Rose Bowl Maps for the Pac-10

Sorry it's been awhile since our last post. Been way too hard at work. It's a shame there's no documentation or representation from us here at The Beardown for this momentous Arizona season we're in the middle of. But I've decided to give those around the Pac-10 a look at what's left and how your team can make it to the Grand Daddy of them all on New Years.

After Oregon's decimation of the Trojans at Autzen there are only two teams left writing their own tickets to Pasadena and remarkably, USC is not one of them. So let's take a look at the whole conference break down.

Oregon - With a 5-0 Pac record, if the Ducks win out they're in. Simple as that. But if the Ducks win out, the Hawkeyes drop a late game, Texas slips up in the latter half of the Big XII race Oregon will actually have a shot at the National Title game this year seeing as how Florida and Alabama will have to play each other in the Conference Championship game down the road. The Ducks are still in the driver's seat if they go 3-1 as long as that one loss isn't to Arizona. If the Ducks do lose to Arizona they will need the Cats to drop another conference game (@ USC most likely) to regain the lead in the Conference of Champions. The bottom line is all signs point to Oregon's appearance in the Rose Bowl this season. The Ducks are the only team remaining in the conference that can still lose 2 games (of their remaining 4) and still have a chance to smell the Roses. But at that point there are a lot of ifs being thrown in.

Arizona - The Cats are the only other team that can write up their own ticket to the Big Game. While the National Championship is out of their grasp, the Rose Bowl certainly is not. If not for a terrible call bad bounce in the Washington game Arizona would be much more comfortable going forward. But either way if the Cats win out it would give them a 8-1 record in Pac Play with the tie-breaker over Oregon to send them, and legions of UA Faithful to Southern California for New Years. The Cats are the only team left in the Conference that still have 5 games left of the schedule so winning out is a slightly more difficult task. Also adding difficulty is the fact that Arizona still has Cal, Oregon, USC, and a nothing to lose ASU team left on their schedule. If the Cats don't win out they will still have Roses in their grasp but it will take wins over Cal, Oregon, and USC and it will take Oregon dropping at least 2 of their remaining 4. In which case Arizona and Oregon will each have 2 losses and Arizona will hold the tiebreaker. There's always the chance that if Arizona does go 4-1 and their lone loss is to Oregon that they will play in the Rose Bowl while Oregon plays for the National Championship.

USC - For the first time in a long time USC has a lot of ground to make up to play at home on January 1st. USC has to win out, but even if they win out Oregon will still have the tie breaker. With 2 losses already in Conference Play, in order for USC to go to the Rose Bowl Oregon will need to nosedive and lose 3 of their remaining 4 games AND Arizona will have to drop an additional game beyond the USC game. While I wouldn't say it safe to count them out, they've got a long way to go. They too could benefit if Oregon wins out and Arizona drops 2 of their remaining 5 (as long as one of those losses is at the hands of USC). But that's only if Oregon does manage to make it to the National Championship Game. Something I'm sure Boise State fans would be unhappy about.

Stanford - While currently unranked the Cardinals are not completely out of the Rose Bowl picture. They've still got USC and Oregon on their schedule heading forward. If Stanford wins out they'll have a 7-2 Conference Record and the tie breakers over Oregon and USC. But they too would need Oregon to drop 2 of their remaining 4 (including their need to beat the Ducks at home this week) and they would need Arizona to lose 3 of their remaining 5. Not likely.

California - Cal currently has 2 conference losses so winning out is pretty much their only option at this point. Winning out would include giving Arizona their 2nd conference loss and possession of a Tiebreaker there and it would also give Stanford its 3rd loss effectively eliminating them from contention. But too many things are out of their hands since they already have losses to USC and Oregon. If Cal can win out they would still need USC to drop 1 game and Oregon to drop 3 of their remaining 4. Somehow I don't see that happening.

Oregon State - The Beavers are on the outside looking in right now. They already have 2 losses in the Pac at the hands of Arizona and USC. So winning out is only half of the puzzle. Similarly to Cal and Stanford, for Oregon State to go to the Rose Bowl they will need USC to drop another game and Oregon to drop 3 of 4. In their case unlike Cal and Stanford, they still have Oregon on the schedule and could give the Ducks 1 of 3 losses they need to advance.

For Arizona State and Washington there are way too many ifs for them to need in order to go to the Rose Bowl and I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona State doesn't get another win this season and Washington limps to the finish with their lone remaining win over Washington State. Washington's only chance is for a lot of things to go their way since they have Tiebreakers over Arizona AND USC.

UCLA and Washington State have both been mathematically eliminated from the Rose Bowl. UCLA would need to win out to get to ANY bowl and WAZZU has been mathematically eliminated from ALL Bowls already.

Don't be surprised if Kirk and Corso are hanging around Dirtbags or Trident in a couple weeks as that Arizona vs. Oregon Game on the 21st could very well be a major determining factor in the Pac-10 Champion. And we all remember what happened last time a highly ranked (#2) Oregon played at Arizona Stadium with the ESPN Cameras on the field.


More after the jump...

Eff It Dude, Let's Go Bowling.....Again - Arizona Preview

Over the last two days ESPN's The Sports Guy a.k.a. Bill Simmons has been using quotes from one of his, and my, all-time favorite movies Almost Famous to describe the NBA offseason. I thought this was a great idea. In fact I almost did it last year when breaking down the Arizona Football season Preview, but due to time constraints held back and simply titled the post "Eff it Dude, Let's Go Bowling". Well I decided to pick up where I, and Simmons left off, and give you Arizona's offseason wrap-up/Arizona Season Preview for the 2009 season.

