Hansen's Sunday Notebook: It's crisis time after rebuilding Ducks beat Wildcats — twice
- Updated
Star sports columnist Greg Hansen offers his opinion on recent sports news.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Sometimes it’s not who you hire, it’s who you don’t hire.
Five years ago,Rich Rodrigueztold ֱ defensive line coachJoe Salave’ahe would not be retained on RichRod’s first UA staff, 2012.
How’d that turn out?
RichRod hired 65-year-old West Virginia defensive line coachBill Kirelawich. Salave’a, ֱ’s 1997 All-Pac-10 defensive tackle, began looking for work, ultimately becoming part ofMike Leach’s first staff at Washington State.
Last week, despite being offered a raise and promotion at WSU, Salave’a accepted a $1.65 million, three-year contract to be Oregon’s assistant head coach and defensive line coach. That’s a better contract than any assistant football coach in UA history.
Simultaneously, the Ducks flipped ֱ’s most high-profile recruit, quarterbackBraxton Burmeister, and are now working on persuading Eugene (Ore.) Sheldon High offensive linemanCody Shearto renege on his commitment to play at ֱ and become a Duck. Shear’s ties to the UO are strong; his uncle,TimShear, is a former Oregon linebacker who owns an e-commerce business in Eugene.
Kirelawich? He was fired a year ago. His position went not to Salave’a, but to former ASU linemanVince Amey, who had never coached a down of college football.
Salave’a has become one of college football’s most significant recruiters; his connection to the Polynesian community is such that the Cougars’ rise to Pac-12 contention can be linked to those Salave’a recruited, includingHercules Mata’afa,Daniel EkualeLogan Tago,Darryl Paulo,Shalom LuaniandDestiny Vaeao.
Seven players have now withdrawn their pledges to play football at ֱ, including defensive linemanAustin Faoliuof Anaheim, California, who will play in Friday’s Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu. After Faoliu committed to ֱ, Salave’a offered him a scholarship to WSU; Faoliu will announce his final college choice Friday.
Last week began with promise for RichRod. He was advanced to the presidency of the American Football Coaches Association, where he and his colleagues began to campaign for, among other things, a mid-December signing period.
Such a change might end many late-term recruiting flips.
But if you believe in football karma, here’s a bad trend: Presidents of the AFCA have not fared well recently.
Washington’sTyrone Willingham, president of the AFCA in 2008, went 0-12 and was fired.
Dick Tomey, president of the AFCA in 2009, went 2-10 at San Jose State and resigned.
Texas’Mack Brown, president of the AFCA in 2013, went 8-5 and was fired.
Cincinnati’sTommy Tuberville, president of the AFCA in 2015, went 4-8 last season and resigned.
Whether it’s bad karma or bad luck, whatever momentum ֱ gained from beating ֱ State in November’s Territorial Cup has been lost. This is developing into a crisis to matchJohn Mackovic’s final season at ֱ, 2003.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
In its 13th year, Monday’s Martin Luther King Basketball Classic at McKale Center has become the showcase for high school basketball in Southern ֱ.
Seven games will be played beginning at 11 a.m., when the girlsteams from Tohono O’odham and Baboquivari meet. The final game, scheduled to start at 8 p.m., matches boys teams from Cienega and ֱ High.
The feature game is a 6:30 p.m., clash between Sahuaro and Salpointe Catholic. After almost a decade, the long-powerful Cougars teams ofDick McConnelland the Lancers contenders ofBrian Peabodyhave been re-branded and are again traditional powers.
Cougars coachJim Henry, a Sahuaro alumnus, is 122-58 in his seventh season. Salpointe coachBrian Holstromis 149-61 in his eighth season.
Keep an eye on Salpointe juniorRylan O’Brien. In Thursday’s victory over Nogales, O’Brienmade 11 3-point baskets and scored 35 points. The AIA lists just one player in state history, Pueblo’sSmiley Contrerasin 2001 (with 14), having made more threes in a game.
