Hansen's Sunday Notebook: McKale to have fewer heavyweight battles

Change in basketball culture means less heavyweight battles at McKale

I was watching ESPN’s retro special on Shaquille O’Neal last week and was taken back when it showed highlights of Shaq’s home-and-home series, LSU against Arizona in 1990 and 1991.

It was the keystone to a 10-year McKale Center run in which Lute Olson boldly scheduled No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 7 Duke (and again No. 9 Duke), No. 7 Michigan, No. 13 Illinois, No. 13 Syracuse and burgeoning national champions Arkansas and UNLV in Tucson.

In that same period, Villanova, Michigan State, Pitt and Purdue played at McKale. Olson’s nonconference road schedule was just as formidable.

A day after the Shaq-ESPN broadcast, I saw a finished product of Arizona’s 2015-16 nonconference home basketball schedule: Pacific, Bradley, Boise State, Northwestern State, Fresno State, NAU, UNLV, Long Beach State and Missouri.

Mizzou is the top “name” program of the group. The Tigers went 9-23 last season and finished 14th in the SEC.

It is, without much debate, the least attractive home schedule since Olson’s third UA season 1985-86. A year later, Olson stepped up to heavyweight class. He brought his old school, No. 4 Iowa, to Tucson in February 1987. It was great theater. Since then, Arizona took on all comers, here, there and everywhere.

Sean Miller has dodged no one in his six Arizona seasons. Alas, many of those games, have been played elsewhere. Some of the problem is that in modern college basketball, too many of the marquee games are made-for-TV specials played in Hawaii and at Madison Square Garden and in other neutral settings.

The 2015-16 home schedule won’t be greeted without discontent. Those who pay expensive premiums for seats in the lower and middle tiers at McKale have been spoiled. In the 2001-02 season alone, Arizona played UConn and Kansas at McKale.

Ken Pomeroy, the basketball analytics specialist of kenpom.com, examined nonconference schedules of the last 15 seasons and Arizona ranked this way:

2015: 180th

2014: 99th

2013: 128th

2012: 145th

2011: 164th

Under Olson, Arizona ranked No. 1 in 2002; No. 23 in 2003; No. 14 in 2006 and so on.

It’s exceedingly difficult to get a powerhouse to agree to a game in Tucson, even with a home-and-home arrangement. But Kansas ranked No. 9 in nonconference strength of schedule last year and Duke was No. 23 in 2013 and No. 19 in 2012.

After Miller’s Wildcats won at Michigan two years ago, he said “you can’t win a game like this unless you play in a game like this.”

The culture of college basketball has subtly changed over the last five or 10 years. There are fewer and fewer “games like this” in Tucson and at other Top 25 arenas.

CDO-Tucson baseball better suited for Hi Corbett

The Arizona Interscholastic Association should do the right thing and move Thursday’s state Division II semifinal baseball game between Canyon Del Oro and Tucson High to Hi Corbett Field. It is scheduled for the spring training complex in Phoenix Maryvale at 6:30 p.m., where it would draw probably 400 fans. At Hi Corbett, the 32-2 Dorados and 29-5 Badgers could draw 4,000. 

Dorado coach could tie state record for wins 

Keith Francis’ Dorados are currently 32-2 and are two wins from tying the state mark for victories. Tempe Desert Vista (1999) and Scottsdale Saguaro (2011) each won 34. The Tucson record is 33, set by Jason Hisey’s 33-3 Catalina Foothills state runner-up team of 2005. 

Sahuaro grad Mistler was a star at ASU 

One person I inadvertently left off my list (and, boy, did I hear about it) of the 20 top Tucsonans to play at a star-level for Arizona State was Sahuaro receiver John Mistler. He led the Pac-10 in receptions in 1978 and played in the NFL for four seasons. He is the regional president of First Community Bank in Phoenix. 

