Arizona Wildcats in the news, what you may have missed so far in 2019

Current, past and future Arizona Wildcats have graced the headlines on social media recently, we had to bring the news to the fans.

We know that it is only three weeks into January and 2019  but so much is going on with current, past and future Arizona Wildcats that we wanted to clue you in!

Past Arizona Wildcats:

NBA:

No news update for Arizona Wildcats would be complete without a TJ McConnell update. The Houston Rockets came to town in Philly, and TJ took on the beard and NBA MVP James Harden and he just stole the ball away from him. If you check out the 76ers Twitter page, you will find many highlights with TJ and JJ Reddick celebrating throughout the game. Hilarious.

Brooklyn Nets Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brooklyn native Rawle Alkins (Bulls) made headlines with their recent dunks.

https://twitter.com/nbagleague/status/1087448732528975872

Kadeem Allen, now signed on a two-way with the Westchester Knicks and Alkins went head-to-head in the NBA G-League on Martin Luther King Day. The matchup was a lot of fun to watch, formidable foes and friends at the same time. Alkins coach Henry did not play in him the final minutes which freed Allen to sink a banked in three to tie the game and back to back layups to keep his team in the game. Windy City ended up winning in the end 97-94, but Allen ended the game with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Superbowl:

Rob Gronkowski and his New England Patriots are headed to Superbowl 53. Gronkowski is the first tight end in the NFL to receive for 1,000 yards in the postseason according to his brother Chris. Gronk and his team will be going up against former Cal quarterback Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams. According to Justin Spears, here are the 22 Pac-12 participants in the Superbowl, Gronk his heading to his third straight Superbowl and the lone Wildcat representing Arizona:

• Arizona: Rob Gronkowski (TE)
• ASU: Lawrence Guy (DL), Christian Sam (LB)
• USC: Justin Davis (RB), Nickell Robey-Coleman (CB), Robert Woods (WR)
• UCLA: Matthew Slater (WR) Utah: Eric Rowe (DB), Domonique Hatfield (CB)
• Cal: Jared Goff (QB), C.J. Anderson (RB), Stephen Anderson (TE), Brian Schwenke (OL)
• Stanford: Kyle Murphy (OL)
• Oregon: Patrick Chung (S), Troy Hill (CB), Johnny Mundt (TE)
• Oregon State: Brandin Cooks (WR), Johnny Hekker (P), Sean Mannion (QB)
• Washington: Marcus Peters (CB), Cory Littleton (LB), Danny Shelton (DL)

Baseball:

Arizona Legendary baseball player Trevor Hoffman (1988 and 1989) the athletic department will officially retire his  No. 15 jersey on Opening Day in a pregame ceremony. On top of that, the first 2,500 fans will receive a Hoffman Bobble Head.

Hoffman will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this past July after 18 seasons in Major League Baseball playing predominantly for the San Diego Padres. He earned 601 saves as a dominant relief pitcher and was a seven-time All-Star.

Current or 2018 Arizona Wildcats:

Justin Coleman scored the 1,000th point of his career!

Shawn Poindexter caught a 22-yard touchdown in the East-West Shrine game. Of course, he did! He impressed many by helping the West beat the East 21-17. And his emotion told the story. From volleyball player to JUCO player to Arizona to the NFL Draft, his is one hell of a story. Poindexter scored two touchdowns in a game for four weeks straight last season.

https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/1086744998815555584

Arizona Rita Softball stadium is getting a makeover including padding and shade. “It’s going to be a remarkable addition to this program, not only right now, but the future of the program. We’re excited that the New Rita will be at the very top of the list,” said Coach Candrea.

Cody Creason was No. 4 of the 2018 Top Graded Guards per @PFF_College at 71.2.

The GymCats are nationally ranked No. 23! Their motto this season is: Honor the legacy – Thrive throughout the challenge – Continue the climb.

Freshman Cate Reese earned Freshman of the week honors for her performances against the Oregon schools.

• Averaged 17 points and shot 58 percent from the field against two top-10 teams on the road as Arizona fell to No. 5 Oregon (93-60) and No. 10 Oregon State (86-64) last week.
• Recorded a season-high three steals against the Ducks, shot 3-for-3 at the line and drained one from deep to finish with 16 points in the game.
• Tied for ninth in the Conference with 7.8 rebounds per game and fourth with a .854 free throw percentage this season.
• Collects second Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor this season after making program history as Arizona’s first-ever freshman honoree on Nov. 26.

Adia Barnes is building something great, just needs a little more time. Her man, former Arizona Basketball player Omar Thielemans was very proud of Cate and so are we.

https://twitter.com/OmarThielemans/status/1087475322944176128

Future Arizona Wildcats:

Future Arizona Basketball freshmen Josh Green and Terry Armstrong were playing high school basketball on National TV on ESPN this past week and both made headlines.

The next big Australian NCAA star, Green plays for No. 3 ranked IMG Academy (FL) and his team beat No. 7 Oak Hill Academy (VA) 62-57 at the Spalding Hoophall Classic behind 19 points, 10 rebounds and three assists from Josh Green. Green’s teammates Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (18 points, Villanova commit) and Jaden Springer (16 points). Star Cole Anthony (yet to commit, does not have Arizona in his final list) was missing on the Oak Hill roster but filled in with announcers. That said Green was played very well and garnered expert Paul Biancardi who said his “Game is so polished.”

https://twitter.com/sciguyrosen/status/1087150381283459073

Arizona Basketball Terry Armstrong made ESPN’s SCTOP10 with one of the dunks in this show, we mean game. Armstrong is the No. 58 overall player in the 2020 class, the No. 6 shooting guard and the No. 3 overall player in the state of Arizona. Zona Zealots Site Expert Eric Townsend wrote the following:

"Against ISA at Andrews Osborne Academy (OH), Armstrong put on a show for those in attendance and/or watching. On Sunday afternoon in Dayton, the star wing put on a dunking clinic, driving to the rim and throwing it down. The high school senior finished the first half, with 26 points, throwing down eight,  rim-rattling dunks. Bella Vista Prep would go on to win the game by a 95-64 final. Armstrong finished the game with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a block in the dominating performance."

https://twitter.com/EricGetsBuckets/status/1087220330521915392

You should be all caught up on the latest, stay tuned for more on Zona Zealots.