Wildcats Week in Review: Richardson, Ashley, Pac-12 Media Days and More

Nov 23, 2013; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats cornerback Shaquille Richardson (right) tips a ball in bounds prior to a teammate intercepting it against Oregon Ducks wide receiver Bralon Addison in the first quarter at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Even though we aren’t in season with any of the Arizona Wildcats major sports, there’s still a lot going on in the offseason.

Two former Wildcats signed Professional contracts this week:

Brandon Ashley

Forward Brandon Ashley signed a partially guaranteed multi-year contract not with the Atlanta Hawks, but with the Dallas Mavericks.  According to Doyle Rader of MavsMoneyball.com, it seems Dallas was impressed during their last game in NBA Summer League play, “He poured in 16 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench against the Mavericks as the Hawks eliminated Dallas from the tournament.”

The Mavericks have 18 players on the bench, will trim it down to 15 before the season starts, either way Brandon will be playing in some capacity for the Mavericks this season even if on their D-League team the Texas Legends. Ashley averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in seven games for the Atlanta Hawks’ summer league team in Las Vegas.

Shaquille Richardson

Corner Back Shaquille Richardson signed yesterday with the Arizona Cardinals, he’s going to be playing in the state of Arizona once again. Richardson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and released on Oct. 15 after spending most of his time in practice squads. Then he was released again on April 21 after signing in February with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was having a rough go of it, the operative word is “was,” but now he will have plenty of University of Arizona Alumni to cheer him on in University of Phoenix Stadium.

A favorite at Arizona, he started in 37 out of the 49 games he played in racking up 189 tackles and 10 interceptions. Who could forget what he accomplished in the game against Oregon last November? It was almost a basketball play, he saved the football from going out-of-bounds and batted it to teammate for an interception denying Ducks wide Receiver Bralon Addison a reception and the No. 2 NFL draft pick Marcus Mariota a completion. Richardson showed up to training camp in Phoenix today wearing the number 37.

In case you missed it, Derrick Williams signed with the New York Knicks, ZonaZealots sports writer Mark Barrera gave us his perspective on how New York could be the best thing that happened to Derrick who will hopefully have a breakout season in the NBA this year.

Former Wildcat Derrick Williams is in a New York State of Mind

Next: Wildcats Football Commits!