What makes Rawle Alkins such an integral and important guard on the Arizona Basketball team, is an ingredient that is essential to the Wildcats success.
Each and every player on the Arizona Basketball team has special skills and a role to play, but all of them should learn to and attempt to match Rawle Alkins ferocity and never-give-up mentality.
As you all know by now, Arizona suffered a heartbreaking defeat in Eugene, Oregon last Saturday. Some would say the Oregon Ducks were on fire and there isn’t much you can do about that, which is true. But others feel the Arizona Wildcats gave up, they lost their mojo, and they kind of felt it was over when it seemed there wasn’t a chance to win. That may also be the case, but it wasn’t the case with Arizona guard Rawle Alkins, he never gives up.
More from Wildcats Basketball
- Arizona Basketball likely to schedule Florida Atlantic for 2023
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s FIBA World Cup performance is reminiscent of Kobe Bryant’s
- Rawle Alkins a star in the Drew League this summer
- Arizona Basketball to play in ‘Battle 4 Atlantis’ in 2024
- Reflections on the Pac-12, the Arizona Wildcats, and other memories
Let’s explore why players on a team may give up and what can be done about it. After the Atlanta Falcons had lost Superbowl 51 blowing an enormous 25-point lead, a German International broadcast site DW.com asked Jeannine Ohlert (a sports psychologist and scientific researcher at the German Sports University Cologne) some questions about how huge types of losses or comebacks can happen. She calls it ‘collective collapse.’
A ‘collective collapse’ happens when either one or two players start to think that either they have a safe lead and all is well when it is not, or the opposite when players feel there is no way to win. That feeling rubs off on his fellow teammates. Jeannine calls these feelings ‘socially infectious’ feelings.
Ohlert was also asked what, if anything, teams could do to combat or prevent this phenomenon:
"‘What you’d actually need in that situation – and some teams are doing that, if not very many yet – is that you agree upon a sort of “code word” in advance just in case it happens. Something the trainer can call out and where the players then know, “okay, now I have a special assignment again.” It has to be agreed upon in advance that as soon as the trainer says this word, then I have to focus on the task I’ve got. — That’d be one way to possibly stop [the comeback]."
Arizona’s code words could be “Bear Down Now,” it’s not a bad technique. Pressing and flashing some zone defense to the opponents could also be added to the Wildcats tool box.
Why bring all this up? Well, if you noticed during the second half, and probably throughout the game, Rawle Alkins never wavered. He was immune to both his team feeling like they just couldn’t win and to the Ducks feeling invincible. He concentrated on his task at hand and stayed in the moment. Whether it be rebounding, second chance points or saving the ball from going out-of-bounds, Alkins performed at his peak rating at the top of his team’s stat board.
Walton was talking about lack of blocks on this Arizona team averaging 3 per game, and then comes Rawle Alkins! BLOCK!
— ZonaZealotsFS (@ZonaZealots) January 13, 2017
Alkins scored 16 points against two powerhouse NCAA basketball programs Gonzaga and Oregon, both rivals of Arizona. Hw performed well in both losses proving that he can compete against the best.
