Basketball
* Before we jump into the meat of this week's basketball section, a point guard is considering transferring to Arizona.
According to a tweet by Knoxville-based radio host Jimmy Hyams, former Tennessee floor general Trae Golden is considering Arizona, Baylor and Georgia Tech, among other schools.
Golden, a junior this past season and a two-year starter, left the program in early May. He was the Volunteers' third-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game and ranked third in the Southeastern Conference with 3.9 assists per contest.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Golden had academic issues at Tennessee that included "repeated plagiarism."
But according to Hyams, the issues and Golden's decision may run deeper and more complicated.
Hyams reported May 13 that Jenny Wright, the director of the office of student judicial affairs at Tennessee, was fired after failing to cooperate in an investigation tied to possible inappropriate relationships with student-athletes, Golden included.
* A little less than two months after the Pac-12 Conference's coordinator of officials resigned amid an "in jest" bounty scandal involving Arizona, an independent investigation into the league's actions is now complete.
The 52-page review, handled by Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller LLP, found that the Pac-12 properly handled the situation surrounding the March conference tournament in Las Vegas and that there would be "no further action," the league announced Sunday.
"The Pac-12 CEO Group fully reviewed and discussed the Ice Miller report and agreed that it was an objective analysis of all known facts surrounding the officiating dispute at this year's Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament," said Ed Ray, Oregon State president and chair of the Pac-12 CEO Group, said in the league statement. "The CEO Group accepted the report, agreed there is no further action required, and determined that this independent review brings closure to the matter.
"The report provides valuable lessons for all parties, which will be incorporated in how we restructure the men's basketball officiating program and policies. We are moving forward with a renewed commitment to accountability and ethical conduct to assure the overall integrity of our competition for our members and the public."
During the week of the tournament, Ed Rush reportedly joked to other officials that a $5,000 reward or trip to Cancun would go to an official who gives UA head coach Sean Miller a technical foul or ejects him from a game. The fourth-year UA head coach, who did not have a technical foul all season to that point, was assessed one late in the second half of a 66-64 semifinal loss to UCLA.
The aftermath included a now-infamous postgame press conference rant and a pair of other postgame actions by Miller - including confronting an official and voicing his displeasure to a Pac-12 staff member in the hallway of the MGM Grand Garden Arena shortly after the loss.
The latter two actions led to a $25,000 fine, but Rush's bounty was later revealed. Less than a week later, and after disappointed but supportive Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott stood by his head of officials, Rush resigned April 4.
The investigation discovered that the Pac-12 was correct in ruling that Rush's offer was "neither offered nor taken literally;" that the fine against Miller was the proper call; and that Miller did not use profanity prior to his technical.
However, the report also said that the technical against Miller likely would not have been called, if not for Rush's plea to the officials for better control of the bench decorum.
"We are appreciative of the effort by the CEO Council to commission an independent review of the issues related to the Conference tournament," UA athletic director Greg Byrne said in a release. "Coach Miller and I have discussed the report, and we are ready to move forward. We remain hopeful this report will lead to improvements in our officiating program. At this time I will have no further comment."
The report found that the game was still officiated with integrity and without bias toward either side.
"I am pleased the report by the Ice Miller Collegiate Sports Practice will result in positive change to the Pac-12's oversight of its officiating program," Arizona president Ann Weaver Hart said Sunday in a release. "The conference's commitment to maintain integrity and improve the quality of officiating was important to the executive committee. I look forward to seeing major changes in the way in which the Pac-12 organizes and oversees basketball officiating."
* You can find my personal opinion of the whole matter in a column on the front page. But below are excerpts in the detailed report that may be of your interest:
Here are verbatim highlights - minus expletives - of the report, which included interviews with all parties involved (note: names were not used in the report, only the titles "coordinator" (for Rush) and "Arizona head coach" (for Miller) and "official."
- "Although the Coordinator did not intend to target Arizona's Head Coach, the context in which the Coordinator's statements occurred led eight of the fifteen officials present at either meeting to report that the Coordinator was particularly focused on strictly enforcing bench decorum guidelines regarding the Head Coach."
- "One official reports that the Coordinator offered an extra reward if the ejection occurred the following season during a game in Tucson."
- The pregame meeting with Rush and the officials prior to the Arizona-UCLA game: "The meeting started with a discussion about the Arizona-UCLA game, which was the first game in the upcoming session. The teams' offenses, defenses and personnel were discussed. Because bench decorum was a point of emphasis, the Coordinator raised the topic of both head coaches' conduct. In conjunction with video clips of both teams' offenses, the Coordinator discussed the tendency of UCLA's head coach to "wander" onto the court while coaching and the tendency of the Head Coach to be "animated" and to leave the coaching box.
"During an Arizona video clip, the Coordinator paused the video to show how far onto the court the Head Coach stood during the Arizona-Colorado game. To further illustrate his point about keeping both head coaches off the court, the Coordinator stood up and moved his chair in front of him 'like moving a chair to sit down at a dinner table.' After moving the chair, the Coordinator made a statement to the effect of, 'We need to do a better job with these coaches. What's it going to take to deal with these guys? Do I have to give somebody $5,000 or send you on an expense-paid trip to Cancun?' Not all five attendees report the same exact offer."
- Regarding Rush's bounty statement, as a few of the officials interviewed in the investigation remember: "The officials report 'no laughing, no giggling,' just 'us sitting there and listening,' and 'dead silence in the room' after the statement."
- "As one official reports, 'I didn't take it literally, but, you know, I did get them message
loud and clear that [the Coordinator] was pissed.'
"Four of the five attendees report the room's reaction to the statement as 'chuckles,' 'a quiet laughter,' 'quite a bit of laughter,' and 'everybody laughing, and then it was done.' None of the five attendees report taking the offer literally, although all five of them report understanding the Coordinator's message about the importance of enforcing bench decorum guidelines.