"You must be here to fix the cable.
Lord. You can imagine where it goes from here.
He fixes the cable?
Don't be fatuous, Jeffrey"

This goes to the U of A and IMG Academies for kicking Fox Sports Arizona out of Arizona Stadium for the upcoming seasons. Let's face it, FSN-Arizona has pretty much been FSN-Phoenix for awhile. And there were more than a few Arizona Football games I listened to on the radio with CBS Sports.com open to review the play by play. While it will definitely get a bit confusing, at lease the cable has been fixed and we should get more Arizona games here in town.

"Are they gonna hurt us, Walter?
No, Donny. These men are cowards."

This one goes out to the Arizona State Sun Devils. The punchless scummies up in Tempe are cowards. And unlike in 2006 and 2007 when they beat us to keep us out of a bowl game, 2008 was the opposite. They can't hurt us anymore, and they won't this year.

"Dude, this is a league game, this determines who enters the next round robin. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?"

December 5, 2009 your Arizona Wildcats will travel to Hollywood to play the Trojans in the Colosseum. The Stoops era has been marked by close losses and huge upsets. Both of which apply to the recent past while facing USC. Arizona has a habit of showing up big and playing the Men of Troy close. There are many pundits out there expecting a down year for the Cats due to the losses of Money Mike T and Tui. The Cats though have a taste of success and a Bowl Game. The Cats aren't winning the Pac this year and aren't heading to the Rose Bowl unless a lot of lucky bounces come their way. But they very easily could be coming into the final game of the season needing a win to clinch a Bowl Berth as has been the case the last three years. This is a league game, this could make or break the Cats season.

"I f--k you in the ass next Wednesday instead. Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!"

This goes out to the #3 or #4 Big12 team. The Cats played in the Las Vegas Bowl last year, but I don't think I'm alone in wishing that they had played in a slightly more prestigious bowl. How about gunning for the Holiday Bowl this year. The Holiday Bowl is the place for the #2 Pac-10 Team, or the #3 Pac-10 team if the #1 Pac-10 team is in the National Championship. The Holiday Bowl takes place on Wednesday, December 30th this year.

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."

This one goes out to the folks who call themselves Football prognosticators. Ted Miller at ESPN.com, the folks in the Pac-10 Media Poll, Jon Wilner, and everyone else out there who pick Arizona to finish low and have a down year. While they all have arguments that hold some water, namely missing Tui, Thomas, Britton, and Palmer, I don't think the Cats are taking a step back this year. They might not be in the Rose Bowl, but they aren't missing the Bowl season this year either.

"I'm throwing rocks tonight. Mark it, Dude."

Matt Scott, Nick Foles, or Bryson Beirne. Time will only tell which one will be under center against Central Michigan. I for one hope whoever takes the reigns performs because nothing destroys a football team and football season like a revolving door at the Quarterback position. When I was a Freshman I got to see 4 different QBs start for the 2 win football team. From my understanding Beirne has the best understanding of the system, Foles has the best accuracy and arm strength, Scott has a the most game experience and the most options. All three are neck and neck and neck heading into fall practices. My pick is Scott. He's got a decent arm and some wheels, and with some question marks on the line, specifically with a new guy guarding his blind side replacing Eben Britton, a QB with some ability to run and create might just be the best option for the Cats this season.

"Lebowski: Not a man, a way of life.

This one needs to be tweaked a little bit. Gronkowski: Not a man, a way of life. Big Freak, and to a lesser extent Chris Gronkowskit a.k.a. TOG (The Other Gronkowski) are Arizona's best chances for this season. The Cats will go only so far as the Gronkowski Brothers will take them. Chris gives them plenty of options from 2nd TE, to FB, and H-Back, he led the team in YPC last season and had 3 TDs on 8 catches. And Rob, we all know Rob's numbers 10 TDs on 47 catches, oh and he missed the first 3 games where the Cats put up ridiculous numbers.

Well that's about it for right now. We're less than 40 days from kick off against Central Michigan and their top dog Dan LeFevour. It should be a fun season, and I'm sure you'll see and hear more form us regarding the Cats and College Football in general over the next few weeks.

Eff it Dude. Let's go Bowling.

More after the jump...

Floyd Out: Arizona Consequences

Tim Floyd is resigning from USC, and I for one couldn't be happier. I hated him while losing as the Bulls coach, hated him more when he was winning at USC, and was about to blow a gasket when he was hired by U of A. One problem, he was never hired by U of A, and the fact that Tim Pink Floyd thought he was too good for Arizona made it even worse. It was my lowest moment as a fan of the U. Lower than the Mackovic error of the early century. So....

What do the numbers 92, 88, 95, 89 mean?

They are the ESPN/Scouts Inc. grades of the 2009 and 2010 USC Basketball Recruits, in order, PF Derrick Williams, PG LaMont Jones (2009) and PG Gary Franklin Jr., SF Dwayne Polee (2010).

With the news that Coach Pink is out at USC, there is no doubt in my mind that at least 2 if not all 4 of these players will be back on the market. Williams and Jones have both signed Official Letters of Intent, but even before news came that Floyd was resigning both were pondering their options as Summer classes have gotten underway. Franklin and Polee are only verbal commits so I'm pretty sure that they will probably open their recruitment up as well.

What does this mean for the U of A?

