The Bounce: UA D-line vet nowhere to be seen
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Should Bayless have waited?
Re: UA freshman Jerryd Bayless going to NBA
I wonder if Bayless even looked at his own coach, Miles Simon, before making this decision? Simon was way more NBA ready to go pro than JB is now, and look where Simon is now and how his NBA career went.
ALAN T.
What is the big mystery of a young man grabbing for the brass ring? He, like millions of young people, don't go to college for the degree. They go for the job. BULLETIN: He got the job he went to college for!
JOE B.
Wish the kid luck. He has great talent, skill and aggressiveness.
JAMES S.
I've never heard of a coach telling a "lottery" player to stay in school. How is he going to get a better contract than 3rd or 4th pick?
KENT L.
6
NCAA title games that featured No. 1 seed vs. No. 1 seed, including Monday night. The previous ones:
Florida 84, Ohio State 75 2007
North Carolina 75, Illinois 70 2005
Connecticut 77, Duke 74 1999
N. Carolina 77, Michigan 71 1993
N. Carolina 63, Georgetown 62 1982
Sunday was the 35th anniversary of the designated hitter in the American League. Who was the first player to appear as a DH?
Answer: Ron Blomberg of the Yankees. He drew a bases-loaded walk in the first inning against Luis Tiant of the Boston Red Sox.
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The Arizona defensive line continues to develop its young players as Johnathan Turner, the veteran of the group, isn't taking part in team functions.
The 6-foot-3, 262-pound senior has not been involved the past couple of days, including Saturday's scrimmage, for undisclosed reasons.
"I don't have any comment on that," UA coach Mike Stoops said when asked if Turner has been suspended.
The Wildcats indefinitely suspended walk-on defensive tackle Josh Lewis last week for breaking team rules.
Without Turner, who has 26 career starts, the Wildcats had D'Aundre Reed and Brooks Reed playing on the first team Saturday.
"Johnathan Turner brings a wealth of experience and we are looking for JT for leadership," UA defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo said earlier this spring.
Brooks Reed switched from fullback a year ago and played nine games last season, making seven tackles. D'Aundre Reed had two tackles in limited action during eight games.
The switch from fullback to defensive tackle appears to be coming along quickly for Earl Mitchell, who was on the first team along with Lolomana Mikaele.
Mikaele had 13 tackles in 12 games last year, including one start.
Receivers catching on
The Wildcats receivers caught virtually everything within their grasp Saturday, a week after being told they weren't doing their jobs well enough.
Terrell Reese caught five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, Delashaun Dean had five catches for 147 yards and a TD, Terrell Turner caught five balls for 66 yards and Derick Barkum had two receptions for 70 yards.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski had three pass receptions.
The running backs continue to be ineffective, except starter Nic Grigsby.
Grigsby had 33 yards on 10 carries despite being hobbled early in the workout.
"Having Nic back there makes a difference," Stoops said. "He gives us more stability."
Xavier Smith and Joe Reese, two tailbacks competing for playing time, were held in check. Smith had four yards on two carries, while Reese had seven yards on five carries.
MOREDICH
Bayless' position unclear
The following is a compilation of the knowledge of NBA executives, college scouts and those who know Jerryd Bayless well locally: He might not be headed for NBA stardom but he had to declare himself draft eligible.
Check any mock draft online, and he is slotted to go third, fourth or fifth. UA coach Lute Olson said he told Bayless the guard would go fifth or sixth.
The four-year contracts in the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 spots go for $15.1 million, $13.6 million and $12.3 million, although the final two years are team options. By declaring, Bayless could get to that second-contract money a year earlier.
Some were trying to persuade Bayless to stay and boost his name as a winner to vault off-court marketability. The right lottery locale, such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, can do that in a hurry.
In a draft with no clear pick beyond Kansas State's Michael Beasley and Memphis' Derrick Rose in the top two, Bayless had to at least explore the idea of reality matching the hype without hiring an agent. That was even if many NBA personnel see him as a 'tweener guard and top-10 to top-15 prospect.
Chris Duhon stayed in college and went from lottery pick to second-rounder. Then again, did his Duke experience make him better equipped to last in the pros and get a second deal?
Bayless is a scoring guard in a point guard's body. He has plenty of NBA athleticism and desire, but his height, 6 feet 3, could make him a player such as Golden State's Monta Ellis.
Bayless shoots well, but not as well as Ellis from NBA 3-point range yet. Bayless can defend, but not against the top big-shooting guards in the NBA.
Bayless once was said to challenge for the title of best player to ever come out of Phoenix, a city that has yet to produce an NBA All-Star. But the St. Mary's High graduate has a long way to go to be as successful as fellow Phoenicians Mike Bibby and Richard Jefferson.
Bayless would have to be a point guard to be great in the NBA and he has not displayed that ability. That was evident at UA while Nic Wise was injured.
Returning to UA, even in the up-tempo system promised to him in recruiting, might not have developed that playmaking shortcoming. The Wildcats have the nation's top-ranked prep point guard, Brandon Jennings, coming to campus next season.
Some NBA executives believe Bayless will be a point guard in the NBA, but others said he could be a modern-day Vinnie Johnson - a combo guard who could come off the bench, score in bunches and defend well.
Regardless of what position he plays, Bayless will turn teams on with his intelligence, poise, quickness and explosive driving ability.
PAUL CORO
The Arizona Republic
Consolation awardNorth Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough added the Naismith Trophy to his collection of hardware Sunday night. The 6-foot-9 junior from Poplar Bluff, Mo., is the third Tar Heel to win it, following Michael Jordan in 1984 and Antawn Jamison in 1998.
The award wrapped up a bittersweet weekend for Hansbrough, who said he was up until 3 a.m. Sunday brooding over the Tar Heels' 84-66 loss to Kansas in the national semifinals.
"I took the loss very hard, just because we were playing really good, and we just didn't play well (Saturday) night," he said.
He has yet to consider whether to return for his senior season.
The Associated Press
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