"Two other officials report a distinctly different account of the meeting than the account set forth above. These officials report that at the start of the meeting the Coordinator froze a video display of the Head Coach standing outside the coaching box next to an official during the Arizona-Colorado game. At that point, the Coordinator was 'hot' and 'went off' about the Head Coach's bench decorum. The Coordinator's bench decorum comments were '98% [the Head Coach]' and '2% [UCLA's head coach].' During the Coordinator's comments about the Head Coach, he picked up a chair and 'slammed' it onto the floor for emphasis. Both officials report that at that point the Coordinator yelled about providing a 'three days, two nights' vacation to any official who would call a technical foul on the Head Coach or eject the Head Coach from a game. The UCLA head coach was not mentioned. Neither official reports any reaction beyond looks of surprise or disbelief among the other attendees. Neither official reports taking the offer literally. However, one official reports thinking that, 'If we don't take care of [the Head Coach], we're not going to get any more games [to officiate in the Pac-12].' The other official reports understanding a message that the Head Coach was 'not to have any rope at all.'
- The report's analysis of the different recollections about the meetings with Rush and the officials: "Due to the diversity of reported recollections about the Arizona-Colorado Post-Game and the Arizona-UCLA Pre-game, a singularly reliable understanding of the events of either meeting cannot be reconstructed."
- The Arizona-UCLA game itself, prior to tipoff: "According to the officials, during the regular pre-tip-off meeting between the four officials and the two head coaches, the officials specifically explained that bench decorum enforcement was a point of emphasis for the Commissioner and the Coordinator, that the officials had been watching film of bench decorum situations, and that bench decorum guidelines would be conscientiously enforced according to the following protocol: an informal verbal warning for a team's first breach of the guidelines; a formal bench warning for a second breach; and a technical foul for a third breach. Arizona's Head Coach found the detailed discussion about bench decorum unusual, because it had not occurred all season. However, the Head Coach 'got the message,' and returned to Arizona's bench to relay it to Arizona's assistant coaches, who also thought it unusual."
- Arizona's thoughts on the game: "Arizona's Head Coach describes the game as a "very good, physical game." Arizona's Head Coach, Arizona's assistant coaches, and the Athletics Director all consider the game solidly officiated. According to the Head Coach, the officiating wasn't 'really poor officiating or great officiating,' and the officials were not 'one-sided or cheating Arizona.' Even in regard to the controversial (incorrect upon video review) double-dribble violation called against Arizona with 4:37 remaining in the game, the Head Coach agrees that there was no 'conspiracy to make Arizona lose.'"
- "UCLA also faced increased bench decorum scrutiny. By the end of the first half, UCLA's bench and head coach received several verbal warnings and an official bench warning. The bench warning on UCLA was given by the official who later called the technical foul on the Head Coach."
- "When the bench warnings were issued, one of the other officials thought, 'Now we're in a box,' because protocol dictated issuing a technical foul as the next bench decorum enforcement step."
- On the technical itself and Rush's initial reaction as it happened: "The official approximately eight feet from Arizona's bench saw the Head Coach on the court and promptly called a technical foul as the Head Coach stepped back toward the sideline. As the Coordinator and an officiating leadership team colleague watched the violation call, they both saw that a UCLA player touched the ball and that Arizona should retain possession. While waiting on the first two officials to confer and make the correct call, the Coordinator saw the third official call the technical foul. According to the Coordinator's colleague, the Coordinator's immediate reaction was, 'Oh, s--t. That's not good,' because the technical foul did not appear warranted.
"The Coordinator was hopeful that the conferring officials would determine that the ball had been touched by UCLA, award the ball to Arizona, and rescind the technical foul pursuant to 24 the 'elastic power of the official.' Instead, both the incorrect double-dribble violation and the technical foul stood."
- The report's analysis of the situation: "The review identified over forty separate fouls, violations, or no-calls and evaluated each one for correctness and for resulting advantage. Excluding the 4:37 technical foul, the review concluded thirteen incorrect calls or no-calls occurred (including marginal no-calls) ? with six favoring Arizona and seven favoring UCLA, essentially an even split. Additionally, Ice Miller's video review of the game corroborates an evenly officiated contest in which neither team was significantly advantaged by the officiating. Certainly, the incorrect 4:37 double-dribble violation was an important event late in the close game, but it was not a decisive call. The incorrect call basically deprived Arizona of a single possession on which it might not have scored, and Arizona led when UCLA received possession of the ball after making the technical foul free throws."
- Rush on Michael Irving, the official who called the technical: "The Coordinator believes that it is 'very possible' that the technical foul would not have been called if the Coordinator had not been so 'emphatic' during the Arizona-UCLA Pre-game. The Coordinator believes that because the official who called the technical foul is a conscientious official he took the Coordinator's emphasis on assertive bench decorum enforcement too literally. In that regard, the Coordinator reports, 'That's the thing I kick myself for of all this stuff, my greatest regret is not knowing the different wiring of my players.'"
- Irving's take on the whole situation, from Rush's speech to the technical itself: "The technical foul would have been issued to any Pac-12 coach that would have acted in a similar fashion at any point during the season. I want to make sure it is clearly understood that what [the Coordinator] said, appropriate ? inappropriate, humor ? not humor, regretful ? not regretful, had absolutely no impact on my decision making on the court."
- Miller on his on-court confrontation with Irving immediately after the game: "Neither the Head Coach nor Arizona's assistant coaches have extensive recollections of the incident. The Head Coach does recall placing his hands behind his back, leaning toward the official and yelling, 'F--k you' five or six times."