Well, Jones was on Coach Sean Miller's radar from the second he stepped foot in Tucson, but it seemed too little too late as Jones had pretty much made up his mind. But now with the coaching change is there a chance that LaMont a.k.a MoMo will open his recruiting back up? We'll have to wait and see but I'm sure Coach Miller and his staff are already circling. I'm sure that playing at Point Guard U, for a Point Guard Coach, and getting to get his feet wet under, most likely, the best Point Guard in the Pac-10 might all be nice little recruiting tools to get MoMo interested in Tucson once again.

Williams on the other hand was weighing a couple of other Pac-10 schools, but was settled on the Trojans very early on. Will he land in Washington or Tempe? We'll probably have to wait and see. One only wonders just how much contact Williams and Jones have had. If those two have formed any kind of bond, there's always a chance they could defect together. Most schools have formally wrapped up their 2009 recruiting, but Coach Miller has yet to announce his official recruiting class. Some suspect he was waiting on word from Lance Stephenson and his pending court trial. We all know that With Chase and Jordan leaving, Zane transferring, and a handful of non existent recruiting classes, there are more than a few scholarships sitting on Miller's desk at the McKale Center.

If the Cats can manage to get one or both of these recruits away from USC, assuming they are let out of their Letters of Intent, then U of A is not only looking at staying afloat in the Pac-10, but will have skipped the rebuilding stage we all feared and gone straight into Reload Mode. Now don't get me wrong, we'll be lucky to get a 26th straight NCAA tourney berth this year, but with USC no doubt slipping, Cal and Washington being the only two real class programs in the Pac-10, Arizona is looking at a solid opportunity to be a top 4 team this year and have a talented crop of guys going into the following year.

Arizona's already gotten one USC defect (Soloman Hill) since Miller took over and maybe with a couple lucky bounces 2010-2011 could go from being year 2 of the Miller rebuild, to year 1 of the New Wildcat Dynasty with a young core of Sophomores Krylla K, Kevin Parrom, Hill, Jones?, Williams?, Juniors Fogg, Jacobson, and Lavendar, and Senior Jamelle Horne. And I'm sure Coach Miller is eyeing Franklin and Polee already.

More after the jump...

NBA MVP Curse

Everything can be explained with a curse these days, so here's the first in a "However-Many-I-Decide-To-Do" Series, of current (real or imagined) sports curses. Check back for more over the coming days and weeks as time permits.

LeBron got bounced from the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday and it got me thinking, shouldn't the team with the best player and coach be in the NBA Finals? Absolutely they should, but that's a different article for another time/probably has already been written about on countless Cleveland, Orlando, Los Angeles, et. al. blogs around the 'sphere. Anyway I was sitting with my Pops on Monday and I started to run down the list of recent NBA MVP's who failed to win the Finals. Lebron in '09, Kobe in '08, Dirk in '07, Nash in '05 and '06. So we're 0-fer the last 5 at least.

Pops said the last was probably Duncan, but I thought it was Shaq. Note to self, Pops is usually right. Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs was the last NBA MVP to win the NBA Finals back in 2003, Shaq was a close second having done it in 2000. So I decided to do some research, the quick numbers.

In The Last....

5 Years: The NBA MVP has not won the Finals and only Kobe last year was a losing participant in the series.

10 Years: Only 2 of the NBA MVPs have gone on to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Of the 10 winners only 4 have even been in the finals. That's a 20% chance of the MVP winning and a 40% chance of being in the Finals.

25 Years: 9 NBA MVPs have become World Champions and 14 have made it to the Finals. The list of MVPs to win is:

2003 - Tim Duncan - San Antonio Spurs
2000 - Shaquille O'Neal - LA Lakers
1998 - Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
1996 - Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
1994 - Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Rockets
1992 - Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
1991 - Michael Jordan - Chicago Bulls
1987 - Magic Johnson - LA Lakers
1986 - Larry Bird - Boston Celtics

The 5 MVPs to make it to the finals but fall were:

2001 - Allen Iverson - Philadelphia 76ers (lost to LA)
1997 - Karl Malone - Utah Jazz (lost to Chicago)
1993 - Charles Barkley - Phoenix Suns (lost to Chicago)
1989 - Magic Johnson - LA Lakers (lost to Detroit)
1985 - Larry Bird - Boston Celtics (lost to LA)

It's interesting to note that Jordan is the only one in the last 25 years with multiple Finals appearances as the MVP never to lose in the Finals, but he was the MVP in 1988 when Chicago failed to reach the Finals, and yes there is a bit of homerism in bringing up that unnecessary statistic.

In The First....

5 Years: The NBA MVP was in the Finals twice (Bob Cousy in '57 and Bill Russell in '58). Cousy was the only won to win the MVP and the NBA Finals.

10 Years: The NBA MVP was in the Finals 6 Times (Cousy - '57, Russell in '58, '61, '62, '63, and '65) and won 5 of the 6 times (Russell in '58 was the only loss).

