Aaron Gordon was a challenged shooter at Arizona in 2013-14. He shot 42% from the foul line. But on Thursday night in the Denver Nuggets season opener, Gordon scored 50 points, believe it or not. He made 10 of 11 3-pointers among his 21 field goal attempts. He became the third ex-Wildcat in NBA history to score 50. Gilbert Arenas scored 60 in 2006 against the Lakers, but required 32 shots and made five 3s. Damon Stoudamire scored 54 in 2005 against New Orleans, also with 32 field goal attempts. He made eight 3s. Lauri Markkanen scored 49 against Houston two years ago with nine 3s.
– Until Arizona’s surprising 60-57 loss to Division II West Texas A&M Thursday in an exhibition game at McKale Center, the most embarrassing loss in women’s basketball school history was a 1983 season opener against Cal-Pomona, although a 1985 loss at Mercer would also be considered. In more recent years, a 2014 loss to Cal-Bakersfield and a 2013 setback to Stephen F. Austin were hard to explain. It’s a reflection of how Adia Barnes gutted the program before leaving for SMU. It’s going to take considerable time to reconstruct a winning UA women’s basketball program.
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– Pima College women’s soccer coach Kendra Veliz, a Hall of Famer-to-be, coached the Aztecs to her 300th career victory last week. She is 300-125-35, which is crazy good. It should not be that unexpected. When she played at Sahuaro High School from 1989-91, she made the Star’s All-City first team three years in succession. Her coach, Tom Burch, said, “she’s a natural leader.” Then known as Kendra Molina, she went on to play at Boston College and at PCC has been a five-time ACCAC champion and reached the “Final Four” of the national championships four times. Veliz made the 1994 All-Big East Academic team, as well. Big time.
– Remember Trayvion White-Austin, the UA sprinter from Sahuaro High School who broke Michael Bates’ Arizona school record in the 100 meters last spring and also set a UA record in the 200 meters? He has become a coach. White-Austin was hired to be an assistant coach at UTEP, where he will join long-time Arizona assistant coach Francesca Green‘s staff. She is in her first year as UTEP’s head coach.
– Marc Barcelo, another former Sahuaro All-City (basketball) player from the 1990s, will be inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 16 at the Reid Park Doubletree hotel. Barcelo went on to become the Pac-10 pitcher of the year at ASU in 1993, after pitching Pima College to the NJCAA championship game a year earlier. The No. 1 draft pick of the Minnesota Twins, Barcelo’s career was scuttled by arm injuries. But he had a singular highlight. He pitched against NBA legend Michael Jordan six times during the 1994 Double-A season, a year Jordan played for Tucsonan Terry Francona‘s Class AA Birmingham Barons. Jordan was 1-for-6 against Barcelo, with two strikeouts.
– Former UA president Robert C. Robbins, who was actively involved in the UA athletic program during his six years at Arizona, is one of five candidates to become president at LSU. His competition includes Wade Rousse, president of McNeese State, and South Carolina vice president Julius Fridriksson. Robbins, who will turn 68 next month, has been serving as a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institute the last six months.
PGA Tour returns to Tucson, shining a spotlight on Starr Pass | Greg Hansen