* Although names were not used in the report, here is a list of exactly who was interviewed in the investigation:
From the Pac-12 staff (7) - An anonymous Pac-12 Enterprises junior staff member (regarding hallway incident with Miller); Ron Barker, associate commissioner; Lydia Murphy-Stephans, general manager and executive vice president of Pac-12 Networks; Gloria Nevarez, senior associate commissioner; Michel Ortiz, video operations director; Larry Scott, commissioner; and Kevin Weiberg, deputy commissioner
From the Pac-12 basketball officiating leadership and technical staff (7) - Terry Durham, men's basketball officiating director of training; Donnie Nunez, associate coordinator of men's basketball officiating; Blane Reichelt, game grader; Mark Reischling, men's basketball officiating leadership team member; Rob Rorke, men's basketball officiating technology director; Ed Rush; coordinator of officials; and Brian Shelley, game grader
Pac-12 game officials (20) - Kevin Brill, Deldre Carr, Mike Eggers, Daryl Gelinas, Mike Greenstein, David Hall, Verne Harris, Michael Irving, Randy McCall, Brett Nansel, Greg Nixon, Tommy Nunez, Tony Padilla, Chris Rastatter, Mike Reed, Mike Scyphers, Justin Van Duyne, Kurt Walker, Deron White and Jeff Wooten
University of Arizona personnel (8) - Greg Byrne, athletic director; Sean Miller, Arizona head coach; Joe Pasternack, Arizona assistant coach; James Whitford, Arizona assistant coach; Emanuel Richardson, Arizona assistant coach; Ryan Reynolds, director of basketball operations; Jim Rosborough, women's tennis volunteer coach; and Ann Weaver-Hart, UA president
Other individuals (3) - John Adams, NCAA national coordinator of officiating for men's basketball; Jeff Goodman; CBS Sports reporter; and Andy Katz, ESPN reporter
Football
It is a quiet, yet still busy time for the Arizona football program.
* The FieldTurf CoolPlay at Arizona Stadium was installed this past week, including the placement of the signature "block A" at midfield and the motto "Bear Down" in ghost lettering with the logo in between the words.
By all accounts, everything went smoothly and, in my opinion, the appearance is more than pleasing to the eye.
This time next month, the move-in process at the nearly completed Lowell-Stevens football facility will begin. By the end of July, the project will already be completed.
* Speaking of moving in, the first wave of 2013 signees arrived on campus this weekend. Among the first batch expected: Anu Solomon, Jack Banda, Calvin Allen, Paul Elvira, Zachary Green, Luca Bruno and Scooby Wright were some of the players we confirmed directly or indirectly through other signees about their move-in date.
We will try to confirm exactly who is on campus early this week.
* As for the rest of the program, there was a camp on campus this weekend so UA head coach Rich Rodriguez was busy with that. It included area high schools as well as some from California.
Per NCAA and program rules, release of specific player results and our attendance is prohibited.
* Now, here is Matt Moreno's look at the basketball and football recruiting side:
Well we hinted that June had the potential to be a busy month in an earlier edition of the War Room and that has already been the case for Arizona on the football side of things and it could be getting that way for the basketball program soon as well.
After having the commitments slow down a bit over the past couple months the football program picked up a couple more recently and things could continue to go that way with June being a big mont for unofficial visits.
We'll have a little more on the newest Arizona commits in this week's War Room as well as a look at what the quarterback situation is looking like when it comes to 2014 recruiting now that Manny Wilkins is off the board.
On the basketball side of things it was a busy weekend for us at GOAZCATS.com as we were able to see a ton of recruits at the Pangos All-American Camp in Long Beach, Calif.
A couple Arizona targets were very good at the camp all weekend long, so we'll have more on them and their recruitments. We'll also discuss some upcoming visitors as well as when a big five-star target in the 2014 class plans on taking his official visit to Tucson.
More importantly could be who he takes the trip with.
So with plenty to discuss after a week off the War Room is filled with updates. Let's get to it.
Football recruiting
Arizona continued its hot streak with another commitment Sunday from a visitor for the second straight weekend. Two-star prospect Jordan Morgan visited Arizona over the weekend and made his decision to commit Sunday at the conclusion of the trip.
* Morgan will head to Arizona as an athlete recruit, but he made a name for himself as a receiver at the high school level. It's a solid pick-up for the Wildcats and is could potentially be another weapon on offense in the coming years.
Morgan, who is from Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore., is the the Wildcats fifth commitment in the 2014 class to go along with prospects like Cameron Denson, Nick Wilson and a few a couple others so far. He is also another recruit from Oregon, a state Arizona dipped into last year with Derrick Turituri and R.J. Morgan.
* Morgan is Rich Rodriguez's second commitment in as many weeks as three-star running back Jonathan Haden committed to the 'Cats over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Haden spoke with GOAZCATS.com shortly after his decision, and one of the big reasons he picked UA was the chance to compete for the starting job.
"I feel like it fits me well," he told GOAZCATS.com. "I'm a running back and that's what I want to do. Last year they had the No. 1 rusher in the nations, so things are going pretty good. So with him (Ka'Deem Carey) being a junior this year there's a chance he might be gone after that.
"So I feel like I could come in and take over that role."
They visit also helped Haden realize that UA was the place he wanted to be early on in the trip.
"We were going around campus," he said. "And I spent a good hour with coach Rich Rodriguez and we were with all the coaches just sitting there talking for about an hour, hour and a half. It was a good talk and I just felt like everything they were saying sounded good, and everything they were saying is what I was looking for.
"So I just felt like it was the right place."
* One other big of football news to come out of last week was the commitment of three-star quarterback prospect Manny Wilkins to Arizona State. It wasn't a big surprise when the Novato (Calif.) San Mateo standout made his pledge to Sun Devils shortly after receiving his offer from them.
It's a school he's talked about a lot and once he got his offer it was pretty much a done deal from there. While Wilkins is one of the quarterbacks with an offer from Arizona, he isn't the only one and the 'Cats are very much in play for plenty of other talented signal callers in the class.
Here's a look at a few names to keep an eye on and what they had to say recently about the Wildcats and how Arizona plays into their recruitments.
- The first prospect we're going to take a look at is four-star recruit D.J. Gillins. The Jacksonville (Fla.) Ribault standout has the Wildcats among the group he's looking at at the top of his recruitment.
There are others like Louisville, Wisconsin and some others who could play a factor but UA is school very much on his radar as well.
"I really do like Arizona," he told GOAZCATS.com last week. "I talk with the coaches a lot and I have a good relationship with the coaches. They like to throw the ball a lot and I feel like they have a good quarterback situation."
