Hansen's Sunday Notebook: Pima College's golden age is now

Pima's golden age is now 

The five greatest moments in Pima College sports history are easily documented.

1. In 1980, Jim Mielke coached the Aztec men’s cross country team to the NJCAA national championship.

2-3. 1985, Rich Alday’s baseball team reached the NJCAA national championship game, and in 1992 Roger Werbylo also took the Aztecs to the title game in Grand Junction, Colorado.

4-5. In 2004, Stacy Iveson coached the Aztecs softball team to the NJCAA national championship in Clermont, Florida, with an incredible 70-8 record. She repeated as No. 1 in 2006.

There’s more: Todd Holthaus has coached the PCC women’s basketball team to the cusp of a national title, as has Iveson’s softball successor, Armando Quiroz. The Aztecs have produced 10 major leaguers, including Gil Heredia and George Arias. Center Horacio Llamas played for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, and distance runner Abdi Abdirahman is a four-time Olympian.

But overall, this is the golden era of PCC athletics, today, right now.

“It’s remarkable,” said Pima athletic director Edgar Soto, while watching the Aztecs’ No. 3-ranked men’s soccer team and No. 6-ranked women’s soccer team last week at Kino North Stadium. “Our coaches have been outstanding.”

Entering the weekend, Greg Wenneborg’s men’s and women’s cross country teams were ranked No. 11 and No. 9 in the country, respectively. Jim Monaco’s football team was ranked No. 12.

That’s five PCC fall sports in the NJCAA Dandy Dozen.

As Soto indicated, much of it can be traced to the coaches and their staying power at Pima. Wenneborg is in his 11th season; men’s soccer coach Dave Cosgrove, a Hall of Famer, is in his 18th season; women’s soccer coach Kendra Veliz is in her 15th year; and Monaco, who initially coached at PCC from 2000-04 under Jeff Scurran, is in his fifth season with the program.

The ACCAC, in which Pima plays, is possibly the most talented and challenging conference in junior college sports.

You can’t do what the Aztecs are doing without thoroughly qualified coaching.

The PCC head coaches have surrounded themselves with capable assistants: Phil McClurg is in his 13th year as a cross country coach; ex-Yavapai College standout Jose Miranda is working his seventh season for Veliz; Cosgrove’s assistants, Javi Holguin and Paul-David Seldis are two of Tucson’s most veteran soccer coaches; and Monaco’s staff is deep in Tucson coaching blood, with, among others Mark Teixeira, Pat Ryden, Jim Yencarelli and former starting Utah receiver Brian Hernandez, who has been in training camp with the NFL’s Redskins and Eagles.

It’s a challenge financially for PCC to keep up in the ACCAC. State funding has been dramatically cut, and enrollment is down an alarming 20 to 25 percent, which also affects the bottom line for athletics.

But so far, Soto and his athletic department have held their own and then some.

Miller, Cats get shot at Finnish big man

UA basketball coach Sean Miller will make one of the most important recruiting visits of the year Monday, one of three coaches in the finals for 6-foot, 10-inch, five-star big man Lauri Markkanen, who is from Jyväskylä, Finland.

To get to Jyväskylä, Miller would have to fly 5,700 miles to Helsinki, and drive two hours north. That would take forever. Fortunately, Markkanen — “Marky” to his friends — will be in Paterson, New Jersey, which is in the greater New York City area.

Markkanen, who will also host visits from Utah and North Carolina this week, is playing for International High School in Paterson, at which he enrolled in February. Arizona was fortunate to be among the first to “discover” Markkanen; Miles Simon, who once played in Europe with Markkanen’s personal coach, ex-Utah center Hanno Möttölä, saw a Möttölä-produced video and quickly phoned former UA assistant coach Damon Stoudamire.

On video, Markkanen isn’t unlike UA sophomore Dusan Ristic, a face-up power forward with extended shooting range. He needs to add strength, but to the college recruiters, he is a must-get prospect.

Donny Sands selected for All-Star team

It has been a terrific season for Donny Sands, former Salpointe shortstop. After being drafted in the eighth round by the New York Yankees, he was chosen to the Gulf Coast League All-Star team as a third baseman hitting .309. Last week, the Yankees informed him he has been chosen to participate in their Fall Instructional League in Tampa, Florida, which is a three-week training camp for each organization’s top prospects.

Alex Verdugo invited to instructional camp

The Los Angeles Dodgers invited ex-Sahuaro outfielder Alex Verdugo to their Fall Instructional Camp in Glendale; he has a .322 batting average in 178 minor-league games

Jio Orozco invited to instructional league camp

The Seattle Mariners invited Sands’ Salpointe teammate, pitcher Jio Orozco, to their Instructional League camp in Peoria; Orozco struck out 24 and walked just four in 21 innings during the Arizona Summer Rookie League.

Shelley Duncan's Hops win Northwest League title

Arizona’s career home run champ Shelley Duncan, who led CDO to the 1997 state baseball championship, coached the Hillsboro Hops to the Northwest League championship in his first season as a manager. Duncan’s Class A short season team went 49-33 and averaged 3,774 in attendance, which is more than the old PCL Tucson Padres drew.

Jay Johnson finds early success recruiting

UA baseball coach Jay Johnson continues his early recruiting success. Last week he got a commitment from Southern California right-hander Matthew Sauer, who is ranked No. 37 in the Class of 2017. It’s Johnson’s fifth known commitment from this year’s junior class. While in Reno for the UA-Nevada football game last week, I learned that Nevada’s presumptive pitching “ace” for 2016, lefty Jojo Romero, has left the Wolf Pack and will play at Arizona after redshirting next spring. Romero, who has already relocated to Tucson, pitched 23 games for Johnson in 2015, striking out 41 in 37 innings.

Jerry Kindall, Jim Wing show love of baseball

Familiar faces: When Pima College played a fall baseball doubleheader against Cochise College on Saturday on the Aztecs’ campus, UA coaching legends Jerry Kindall and Jim Wing were in the crowd. Talk about a love for the game.

Showdown with Texas should prepare Cats for Pac-12 schedule

No. 16 Arizona’s ability to take No. 2 Texas to a winner-take-all fifth set in Friday’s raucous volleyball match at McKale Center suggests the young Wildcats will be able to withstand the wicked Pac-12 schedule, which begins at No. 10 ASU on Thursday and then continues at home a week later against No. 19 Oregon and No. 8 Stanford. Coach Dave Rubio’s squad has been fortified by senior transfer (from James Madison) Kenzie Kleespies, who leads the team in digs. Kleespies is from a terrific volleyball gene pool: her mother, Melissa McLinden, was a consensus All-American at Arizona 30 years ago (her name hangs in the McKale Center Ring of Honor) and was on the U.S. 1988 Olympic team. When Arizona played in the New York area last week, McLinden drove from Delaware to the games; she operates a club team program in the greater Philadelphia area.

Callista Balko marries former UA defensive end

One of the top softball players in Tucson history, CDO catcher Callista Balko, catcher on the UA’s 2006 and 2007 national championship teams, married former UA defensive end Ricky Elmore at Big Bear, California, on Saturday. Elmore was a second-team All-Pac-10 pass rusher in 2010. Balko works as a development official in the UA athletic department; he is a medical sales supply representative.

MoMo Jones going to play in Finland

Arizona’s 2012 Elite Eight point guard MoMo Jones will play for Lapua, Finland, in the EuroLeague this season. MoMo played in Saudi Arabia last year and in Japan in 2014.

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Hansen 12

Lute Olson returned to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend to take part in a reunion of his 1974-83 Hawkeye basketball teams. Lute was the keystone of a campus pep rally on Friday, leading to Saturday’s Iowa-Pitt football game. He turns 81 Tuesday.

Spencer Lewis, Sam Beskind key players at  Maccabi Games

Catalina Foothills sophomore guard Spencer Lewis and Falcons teammate Sam Beskind, a junior guard, were key players on the gold-medal winning Scottsdale team at the 2015 Maccabi Games in Dallas last month. Lewis made four consecutive three-pointers in the title game, and Beskind was the team’s leading scorer in a six-game winning streak against a field of 25 teams.

Dan Meyers qualifies for U.S. Senior Amateur

Tucsonan Dan Meyers, a former UA golfer who won the 1994 Arizona Amateur, qualified for the 2015 U.S. Senior Amateur by shooting a 1-under-par 71 last week in Lakewood, Washington. It will be Meyers’ second berth in the Senior Amateur; play begins Saturday in New Jersey.

Chris Meyers starts school at Stanford

Dan Meyers' son, CDO 2014 state golf champion Chris Meyers, starts school at Stanford this week. As good as Meyers was at CDO, he likely won’t play for the Cardinal in 2015-16; the Pac-12 champs return their top six players, including Maverick McNealy, who is probably the No. 1 player in men’s college golf.

Bobby Hurley must share billing

ASU will stage Maroon and Gold Madness on Oct. 9. It’s ASU’s equivalent of Arizona’s Red-Blue Game on Oct. 17. The differences are that new ASU coach Bobby Hurley will split the billing with the Sun Devils’ women’s team, and tickets are not required. The UA has sold 14,500 tickets for its Red-Blue Game, and will gross about $200,000 from the scrimmage.

Mark Harlan might be possible AD replacement if Byrne leaves

If Greg Byrne departs Arizona to be Texas’ athletic director — or for any job — one of the first possible replacements would be Mark Harlan, in his second year as AD at South Florida. Harlan, 45, began his path to an AD job as a manager of Dick Tomey’s first UA football team in 1987. He was part of the UA athletic department for 10 years, was the associate AD at both San Jose State and Northern Colorado, and from 2010-14 was UCLA’s associate AD. Harlan was the key fundraiser in UCLA’s $140 million makeover of Pauley Pavilion.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson struck by high cost of living

Had to chuckle when I read a Wall Street Journal report about Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s financial situation as a Brooklyn Nets rookie. He is guaranteed $1.3 million, but predictably, has been struck by the high cost of living in the NYC area: He estimates his monthly rent at $8,000. I suspect he’ll survive. Rondae begins training camp next week at Duke, of all places. The Nets will work out for two weeks at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

My two cents: Pusch Ridge ascending in prep football

I rubbed at my eyes late Friday night when I read that Amphitheater High School’s football team lost 40-7 to Pusch Ridge Christian.

That’s how much high school football has changed in Tucson the last decade.

Due to declining enrollment, Amphi’s once powerful Panthers, 0-4, have been outscored 171-42. From 1976-2005, the Vern Friedli-led Panthers were serious state title contenders at any division.

Pusch Ridge deserves credit for its rise up the ranks.

Coach Troy Cropp’s team has stepped up a division this year, and has gone 3-1 behind quarterback Cody Cropp, receiver-cornerback Edwin Lovett and two-way standout James Raica.

Cropp, a Sabino and UA grad who became a U.S. Army Ranger, has gone 21-5 since 2012, becoming one of Tucson’s most notable prep football coaches.

Now Pusch Ridge must play the most difficult schedule in school history. Instead of meeting San Carlos and San Manuel, the Lions will play a Division IV schedule that includes Sahuarita, Flowing Wells and Pueblo over the next few weeks.

It’s a developing story worth following.