Part II of Star columnist Greg Hansen's Guide to the 2024-25 college basketball season: Arizona men say goodbye to cosy Pac-12, and hello to unfriendly, often-hostile Big 12 venues
Part I of Star columnist Greg Hansen's Guide to the 2024-25 college basketball season: The Pac-12 was the toughest women's basketball league in the country. The Big 12 isn't that, though Arizona will have some battles in Year 1.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Former Arizona basketball great Nick Johnson, now 32, flew last week to Cincinnati to spend time with ex-UA coach Sean Miller. He was the featured guest on Miller’s weekly podcast, telling Miller his days at Arizona were “just bliss.’’
When Arizona makes its Big 12 debut at Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena this winter, the Bearcats could match or one-up the UA’s pre-game video: Thirty-three NCAA tournaments. ... 25 conference championships. … Six Final Fours. … Two NCAA championships.
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â Athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois' move's so far suggest that the administrative model used by previous UA sports leadership was either inefficient or outdated, or both, and that the UA needed new blood. Or all of the above.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Mica Mountain football coach Pat Nugent, who began his prep head coaching career in 1997 at Flowing Wells, won his 162nd career game Friday night as the 9-0 Thunderbolts beat Walden Grove 16-6. That’s sacred ground.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Sahuaro High grad Alex Verdugo, the New York Yankees’ starting left fielder, became the seventh player from a Tucson high school to play in the World Series. Verdugo went 4-for-17 and made the last out of the World Series against the Dodgers.
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â When their new contracts are complete, Arizona basketball alumni Aaron Gordon and Lauri Markkanen will have been paid $293 million and $264 million, respectively, according to Sportrac.com. That creates a new Top 10 for former Wildcat athletes.
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â Arizona football was great in 2023. But the Wildcats' meltdown in 2024 shows that last year's 10-win campaign was misleading.
In Arizona’s more than 100-plus years and 1,100-plus games of college football, the Wildcats have only played one game in the state of Florida. That changes with the Saturday, Nov. 2 "Space Game" at UCF.
The two Big 12 football teams logging the most travel miles in 2024: West Virginia (11,137) and Arizona (10,790) — teams that will face each other in Tucson Saturday afternoon.
Jeff Heidrick was one of a kind for Salpointe Catholic High School football | Greg Hansen's Notebook
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Jeff Heidrick's 11-sack, 25-tackle performance for Salpointe Catholich High in a 1980 win over Cholla might be the top defensive game ever played by a Tucson prep footballer. Heidrick, 61, died last week from complications of a lingering medical issue.
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â Dave Bingham was an all-state baseball player at Palo Verde High School in the late 1960s. He coached Emporia State to An NAIA national title and the Kansas Jayhawks to a CWS appearance. Last week, he was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: It was disappointing when former Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said recently: “The new world order of college football will allow us to be able to spend what other programs are spending. It will make it really cool to see what football looks like.’’
Greg Hansen's Notebook: It was disappointing when former Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said recently: “The new world order of college football will allow us to be able to spend what other programs are spending. It will make it really cool to see what football looks like.’’
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â Playing at the birthplace of golf in Scotland was a "once-in-a-lifetime" event for many surrounding the Arizona women's and men's golf teams. It's a testament to the power the UA golf brand still yields.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: More on five-star Arizona hoops commit Dwayne Aristode, what the Miami Heat may do with ex-Cats Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson, Monday's exhibition between Eastern New Mexico and the UA at McKale and more.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Saturday's blowout to Colorado proved what we all probably already knew: If Arizona can't get the football into T-Mac's hands more often, the Wildcats are doomed.
Why was Colorado so eager to rejoin the Big 12? Beyond a $2.5 million “bonus’,’ Deion Sanders or no Deion Sanders, columnist Greg Hansen sees it as simple as wins, losses.
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â Marana High School record-setter Dezmen Roebuck has a ways to go before reaching 5,000 receiving yards, but with how the top-ranked Tigers are playing, and potentially seven more games on the docket, he may just get there.
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Greg Hansen's Notebook:Â T.J. McConnell will earn $44 million, guaranteed, over the next four NBA seasons. That will give him a career total of $81 million. Not bad for an undrafted free agent deemed too slow, too short and not a good enough shooter to make it in the NBA.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook: Arizona alum Brant Boyer an NFL survivor as assistant coach; a look into the last few years for former UA basketball assistant Book Richardson, RichRod still kicking and screaming and more.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook: Once again this season, Pima College’s men’s soccer team is in the hunt to win a NJCAA national championship. Coach Dave Cosgrove’s Aztecs started the season 12-1, and ranked No. 4 in NJCAA Division II.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: When Arizona Wildcat baseball great Terry Francona decided to “unretire’’ last week and become manager of the 2025 Cincinnati Reds, it put in play some of the most historic managerial records in MLB history.
From Greg Hansen's Notebook: The Road to a 9-3 record (or better) for Arizona football seemed do-able in this Big 12. Didn’t it? It's hard to fathom, especially after the Wildcats were blown out Saturday at BYU.
When Arizona was absorbed by the Big 12 a year ago, columnist Greg Hansen found comfort that the Wildcats and BYU's Cougars would become big-game rivals in football and across all sports.