One of the bigger things that Gillins is looking at in his recruitment is an opportunity to play early in his career and he feels that Arizona presents that opportunity.
"Coach Rod Smith likes that I can run or pass," he said. "I'm excited that there is a possibility to come in and start as a freshman. That's one of the bigger reasons that I like Arizona so much."
At this point Gillins said Arizona is definitely in his top five because of his relationship with the coaching staff. UA is in play for an unofficial visit this summer and that could be important as Gillins would like to make his decision before his senior year at Ribault begins.
- The next prospect we will discuss is Canyon Country (Calif.) Canyon standout Cade Apsay. The three-star prospect doesn't play in many events and didn't really do the camp circuit over the spring, but he is nevertheless a talented prospect with a big arm.
Up to this point in his recruitment the Wildcats are doing very well with Apsay and he could very well end up being the quarterback prospect who pulls the trigger for Arizona. Like has happened many times already with Rodriguez's staff, the 'Cats are the only program to offer Apsay so far and that could really pay off.
"They're close to the top of the list," Apsay told Rivals.com. "I really liked what I saw when I went there and they're probably one of my favorites so far."
Colorado is another school making a big push for Apsay, but it hasn't offered the 6-foot-2 standout yet.
For now it could still be awhile before Apsay reaches a decision, but Arizona is in a very good spot with the California prospect.
"I'm going to go through the process a little longer," he said. "I don't think I'm that close to making a decision yet. I think I'm going to wait a while longer."
- The last signal caller we'll discuss this week is three-star prospect Marcus McMaryion from Dinuba, Calif. I was able to watch McMaryion this spring and it was pretty obvious why Arizona was the first school to jump in with an offer. The dual-threat prospect fits with what the Wildcats like to see out of their quarterbacks with what his skill set is.
What stands out most about McMaryion, however, could be his accuracy. He's got a decent arm, but his accuracy is very good and he made some really impressive throws when I saw him earlier in the spring.
Arizona is still the only offer for McMaryion, but that could change as things move forward.
"Fresno State is down the street and they're at my school almost every single day," he told Rivals.com. "They haven't offered. I'll be at their passing tournament the day before the Cal camp. They have a 7on7 going on and they said they want to see me throw live first. They've been out there almost every day."
For now the rising senior, who passed for 43 touchdowns and just three interceptions last season, plans to take his time a little bit more but he wants to make his decision before the season.
UA is in a pretty good spot with McMaryion as well.
* When it comes to new offers, another local prospect picked up his offer over the weekend as Kaelin Deboskie from Salpointe right in Tucson earned his offer. Deboskie is a transfer into Salpointe this upcoming season, but he is close with current Arizona commit Cameron Denson.
Deboskie already has some offers and he's a recruit Arizona likes, but there was no need to rush to get him an offer as both parties know where things stand with the receiver prospect.
This is an offer that very well could turn into a commitment in the near future as things have always been pretty good between Deboskie and the Wildcats. For now it's a recruitment to keep an eye on.
Basketball recruiting
GOAZCATS.com was out at the Pangos All-American Camp over the weekend and of course any time you have a big gathering of national prospects there are naturally going to be a ton of Arizona targets. That was certainly the case over the weekend and we had the chance to talk with a couple of big ones in the 2014 class.
Overall the group of talent gathered at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, Calif., was very good and the collection of Arizona targets played well throughout the weekend.
* One of the bigger targets in Arizona's sights for 2014 is five-star wing Stanley Johnson from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The talented prospect took home the camp MVP award and he had himself quite the weekend in Long Beach. Johnson played at a completely different level than everybody else all weekend long and he was rewarded for it.
When it comes to his recruitment things have shifted around a little bit with schools like Duke and some others now getting more involved.
Arizona is in a very good spot with Johnson as it has always been, but now things are really starting to move forward toward a decision. As of now Johnson has his official visit date set for Arizona. The five-star wing, who could potentially move up into the top five in the Rivals.com rankings, has his official visit planned for Sept. 14 later this year.
When he takes that trip, however, he wont' be the only prospect in Arizona. Johnson said that four-star Arizona target Craig Victor will also be out on in Tucson during that visit and the pair of prospects got a little bit of floor time together over the weekend as they were matched up on the same team.
Johnson spoke highly of Victor as a recruit when we discussed his recruitment Sunday afternoon and the pair has obviously discussed Arizona some when it comes to their respective recruitments.
We'll have an update with Johnson this week, so be on the lookout for that as we'll go more in-depth with the five-star prospect about his current list and some of the other standout schools still coming after him hard.
* Speaking of Victor, however, the four-star recruit also had a productive weekend at the Pangos camp. We had a chance to catch up with the New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine standout about the camp and his recruitment.
One thing that stands out to Victor about the Wildcats is the point guard UA has coming in already with his 2014 class. By now it's no secret that other top prospects want to play with Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Victor is another recruit you can add to the list of players who wouldn't mind being on the other end of an assist from PJC.
"I would say that plays a big role," Victor told GOAZCATS.com. "You always want to play with a point guard who's going to get you the ball. You know someone who is unselfish. And Parker is someone who is very unselfish."
UCLA has always been another Pac-12 school that is big in Victor's recruitment, but with the staff change it somewhat starts that recruiting process over again. The four-star prospect is going to give the Bruins every chance to make up that ground, so UCLA could still be a big factor in his recruitment.
For now there are a lot of schools still in the running, but Arizona is right in the thick of things.
"Things have been very good," Victor said of his relationship with the 'Cats. "I talk with coach (Joe) Pasternack a lot and coach (Sean) Miller hits me up every now and then. That's a very good situation for me."
We are going to have plenty of coverage from the Pangos All-American Camp all week long, but those were two of the top tier Arizona prospects in the 2014 class who made an appearance over the weekend and the 'Cats are certainly doing well with both.
* A couple other items of note to come out of the weekend were that two of the top 2015 prospects are planning to visit later this month. Both Isaiah Briscoe (June 20) and Tyler Dorsey are planning trips to Tucson for June.