This is also the busiest period of the prep basketball season; Sahuaro plays six games in ninedays and the Lancers five games in eight days. Admission is $10 and is part of the Coaches For Charity nonprofit organization.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Progress: Although first-year UA women’s basketball coachAdia Barnesdidn’t have time to properly recruit for the 2016-17 season, she engineered one of the most impressive victories in the school’s last five years. The Wildcats beat 12-2 Utah in Salt Lake City last Sunday. How unexpected was that? Under former coachNiya Butts, the Wildcats had gone 1-32 in Pac-12 road games dating to 2013.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
When vandals ruined Pueblo High School’s new basketball surface recently, it forced coachIzzy Galindo’s 18-1 and No. 5-ranked (Class 4A) girls basketball team to play a home game on the road, at Amphitheater. The Warriors won 55-25. The school fixed some lighting and updated locker rooms at the smaller south gymnasium in time for Pueblo to play Friday’s game, which it won 80-38 over Rio Rico. The Warriors have three regular-season home games remaining; all will be played in the smaller facility.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Sabino football coachJay Campos, who led the Sabercats to four state championship games, resigned last week. He won 133 games, an average of nine per season, which ranks with any prep football coach in ֱ history. Campos, who will be a full-time administrator at Sabino, said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of returning to coaching some day. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if ex-SabercatRyan McBrayer, part of Campos’ staff and a former Sabercats standout linebacker, becomes the new head coach. McBrayer is a teacher at Sabino.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The race for men’s basketball Player of the Year in the ACCAC appears to be a two-way race between a couple of ֱans. Pima sophomoreDeion James, 6-foot-6-inch wing player from EmpireHigh School, leads the league in scoring with 21.9 points per game, and is averaging 10.1 rebounds per game. James last week was offered scholarships by both Colorado State and Fresno State. South Mountain freshmanJacob Inclan, a Sunnyside High School grad, is also averaging a double-double, leading the ACCAC with a 12.3 rebounds-per-game average. He is second in points, at 20.1 per game.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
ֱ athlete of the week: UA freshman high jumperJustice Summersetmade an impressive college debut Friday night. In an indoor track meet at NAU, Summerset cleared 7 feet 3 inches, which is his personal best. His jump would’ve been good for sixth place in last year’s NCAA indoor high jump finals. Summerset is a Mountain View High School grad.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
ֱ announced last week it a two-game football series against Colorado State in 2027 and 2028. It seems odd a Pac-12 school would announce a series with a mid-level school like CSU, and especially a series a decade away. ֱ used to boldly announce football series against Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Now? NAU, UTEP and Houston are ֱ’s 2017 nonconference opponents. ֱ fans haven’t reacted well to a regular and diminished list of opponents.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Cal’s hiring of Wisconsin defensive coordinatorJustin Wilcoxas its new football coach represents a notable change, from offense to defense, among a league once laden with offensive-system coaches. Now seven of the Pac-12’s head coaches are defensive-oriented men: Wilcox; Utah’sKyle Whittingham; Colorado’sMike MacIntyre; ASU’sTodd Graham; UCLA’sJim Mora; Oregon’sWillie Taggart; and Oregon State’sGary Andersenall came up through the ranks as defensive coaches. It’s like the 1990s all over again.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
I wasn’t surprisedSonny Dykeswasn’t a good fit and, ultimately, fired as Cal’s football coach. Dykes is a Texan and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to interview for the Baylor job last month. The AD who hired Dykes is no longer on staff, and, much like RichRod, Dykes made some coaching staff mistakes. If you coach at Cal, your lifestyle changes because you spend so much time driving traffic-clogged freeways. Getting to the Cal campus from anywhere is a challenge. The freeway lifestyle is among the reasons former ֱ associate ADBob Bockrathleft as Cal’s athletic director to take a similar job at Texas Tech a few years ago.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
If you’re 55 or older, and if you play in one golf tournament this year, I recommend the third annual Edward Jones Southern ֱ Short Course Open Feb. 9-10. It will be held at Rolling Hills Golf Course. Gross/net prizes will be awarded for age groups 55-64, 65-74 and 75-over, for both men and women. Fee is $99. Entry forms available at .