Tucsonan Abdirahman takes third at USA 25K Championships 

Tucsonan Abdi Abdirahman, who is training for a compelling run at the 2016 Rio Olympics, took a good step in that direction Saturday. He finished third at the USA 25K Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Tucson High grad, who ran at Pima College and Arizona, is 38. He was on the U.S. Olympic team in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. 

Future bright for pair of young Tucson golfers

Two of Tucson’s premier young golfers, Gavin Cohen and Trevor Hecht, emerged in significant competitions last week. Cohen, a sophomore at Catalina Foothills who has already committed to play at Arizona, finished second in the challenging, 52-person JGAA Beljan Invitational in Mesa by shooting an impressive 6-under-par 66 in the final round. He was two shots in front of CDO senior Chris Meyers, who will play college golf at Stanford. Cohen then received an invitation to play in the 100th Southwest Amateur next month. Hecht, who attends Basis charter school in Oro Valley, became the youngest player ever to finish second in the Tucson City Amateur. Over four rounds at Dell Urich, Randolph, Silverbell and El Rio, Hecht, 16, shot 2-over 284, birdieing the 72nd hole to force a playoff with eventual winner Scott Smith. Hecht is unable to compete in the high school state championships because the AIA does not permit public charter school athletes to compete. It’s a silly rule that should be changed. Hecht’s next challenge will be at the Golfweek West Coast Invitational. 

UA golfer Cunningham to compete in NCAA regionals 

UA freshman golfer George Cunningham will compete in the NCAA regionals this week in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He needs to finish first among the 10 individuals in the field to advance to the NCAA championships in Bradenton, Florida, from May 29 to June 3. If Cunningham remains at Arizona and resists turning pro for another year or two, he could be the cornerstone of the UA’s return to a national power as a men’s golf program. 

Tucsonan Fitzgerald introduces Match Play golfers 

If you were paying attention to the WGC-Cadillac Match Play last week, you probably heard a familiar voice. Tucsonan Dick Fitzgerald was the starter at the No. 1 tee at Harding Park in San Francisco; he introduced each golfer over five days. Fitzgerald, who is a Tucson Conquistador, did the same thing when the match play event was held at Dove Mountain. He is also the general manager and part owner of the historic Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Course near Pebble Beach, California, a course whose ownership includes Tucsonans Donald Pitt and Don Diamond.

Tucsonans Fowler, Landrith make Academic All-American team 

CDO’s Mattie Fowler and Ironwood Ridge’s Robin Landrith were rivals during their notable high school softball days. Last week they found themselves on the same team. Both were named to the District 7 NCAA Division I Academic All-District team. Fowler, a senior first baseman, has a 3.84 GPA in finance at Nebraska; Landrith, a junior catcher, has a 3.97 GPA at Baylor. Through Friday, Fowler was hitting .349 for the Cornhuskers, who reached the Big Ten Conference tournament semifinals. Landrith was hitting .364 for the Bears, who are ranked No. 20 in the latest college softball poll. 

Tucson High's Cortez accepts scholarship 

Tucson High junior basketball standout Alexis Cortez last week accepted a scholarship offer to East Carolina. Cortez, a 5-foot-11-inch forward, averaged 25.2 points last season, with a high game of 40 against Notre Dame Prep. It has been a long process to get a college scholarship. She actually began playing at 5, in the day care center at the Downtown YMCA. She made a boys club team at 8, the Tucson Flash, and didn’t begin playing with a girls club team until 12. Her mother, Juanita Cortez, remembers Alexis telling her she wanted to be a college basketball player as early as the first grade. After visiting East Carolina last month, Cortez got her wish. The Pirates, who scouted Alexis in a California summer tournament last year, won 22 games this season. 

