Sonoran Hot Reads: Arizona looks like a potential National Champion

Not sneaking up on anyone at this point

It feels like the Arizona Wildcats can kind of sneak up on people nationally no matter the sport. But this year’s basketball team is different. Mark Titus of The Ringer has Arizona 4th in his latest power rankings, but his section on Arizona is magnificent, which says that “It took a couple of months to get here, but Arizona looks like a potential national champion,” and “There are no role players. Everyone who sees the court is both capable of inflicting serious damage and actively trying to do so.”

But this on Arizona’s lack of depth is the best part:

At one point Arizona’s roster was so depleted that I’m pretty sure head coach Sean Miller sent one of his assistants to Dirtbag’s to offer a scholarship to anyone who came out of the front door without puking all over themselves and stumbling into the 7-Eleven parking lot. (There were no qualifying candidates.)

For the first two months of the season, Arizona was a rowboat that kept springing leaks, and Miller did all he could to keep the damn thing afloat.

Seriously though, read the whole thing

- The Ringer also did an exceptional profile on Lauri Markkanen, who moved up to 6th on their latest NBA Draft Big Board. Miller said after Thursday’s win that Markkanen needs credit nationally, but I’m pretty sure he’s getting it at this point

- If there is a weakness on this team, it’s interior defense for sure

- Lorenzo Romar seems to think that there are many more seniors on this team than Kadeem Allen. Man will he be surprised next year if he still has a job

- T.J. McConnell had MVP chants showered on him Friday night after Joel Embiid called TJM the MVP of the Sixers’ recent hot streak

Football

- Somehow, Arizona was involved in two of the best 100 games in the sport last year. The UW contest was 52nd, and the BYU opener was 78th

- Arizona commit Troy Young is visiting Tulane and UAB this weekend

- Warren Jackson committed to Colorado State shortly after decomitting from Arizona

- Not totally unrelated to those two recruiting things: Rich Rodriguez’s satisfaction rating is somewhere around a 2 out of 5 right now

- Former Arizona pledge Josh Allen is visiting Houston which could be hilarious in week two

- Sonny Dykes almost became the offensive coordinator at ASU, but will stay at TCU due to his father’s failing health

- The Stanford band is back

Baseball

- Baseball America put out there Arizona season preview, and it pretty much nails it

- Steve Selsky was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, filling out Boston’s 40-man roster

Other sports

- Jennie Finch will work with MLB as the Youth Softball Ambassador

- Swimming and diving was dropped by Texas in Austin

- Track and field will be competing in an indoor meet in Seattle

- Women’s tennis hosts NAU and GCU on Saturday

Tucson news

- Former university president Robert Shelton will be overseeing the Giant Magellan Telescope buildout, a project UA is heavily involved in

- Eastbound I-10 will be closed in Benson Sunday morning

- A local elementary school teacher was fired after allegations that they inappropriately touched some of the children

- PACC is waiving adoption fees for all adult dogs and cats through Saturday

Ski Valley's lower lift is open! Storm damage has the main lift closed, but fun still to be had on Mt. Lemmon >> https://t.co/YN23sBBByz http://pic.twitter.com/71JOCkLw3w

— Mike Christy (@wildcatphotog) January 27, 2017

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