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
When he was a teenage tennis standout, one ofEric Styrmoe’s ֱ rivals was a youngRobert Sarver, now owner of the Phoenix Suns. Styrmoe stuck with tennis; he played at Sabino High School and Pima College and then became probably the top tennis player in Weber State history. He was selected to the WSU Sports Hall of Fame last week and will be induced March 3-4 in Ogden, Utah. At Weber State, Styrmoe won two Big Sky Conference singles titles (and two team championships), later won 10 USTA singles/doubles titles and registered 11 ֱ City singles championships between 1981-95. He is now director of tennis at the Westin La Paloma.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
ֱanBryanna Caldwell Cotéwas selected to the U.S. Bowling Congress’ Team USA for 2017 after finishing third in the qualifying finals in Las Vegas last week. Cote, a Canyon del Oro High School grad, thus qualifiesfor the World Cup this year in Mexico, as well as other Team USA competitions.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Small world: In the semifinals of the Mexican Winter League baseball playoffs last week, ֱ pitchersPat McCoyof Sahuaro andManny Barredaof Sahuarita opposed one another in Los Mochis. Barreda’s Los Mochis team prevailed over McCoy’s Culiacan club, 4-1. Barreda, who pitched a no-hitter in November, allowed two hits in eight innings. The two were high school rivals, meeting in a 2005 Sahuarita Invitational game in which McCoy beat Barreda 6-3. They also pitched against one another in a Double-A game back in 2013. McCoy has since pitched in 14 big-league games, for Detroit, while Barreda, now 28, has not moved past Double-A.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The power of ESPN versus Fox Sports 1: The Jan. 4 ֱ-Utah basketball game, a Thursday night FS1 telecast, drew an audience of 205,000. The same night, Gonzaga and USF drew 280,000 on ESPN2, and the UCLA-Cal game on ESPN had an audience of 730,000. Saturday’s ֱ-UCLA game at Pauley Pavilion on CBS could surpass 1 million viewers.
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
What goes around comes around: In the winter of 1982, UA football coachLarry Smithpermitted me to accompany him and defensive coordinatorMoe Ankneyon a recruiting visit to five Phoenix prospects.
It was the day the Wildcats visited with and got a commitment from South Mountain High School linebackerByron Evans, who became the 1986 Pac-10 defensive Player of the Year.
But the day began ominously.
Smith pulled into the parking lot at Tempe McClintock High School to meet with the state’s No. 1 recruit, linebackerFrank Rudolph. Something went wrong right away.
The McClintock coach was standing in the parking lot, waiting for Smith.
“Frank’s not going to attend ֱ,” the coach said. “He’s going to go to ASU.”
That was it. After a brief, awkward conversation, the McClintock coach returned to the gym. Smith didn’t even get out of the car.
Last Wednesday, Larry’s son,Corby Smith, who grew up on the sidelines shadowing his father at ֱ Stadium, became the head football coach at McClintock High School.
If that’s not football justice, what is?
- Greg Hansen
Sometimes it’s not who you hire, it’s who you don’t hire.
Five years ago,Rich Rodrigueztold ֱ defensive line coachJoe Salave’ahe would not be retained on RichRod’s first UA staff, 2012.
How’d that turn out?
RichRod hired 65-year-old West Virginia defensive line coachBill Kirelawich. Salave’a, ֱ’s 1997 All-Pac-10 defensive tackle, began looking for work, ultimately becoming part ofMike Leach’s first staff at Washington State.
Last week, despite being offered a raise and promotion at WSU, Salave’a accepted a $1.65 million, three-year contract to be Oregon’s assistant head coach and defensive line coach. That’s a better contract than any assistant football coach in UA history.
Simultaneously, the Ducks flipped ֱ’s most high-profile recruit, quarterbackBraxton Burmeister, and are now working on persuading Eugene (Ore.) Sheldon High offensive linemanCody Shearto renege on his commitment to play at ֱ and become a Duck. Shear’s ties to the UO are strong; his uncle,TimShear, is a former Oregon linebacker who owns an e-commerce business in Eugene.
Kirelawich? He was fired a year ago. His position went not to Salave’a, but to former ASU linemanVince Amey, who had never coached a down of college football.
Salave’a has become one of college football’s most significant recruiters; his connection to the Polynesian community is such that the Cougars’ rise to Pac-12 contention can be linked to those Salave’a recruited, includingHercules Mata’afa,Daniel EkualeLogan Tago,Darryl Paulo,Shalom LuaniandDestiny Vaeao.
Seven players have now withdrawn their pledges to play football at ֱ, including defensive linemanAustin Faoliuof Anaheim, California, who will play in Friday’s Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu. After Faoliu committed to ֱ, Salave’a offered him a scholarship to WSU; Faoliu will announce his final college choice Friday.
Last week began with promise for RichRod. He was advanced to the presidency of the American Football Coaches Association, where he and his colleagues began to campaign for, among other things, a mid-December signing period.
Such a change might end many late-term recruiting flips.
But if you believe in football karma, here’s a bad trend: Presidents of the AFCA have not fared well recently.
Washington’sTyrone Willingham, president of the AFCA in 2008, went 0-12 and was fired.
Dick Tomey, president of the AFCA in 2009, went 2-10 at San Jose State and resigned.