Pima's Peabody predicts Lightfoot's offer 

Three years ago, Pima College men’s basketball coach Brian Peabody told me that Ironwood Ridge forward Mitch Lightfoot would be good enough someday to play at Arizona. Last week, Arizona offered Lightfoot, who is now at Gilbert Christian, a scholarship. Kansas has also offered. Peabody last week might have got the big man to put Pima in the thick of the ACCAC title race next year; 6-8 Justin Bessard of Calabasas (California) High School committed to play for the Aztecs in 2015-16. 

Few chances left to see Arizona's Kingery

Sunday’s 6 o’clock Arizona-Washington baseball game at Hi Corbett Field will likely be the last chance for Tucsonans to watch UA junior second baseman Scott Kingery in a Pac-12 home game. Through Friday, Kingery led the Pac-12 in batting average (.411), hits (83), runs (50), doubles (15), and total bases (123). Baseball America ranks him No. 39 overall in next month’s draft, and unless something crazy happens, Kingery is the leader to be the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Only five Wildcat position players have been so honored and all except 2012 honoree Alex Mejia reached the big leagues: Terry Francona, 1980; Chip Hale, 1987; Alan Zinter, 1989; Trevor Crowe, 2005. 

CDO grad Stepter enters Pac-12 championships as favorite

CDO grad Jaide Stepter, a junior at USC, will enter the Pac-12 championships next weekend in Los Angeles as the favorite to win the 400 hurdles, and she’s ranked No. 2 in the 400 meters. Stepter was Arizona’s Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year while at CDO. 

Ex-Cat Korcheck enters Australian football combine 

Former UA and Sabino High basketball player Matt Korcheck last week became the second Sabino Sabercat to attend the Australian Rules Football combine in Florida. Lucas Reed, a tight end who played college football at New Mexico, did so last season. The Aussies look for two things: athletes at least 6 feet 5 inches tall and those with the ability to take and deliver a hit. 

Cal has team, now working on arena 

Now that Cal has become a certifiable threat to Arizona in Pac-12 basketball, as coach Cuonzo Martin has gathered the league’s most feared roster, the Bears are working on outdated Haas Pavilion. Last week, Cal installed a multi-million dollar, 21st-century video board suspended from center court. Until now, the Bears, much like Stanford, Oregon State and Colorado, played in old-style arenas that made it feel like the 1980s. Can you imagine the demand for tickets at Haas next winter when Arizona arrives for what likely will be the Pac-12 Game of the Year? 

My two cents: Pac-12 TV schedule stealing study time

The Pac-12 scheduled Saturday’s Arizona-Oregon softball game for an 8:30 p.m., start, which meant the Ducks would have to stay an extra night in Tucson.

The No. 1-ranked Ducks left Eugene on Wednesday at midday, requiring four nights in Tucson. The league also scheduled the UA-Washington baseball game to be played on a Sunday night, forcing the Huskies to spend a fourth night in Tucson.

A week earlier, Arizona’s three-game softball series at UCLA required a Thursday afternoon departure and a Monday morning return, all spinning on the Pac-12 Networks choosing to televise the UA-UCLA game on a Sunday night.

This comes a week after cbssports.com revealed that a Pac-12 study of 409 of athletes found that they are “too exhausted to study effectively,” and that the average Pac-12 athlete spends 22 of 50 sports-related hours each week involved in travel.

My research found that the UA women’s golf team and men’s tennis team both spent 42 nights in hotels this school year. The men’s basketball team was out of town 35 nights. The softball team: 26 nights.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told cbssports.com, “The main takeaway is student-athletes are very, very satisfied with their experience. They’re pushed for sure, challenged. Sometimes (they) feel like it’s too much.”

UA athletic director Greg Byrne told me last week that Arizona received about $1 million from the Pac-12 Networks last year. The ratings for that network are dismal, and it is unavailable in millions of Pac-12 region homes.

But its practice of playing late games on Saturdays and Sundays has added not just travel expenses, but time out of the classroom. The schools may get $1 million, but the athletes and coaches probably don’t feel like a million bucks after so many extended travel demands.

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