25 Years: There were 11 times that the NBA MVP was in the Finals and 9 times he came away victorious. Those 9 were:

1957 - Bob Cousy - Boston Celtics
1961 - Bill Russell - Boston Celtics
1962 - Bill Russell - Boston Celtics
1963 - Bill Russell - Boston Celtics
1965 - Bill Russell - Boston Celtics
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain - Philadelphia 76ers
1970 - Willis Reed - New York Knicks
1971 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Milwaukee Bucks
1980 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - LA Lakers

The 2 NBA MVPs to make it to the Finals and lose were:

1958 - Bill Russell - Boston Celtics (lost to St. Louis)
1974 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Milwaukee Bucks (lost to Baltimore)

Of the remaining 4 MVPs not listed above, only two went to the Finals won. They were:

1983 - Moses Malone - Philadelphia 76ers
1984 - Larry Bird - Boston Celtics

More Stats:
Of the 54 MVP Trophies to be handed out, 37 of them belong to 11 players, they are:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 6
Michael Jordan - 5
Bill Russell - 5
Wilt Chamberlain - 5
Larry Bird - 3
Magic Johnson - 3
Moses Malone - 3
Tim Duncan - 2
Karl Malone - 2
Bob Petit - 2
Steve Nash - 2

Only 3 players have won 3 in a row (Russell - '61-'63, Chamberlain - '66-'68, and Bird - '84-'86) and only 6 players have won 2 in a row (Kareem - '71-'72 and '76-'77, Moses - '82-'83, Magic - '89-'90, Jordan - '91-'92, Duncan '02-'03, and Nash '05-'06) with Kareem being the only player in NBA History to win 2 in a row, twice.

From 1982-1992 (11 seasons) the Trophy was shared between 4 multiple winners (Moses Malone, Bird, Magic, and Jordan.

So relax, Lebron, take a few days to recover from your dental surgery, ignore the ringing phone, you'll most likely get another shot at the Finals and you can make it to the list of other greats who have won the MVP, won the Finals, and failed to make it in separate seasons. They are:

Wilt Chamberlain (missed Finals in '66 and '68 as MVP, won Finals in '67 as MVP)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (won Finals in '71 and '80 as MVP, missed Finals in '72, '76, and '77 as MVP)
Moses Malone (missed Finals in '79 and '82 as MVP, won Finals in '83 as MVP)
Magic Johnson (won Finals in '87 as MVP, missed Finals in '90 as MVP)
Michael Jordan (missed Finals in '88 as MVP, won Finals in '91, '92, '96, and '98 as MVP)
Tim Duncan (missed Finals in '02 as MVP, won Finals in '03 as MVP)

More after the jump...

Manny Being Mommy?

I guess we all owe Manny an apology. He didn't test positive for steroids or it's cousin HGH, it was hCG, or Human Choloronic Gonadatropin. He is not trying to get an edge on the rest of the baseball world he just wants to be a mommy. Newest reports are that he tested positive for the woman's fertility drug. Either he wants to become pregnant or he's using the substance to jump start his testosterone production after the end of a steroid cycle. After the cycle has finished the body isn't able to regulate the normal testosterone levels pre-cycle and the hCG is used to jump start the bodies natural test production. It's nice to know that the best right handed batter of our time goes to the same OBGYN as Kate Gosselin when he needs a fix.
More after the jump...

Move Over A-Roid

So much for that hot LA Dodgers 2009 start. Go ahead and slap a big fat asterisk on that record breaking streak. A-Roid has a new friend in the steroid spotlight. Meet Man-Roid, or Manny Roidmirez, or Manny being Positive. Either way you write it the Dodgers Outfielder and prolific hitter has apparently popped positive for PEDs and will be suspended 50 games. Five Oh. We'll keep you posted.

More after the jump...

Busy Day in Wildcat Country

It has been a busy day in the world of Wildcat athletics. Today was marked by one subtraction and one addition from our Wildcat family.

We'll start with the subtraction. Junior SF Zane Johnson has decided to transfer from the U of A. Indications out of the AD's office are that his request will be granted. Zane seems to be reacting to the writing on the wall with regards to his playing time. The Basket Cats signed Solomon Hill and are heavily recruiting Kevin Parrom both SF prospects from the class of 2009. Combined with the future recruiting outlook and Johnson could clearly see that his opportunities for playing time were quickly disappearing. While any loss is a bad thing for our teams depth next year this particular development is not very detrimental overall.

In more positive news the Football team landed a commitment from class of 2010 QB Matt
Brown out of Allen, TX. Brown is considered one of the top dual threat QB's in Texas. Brown has been high on the Cats for a while and decided to pull the trigger last night while watching the NBA Playoffs. According to an interview with goazcats.com (rivals) Brown said, "I knew it was the place all along, I was holding out because I wanted to see what else happened and then I was watching a basketball game last night and just figured, 'why not?'" On behalf of the Wildcat fans all over the world, we here at TheBearDown welcome Matt and look forward to seeing him lighting up the opposition defense some day under the lights of Arizona stadium.

More after the jump...

Arizona: In The Wake of The NFL Draft

Many thoughts spring to the top of my head on the heels of this weekends NFL Draft. This was supposed to be one of the best drafts in recent Arizona history. There were 6 legitimate Arizona Alums poised to hear their name called, with the majority of the 6 hoping for Day 2 call-ups PLUS the possibility of Arizona Power Forward, Fendi Onobun a.k.a Fen-Diesel making it a total of 7 possible Arizona draft picks.

But alas Junior Tackle Eben Britton actually slipped to the second round to the Jaguars due to footwork issues despite his size and "tremendous upside", I hate the phrase as much as you do. Eben was the only name called on day one and swore to avenge the slip against every team that passed on him. Atta boy EB.

