Arizona basketball: On CU's blackout, mile-high management, June forecast

Back in black 

Colorado asked fans to wear black Wednesday to go with the Buffs’ black uniforms, and most of the roughly 11,000 fans in attendance did.

But there was also a lot of navy and red worn by Arizona fans, along with a fair amount of CU gold, and the random guy wearing blue or white.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, wore their red “Hyper Elite Disruption” uniform sets furnished by Nike for the occasion, and forward Ryan Anderson figured that would just about beat anything.

“Wouldn’t be our first blackout, whiteout, whatever the (opposing) school wants to have,” Anderson said earlier this week. “But at the end of the day, it’s a 40-minute game so we’ll see what happens. Whatever colors they’re wearing, I think we’ll look good or better in ours, so I’m not too worried about that.”

CU got the last word, however, with a rush of fans in black spilling onto the Coors Events Center court after the Buffs pulled off their 75-72 win. As the crowd cleared, the loudspeaker blared AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” 

Mile-high management 

Sean Miller has credited two summers with USA Basketball for making him a better coach, working with some of the top coaches and amateur prospects in the country.

It also helped him figure out what to do when the game’s being played a mile above sea level.

Not only has UA now played five games in Boulder since Miller’s arrival but he’s also spent time the past two summers with USA Basketball teams in Colorado Springs, which is even higher (6,035 feet) than Boulder (5,430). The U18 team that Miller was an assistant coach for in 2014 also hosted the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Colorado Springs.

“I’ve been up in that area so I have a pretty good feel for how that impacts you initially,” Miller said. “Once you get through the initial few minutes, the game’s over before you realize what you did, and I think our guys are pretty accustomed to making that trip for sure.”

Miller said he would substitute more heavily earlier in the game, though his pattern appeared to vary only slightly. Through the first 12 minutes he used each of his top eight players between 6 and 10 minutes each, and he did not play freshmen Justin Simon or Chance Comanche at all. 

June forecast: Clear 

For a change, none of the players on the floor in Wednesday’s game are projected to be taken in the 2016 NBA draft, according to the latest projection by Draft Express.

That’s good news for Arizona fans weary after six UA players declared for the NBA draft before their eligibility expired over the past three years, but tough news for seniors such as Kaleb Tarczewski and Ryan Anderson. Tarzewski is projected to be taken at No. 46 by NBADraft.net, however.

In its 2017 mock draft Draft Express lists both incoming UA freshmen Lauri Markkanen at No. 23 and Allonzo Trier at 36.

Five Pac-12 players made the updated 2016 Draft Express mock, including a projected lottery pick that UA will have to deal with on Saturday: Jakob Poeltl of Utah, who was projected to go No. 6.

Cal had three projected draftees — Jaylen Brown (No. 3), Ivan Rabb (15) and Tyrone Wallace (58) — while OSU’s Gary Payton II was listed at No. 40. 

Crunchy 

Of all the offbeat food items offered at the Coors Events Center, including chocolate-coated “Berry Kabobs,” the top prize might go to Life of Riley Foods.

On a modest table on the upper concourse, it boasted of having items that were “Gluten Free,” “Paleo Certified,” “Low Sugar” and “Protein Packed.” 

Eco-Ralphie 

While all Pac-12 schools are now waging “zero waste” efforts, Colorado brags that the trend essentially started in Boulder.

“Welcome to the home of Ralphie’s Green Stampede,” a sign greets visitors at one of the main entrances. “The Nation’s First Division I Sports Sustainability Program.”

CU claims to have athletic facilities that are zero waste, uses no pesticides on any of its sports fields, is energy efficient and helps balance water use by restoring flow to the Colorado River Basin.

So there. 

The big number 

400: Colorado wins at the Coors Events Center, which opened for the 1979-80 season. 

Quotable 

“They’ve always been near the top of our conference defensively. They’re a hard team to score against, to shoot three well against.” — UA coach Sean Miller, before Wednesday’s game.