Arizona Basketball: Six great Wildcats leave behind memorable careers

Parker Jackson-Cartwright

PJC played the role this year of the starting point guard, one of the most important positions there is. On a team full of talent, it was up to the 5-foot-8 senior from Los Angeles to get everyone involved and that he did.

Cartwright has been lucky enough to watch, learn, practice and play alongside former great Wildcat point guards; Allen, McConnell, and York, who have all gone to have successful professional careers. This prior experience helped Cartwright take the role of floor general this season.

From his freshman to his senior season, Cartwright had a similar journey as Ristic. He began his freshman year starting in zero games And ended up starting every game in his senior year. Along the way, he faced a few bumps in the road.

One of those bumps being his junior season, when he suffered a high right ankle sprain and had to sit out six games. That didn’t stop Cartwright from playing with the same style of fierceness and toughness through the remaining part of the season and helped his team all the way to Sweet 16.

In his senior season, Cartwright fought through every screen, made timely steals and three-point shots and played with a sense of no fear. Today’s game is being taken over by 7-footers, so its refreshing to see someone under 6-foot command the presence Cartwright did.

For his career, Cartwright averaged 5.5 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game. PJC didn’t light up the stat sheet, but what he did for this team this season and previous season was essential to their overall success.