All-Time Pac-10 WR record holder Mike Thomas slipped a bit to the 4th round despite many thinking he was a sure thing 3rd rounder. But the 4th round pick landed him in Florida alongside Eben for a reunion. Interesting side note this was the 7th time that two Arizona players were drafted by the same pro team since 1990. See Box at Right

But that was it for ringing phones on Sunday and there were more than a few Cats sitting on the sideline with questions remaining. So we'll try to keep you up to date. Updates will come so check back often. Remember each team will usually wind up signing between 5-15 Undrafted Free Agents to take roster spots going into training camps and practice squads. Among the possibilities:

QB: Willie Tuitma - NFL size and arm strength, sometimes labeled as a system Quarterback Tui rewrote the Arizona record books in his 3.5 years here as a starter. A DUI arrest in the weeks leading up to the draft almost assuredly knocked his name off a few possible draft boards but don't be surprised to see him show up on someones off season roster. Possible candidates include Denver, Chicago, Detroit, and anyone else looking for a back-up QB.

LB: Ronnie Palmer - Sources say that Palmer has already inked a 3 year deal with the Washington Redskins. Congratulations are in order for Ronnie following in the footsteps of other UA alums to head to the Nations capital.

DB: Nate Ness - There have been some rumblings that Nasty Nate is vying for a roster spot somewhere out there but nothing has been finalized yet. Don't be surprised to see Nate lining up somewhere in the preseason, there are more than a few teams with secondary issues. UPDATED: Ness signed a deal with the Cleveland Browns.

DB: Marquis Hundley - Hundley enjoyed his first season as a Starter in 2008 and grabbed 4 picks. Decent size and great athleticism should find him a spot in offseason workouts. UPDATED: Hundley signed on with the St. Louis Rams.

K: Jason Bondzio - Arizona's most accurate kicker of all time held out hope for a late round selection yesterday, but alas no call was made. Kickers are a commodity in the NFL and they can almost always find a tryout. There are only 32 openings for a kicker in the NFL so even if Bondzio can't ink a deal by the start of the season, there will always be an opening after a kicker starts slow. Bet on it.

OG: Joe Longacre - Longacre was a rock on the Arizona Offensive Line during the Mike Stoops tenure even though players were missing time left and right. He's a mammoth of a man, but lacks many of the needs to play at the next level. Might wind up on a practice squad somewhere.

DB: Adrian McCovy - Coming off his best season McCovy can only hope for the best. He's got the athleticism and came up with 4 picks this year, but if he sees action, it will probably come on a practice squad this year.

OT: James Thretheway - With only one year of starting on the line under his belt, it would be a bit of a reach for most NFL teams. He's got the size, but don't expect to see him on Sundays.

PF: Fendi Onobun - Could he possibly be the next Antonio Gates? At least 3 teams think so as they were able to bring him in for some workouts. Fen-Diesel was told by former Coach Kevin O-Neil NOT to hit the weights, he was already too big. He's got the athleticism and size of a good blocking TE and could develop the hands to match. It's too bad the former forward on the hardwood won't get a chance to take the field as a Kitty Kat because of a lack of scholarships. But who knows, maybe one of the incoming scholarship players won't make the grades and there will be a letter with his name on it from Mike Stoops.
More after the jump...

Leaping Lions: A New Logo in Detroit

In response to their 0-16 season the Detroit Lions have decided to have a new look for the franchise. After seeing how the Arizona Cardinals were able to turn things around with a new logo, the Lions have decided to follow suit. The 2009 Detroit Lions will take the field with this as their new logo:But this wasn't the first choice of the head honchos in Motor City. Other logos were presented at Lion HQ that were ultimately turned down for one reason or another. I have been given access to these images.
Your 2009 Detroit Lions?
More after the jump...

Staff is set

As previously discussed in the recruiting prospectus Coach Miller will something you hear shouted a lot this season at the Wildcat practices. It seems as though the entire coaching staff has now been set.

Archie Miller, Ohio State assistant coach and brother of Arizona head coach Sean Miller, is expected to leave Ohio St. to take the same position on his brother Sean's staff at according to a source. Sean Miller, who left Xavier for the head coaching job at Arizona last week and took two assistants with him, had been keeping a job open for a third former Xavier assistant, Chris Mack, if Mack was not hired as his successor. But Mack will be announced today as Xavier's new head coach, according to reports. Archie Miller was coach Thad Matta's top assistant this past season at Ohio St.

This is big news for Arizona as Archie Miller is viewed as one of the top recruiters in the nation. It also seems to be be the death knell for TheBearDown favorite and all-time great Reggie Geary. Here's hoping that recently promoted Josh Pastner has Reggie Geary's phone number on speed dial.

We will continue to keep you posted on the developments in and around McKale as they happen.


More after the jump...

Recruiting Round Up

Well in just a few short days Coach Miller seems to have us headed in the right direction. As I previously stated in my recruiting prospective last week Coach Miller and his reputation were going to put us in hunt for a number of recruits previously out of reach.After an amazing weekend of recruiting news it seems that things may be even better then we could have imagined.

Coach Miller was recruiting the Kyryl Natyazhko the 9th rated center and 75th overall rated player in the country by Rivals.com. Natyazhko narrowed his choices down to Pitt, Xavier and Arizona State prior to Coach Miller accepting the position at Arizona. This past weekend at the AAU Derby Classic Natyazhko announced that he would become the 1st member of our Arizona Wildcat recruiting class of 2009.This young man instantly gives us a viable C/PF option next season and was quoted by Rivals.com as stating the proposition of early playing time for a coach he trusted was a huge attraction to him.