* Before we jump into the meat of this week's basketball section, a point guard is considering transferring to Arizona.
According to a tweet by Knoxville-based radio host Jimmy Hyams, former Tennessee floor general Trae Golden is considering Arizona, Baylor and Georgia Tech, among other schools.
Golden, a junior this past season and a two-year starter, left the program in early May. He was the Volunteers' third-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game and ranked third in the Southeastern Conference with 3.9 assists per contest.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Golden had academic issues at Tennessee that included "repeated plagiarism."
But according to Hyams, the issues and Golden's decision may run deeper and more complicated.
Hyams reported May 13 that Jenny Wright, the director of the office of student judicial affairs at Tennessee, was fired after failing to cooperate in an investigation tied to possible inappropriate relationships with student-athletes, Golden included.
* A little less than two months after the Pac-12 Conference's coordinator of officials resigned amid an "in jest" bounty scandal involving Arizona, an independent investigation into the league's actions is now complete.
The 52-page review, handled by Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller LLP, found that the Pac-12 properly handled the situation surrounding the March conference tournament in Las Vegas and that there would be "no further action," the league announced Sunday.
"The Pac-12 CEO Group fully reviewed and discussed the Ice Miller report and agreed that it was an objective analysis of all known facts surrounding the officiating dispute at this year's Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament," said Ed Ray, Oregon State president and chair of the Pac-12 CEO Group, said in the league statement. "The CEO Group accepted the report, agreed there is no further action required, and determined that this independent review brings closure to the matter.
"The report provides valuable lessons for all parties, which will be incorporated in how we restructure the men's basketball officiating program and policies. We are moving forward with a renewed commitment to accountability and ethical conduct to assure the overall integrity of our competition for our members and the public."
During the week of the tournament, Ed Rush reportedly joked to other officials that a $5,000 reward or trip to Cancun would go to an official who gives UA head coach Sean Miller a technical foul or ejects him from a game. The fourth-year UA head coach, who did not have a technical foul all season to that point, was assessed one late in the second half of a 66-64 semifinal loss to UCLA.
The aftermath included a now-infamous postgame press conference rant and a pair of other postgame actions by Miller - including confronting an official and voicing his displeasure to a Pac-12 staff member in the hallway of the MGM Grand Garden Arena shortly after the loss.
The latter two actions led to a $25,000 fine, but Rush's bounty was later revealed. Less than a week later, and after disappointed but supportive Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott stood by his head of officials, Rush resigned April 4.
The investigation discovered that the Pac-12 was correct in ruling that Rush's offer was "neither offered nor taken literally;" that the fine against Miller was the proper call; and that Miller did not use profanity prior to his technical.
However, the report also said that the technical against Miller likely would not have been called, if not for Rush's plea to the officials for better control of the bench decorum.
"We are appreciative of the effort by the CEO Council to commission an independent review of the issues related to the Conference tournament," UA athletic director Greg Byrne said in a release. "Coach Miller and I have discussed the report, and we are ready to move forward. We remain hopeful this report will lead to improvements in our officiating program. At this time I will have no further comment."
The report found that the game was still officiated with integrity and without bias toward either side.
"I am pleased the report by the Ice Miller Collegiate Sports Practice will result in positive change to the Pac-12's oversight of its officiating program," Arizona president Ann Weaver Hart said Sunday in a release. "The conference's commitment to maintain integrity and improve the quality of officiating was important to the executive committee. I look forward to seeing major changes in the way in which the Pac-12 organizes and oversees basketball officiating."
* You can find my personal opinion of the whole matter in a column on the front page. But below are excerpts in the detailed report that may be of your interest:
Here are verbatim highlights - minus expletives - of the report, which included interviews with all parties involved (note: names were not used in the report, only the titles "coordinator" (for Rush) and "Arizona head coach" (for Miller) and "official."
- "Although the Coordinator did not intend to target Arizona's Head Coach, the context in which the Coordinator's statements occurred led eight of the fifteen officials present at either meeting to report that the Coordinator was particularly focused on strictly enforcing bench decorum guidelines regarding the Head Coach."
- "One official reports that the Coordinator offered an extra reward if the ejection occurred the following season during a game in Tucson."
- The pregame meeting with Rush and the officials prior to the Arizona-UCLA game: "The meeting started with a discussion about the Arizona-UCLA game, which was the first game in the upcoming session. The teams' offenses, defenses and personnel were discussed. Because bench decorum was a point of emphasis, the Coordinator raised the topic of both head coaches' conduct. In conjunction with video clips of both teams' offenses, the Coordinator discussed the tendency of UCLA's head coach to "wander" onto the court while coaching and the tendency of the Head Coach to be "animated" and to leave the coaching box.
"During an Arizona video clip, the Coordinator paused the video to show how far onto the court the Head Coach stood during the Arizona-Colorado game. To further illustrate his point about keeping both head coaches off the court, the Coordinator stood up and moved his chair in front of him 'like moving a chair to sit down at a dinner table.' After moving the chair, the Coordinator made a statement to the effect of, 'We need to do a better job with these coaches. What's it going to take to deal with these guys? Do I have to give somebody $5,000 or send you on an expense-paid trip to Cancun?' Not all five attendees report the same exact offer."
- Regarding Rush's bounty statement, as a few of the officials interviewed in the investigation remember: "The officials report 'no laughing, no giggling,' just 'us sitting there and listening,' and 'dead silence in the room' after the statement."
- "As one official reports, 'I didn't take it literally, but, you know, I did get them message
loud and clear that [the Coordinator] was pissed.'
"Four of the five attendees report the room's reaction to the statement as 'chuckles,' 'a quiet laughter,' 'quite a bit of laughter,' and 'everybody laughing, and then it was done.' None of the five attendees report taking the offer literally, although all five of them report understanding the Coordinator's message about the importance of enforcing bench decorum guidelines.
