– Last spring's deliberation of whether UA power forward Koa Peat should stay in school or jump to the NBA has an early answer. Don't go. Peat has played just 15 total minutes in the Phoenix Suns' first seven games, out of 320 total minutes. He has made two baskets and is averaging 2.2 minutes per game. That can't be much fun.
Former Arizona Wildcat Koa Peat posted 12 points Sunday after going for 17 in his Summer League debut.
– Former Arizona associate athletic director Mark Harlan, now the AD at Utah, had a busy week of hiring and firing. He hired ex-UA assistant AD Erika Barnes to be the Utes' leading fund raiser and fired former UA tennis player Roeland Brateanu, who had been Utah's head tennis coach for 13 seasons. Barnes' official title at Utah will be Deputy AD for Development and External Relations. A news release announcing Barnes' hiring said she delivered eight of the highest 20 donor gifts in UA history. Now at the beginning of the prime of her career, I wouldn't be surprised if she someday becomes a Power 4 athletic director.
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– In 50 years as a high school football official in Arizona and the Pac-10, Jerry Gastellum was among the best, ranking with Tucson referee legends such as Ralph Deal, Bob Beal, Ed Hochuli and Jim Fogltance. Gastellum, a long-time high school coach and administrator, announced his retirement, officiating his last game two weeks ago. He is a member of the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame. What a job well done.
– My nomination for the busiest person in Tucson sports is new Walden Grove High School boys basketball coach Jackson Francois, son of Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois. “He is working 15-hour days,” the AD told me last week. Jackson, who was a walk-on for Arizona's basketball team the last two seasons, is also the offensive coordinator for the Sahuaro High football team, which played its last game Friday. That was a week after Jackson began official basketball workouts at Walden Grove. And don't forget that he is working on his MBA at the UA's Eller College of Business this year. Impressive.
– Former UA golfer Jerry Foltz, who had a long and productive career as a golf analyst on the Golf Channel, is out of work. After 23 years at Golf Channel, Foltz jumped to the LIV Tour as its lead on-course analyst four years ago. Now the LIV Tour has gone bankrupt and is no more.
– There was some irony to the UA's $2.7 million per year deal with Carvana, which is now featured on the UA's football and basketball jerseys. First, Carvana's headquarters is in Tempe, a few miles from the ASU campus. The Sun Devils do not, as of yet, have a deal for uniform patches. Second, the founder of Carvana, Ernie Garcia, is a former UA golfer. Three other Big 12 schools have robust jersey patch deals: Oklahoma State with the Osage Nation, West Virginia with Antero Resources, a natural gas company, and Kansas with Ripple, a cryptocurrency company.
Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov manages to corral the ball ahead of Cal Poly forward Austin Goode in the second half of their game on Nov. 5, 2026.
Krivas becomes latest Wildcat in 30-point club | Greg Hansen