If that was all the news we had it would still have been a successful weekend by anyone's standards. However it would seem that Coach Miller answers to a much higher standard then we do and secured the re-commitment of Solomon Hill this weekend. Hill is the #3 rated SF in the nation and a previous Wildcat commit, he de-committed from Arizona after Coach O retired and there was no permanent coach in place. He stated many times that Arizona was his dream school and when Tim Floyd flirted with the idea of leaving USC for Arizona Hill felt that he sent a clear message. Hill is expected to formally announce his re-commitment to the Cats some time this week after speaking with the Floyd and informing him of his decision.

Coach Miller is surely not done with this class and many are speculating that we could have a top 25 recruiting class before everything is said and done. In fact it may not be far off at all, the expectation within the program is that one of the nations top juco centers, Jarrid Famous will be here visiting very soon. Famous is 6'10" 240lbs and is said to be favoring Missouri, South Florida and Arizona. Famous told Rivals.com that he would visit Arizona and then make his decision. Jarrid's coach at Valhalla (N.Y.) Westchester Community College was also quoted as saying that Jarrid is looking forward to playing in a much warmer climate then he currently does.

There are a number of prospective recruits currently on the radar and it figures to be an interesting ride in the next few weeks. We here at TheBearDown will keep you informed as any new stories develop.

Untill the next committment - Randle El
More after the jump...

Pennell Signs a New Deal

Congratulations all around for Grand Canyon University's new Head Basketball Coach, Russ Pennell. Many thought that Pennell would have a shot at a higher position, but I personally couldn't think of a better outcome for Coach Pennell. He will have the chance to take over a successful Division II program that is attempting to rebuild and petitioning for Division I status. Not only is this great for Pennell who needs a little more experience before he gets considered for other Division I jobs out there, but he gets to stay in Arizona and his wife and kids don't have to worry about being transplanted.

Pennell will have a great opportunity to leave his mark on a young program and deal with a lot of young talent. He will hope to build on GCU's 13 win season last year and will most likely have an immediate impact on recruits. I'm sure the other coaches in the Pac West Conference are less than happy about the addition of a Coach with some Sweet 16 Coaching Experience.

Congrats again Coach Pennell, and The Beardown will make sure to keep up with Grand Canyon's success next season. Good luck to you and the 'Lopes next season on the court as well as your attempts to join a Division I conference in the near future. Grand Canyon really lucked out on this hire.

More after the jump...

Coach Miller's Introductory Press Conference

The entire introductory press conference in raw unedited format.....This guy is gonna be good and he bails Livengood out and wins the press conference.

Full Press Conference
More after the jump...

Sean Miller: Videos From the Past

Question: What does new UA Coach Sean Miller have in common with this kid dribbling the ball?

Answer: In case you watched it on mute or weren't paying attention, that little guy is the new face of the Arizona Men's Basketball Program.

It's nice to have such a quality ball handler coaching Poing Guard U, plus listen to his work ethic as a 12 year old. He goes home and practices after practice.

Congrats on the new job coach, we're really looking forward to seeing what you can do for the future of Arizona Basketball.

More after the jump...

It is "Miller Time" for the '09 Basket-Cats recruiting class and beyond

With the signing of a new coach finally accomplished and the severe turnover of coaches all over the NCAA BB landscape we here at TheBearDown thought you, the loyal reader would like to know just what possibilities exist for the still barren 2009 recruiting class....

First things first, we should dispel the notion that we don't have anyone committed in this class. Unbeknown to many Reggie Geary has been hard at work recruiting uncommitted kids to come play for the Cats despite the lack of a permanent coaching staff. Coach Geary was successful in securing the commitment of relative unknown Tremayne Johnson a 6'7" PF for Southwest Community College in Los Angeles. it remains to be seen whether or not Sean Miller will honor the scholarship offers of the previous staff.

With Coach Miller potentially comes some of his recruits, here is our breakdown on who could be coming with him;

Xavier's only 2009 commitment is Kevin Parrom, a 6-6, 200-pound small forward from South Kent (Conn.), who is ranked 84th in the country by Rivals.com. Parrom still needs to receive a release from his LOI from Xavier but it is rare that this doesn't happen.

Coach Miller is currently recruiting 2009 center Kyryl Natyazhko, who is ranked 75th in the country by Rivals.com. Natyazhko is listed as having narrowed his choices down to Pitt, Xavier and Arizona State but that was prior to Coach Miller accepting the position at Arizona so it would seem logical that he would probably consider Arizona seriously.

Xavier also had two 2010 commitments - power forward's Jordan Latham and J.D. Weatherspoon. After Coach Miller made his desicion known this morning Weatherspoon contacted Rivals.com via text message and informed them that he was in fact re-opening his recruitment and would consider Arizona seriously. Latham is ranked 44th in 2010, Weatherspoon is 135th.

It should be noted that Coach Miller will be bringing his main recruiter Book Richardson as an Assistant Coach. Richardson used to run the premier East Coast AAU program the New York Gauchos, and has tons of connections back East. This of course means the U of A will most likely increase recruiting on that side of the country and do it more effectively than before.

One name that Cat fans should be familiar with is the #3 rated SF in the nation and previous Wildcat commit Solomon Hill. Hill de-committed from Arizona after Coach O retired and there was no permanent coach in place. According to an interview in today's paper Hill is more than open to re-committing to the Cats.

Also still unsigned and available is Victor Rudd of Henderson Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, NV. Rudd is the 107th overall ranked player in the 2009 class according to Rivals.com and has serious interest in Arizona.

