Roundup: You can't put a value on McConnell

Feb 26, 2014

Arizona will look for a lil’ comeuppance against Cal Wednesday night in Tucson (6 p.m. PT, ESPN2), and it’s no secret ‘round those parts that point guard T.J. McConnell is very valuable to his team’s success. So valuable, in fact, that Sean Miller says “you can’t put a value” on McConnell’s play.

Cal is expecting a raucous reception at Arizona, and I’d say that’s a pretty good bet.

As Arizona State readies for a Pac-12/NCAA tournament seed-jockeying tilt with Stanford in Tempe Wednesday night (8 p.m. PT, ESPNU), Herb Sendek says the effort hasn’t been acceptable for the Sun Devils as of late, as evidenced by a 23-point loss to Utah last time out on Sunday.

This is pretty cool: Former Cardinal All-American and current WNBA’er Nneka Ogwumike will make her broadcasting debut on the Pac-12 Networks during the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament. Like Bart Scott once said — CAN’T WAIT. Also, Robbie Lemons has made the most of his chances at Stanford, joining the team as a freshman walk-on and now serving as a significant contributor off the bench.

The respected Tony Jones has a nice story on the emergence of Princeton Onwas, who has found himself in and out of Krystkowiak’s starting lineup over the course of the season, but has been playing well lately.

Craig Robinson’s boys have been up and down all year, but Angus Brandt brings a steadying presence to the erratic Beavers.

Man, Tony Parker has been on a roll the last four games. The Bruin big man has made 14 of his last 17 shots, so that ain’t too shabby.

USC hasn’t had a successful season by any stretch of the imagination, but Byron Wesley is the can’t-miss kid for a can’t-win team, opines the LA Times’ Jim Peltz. Dude is averaging 17.6 ppg, good for sixth in the Pac.

At the final day of the NFL combine Tuesday, Washington State’s Deone Bucannon stood out among the defensive backs.

Ever wonder what former Duck quarterback Darron Thomas is up to these days? Turns out that he is competing for a starting spot with the AFL’s Portland Thunder. Portland is about to enter its inaugural season in the arena league, with the season opener coming March 17 against the San Jose SaberCats (this blogger has a replica SaberCats championship ring from their Arena Bowl victory over the Arizona Rattlers in 2002, so that’s pretty tight).