Texas’Mack Brown, president of the AFCA in 2013, went 8-5 and was fired.
Cincinnati’sTommy Tuberville, president of the AFCA in 2015, went 4-8 last season and resigned.
Whether it’s bad karma or bad luck, whatever momentum ֱ gained from beating ֱ State in November’s Territorial Cup has been lost. This is developing into a crisis to matchJohn Mackovic’s final season at ֱ, 2003.
- Greg Hansen
In its 13th year, Monday’s Martin Luther King Basketball Classic at McKale Center has become the showcase for high school basketball in Southern ֱ.
Seven games will be played beginning at 11 a.m., when the girlsteams from Tohono O’odham and Baboquivari meet. The final game, scheduled to start at 8 p.m., matches boys teams from Cienega and ֱ High.
The feature game is a 6:30 p.m., clash between Sahuaro and Salpointe Catholic. After almost a decade, the long-powerful Cougars teams ofDick McConnelland the Lancers contenders ofBrian Peabodyhave been re-branded and are again traditional powers.
Cougars coachJim Henry, a Sahuaro alumnus, is 122-58 in his seventh season. Salpointe coachBrian Holstromis 149-61 in his eighth season.
Keep an eye on Salpointe juniorRylan O’Brien. In Thursday’s victory over Nogales, O’Brienmade 11 3-point baskets and scored 35 points. The AIA lists just one player in state history, Pueblo’sSmiley Contrerasin 2001 (with 14), having made more threes in a game.
This is also the busiest period of the prep basketball season; Sahuaro plays six games in ninedays and the Lancers five games in eight days. Admission is $10 and is part of the Coaches For Charity nonprofit organization.
- Greg Hansen
Progress: Although first-year UA women’s basketball coachAdia Barnesdidn’t have time to properly recruit for the 2016-17 season, she engineered one of the most impressive victories in the school’s last five years. The Wildcats beat 12-2 Utah in Salt Lake City last Sunday. How unexpected was that? Under former coachNiya Butts, the Wildcats had gone 1-32 in Pac-12 road games dating to 2013.
- Greg Hansen
When vandals ruined Pueblo High School’s new basketball surface recently, it forced coachIzzy Galindo’s 18-1 and No. 5-ranked (Class 4A) girls basketball team to play a home game on the road, at Amphitheater. The Warriors won 55-25. The school fixed some lighting and updated locker rooms at the smaller south gymnasium in time for Pueblo to play Friday’s game, which it won 80-38 over Rio Rico. The Warriors have three regular-season home games remaining; all will be played in the smaller facility.
- Greg Hansen
Sabino football coachJay Campos, who led the Sabercats to four state championship games, resigned last week. He won 133 games, an average of nine per season, which ranks with any prep football coach in ֱ history. Campos, who will be a full-time administrator at Sabino, said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of returning to coaching some day. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if ex-SabercatRyan McBrayer, part of Campos’ staff and a former Sabercats standout linebacker, becomes the new head coach. McBrayer is a teacher at Sabino.
- Greg Hansen
The race for men’s basketball Player of the Year in the ACCAC appears to be a two-way race between a couple of ֱans. Pima sophomoreDeion James, 6-foot-6-inch wing player from EmpireHigh School, leads the league in scoring with 21.9 points per game, and is averaging 10.1 rebounds per game. James last week was offered scholarships by both Colorado State and Fresno State. South Mountain freshmanJacob Inclan, a Sunnyside High School grad, is also averaging a double-double, leading the ACCAC with a 12.3 rebounds-per-game average. He is second in points, at 20.1 per game.
- Greg Hansen
ֱ athlete of the week: UA freshman high jumperJustice Summersetmade an impressive college debut Friday night. In an indoor track meet at NAU, Summerset cleared 7 feet 3 inches, which is his personal best. His jump would’ve been good for sixth place in last year’s NCAA indoor high jump finals. Summerset is a Mountain View High School grad.
- Greg Hansen
ֱ announced last week it a two-game football series against Colorado State in 2027 and 2028. It seems odd a Pac-12 school would announce a series with a mid-level school like CSU, and especially a series a decade away. ֱ used to boldly announce football series against Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Now? NAU, UTEP and Houston are ֱ’s 2017 nonconference opponents. ֱ fans haven’t reacted well to a regular and diminished list of opponents.