The big question mark in play is PG Lance Stephenson who plays AAU ball for the NYC Gauchos. He is unsigned and the idea that he would consider following his old coach to PG-U is not out of the question. It should be noted that Stephenson(and Rudd for that matter) have not yet achieved the minimum qualifying test scores to get through the NCAA clearing house. On top of that Stephenson is a for sure one and done player and Coach Miller has not encountered this situation thus far in his coaching career.

One last note on his potential coaching staff. Coach Miller's brother is Archie Miller the #1 recruiter for Ohio State's program. Archie Miller has landed three 5 star recruits in the last two years for the Buckeyes. Archie was an assistant with with Sean on Thad Matta's staff before Matta left to take the Ohio St job. Xavier has a policy against nepotism and prevented Sean from keeping his brother on staff. One would assume that the family dinner conversation in the Miller household would include the potential for the brothers to reunite at Arizona. Who Coach Miller does or doesn't keep on his staff remains to be seen but I hope he saves room for Coach Geary as his West Coast recruiter, Book Richardson as his East Coast recruiter and his brother in as his Consiglierie.

This is just an initial list of the obvious possibilities at the moment. It remains to be seen how many players will be released from LOI's in the coming weeks with all the chaos of the off season coaching changes. Check back in with TheBearDown for more info in the weeks to come.

Randle El - Feeling the recruiting flow once again


More after the jump...

Announcing Arizona's New Head Coach: Sean Miller

So most would think that we may be a little late reporting this story and everyone would probably agree that we aren’t the ones bringing it to you since it is now old news. The fact of the matter is; Dom has been doing a good job keeping up to date with ALL the new information and it was changing at such an insane rate that nothing seemed true while everything seemed possible. Plus, I didn’t want to jump the gun in case Miller decided to pull an Abdul Gaddy on us.

So….. TheBearDown is proud to announce that it is officially official Arizona’s new Head Coach is Sean Miller formerly of Xavier.

Quick Facts:
Sean Miller: Age: 40
Head Coaching Experience:
Xavier (Atlantic Ten Conference) : 2004-2009
Overall: 120-47 (.719) : Both Rank him 3rd all time at Xavier
Conference: 55-22 Conference
3 Conference Championships
4 Consecutive 20 win seasons
4 Tournament Appearances (One Elite 8, One Sweet Sixteen)
Contract (Reported):
$18 Million over 7 years with a $1 million signing bonus

What did Miller leave behind? After Xavier’s run into the elite eight last year he signed a long term contract extension that would keep him in Cincinnati until the 2017-2018 season. The extension would have worked out to around $850,000 per year for ten years.

Those are the facts that are relevant at this point, but there will be a follow up article with quotes from Livengood and Miller with commentary so check back.


4Real Out....
More after the jump...

Floyd's Out

Alledgedly the Press Conference was for today at 4 and it was going to announce Tim Floyd as the next Arizona Coach. I thank God that that is apparently not happening anymore. This is getting more ridiculous by the momeny but I'm ok with pretty much anyone but Floyd.

Is Pennell still an option?

Did Livengood lose Pastner's number?

How mad was Miles when he wasn't retained last year?

At this point, just keep it in the family. This coaching seach has gone from a battle between Calipari and Pitino...allegedly...to getting turned down by Tim Floyd. It's a damn laughing stock. Save the money. Best case scenario. Go get Pastner, you know he can recruit, he's never been a head coach, what better way then to start with a learning curve. Arizona's going to be in the toilet the next 2-5 years anyway. Let him get his feet wet. He has coached with Lute and Cal, you know he has forgotten more about basketball coaching and recruiting than most of us (blog writers and readers) will ever know. There's no downside with Pastner, he deserves a shot, and at this point what other option do we have?

I wanted Pastner over Floyd. I would have taken Pastner over Capel honestly (I mean he did play at Duke...do we want that kinda of play at McKale?). Eff it, go get Josh, he already said he would say yes before Livengood finished the sentence. Everyone else is saying no. When Tim Floyd doesn't want the job, you've hit rock bottom.
More after the jump...

Arizona Coaching Update: Pink's in Town

Newest source of intelligence on the home front in the Tucson area is that Capel is out, Few is out, Calipari is out, Pitino is out, Pearl is out, and the newest coach of the Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball Team is ..... USC's Tim "Pink" Floyd.  That's right the coach that tied Russ Pennell's Men's Basketball Team for 5th place in the Pac-10 is taking over for the Arizona Wildcats.  

I was told this evening that Jim Livengood was seen at the Tucson Airport with Floyd as they got into an SUV together and drove off into the Sonoran Sunset to finalize the contract.  Apparently Calipari, Capel, and the others were using Arizona as a bargaining chip and the future of the Arizona program appears to be the newest dead man's hand.  This one hits a little close to home as my "fondest" Floyd memories, as a Bulls fan, were watching Floyd take a team that had just won three straight NBA Championships into a Lottery Team.  

Maybe he'll land a couple recruits, maybe not, but chances are the dam was about to burst in Tucson and instead of a coach that would "win the presser" Livengood needs a coach to stop the bleeding.  Things don't appear to be getting better at McKale Center. 

I guess everyone who said going to Arizona would be good because the Football program doesn't outweigh the Basketball program was wrong, since in the near future the Basketball Program could be one of the biggest jokes in the country.  If no one wanted to rebuild a Sweet 16 Team, I don't see a lot of candidates trying to rebuild a 16 win team a couple years from now.  

If you can't get a top coach, why not just keep it in the family and give Pastner a shot?  At this point it's the best scenario in my opinion.

More after the jump...

