In his first interviews in a while, Sean Miller told the Tucson media that Solomon Hill has dropped from 240 pounds to 220 pounds thanks to his usual workouts, but also a healthier diet. Expected to play much more at the small forward slot, that'll mean a lot. It's not that Hill wasn't working hard earlier; he was carrying extra baggage by the end of the season, something that's more body-type than laziness.
Here's a picture Miller tweeted of the leaner Solomon Hill.
Not too many college basketball players have worked harder this off season than this guy - hard to recognize! twitter.com/UACoachMiller/…
— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) August 19, 2012
- More from Bruce Pascoe on Miller's press conference, including video of the whole thing. Topics include Mark Lyons' strong defense and Grant Jerrett being one of the better shooters on the team. The latter makes me think he could fill a role as a stretch-4, similar to how Channing Frye plays with the Suns or Ryan Anderson will do for the Hornets.
- ESPN's 50 in 50 series of the top college basketball programs in history ranked Arizona at No. 10. Much of that has to do with the basketball played before Lute Olson showed up. Broken down by decade, the program was at its peak in the 1990s, when ESPN ranked Olson's teams sixth. In the 2000s, the Wildcats were 12th.
- Ridiculous Upside's Wendell Maxey cautions us about Josiah Turner's move to Hungary getting him an NBA gig. Turner could probably learn a lesson from one Reeves Nelson.
- Les Bowen of The Philly Inquirer caught up with former UA quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo to talk about Nick Foles following his big day for the Eagles. While it's nothing we haven't heard before regarding Foles' work ethic, it's always a good time to hear what Scelfo has to say -- especially when he calls out Foles' bad fashion sense.
- Darren Rovell tweeted this picture of a stuffed Rob Gronkowski doll. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
- Sports Illustrated wrote a feature about Momo Jones entering his senior season at Iona, and the piece touches on Jones' decision to leave Arizona.