"Two other officials report a distinctly different account of the meeting than the account set forth above. These officials report that at the start of the meeting the Coordinator froze a video display of the Head Coach standing outside the coaching box next to an official during the Arizona-Colorado game. At that point, the Coordinator was 'hot' and 'went off' about the Head Coach's bench decorum. The Coordinator's bench decorum comments were '98% [the Head Coach]' and '2% [UCLA's head coach].' During the Coordinator's comments about the Head Coach, he picked up a chair and 'slammed' it onto the floor for emphasis. Both officials report that at that point the Coordinator yelled about providing a 'three days, two nights' vacation to any official who would call a technical foul on the Head Coach or eject the Head Coach from a game. The UCLA head coach was not mentioned. Neither official reports any reaction beyond looks of surprise or disbelief among the other attendees. Neither official reports taking the offer literally. However, one official reports thinking that, 'If we don't take care of [the Head Coach], we're not going to get any more games [to officiate in the Pac-12].' The other official reports understanding a message that the Head Coach was 'not to have any rope at all.'
- The report's analysis of the different recollections about the meetings with Rush and the officials: "Due to the diversity of reported recollections about the Arizona-Colorado Post-Game and the Arizona-UCLA Pre-game, a singularly reliable understanding of the events of either meeting cannot be reconstructed."
- The Arizona-UCLA game itself, prior to tipoff: "According to the officials, during the regular pre-tip-off meeting between the four officials and the two head coaches, the officials specifically explained that bench decorum enforcement was a point of emphasis for the Commissioner and the Coordinator, that the officials had been watching film of bench decorum situations, and that bench decorum guidelines would be conscientiously enforced according to the following protocol: an informal verbal warning for a team's first breach of the guidelines; a formal bench warning for a second breach; and a technical foul for a third breach. Arizona's Head Coach found the detailed discussion about bench decorum unusual, because it had not occurred all season. However, the Head Coach 'got the message,' and returned to Arizona's bench to relay it to Arizona's assistant coaches, who also thought it unusual."
- Arizona's thoughts on the game: "Arizona's Head Coach describes the game as a "very good, physical game." Arizona's Head Coach, Arizona's assistant coaches, and the Athletics Director all consider the game solidly officiated. According to the Head Coach, the officiating wasn't 'really poor officiating or great officiating,' and the officials were not 'one-sided or cheating Arizona.' Even in regard to the controversial (incorrect upon video review) double-dribble violation called against Arizona with 4:37 remaining in the game, the Head Coach agrees that there was no 'conspiracy to make Arizona lose.'"
- "UCLA also faced increased bench decorum scrutiny. By the end of the first half, UCLA's bench and head coach received several verbal warnings and an official bench warning. The bench warning on UCLA was given by the official who later called the technical foul on the Head Coach."
- "When the bench warnings were issued, one of the other officials thought, 'Now we're in a box,' because protocol dictated issuing a technical foul as the next bench decorum enforcement step."
- On the technical itself and Rush's initial reaction as it happened: "The official approximately eight feet from Arizona's bench saw the Head Coach on the court and promptly called a technical foul as the Head Coach stepped back toward the sideline. As the Coordinator and an officiating leadership team colleague watched the violation call, they both saw that a UCLA player touched the ball and that Arizona should retain possession. While waiting on the first two officials to confer and make the correct call, the Coordinator saw the third official call the technical foul. According to the Coordinator's colleague, the Coordinator's immediate reaction was, 'Oh, s--t. That's not good,' because the technical foul did not appear warranted.
"The Coordinator was hopeful that the conferring officials would determine that the ball had been touched by UCLA, award the ball to Arizona, and rescind the technical foul pursuant to 24 the 'elastic power of the official.' Instead, both the incorrect double-dribble violation and the technical foul stood."
- The report's analysis of the situation: "The review identified over forty separate fouls, violations, or no-calls and evaluated each one for correctness and for resulting advantage. Excluding the 4:37 technical foul, the review concluded thirteen incorrect calls or no-calls occurred (including marginal no-calls) ? with six favoring Arizona and seven favoring UCLA, essentially an even split. Additionally, Ice Miller's video review of the game corroborates an evenly officiated contest in which neither team was significantly advantaged by the officiating. Certainly, the incorrect 4:37 double-dribble violation was an important event late in the close game, but it was not a decisive call. The incorrect call basically deprived Arizona of a single possession on which it might not have scored, and Arizona led when UCLA received possession of the ball after making the technical foul free throws."
- Rush on Michael Irving, the official who called the technical: "The Coordinator believes that it is 'very possible' that the technical foul would not have been called if the Coordinator had not been so 'emphatic' during the Arizona-UCLA Pre-game. The Coordinator believes that because the official who called the technical foul is a conscientious official he took the Coordinator's emphasis on assertive bench decorum enforcement too literally. In that regard, the Coordinator reports, 'That's the thing I kick myself for of all this stuff, my greatest regret is not knowing the different wiring of my players.'"
- Irving's take on the whole situation, from Rush's speech to the technical itself: "The technical foul would have been issued to any Pac-12 coach that would have acted in a similar fashion at any point during the season. I want to make sure it is clearly understood that what [the Coordinator] said, appropriate ? inappropriate, humor ? not humor, regretful ? not regretful, had absolutely no impact on my decision making on the court."
- Miller on his on-court confrontation with Irving immediately after the game: "Neither the Head Coach nor Arizona's assistant coaches have extensive recollections of the incident. The Head Coach does recall placing his hands behind his back, leaning toward the official and yelling, 'F--k you' five or six times."