Capel Takes the Lead

Quick Report. As I posted earlier, http://thebeardown.blogspot.com/2009/04/final-stretch-arizonas-coaching-search.html, it appears down to Pearl, Few, and Capel. I was told that the candidate not only had a done deal but was in Tucson right now. As I mentioned in the previous article, Jim Livengood was rumored to be in El Paso recently meeting with Jeff Capel. I got a tip from an old Fraternity Brother that Capel was spotted at the Tucson Airport. I don't know if Capel is a big golfer and might be visiting for the weather, but he may have become the new leader in the rumor mill. At least for the next couple hours.

CBS Sports has reported that Arizona is Few's job if he wants it. Does a Capel visit to Tucson mean that Few turned down the job and Capel is the new leading candidate? From what I hear we'll find out soon.
More after the jump...

Final Stretch: Arizona's Coaching Search

Welcome back to the carousel that is the Arizona Basketbal Coach Search. The newest Doc Randi intel is in, but first let's look at how we got here.

October: Lute Olson retires, Russ Pennell is named the Interim Head Coach

November: Michigan State's Tom Izzo, through the typical back door channels, tells friends of friends, of colleagues, who happen to be of mutual acquaintance with Jim Livengood that he might be interested in learning a little bit more about the Open Arizona Head Coaching Position.

December: Jim Livengood begins his search, speaks with C.M. Newton at the U of A vs. Kansas game up in Phoenix. As we all know Livengood has never been a plan B guy in his coaching searches. He knows who he wants and goes after only them. Reggie Theus announces his interest in the coaching vacancy. Livengood doesn't listen.

January: Rick Pitino's name starts coming up in small sections of possible coaching replacements. From the Doc Randi intel it is at this point that his interest begins heating up like an Arizona summer.

February: Rick Pitino rumors spiral up to the top. It appears that he is fast becoming the top target. Despite Arizona's 7 game win streak, Russ Pennel not being considered at all for the job, and won't be.

March: Livengood's list is two candidates long. Pitino and John Calipari. Both of whom are in the Sweet 16. Calipari's Memphis team loses it's Sweet 16 match-up and is overheard saying that Arizona gave him a blank check. Again the Doc Randi intel says that Calipari and Livengood were approaching an understanding on details.

March 27: Kentucky fires coach Billy Gillespie. Arizona fans take a heaving gulp knowing that there was competition for top coaches, then gets taken apart by Pitino.

March 30: My Cell Phone is dinging off the hook. First, Pitino is almost locked up, 10 minutes later I get a text saying Pitino has cooled significantly. John Calipari is the leading candidate for the new Kentucky opening for a ridiculous sum of money. With their contract offer on the table, it seems Kentucky killed Arizona's top 2 choices by chasing Cal with a truckload of money.

March 31: I receive the following texts -
6:30 PM - "My buddy just called and told me he thinks we'll have a coach (no specifics) in the next 24-48 hours."
10:30 PM - "Press Conference sometime between tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning. Izzo out, Pitino less than 5% chance."
10:35 PM - "FWIW (for what it's worth) I'm hearing it's either (Gonzaga's Mark) Few or (Oklahoma's Jeff) Capel...no strong evidence though, just general feelings....supposedly (Jim Livengood) was in El Paso meeting with Capel yesterday morning"
At this point I turned my phone off so as not to wake the little one.

April 1:
"Add Bruce Pearl to the list, we are looking at a top 3 of Capel, Few, and Pearl at this moment. The deal is done and the coach is in town"

With the announcement that Calipari will take over this afternoon in Kentucky I don't see Livengood holding his presser today. So Cats fans, in my estimation, you will go to bed tonight without knowing for sure who the next Arizona Head Coach is. There is always the possibility that a name could leak before or after the Calipari presser, but chances of a formal announcement today is unlikely.

Capel is coming out of left field here (which for those of you who watch My Boys learned to true definition of last night) but Bruce Pearl and Mark Few were on my original list of believed candidates from October.

Mark Few has been my top choice since day one. He won't require a huge price tag. If he can recruit to Spokane, he can recruit to Tucson, he will still have access to all of his pipelines he's been using for recruiting, he's young, he's helped maintain the Gonzaga program that came out of nowhere in the late 90s. There are a lot of questions marks with Few, but most of them surround his inability to make it past the Sweet 16 as a Head Coach. I should note that Few was the WCC Coach of the year 2001-2006, and the co-coach of the year in 2008. He has also had the conference's top player in each of the last 8 years and a few All-Americans.

We know that there might be some interest there based on his comments (following the loss to Arizona) on December 21 about shoveling snow for 6 hours upon his return to Washington from the 60+ Degree December days he'd spent in Arizona.

Fans who want to continue to hold out hope for Pitino can do as they please but it sounds like January and February was the time to get Pitino to sign a contract (which wasn't possible) because he was considering it then, but the Calipari signing might have done just enough to keep Pitino out of Livengood's reach. The only real chance Arizona would have at Pitino would revolve around a lot of money, and a guarantee that his son, Richard Pitino, would have right of first refusal when Pitino retires. Pitino has taken a great interest in Richard's future as a coach.

So Tucsonites, with Doc Randi telling us that the next coach is in town, keep an eye out for Few, Pearl, Capel, or whomever else you think might be taking over the house that Lute built. Those of you working at hotels, airports, rental car agencies, and restaurants keep those cell phones at the ready.

**UPDATE: Jeff Capel allegedly seen at the Tucson Airport. Thanks to Galvez and Boudreaux for that tidbit. We'll see.**

More after the jump...