Ayton is Pac-12 player of the year
LAS VEGAS — Arizona’s season started under a dark cloud following the arrest of assistant coach Emanuel Richardson as part of a federal probe into shady recruiting practices.
Wildcats coach Sean Miller found himself in the crosshairs late in the season when an ESPN report alleged he was caught on an FBI wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to lure top recruit Deandre Ayton to the school. Oh, and preseason AllAmerican guard Allonzo Trier had to miss two games for testing positive for the same banned substance that cost him 19 games last season. Through all the tumult, the 15th-ranked Wildcats stayed steady on the court. “A lot lesser programs, teams, universities would have crumbled and we didn’t,” Miller said. “That says something about us and our future.”
Arizona’s immediate future is the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas this week. The Wildcats (24-7, 14-4) are the top seed and one of four teams to get a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals. They will play the winner between No. 9 seed Arizona State and No. 8 Colorado.
Arizona closed the season with four wins in five games, its only loss on the road to Oregon without Miller, who was held out a day after the ESPN report. Miller missed three practices before vehemently denying the report in a statement last Thursday. Less than three hours later, university President Robert C. Robbins said Miller would remain as coach.
The Wildcats beat Stanford that night and overcame an emotional senior day on Saturday to pull away from Colorado late for their fifth Pac-12 title in six seasons.
“Lot of emotions, an emo-
Arizona freshman Deandre Ayton has been named player and newcomer of the year on the All-Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball team announced Tuesday by The Associated Press. Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak was named coach of the year.
Ayton was one of the nation’s top incoming recruits when he arrived in Tucson and lived up to expectations during a stellar freshman season with the 15thranked Wildcats.
“He’s a once in a generation player,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “I doubt if I’ll coach anyone like him again.”
The 7-foot-1, 260-pound big man from the Bahamas became the first Pac12 freshman in 25 years to average at least 19 points and 11 rebounds, finishing with 19.9 points and 11.4 rebounds during the regular season. Ayton is the second freshman to lead the conference in rebounding, joining California’s Leon Power in 2004.
Ayton shot 61 percent from the floor and was a force on the defensive end as well, finishing with 59 blocked shots to tie for seventh-most in conference history by a freshman.
Behind Ayton and firstteam all-Pac-12 guard Allonzo Trier, Arizona overcame a season of turmoil to win its fifth Pac-12 title