蜜柚直播

The annual hiring/firing season of college basketball coaches created a potentially troubling issue in the Pac-12. For the first time since 1972, there are no African-American head men鈥檚 basketball coaches in the league.

In fact, of the 24 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 head coaches in Pac-12 basketball, 础谤颈锄辞苍补鈥檚听Adia Barnes聽鈥� who is biracial 鈥� is the only person of color currently employed as a head coach.

鈥淪omeone pointed it out to me,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淗onestly, I haven鈥檛 done enough research on the process of each individual hiring to comment.鈥�

Not only are there no black men鈥檚 head coaches in the Pac-12, there are none in the Big Ten, either. The Big 12 has just two minority head basketball coaches,聽Mike Boynton聽of Oklahoma State and聽Shaka Smart聽of Texas.

This can鈥檛 be a good trend for contemporary college basketball. Of the top 50 scorers in Pac-12 men鈥檚 basketball this season, 41 were black. The numbers aren鈥檛 as high in Pac-12 women鈥檚 basketball, but of its 50 leading scorers, 28 were black.

The two black head coaches in Pac-12 men鈥檚 basketball, Washington State鈥檚聽Ernie Kent聽and Cal鈥檚聽Wyking Jones, were fired at season鈥檚 end.

One of the league鈥檚 most positive basketball developments of the last 20 years has been its racial diversity and inclusion in coaching. From 2000-19, the league had as many as five black head coaches simultaneously 鈥� Washington鈥檚聽Lorenzo Romar, Oregon鈥檚聽Ernie Kent, ASU鈥檚聽Rob Evans, WSU鈥檚聽Paul Graham聽and USC鈥檚聽Henry Bibby聽鈥� but all were ultimately fired and replaced by white coaches.

鈥淚 was somewhat surprised when I was hired by 蜜柚直播 because I was replacing a black coach (Niya Butts) and athletic directors often go the opposite way, and hire someone different,鈥� said Barnes. 鈥淲hen I was hired, the other two finalists were white males with head coaching experience. I had never been a head coach, so 蜜柚直播 went against the grain and took a chance on me.鈥�

The Pac-12 has a much better current record of racial diversity and minority inclusion in football, with four black head coaches 鈥� 础谤颈锄辞苍补鈥檚听Kevin Sumlin, 蜜柚直播 State鈥檚聽Herm Edwards, Stanford鈥檚聽David Shaw聽and Colorado鈥檚聽Mel Tucker. The league has five non-white athletic directors, including ASU鈥檚聽Ray Anderson.

While every Pac-12 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball program has at least one black assistant coach, that platform has not led to a significant number of head coaching opportunities.

Of more than 125 Pac-12 black men鈥檚 assistant coaches since 1980, only four 鈥� Romar, Stanford鈥檚聽Trent Johnson, USC鈥檚聽Charlie Parker聽and Cal鈥檚聽Todd Bozeman聽鈥� became head coaches in the league.

Identifying, developing and hiring minority head coaches is more of an issue in college basketball than the one-and-done rule or anything else. Think about it: the last time the Pac-12 didn鈥檛 have a black head basketball coach was 1971. That was when 蜜柚直播 was playing at Bear Down Gym and聽Sean Miller聽was 3 years old.

Until last weekend, Salpointe Catholic senior-to-be聽Bruno Fina, a 6-foot-4 inch, 240-pound lineman, had been on a single recruiting visit 鈥� to the NAIA鈥檚 Abilene Christian.

But in the span of 24 hours, Fina visited USC and UCLA and was offered scholarships by head coaches聽Chip Kelly听补苍诲听Clay Helton.

鈥淚t was like walking through a fog,鈥� said Bruno鈥檚 father,聽John Fina, a former All-Pac-10 tackle at 蜜柚直播 who played 11 seasons in the NFL. 鈥淚t was like a dream.鈥�

What the Trojans and Bruins discovered was not only does Bruno have a pedigree like few other recruits, he has the measurables and intelligence to be a difference-maker.

He has a 1,310 SAT score, which would qualify him for any Ivy League school. And when USC and UCLA grasped his growth potential, both were quick to invite him to be part of their football team.