| Rk | Date | Opponent | MP | FG | FG% | 2P | 2P% | 3P | 3P% | FT | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-11-11 | Michigan State | W | 26 | 1 | .250 | 1 | .333 | 0 | .000 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 2016-11-15 | Cal State Bakersfield | W | 30 | 5 | .625 | 1 | .500 | 4 | .667 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| 3 | 2016-11-18 | Sacred Heart | W | 28 | 5 | .455 | 5 | .714 | 0 | .000 | 8 | .889 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| 4 | 2016-11-21 | Northern Colorado | W | 23 | 3 | .375 | 2 | .400 | 1 | .333 | 2 | .667 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | 2016-11-24 | Santa Clara | W | 28 | 3 | .375 | 2 | .400 | 1 | .333 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 6 | 2016-11-25 | Butler | L | 30 | 4 | .800 | 3 | 1.000 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 9 | |
| 7 | 2016-11-30 | Texas Southern | W | 34 | 6 | .750 | 5 | 1.000 | 1 | .333 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| 8 | 2016-12-03 | Gonzaga | L | 37 | 7 | .467 | 6 | .500 | 1 | .333 | 1 | .500 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| 9 | 2016-12-06 | UC-Irvine | W | 26 | 3 | .333 | 1 | .200 | 2 | .500 | 6 | .667 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 10 | 2016-12-10 | Missouri | W | 37 | 7 | .538 | 3 | .500 | 4 | .571 | 1 | .500 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| 11 | 2016-12-14 | Grand Canyon | W | 33 | 4 | .364 | 4 | .667 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 1.000 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| 12 | 2016-12-17 | Texas A&M | W | 37 | 3 | .250 | 3 | .333 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 1.000 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| 13 | 2016-12-20 | New Mexico | W | 31 | 5 | .455 | 4 | .500 | 1 | .333 | 2 | .500 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 |
| 14 | 2016-12-30 | University of California | W | 31 | 4 | .333 | 4 | .333 | 0 | 2 | .400 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | |
| 15 | 2017-01-01 | Stanford | W | 29 | 4 | .571 | 1 | .333 | 3 | .750 | 8 | 1.000 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| 16 | 2017-01-05 | Utah | W | 32 | 3 | .273 | 2 | .333 | 1 | .200 | 2 | .667 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 17 | 2017-01-07 | Colorado | W | 32 | 3 | .333 | 2 | .400 | 1 | .250 | 3 | .750 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 18 | 2017-01-12 | Arizona State | W | 31 | 2 | .250 | 2 | .400 | 0 | .000 | 1 | .500 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 19 | 2017-01-19 | USC | W | 31 | 3 | .273 | 0 | .000 | 3 | .500 | 5 | .833 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 20 | 2017-01-21 | UCLA | W | 17 | 3 | .600 | 2 | .667 | 1 | .500 | 3 | .750 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 21 | 2017-01-26 | Washington State | W | 24 | 4 | .571 | 2 | .667 | 2 | .500 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| 22 | 2017-01-29 | Washington | W | 29 | 2 | .333 | 0 | .000 | 2 | .400 | 2 | 1.000 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 23 | 2017-02-02 | Oregon State | W | 25 | 4 | .444 | 4 | .800 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 24 | 2017-02-04 | Oregon | L | 28 | 7 | .636 | 5 | .625 | 2 | .667 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 16 | |
| 24 Games | 709 | 95 | .434 | 64 | .485 | 31 | .356 | 61 | .744 | 46 | 84 | 130 | 48 | 29 | 11 | 49 | 52 | 282 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Alkins has started in all 24 games and he ranks No. 10 in steals. He also ranks No. 6 in defensive win shares and No. 9 in Defensive Plus/Minus in the Pac-12. Clearly, Rawle is killing it on defense, but he is also performing at a high level on offense. Alkins has logged double-digit scoring in 16 out of the 24 games that he has started and earned a double-double against New Mexico early on in the season.
Alkins stat averages so far this season are impressive for a freshman who stays mostly under the radar:
| Season | G | MP | FG | FG% | 2P | 2P% | 3P | 3P% | FT | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 24 | 29.5 | 4.0 | .434 | 2.7 | .485 | 1.3 | .356 | 2.5 | .744 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 11.8 |
| Career | 24 | 29.5 | 4.0 | .434 | 2.7 | .485 | 1.3 | .356 | 2.5 | .744 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 11.8 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
As far as Cal’s head coach Cuonzo Martin is concerned, Rawle is actually on his radar. Martin is preparing for a game against Arizona at McKale this weekend, and here is what he had to say:
"“You look at them [Arizona] from one to five. They do what they do, and everybody understands their role and they understand the task at hand. I think Rawles did a great job rebounding against us, he had five rebounds against us even though he’s not their leading scorer, but anytime you can get five rebounds against us at the wing position that is tough to go against.”"
Rawle’s coolness and calmness even come through while being interviewed (“Lefty guy” comment had us giggling), “I never gave up. I still thought, believe it or not with four minutes left, we had a chance to win the game”:
Must Read: We think Wildcat Aaron Gordon is going to blow your mind in the NBA Dunk Contest
It is clear to us here at Zona Zealots that Rawle never gives up on a game, on his team or on any given play. We will continue to point this out throughout the rest of the season. Alkins is one of Miller’s secret weapons, and it’s not lost on Cal’s head coach Martin. Bear Down Rawle! Keep up the great work!