Mark Lyons and the Wildcats start play in the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday. Photo by Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Wildcats point guard Mark Lyons often has been the flashpoint for any fan dissatisfaction, and perhaps some of it is because we’ve hardly gotten to know him.
Fans don’t have as much emotionally invested into Lyons, as they do for Arizona seniors Kevin Parrom and Solomon Hill.
Damien Alameda of KOLD-TV helps fix that problem with a 20-minute interview in which Lyons talks about growing up in Schenectady, N.Y.
He was 12 years old, in the house when his aunt was killed downstairs by her husband. He was 2 years old when his 27-year-old father, Todd Lyons, was killed in a head-on accident as he fled a liquor store robbery.
Lyons, a one-and-done graduate student from Xavier, earned All-Pac-12 honors this season, leading the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game. He has made some huge shots (see the Florida game) and, for better and worse, has been a fearless late-game performer. Lyons talks to Alameda about where that attribute comes from, too.
You can see the raw video of the interview at TucsonNewsNow.com, and below is a polished, edited version of the interview: