Opinion by Greg Hansen : Othick is developing film of Williams' life

He has since become a successful investor in Las Vegas and Del Mar, Calif., and is now part of a Hollywood group that is developing a movie based on the life of the late Brian Williams, a UA and NBA power forward who played high school and college basketball with Othick.

Insomnia Entertainment, a firm headed by UA grad Trent Othick, Matt's brother, is working with ex-UA basketball manager Kevin Porter on the script. Porter was Williams' former manager and confidant. Matt Othick describes the project as something similar to "The Talented Mr. Ripley" or "Dead Calm."

More immediate, Trent Othick's first major film, "Standing Still," will be released nationally this week, beginning in Tucson theaters Friday. It is a "Big Chill" type film with a 21st century theme, and includes actress Mena Suvari.

"Standing Still" premiered last week in Hollywood. The Othick brothers attended, as did Othick's UA teammate Sean Rooks.

"I still see a lot of Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler and Kevin Flanagan every summer," said Othick, who remains close friends with his UA backcourt partner, Tucson attorney Matt Muehlebach.

"I had a wonderful time in Tucson," said Othick, whose mother lives here. "My only regret was our play during the NCAA tournament. We really should have won at least one national title while I was there."

McConnell honored

● Sahuaro High basketball coach Dick McConnell received the Spirit of Cotton Award at halftime of the Phoenix Suns game Thursday at U.S. Airways Center, an honor named for the late Cotton Fitzsimmons, a former Suns coach, broadcaster and executive.

"The best part of the award," McConnell said, "was the $10,000 grant for Sahuaro's athletic department. I was just overwhelmed by the whole experience."

At 76, McConnell has won four state championships and holds an Arizona prep record of 757 victories at Sahuaro. The award will be presented annually to a high school coach for qualities of character, leadership and coaching. McConnell is the first recipient.

Longtime TUSD coach and administrator Bob Vielledent nominated McConnell for the award, who said, "11 of Dick's former players have become head coaches and, combined, have won more than 3,300 games."

Short stuff

● Pueblo High football coach Scott McKee, a former UA football player, has been honored to have one of his top players, receiver-returner Tim Echeverria invited to NIKE combine in Los Angeles this weekend. Echeverria is being recruited by Mountain West Conference-level schools. "We return 19 seniors this year," said McKee, who has added longtime TUSD coach Paul Bohardt as offensive coordinator. … Rheya Nabors, recruited by Joan Bonvicini to play basketball at Arizona next season, Friday was selected to the 10-player All-California high school team. Her twin sister, Rhaya was on the second team. Both played at state champion Troy High of Fullerton, ranked No. 4 nationally. … Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen on Friday answered the criticism of the league's dreary football bowl games lineup by adding the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu. The league's No. 6 team will get that slot opposite a WAC team. It is likely that the Hawaii Bowl will then alternate, year to year, with the Fort Worth Bowl. It's better than Fresno, I suppose.

● Amphitheater High grad Drew Evans has broken into the starting lineup, a center fielder, for Texas Tech in his freshman season. Evans also pitched in relief for the Red Raiders last week. … After completing his All-American basketball season at La Costa Canyon near San Diego, UA recruit Chase Budinger went to Mexico City with the USA Junior National Volleyball team and led the club with 25 kills in a victory over Puerto Rico. The athletic Budinger is Luke Walton with better jumping ability and a shooting touch. … Touted incoming UA quarterback Tyler Lyon of Hart High School near Los Angeles has fully committed to football. He was Hart's No. 1 pitcher as a junior but chose to do football-specific training this spring rather than play for the high school baseball team. … Canyon del Oro grad Matt Bender, sidelined most of his senior season by an ankle injury, has returned to the lineup for No. 2-ranked Hawaii's men's volleyball team. He was honored at the UH's Senior Day in Honolulu on Saturday.

● Tucsonan Abdi Abdirahman successfully defended his USA Men's 10-mile championship Saturday morning in Louisville. He earned $10,000 in doing so. The two-time Olympian from Tucson High won the race in 48 minutes 23 seconds. He was 28 seconds ahead of the runner-up. … Tucsonan Ian Kinsler of CDO was second in the American League with a .476 batting average when he dislocated his thumb sliding into second base last week. The Texas Rangers' rookie is expected to return about May 1. Texas manager Buck Showalter told reporters that Kinsler eventually could be the Rangers' leadoff hitter. … Mustafa Shakur's decision to officially enter the NBA Draft is a sensible one. No better way for him to learn how he stacks up against the world's other draft-eligible point guards. But realistically, Shakur has little chance to be drafted in the first (or any) round. Two strong NCAA tournament games aren't enough. Those point guards who clearly rank ahead of Shakur include Villanova's Randy Foye, UConn's Marcus Williams, Temple's Mardy Collins, Kentucky's Rajon Rondo, Rutgers' Quincy Douby, Illinois' Dee Brown, Miami's Guillermo Diaz and Syracuse's Gerry McNamara. The only way for Shakur to get first-round money is to play 30 games in 2006-07 at the level he played against Wisconsin and Villanova.

● Arizona's Simon Burnett and Whitney Myers have been named Pac-10 swimmers of the year, the first time Frank Busch's team has swept the league's male/female awards. That's almost unheard of in a league that includes top-five powers Stanford, Cal and USC. But Busch has produced so many world-class swimmers at Arizona that Burnett becomes the seventh of Busch's Wildcat men's swimmers to win the award. Myers won a Pac-10 award that escaped four UA Olympic gold medalists: Trina Jackson, Amanda Beard, Ashley Tappin and Beth Botsford. … Incoming UA freshman receiver Terrell Reese of Hendrickson (Texas) High School cleared 7 feet 1 inch in the high jump last week. "That's crazy, given that he had knee surgery for torn ligaments in the fall," said UA offensive coordinator Mike Canales. "We're really hopeful Terrell can come in and make plays for us right away." Reese's jump is the second best of all high school jumpers this year. He is 6-4, 200 pounds. Yes, help is on the way for Mike Stoops, and maybe even UA track coach Fred Harvey.

Kern is No. 1

● By winning ASU's Thunderbird Invitational golf title last week, Tucsonan Ben Kern, a Palo Verde High grad, became the first golfer in the tournament's 34-year history to break 200 over three rounds. Now a junior at Kansas State, Kern joined some illustrious company.

Those who previously won the ASU tournament include Phil Mickelson, Corey Pavin, Willie Wood, former Tucson Open champ Jim Carter and Scott Simpson. Kern is no out-of-the-bushes surprise. He won the 2004 Arizona Amateur. His rounds in Tempe: 69, 65, 65.

Kern was subsequently selected as college player of the week by two magazines, Golfweek and Golfworld. It was the fourth top-10 finish for Kern this season as he moves closer to making the All-America team.

My two cents

● The Conquistadores plan to inaugurate ticket sales to the Gallery's 2007 Accenture World Match Play Championships as early as May 1.

Keep this in mind: The World Match Play Championships will be marketed as a world-class sporting event. It is not the Chrysler Classic of Tucson any longer. Thus, expect considerably higher prices and, perhaps, much less ticket availability at the access-challenged Gallery Golf Club.

The Conquistadores' corporate partners and longtime financial supporters will be offered package deals. Judy McDermott, executive director of the Conquistadores, said it is uncertain if day-to-day tickets will be made available to the general public.

This could be a tougher ticket than a UA-UCLA game at McKale Center. Don't say you haven't been warned.