- Greg Hansen
Cal’s hiring of Wisconsin defensive coordinatorJustin Wilcoxas its new football coach represents a notable change, from offense to defense, among a league once laden with offensive-system coaches. Now seven of the Pac-12’s head coaches are defensive-oriented men: Wilcox; Utah’sKyle Whittingham; Colorado’sMike MacIntyre; ASU’sTodd Graham; UCLA’sJim Mora; Oregon’sWillie Taggart; and Oregon State’sGary Andersenall came up through the ranks as defensive coaches. It’s like the 1990s all over again.
- Greg Hansen
I wasn’t surprisedSonny Dykeswasn’t a good fit and, ultimately, fired as Cal’s football coach. Dykes is a Texan and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to interview for the Baylor job last month. The AD who hired Dykes is no longer on staff, and, much like RichRod, Dykes made some coaching staff mistakes. If you coach at Cal, your lifestyle changes because you spend so much time driving traffic-clogged freeways. Getting to the Cal campus from anywhere is a challenge. The freeway lifestyle is among the reasons former ֱ associate ADBob Bockrathleft as Cal’s athletic director to take a similar job at Texas Tech a few years ago.
- Greg Hansen
If you’re 55 or older, and if you play in one golf tournament this year, I recommend the third annual Edward Jones Southern ֱ Short Course Open Feb. 9-10. It will be held at Rolling Hills Golf Course. Gross/net prizes will be awarded for age groups 55-64, 65-74 and 75-over, for both men and women. Fee is $99. Entry forms available at .
- Greg Hansen
When he was a teenage tennis standout, one ofEric Styrmoe’s ֱ rivals was a youngRobert Sarver, now owner of the Phoenix Suns. Styrmoe stuck with tennis; he played at Sabino High School and Pima College and then became probably the top tennis player in Weber State history. He was selected to the WSU Sports Hall of Fame last week and will be induced March 3-4 in Ogden, Utah. At Weber State, Styrmoe won two Big Sky Conference singles titles (and two team championships), later won 10 USTA singles/doubles titles and registered 11 ֱ City singles championships between 1981-95. He is now director of tennis at the Westin La Paloma.
- Greg Hansen
ֱanBryanna Caldwell Cotéwas selected to the U.S. Bowling Congress’ Team USA for 2017 after finishing third in the qualifying finals in Las Vegas last week. Cote, a Canyon del Oro High School grad, thus qualifiesfor the World Cup this year in Mexico, as well as other Team USA competitions.
- Greg Hansen
Small world: In the semifinals of the Mexican Winter League baseball playoffs last week, ֱ pitchersPat McCoyof Sahuaro andManny Barredaof Sahuarita opposed one another in Los Mochis. Barreda’s Los Mochis team prevailed over McCoy’s Culiacan club, 4-1. Barreda, who pitched a no-hitter in November, allowed two hits in eight innings. The two were high school rivals, meeting in a 2005 Sahuarita Invitational game in which McCoy beat Barreda 6-3. They also pitched against one another in a Double-A game back in 2013. McCoy has since pitched in 14 big-league games, for Detroit, while Barreda, now 28, has not moved past Double-A.
- Greg Hansen
The power of ESPN versus Fox Sports 1: The Jan. 4 ֱ-Utah basketball game, a Thursday night FS1 telecast, drew an audience of 205,000. The same night, Gonzaga and USF drew 280,000 on ESPN2, and the UCLA-Cal game on ESPN had an audience of 730,000. Saturday’s ֱ-UCLA game at Pauley Pavilion on CBS could surpass 1 million viewers.
- Greg Hansen
What goes around comes around: In the winter of 1982, UA football coachLarry Smithpermitted me to accompany him and defensive coordinatorMoe Ankneyon a recruiting visit to five Phoenix prospects.
It was the day the Wildcats visited with and got a commitment from South Mountain High School linebackerByron Evans, who became the 1986 Pac-10 defensive Player of the Year.
But the day began ominously.
Smith pulled into the parking lot at Tempe McClintock High School to meet with the state’s No. 1 recruit, linebackerFrank Rudolph. Something went wrong right away.
The McClintock coach was standing in the parking lot, waiting for Smith.
“Frank’s not going to attend ֱ,” the coach said. “He’s going to go to ASU.”
That was it. After a brief, awkward conversation, the McClintock coach returned to the gym. Smith didn’t even get out of the car.
Last Wednesday, Larry’s son,Corby Smith, who grew up on the sidelines shadowing his father at ֱ Stadium, became the head football coach at McClintock High School.
If that’s not football justice, what is?
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