* Although names were not used in the report, here is a list of exactly who was interviewed in the investigation:
From the Pac-12 staff (7) - An anonymous Pac-12 Enterprises junior staff member (regarding hallway incident with Miller); Ron Barker, associate commissioner; Lydia Murphy-Stephans, general manager and executive vice president of Pac-12 Networks; Gloria Nevarez, senior associate commissioner; Michel Ortiz, video operations director; Larry Scott, commissioner; and Kevin Weiberg, deputy commissioner
From the Pac-12 basketball officiating leadership and technical staff (7) - Terry Durham, men's basketball officiating director of training; Donnie Nunez, associate coordinator of men's basketball officiating; Blane Reichelt, game grader; Mark Reischling, men's basketball officiating leadership team member; Rob Rorke, men's basketball officiating technology director; Ed Rush; coordinator of officials; and Brian Shelley, game grader
Pac-12 game officials (20) - Kevin Brill, Deldre Carr, Mike Eggers, Daryl Gelinas, Mike Greenstein, David Hall, Verne Harris, Michael Irving, Randy McCall, Brett Nansel, Greg Nixon, Tommy Nunez, Tony Padilla, Chris Rastatter, Mike Reed, Mike Scyphers, Justin Van Duyne, Kurt Walker, Deron White and Jeff Wooten
University of Arizona personnel (8) - Greg Byrne, athletic director; Sean Miller, Arizona head coach; Joe Pasternack, Arizona assistant coach; James Whitford, Arizona assistant coach; Emanuel Richardson, Arizona assistant coach; Ryan Reynolds, director of basketball operations; Jim Rosborough, women's tennis volunteer coach; and Ann Weaver-Hart, UA president
Other individuals (3) - John Adams, NCAA national coordinator of officiating for men's basketball; Jeff Goodman; CBS Sports reporter; and Andy Katz, ESPN reporter
Football
It is a quiet, yet still busy time for the Arizona football program.
* The FieldTurf CoolPlay at Arizona Stadium was installed this past week, including the placement of the signature "block A" at midfield and the motto "Bear Down" in ghost lettering with the logo in between the words.
By all accounts, everything went smoothly and, in my opinion, the appearance is more than pleasing to the eye.
This time next month, the move-in process at the nearly completed Lowell-Stevens football facility will begin. By the end of July, the project will already be completed.
* Speaking of moving in, the first wave of 2013 signees arrived on campus this weekend. Among the first batch expected: Anu Solomon, Jack Banda, Calvin Allen, Paul Elvira, Zachary Green, Luca Bruno and Scooby Wright were some of the players we confirmed directly or indirectly through other signees about their move-in date.
We will try to confirm exactly who is on campus early this week.
* As for the rest of the program, there was a camp on campus this weekend so UA head coach Rich Rodriguez was busy with that. It included area high schools as well as some from California.
Per NCAA and program rules, release of specific player results and our attendance is prohibited.
* Now, here is Matt Moreno's look at the basketball and football recruiting side:
Well we hinted that June had the potential to be a busy month in an earlier edition of the War Room and that has already been the case for Arizona on the football side of things and it could be getting that way for the basketball program soon as well.
After having the commitments slow down a bit over the past couple months the football program picked up a couple more recently and things could continue to go that way with June being a big mont for unofficial visits.
We'll have a little more on the newest Arizona commits in this week's War Room as well as a look at what the quarterback situation is looking like when it comes to 2014 recruiting now that Manny Wilkins is off the board.
On the basketball side of things it was a busy weekend for us at GOAZCATS.com as we were able to see a ton of recruits at the Pangos All-American Camp in Long Beach, Calif.
A couple Arizona targets were very good at the camp all weekend long, so we'll have more on them and their recruitments. We'll also discuss some upcoming visitors as well as when a big five-star target in the 2014 class plans on taking his official visit to Tucson.
More importantly could be who he takes the trip with.
So with plenty to discuss after a week off the War Room is filled with updates. Let's get to it.
Football recruiting
Arizona continued its hot streak with another commitment Sunday from a visitor for the second straight weekend. Two-star prospect Jordan Morgan visited Arizona over the weekend and made his decision to commit Sunday at the conclusion of the trip.
* Morgan will head to Arizona as an athlete recruit, but he made a name for himself as a receiver at the high school level. It's a solid pick-up for the Wildcats and is could potentially be another weapon on offense in the coming years.
Morgan, who is from Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore., is the the Wildcats fifth commitment in the 2014 class to go along with prospects like Cameron Denson, Nick Wilson and a few a couple others so far. He is also another recruit from Oregon, a state Arizona dipped into last year with Derrick Turituri and R.J. Morgan.
* Morgan is Rich Rodriguez's second commitment in as many weeks as three-star running back Jonathan Haden committed to the 'Cats over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Haden spoke with GOAZCATS.com shortly after his decision, and one of the big reasons he picked UA was the chance to compete for the starting job.
"I feel like it fits me well," he told GOAZCATS.com. "I'm a running back and that's what I want to do. Last year they had the No. 1 rusher in the nations, so things are going pretty good. So with him (Ka'Deem Carey) being a junior this year there's a chance he might be gone after that.
"So I feel like I could come in and take over that role."
They visit also helped Haden realize that UA was the place he wanted to be early on in the trip.
"We were going around campus," he said. "And I spent a good hour with coach Rich Rodriguez and we were with all the coaches just sitting there talking for about an hour, hour and a half. It was a good talk and I just felt like everything they were saying sounded good, and everything they were saying is what I was looking for.
"So I just felt like it was the right place."
* One other big of football news to come out of last week was the commitment of three-star quarterback prospect Manny Wilkins to Arizona State. It wasn't a big surprise when the Novato (Calif.) San Mateo standout made his pledge to Sun Devils shortly after receiving his offer from them.
It's a school he's talked about a lot and once he got his offer it was pretty much a done deal from there. While Wilkins is one of the quarterbacks with an offer from Arizona, he isn't the only one and the 'Cats are very much in play for plenty of other talented signal callers in the class.
Here's a look at a few names to keep an eye on and what they had to say recently about the Wildcats and how Arizona plays into their recruitments.
- The first prospect we're going to take a look at is four-star recruit D.J. Gillins. The Jacksonville (Fla.) Ribault standout has the Wildcats among the group he's looking at at the top of his recruitment.
There are others like Louisville, Wisconsin and some others who could play a factor but UA is school very much on his radar as well.
"I really do like Arizona," he told GOAZCATS.com last week. "I talk with the coaches a lot and I have a good relationship with the coaches. They like to throw the ball a lot and I feel like they have a good quarterback situation."
