The 2017-18 Arizona Wildcat basketball roster has personalities that fans love! Let’s give them nicknames.
Over the years there have been great nicknames associated with great players. Some examples would be, Kaleb Tarczewski – Zeuuuuus, Steve Kerr - Steeeeve Kerrrrrr, Luke Walton - Lukkkke, Derrick Williams - D-Will, Stanley Johnson – Staninmal, T.J. McConnell – The Floor General and Chance Comanche – The Chief.
Players aren’t the only ones who have nicknames. Hall of Fame Coach Lute Olson was given the name “Lutttteeeee,” and current assistant coach Emanuel Richardson goes by “Book” – time to Book Down!
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Who doesn’t like nicknames?! They are original, personable, and of course fun! Typically they originate from friends, family or teammates.
We reached out to fans, and Zona Zealots writers for their opinions and these are the existing and new nicknames we came up with (if they already didn’t have one) – in alphabetical order by last name. Enjoy!
(Note: These includes nicknames already used (*) and some we came up with, we will update this post as we hear of either proper nicknames we didn’t know about or preferred nicknames the players would like us to use. Please contact @ZonaZealots on Twitter, Zona Zealots on Facebook and @ZonaZealotsFS on Instagram).
And here they are…
- Emmanuel Akot – E-Man or E-Train
- Rawle Alkins – King Rawle*
@ZonaZealots @Iam_RawleAlkins King Rawle is back #savagelife 🐻👇💯 pic.twitter.com/fUfkPq55G7
— David Rosen (@sciguyrosen) May 22, 2017
- DeAndre Ayton – A-Town (A for Arizona and Ayton), D-Rex, The Harasser, Dr. Dre or Monster D:
I watched Arizona practice in Tucson a few weeks ago. DeAndre Ayton is a MONSTER. Duke ain't running over the Wildcats. Hope they play ASAP.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) August 15, 2017
- Alex Barcello – Barcelona (there is a building in Barcelona that is called “Barcelo,” which is how his family name was spelled a long time ago)
- Parker Jackson Cartwright – PJC*, Funk or Swaggy P
- Talbott Denny – TD or Big Red (this is self-explanatory)
- Jake Desjardins – JD or The Shark
- Chase Jeter – Kid N Play* (Because he has a similar hairstyle – found from Duke days)
- Kory Jones – KJ
- Ira Lee – LeeTime*
- Keanu Pinder – Kazz*
- Brandon Randolph – Slim* or Young Dolph* (check out the video below of Slim getting his dunk on!)
https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram/status/897181976997879808
- Dusan Ristic – Duuuus* or The Big Fundamental*
— Water Lillies (@LilliesWater) January 6, 2017
He is @ristic_dusan or as they say in Serbia "the velika osnova".... aka "The Big Fundamental". #APlayersProgram pic.twitter.com/nDobkC5Imx
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) October 19, 2016
- Ray Smith – Smoove* and possibly Hero
https://twitter.com/raysmith2297/status/894749740931338241
- Dylan Smith – Shifty (based on his Twitter handle), Buckets
- Allonzo Trier – Zo”* Zo time!
- Tyler Trillo – Lo (like Zo)
- Matt Weyand – Moose (because we found this in his mentions from a fan)
Must Read: More on Arizona Basketball
When cheering for your favorite player at home, at a bar, or inside McKale Center, makes sure to cheer loud and proud. And as we mentioned before we are open to different or better suggestions or to update for the player’s actual nickname we may not have known about. BEAR DOWN!