By Mark Lawson/Arizona Sonora News It’s a Wednesday evening after school, and the echo of basketballs bouncing across the two courts that make up the LEAD Athletics facility near Tucson International Airport can be heard long before you make your way into the gym. The same hardwood floors that Arizona Wildcat legends such as Mike…
As an 18-year-old, Dušan Ristić nearly accepted a professional basketball contract to play for one of the best teams in Europe, Belgrade’s “Red Star.” Before he could say yes, University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller called him and asked him to play for the Wildcats. Four years later, the 7-foot Serbian is graduating from UA as…
Prior to the 2006 NBA draft, former commissioner David Stern instituted the one-and-done rule that many believe caused the corruption in college basketball today. Some people think that if athletes have the ability to enter the league out of high school, they should. Others believe athletes need to stay in college for more than a…
The University of Arizona profited more than $9.8 million on the play of 13 scholarship basketball players last year. The athletes earned a $36,000 scholarship and $1,500 every month for food and housing. Their work generated $22.7 million of revenue for the university. They received 4 percent. Critics say the pay is paltry and the…
Basketball has become a thriving sport on Native American reservations spawning a national tournament and two of the largest high school gyms in the U.S. “Rez ball” as it is called on the reservations, is a focal point not just in Arizona, but across the country as well. An HBO documentary titled “Rez Ball” spotlights…