One of the bigger things that Gillins is looking at in his recruitment is an opportunity to play early in his career and he feels that Arizona presents that opportunity.
"Coach Rod Smith likes that I can run or pass," he said. "I'm excited that there is a possibility to come in and start as a freshman. That's one of the bigger reasons that I like Arizona so much."
At this point Gillins said Arizona is definitely in his top five because of his relationship with the coaching staff. UA is in play for an unofficial visit this summer and that could be important as Gillins would like to make his decision before his senior year at Ribault begins.
- The next prospect we will discuss is Canyon Country (Calif.) Canyon standout Cade Apsay. The three-star prospect doesn't play in many events and didn't really do the camp circuit over the spring, but he is nevertheless a talented prospect with a big arm.
Up to this point in his recruitment the Wildcats are doing very well with Apsay and he could very well end up being the quarterback prospect who pulls the trigger for Arizona. Like has happened many times already with Rodriguez's staff, the 'Cats are the only program to offer Apsay so far and that could really pay off.
"They're close to the top of the list," Apsay told Rivals.com. "I really liked what I saw when I went there and they're probably one of my favorites so far."
Colorado is another school making a big push for Apsay, but it hasn't offered the 6-foot-2 standout yet.
For now it could still be awhile before Apsay reaches a decision, but Arizona is in a very good spot with the California prospect.
"I'm going to go through the process a little longer," he said. "I don't think I'm that close to making a decision yet. I think I'm going to wait a while longer."
- The last signal caller we'll discuss this week is three-star prospect Marcus McMaryion from Dinuba, Calif. I was able to watch McMaryion this spring and it was pretty obvious why Arizona was the first school to jump in with an offer. The dual-threat prospect fits with what the Wildcats like to see out of their quarterbacks with what his skill set is.
What stands out most about McMaryion, however, could be his accuracy. He's got a decent arm, but his accuracy is very good and he made some really impressive throws when I saw him earlier in the spring.
Arizona is still the only offer for McMaryion, but that could change as things move forward.
"Fresno State is down the street and they're at my school almost every single day," he told Rivals.com. "They haven't offered. I'll be at their passing tournament the day before the Cal camp. They have a 7on7 going on and they said they want to see me throw live first. They've been out there almost every day."
For now the rising senior, who passed for 43 touchdowns and just three interceptions last season, plans to take his time a little bit more but he wants to make his decision before the season.
UA is in a pretty good spot with McMaryion as well.
* When it comes to new offers, another local prospect picked up his offer over the weekend as Kaelin Deboskie from Salpointe right in Tucson earned his offer. Deboskie is a transfer into Salpointe this upcoming season, but he is close with current Arizona commit Cameron Denson.
Deboskie already has some offers and he's a recruit Arizona likes, but there was no need to rush to get him an offer as both parties know where things stand with the receiver prospect.
This is an offer that very well could turn into a commitment in the near future as things have always been pretty good between Deboskie and the Wildcats. For now it's a recruitment to keep an eye on.
Basketball recruiting
GOAZCATS.com was out at the Pangos All-American Camp over the weekend and of course any time you have a big gathering of national prospects there are naturally going to be a ton of Arizona targets. That was certainly the case over the weekend and we had the chance to talk with a couple of big ones in the 2014 class.
Overall the group of talent gathered at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, Calif., was very good and the collection of Arizona targets played well throughout the weekend.
* One of the bigger targets in Arizona's sights for 2014 is five-star wing Stanley Johnson from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. The talented prospect took home the camp MVP award and he had himself quite the weekend in Long Beach. Johnson played at a completely different level than everybody else all weekend long and he was rewarded for it.
When it comes to his recruitment things have shifted around a little bit with schools like Duke and some others now getting more involved.
Arizona is in a very good spot with Johnson as it has always been, but now things are really starting to move forward toward a decision. As of now Johnson has his official visit date set for Arizona. The five-star wing, who could potentially move up into the top five in the Rivals.com rankings, has his official visit planned for Sept. 14 later this year.
When he takes that trip, however, he wont' be the only prospect in Arizona. Johnson said that four-star Arizona target Craig Victor will also be out on in Tucson during that visit and the pair of prospects got a little bit of floor time together over the weekend as they were matched up on the same team.
Johnson spoke highly of Victor as a recruit when we discussed his recruitment Sunday afternoon and the pair has obviously discussed Arizona some when it comes to their respective recruitments.
We'll have an update with Johnson this week, so be on the lookout for that as we'll go more in-depth with the five-star prospect about his current list and some of the other standout schools still coming after him hard.
* Speaking of Victor, however, the four-star recruit also had a productive weekend at the Pangos camp. We had a chance to catch up with the New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine standout about the camp and his recruitment.
One thing that stands out to Victor about the Wildcats is the point guard UA has coming in already with his 2014 class. By now it's no secret that other top prospects want to play with Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Victor is another recruit you can add to the list of players who wouldn't mind being on the other end of an assist from PJC.
"I would say that plays a big role," Victor told GOAZCATS.com. "You always want to play with a point guard who's going to get you the ball. You know someone who is unselfish. And Parker is someone who is very unselfish."
UCLA has always been another Pac-12 school that is big in Victor's recruitment, but with the staff change it somewhat starts that recruiting process over again. The four-star prospect is going to give the Bruins every chance to make up that ground, so UCLA could still be a big factor in his recruitment.
For now there are a lot of schools still in the running, but Arizona is right in the thick of things.
"Things have been very good," Victor said of his relationship with the 'Cats. "I talk with coach (Joe) Pasternack a lot and coach (Sean) Miller hits me up every now and then. That's a very good situation for me."
We are going to have plenty of coverage from the Pangos All-American Camp all week long, but those were two of the top tier Arizona prospects in the 2014 class who made an appearance over the weekend and the 'Cats are certainly doing well with both.
* A couple other items of note to come out of the weekend were that two of the top 2015 prospects are planning to visit later this month. Both Isaiah Briscoe (June 20) and Tyler Dorsey are planning trips to Tucson for June.