When 蜜柚直播 coach聽Dick Tomey聽discovered the undersized聽John Fina聽30 years ago in a Salpointe-Sabino basketball game, Fina was built like a basketball player: about 6-3 and 190 pounds. Bruno is already 50 pounds heavier than his father was as a Salpointe senior.

Tomey, who made a living identifying under-the-radar recruits like John Fina, passed on those skills to then-蜜柚直播 assistant coach聽John Baxter, now an assistant coach at USC. It was Baxter who attended the 2018 Salpointe state championship game to scout Fina, as well as running back聽Bijan Robinson聽and defensive back聽Lathan Ransom.

And it was Baxter who encouraged the Finas to make an unofficial visit to USC last week.

鈥淲hen they offered Bruno, I was like a block of ice, I couldn鈥檛 breathe,鈥� John Fina said.

鈥淚 was crying. It was incredible.鈥�

This is just the beginning of the recruiting chase for Fina. He is scheduled to attend the Stanford football camp this summer, where former 蜜柚直播 assistant coaches聽Duane Akina听补苍诲听Pete Alamar聽and former UA player聽Peter Hansen聽are aware of his legacy and football genes. Bruno and his father also attended an 蜜柚直播 spring practice last week.

鈥淥ne thing that hasn鈥檛 changed since I was recruited 30 years ago is that the coaches want to look you in the eye, assess your character and get to know you before offering you a scholarship,鈥� John Fina said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of Bruno. It was a weekend I鈥檒l never forget.鈥�

Former 蜜柚直播 Wildcat Joseph Blair won a championship in his first season as a G League head coach with the . (Via IG)

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster)

蜜柚直播鈥檚 1994 Final Four center聽Joseph Blair聽had a rookie coaching year like few others, capped on Friday night by leading the NBA G League Rio Grand Valley Vipers to the league championship. In the post-game celebration, the Vipers did to Blair what 蜜柚直播 players did to聽Lute Olson聽upon winning the 1997 NCAA championship 鈥� they took glee in rubbing Blair鈥檚 head, captured live on ESPN. 鈥淚鈥檓 just overwhelmed,鈥� said Blair, 44, who scored 1,086 points for 蜜柚直播 from 1991-95. 鈥淭his is surreal for me.鈥� Blair played 14 seasons of pro basketball in the EuroLeague, and had two stints with the old Harlem Globetrotters.

Coach Laura Ianello's 蜜柚直播 women’s golf team, the defending NCAA champions, will play in the Pac-12 championships Monday through Friday in Los Angeles. The Pac-12 meet is almost as difficult as the NCAAs. 蜜柚直播 is ranked No. 7 nationally according to analytics, which is a shade behind No. 1 USC and No. 4 Stanford, a bit ahead of No. 13 UCLA and No. 15 蜜柚直播 State. The Wildcats have a foursome to match any team in college golf — No. 26 ranked Yu-Sang Hou, No. 38 Bianca Pagdanganan, No. 41 Haley Moore and No. 97 Ya Chun Chang.

蜜柚直播 nurse anesthetist聽Sarah Sellers聽will no longer be an anonymous also-ran as she enters her second Boston Marathon on Monday. She was recently the subject of feature stories in the New York Times and Boston Globe, and by several distance running online sites. A year ago, Sellers finished a surprising No. 2 overall in the women鈥檚 race. To come close to that this year, she鈥檒l need to run significantly faster than the 2 hours 44 minutes of last year, a time that was comparatively slow because of a rainstorm. She has since improved her career best to 2:37 and told reporters she hopes to crack 2:30 on Monday.

If you watched incoming 蜜柚直播 point guard聽Nico Mannion聽during ESPN鈥檚 Friday telecast of the Nike Hoop Summit global all-star game, your reaction was probably similar to mine. Mannion has a chance to be the Pac-12鈥檚 premier point guard as a freshman. He reminded me of ex-UCLA point guard聽Lonzo Ball, but with better shooting skills. The Pac-12 will have three standout point guards next season 鈥� ASU鈥檚聽Remy Martin, Colorado鈥檚聽McKinley Wright聽and Oregon鈥檚聽Payton Pritchard聽(if he does not turn pro) 鈥� but I think Mannion has the most upside of any of them and be a program-changer.

