Mark Tollefsen Summer Update Up Close

It’s nice to see a mature man with a lot of experience about to play Arizona basketball for the first time donning his Arizona wear.

Earlier this year, we introduced you to a seasoned NCAA veteran player and college graduate who transferred to the University of Arizona for his last year of eligibility, Mark Tollefsen.

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Arizona Wildcats published a video on YouTube.com to give us more insight into what drives Tollefsen, we wanted to share.

Why did Mark choose Arizona to transfer to? “I think the thing that really stood out to me about Arizona it’s just the rich tradition and how successful they’ve been in winning championships consecutive years, and producing players to play professionally, for me that was a big step I want to take in my career and trying to be a professional I think coming to Arizona was the best decision.”

You get a little taste of the recruiting message here, this is why a player at his level and with his experience wants to play for Arizona, prepares you for playing professionally. Arizona has been hugely successful of late as all four Wildcats who declared for the draft played in the NBA summer league and three signed a contract of some kind, two rookie, and one a free-agent contract.

Jan 8, 2015; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Kyle Dranginis (3) puts up a shot against San Francisco Dons center Mark Tollefsen (23) during the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

We have a lot to look forward to when the season starts, Mark is a shooter and a dunker, “Shooting has always been naturally to me, I have always been shooter, a good shooter since I was a young kid, for me I always wanted to dunk since I was a little kid so playing above the rim has always something I took pride in and definitely shooting from the outside..I can play inside or outside.”

He is also already impressed with Coach Miller and wants to be a mentor himself to the younger players, “It was nice having Coach Miller here last week, just to learn from him for three workouts was unreal, just to see his basketball mind for the first time on the court live which is great..I’ve been around the block, I’ve seen just about everything, I know what’s going to come..it’s different from high school or prep schhol..”

Mark gives us real insight into what it’s like to be on the Arizona basketball team as he explains that he feels that everyone is bought into the system all the coaches sincerely love the players and the feeling’s mutual.

This means a lot coming from Tollefsen. Why? Because he has spent multiple years playing on his first college team with different coaches. He seems genuinely impressed and probably happy he made the committment to Coach Miller.

Other than Tollefsen, there are two other new seasoned players playing this upcoming season. Kadeem Allen is a JUCO transfer (ranked No. 1 in his class) and Ryan Anderson is a senior transferring from Boston College, both sat out this last season and are dying to play. Sitting out can be challenging, these two have been on the bench waiting to get their chance to get in and play.

I am anticipating all these hungry veteran players will want to show the world and the NBA who they are as a basketball player and what they are made of. It’s going to be a fun season.

Beardown Mark!

Here’s the video interview in its entirety:

Next: Meet Your Newest Arizona Wildcat: Strong Forward Mark Tollefsen - Part 1

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