he’s a veteran guy. He already has the fundamentals down. He has been coached well before. That part was easy. Now, it’s just a matter of him learning the plays and learning the defenses.

“He made some mistakes today that he didn’t make before, but he’ll learn from them. It’s very important to Matt, and that’s a good thing.”

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Mike Candrea is closing in on 1,300 victories at Arizona. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea was back on the job Thursday, his sense of humor intact.

“I’m on the right side of the grass,” he said with a grin. “So things are good.”

Having been told there’s nothing wrong with his heart after being hospitalized for two nights because of chest pain, Candrea was able to smile while taking seriously the stress-related symptoms and lifestyle choices that apparently led to the scare.

“Definitely, a little wake-up call,” he said.

“Sometimes when you’re grinding and you’re lacking a little sleep and not eating well and not drinking enough water … all that stuff kind of combines.

“I always talk about not taking any day for granted and living each day like it’s your last, and when you’re sitting there and you have a lot of people worried, including yourself, you wonder, ‘Have I overdone it.’ It makes you think a little bit.”

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Coach Rich Rodriguez wants the players' heads in the game when they cross this blue line. Photo by Anthony Gimino, TucsonCitizen.com

The Arizona Wildcats have no choice but to cross the thick blue line.

Upon coach Rich Rodriguez’s direction, Arizona has painted a blue arch on the grass across the entrance to the practice field, a colorful reminder to the players that it needs to be a different world once they step over the line.

“Once they cross the blue line, academics, personal issues and everything else has to go in the background and it’s all football,” coach Rich Rodriguez said before Wednesday’s practice.

“And when they cross back over, I hope they still think about football a little bit, but then their focus can go to other things as well.”

Rodriguez added the line since the last on-campus practice Friday.

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Brigette Del Ponte

Arizona Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea, who had been hospitalized for two days after complaining about chest pain, sent a text to his players and staff on Tuesday morning.

Most importantly, it said he was OK, resting comfortably, able to go home.

And then Candrea, apropos of someone who just had a health scare, left a message for his team to take into its home game against San Diego State:

“Play for the moment.”

The Wildcats — buoyed by Candrea’s positive health news and playing to win one for their absent coach — defeated San Diego State 8-0 in a five-inning mercy-rule game in front of 2,360 at Hillenbrand Stadium on Tuesday night.

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Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel tries to make a point during Saturday's scrimmage. Photo by Pat Shanahan, The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Wildcats might think new coach Rich Rodriguez’s fast-paced practices are arduous. And yet those two hours on the field still might be a more pleasant experience than not practicing.

Rodriguez canceled Monday’s practice — which was to be the fifth of the spring — in order to review with the team, in extended and perhaps gory detail, Saturday’s scrimmage at Glendale Community College.

The rumor was that Rodriguez just might have used a couple of curse words — or at least one over and over — while breaking down the scrimmage film. Shocking, we know.

“We’re still learning,” running back Daniel Jenkins said after Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I know Coach Rod demands perfection, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”

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Mike Candrea's team has five home games this week. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea passed a cardiac stress test Monday afternoon at University Medical Center a day after being hospitalized with chest pain and stress-related symptoms, assistant coach Larry Ray said.

He was set to undergo another test Monday night and could be released Tuesday morning, if all goes well, according to a UA official.

Ray said the team is preparing to be without Candrea for a two-game series against San Diego State that begins Tuesday at Hillenbrand Stadium at 7 p.m. The teams also play Wednesday at 3 p.m.

The Wildcats begin a three-game home set against Stanford on Friday.

“We’re hoping he’s back for the Stanford series,” Ray said. “If not, it’s still game on.”

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Mike Candrea has been the Arizona softball head coach since 1986, winning eight national titles. Photo by Mark Evans, TucsonCitizen.com

Arizona Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea was being transported to Tucson’s University Medical Center on Sunday night for further observation after being hospitalized with chest pain in the Phoenix area, assistant coach Larry Ray said.

Candrea was expected to remain at UMC at least overnight.

Candrea left Arizona’s game against Arizona State in Tempe and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital Sunday afternoon.

“He was experiencing some dizziness and some chest pain,” Ray said in a phone interview at about 7:30 p.m.

“They think it was stress-related symptoms. Right now, that’s about all I know.”

Ray, who had been getting updates from Candrea’s wife, Tina, said the hospital staff performed an EKG exam on Candrea, which showed no problems.

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Rich Rodriguez talks to quarterback Matt Scott at the scrimmage. Photo by Pat Shanahan, The Arizona Republic

GLENDALE — Arizona Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez looked to the sideline with exasperation, taking off his headset and letting it drop to the turf. He then raised his eyes to the heavens.

That scene of frustration, and ones just like it, was part of the first spring scrimmage of the Rodriguez era, held in front of about 1,000 fans at Glendale Community College on Saturday.

Arizona is working through the expected growing pains, adjusting to a new coach and new schemes, and Rodriguez wasn’t ready to put a thoroughly happy spin on a day in which the offense had the better of the defense.

“We’re not running full speed and I’m going to attribute that to us not being in shape as we need to be,” he said. “They’re trying. We’re slowing making steps. We just have a long way to go and I think everyone realizes that.”

Arizona ran nearly 100 plays in the situational scrimmage, never taking a break, never bothering to huddle.

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Arizona Wildcats coach Rich Rodriguez isn’t expecting it to look pretty, but he said he’s planning to run 90 to 100 plays in Saturday’s open scrimmage at Glendale Community College.

This will be the public’s first look at the Wildcats and their new looks under Rodriguez — the read-option offense and the 3-3-5 defense.

“I would like to think the execution is going to be pretty good, but typically the first springs and the first scrimmages, the execution is not very good,” Rodriguez said earlier this week.

“My expectations are not really high. But I would be disappointed if I at least don’t see some guys playing hard and flying around and moving a little bit. You certainly are not going to see us in game-type of shape. We have a long way to go to be ready to play football at a high level from a conditioning standpoint.”

Holding the scrimmage in the Phoenix-area also serves to help sell the UA brand to the local alumni and to prospective recruits, who can get a sneak peek at the Wildcats without making a two-hour drive.

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