Rodney Tention听濒别蹿迟听Lute Olson's coaching staff in 2005 to be the head coach at Loyola Marymount, where he was later dismissed after going 48-123. Tention, who is often given credit for discovering聽Gilbert Arenas聽during the summer AAU season and helping 蜜柚直播 get him away from Kansas State, has since coached on the staffs at Stanford, San Jose State and San Diego, before spending last season as the head coach at Palo Alto High School. Last week Tention returned to college basketball, hired to be an assistant at Cal Poly. He is 56.

础谤颈锄辞苍补鈥檚听Sean Miller聽and new UCLA coach聽Mick Cronin聽were fierce rivals when both coached in Cincinnati from 2006-09. Miller, at Xavier, and Cronin, at Cincinnati, met three times in high-profile, sellout games between two intense, defense-first programs. The average score was 66-64, with Xavier winning twice. It shouldn鈥檛 take Cronin long to fill the UCLA roster with Top 100 recruits and have the Bruins back in the Top 25, helping to restore the 蜜柚直播-UCLA rivalry as the Pac-12鈥檚 best.

Before the Houston Astros game against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, 罢耻肠蝉辞苍补苍听Gertrude Greenfield聽threw out the ceremonial first pitch, caught by All-Star second baseman聽Jose Altuve. It was Greenfield鈥檚 101st birthday, and, amazingly, Altuve hit his 101st career home run that night. The Astros selected Greenfield to throw out the first pitch because she is the mother-in-law of 罢耻肠蝉辞苍补苍听Brent Strom, the Astros鈥� pitching coach. Gertrude is used to being around sports figures. Her late husband,聽Tom Greenfield, was one of the top football players in 蜜柚直播 history, an All-Border Conference lineman in 1936 as part of the 鈥淏lue Brigade鈥� era, the first Wildcat ever to play in the NFL, as part of the 1939 Green Bay Packers.

罢耻肠蝉辞苍补苍听Mike Boyd, a former member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, has become active in the golf community, including coaching the Rincon/University High School golf team. Boyd and longtime 蜜柚直播 golf pro聽Rick Price聽of The Views Golf Club, will debut a radio program 鈥� 鈥淕o Golf 蜜柚直播鈥� 鈥� on Saturday at 8 a.m. on ESPN 1490-AM. Boyd and Price will spend an hour each week talking about golf at all levels.

I incorrectly wrote last week that 蜜柚直播 All-American outfielder聽Dave Stegman聽had not been inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Class of 1981, with teammate聽Ron Hassey聽of the school鈥檚 1976 College World Series champions. Among the recently-elected, seven-person Class of 2019, which will be honored in September, is UA pitching coach聽Taryne Mowatt, who pitched 蜜柚直播 to 2006 and 2007 NCAA championships. Mowatt, in her second season on聽Mike Candrea's聽staff, still holds the Pac-12 season record for victories, 42, which is amazing considering that about 10 of the greatest pitchers in NCAA history are from the Pac-12. Mowatt was the MVP of the 2007 Women鈥檚 College World Series. Her effective work with Wildcat pitchers聽Taylor McQuillin听补苍诲听Alyssa Denham聽has propelled 蜜柚直播 into sole possession of the Pac-12 lead entering this week鈥檚 series against Stanford at Hillenbrand Stadium.

About 10 years ago, I spent a few summer days in Vail, Colorado, and while on a jog near the Eagle River noticed a sign at a recreation center that said 鈥淏ill Wright Tennis Center.鈥�

I stopped and walked to the tennis office and asked if it was the same聽Bill Wright聽who coached 蜜柚直播鈥檚 men鈥檚 tennis team from 1986-2005.

Absolutely. Wright spent 27 summers operating Vail鈥檚 tennis programs for young and old. His ego was such that you鈥檇 never know he played in five U.S. Opens, or tell friends that the city of Vail had honored his long career.

A few minutes later, Wright walked by on the way to a tennis lesson. Small world. He stopped and talked and modestly told me he was about to be inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.

Wright had one of the most difficult jobs in the UA athletic department, coaching the Wildcats against perennial NCAA powers Stanford, UCLA and USC, but he held his own and was about the nicest guy you could ever meet.

Sadly, he died last week, at 81. He leaves a powerful legacy of coaching with class and dignity.