Ashley Monceaux

a.e. araiza / arizona daily star 2007

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If your plans are flexible next weekend, you may wish to spend $10 to see part of the 32-team, 79-game Arizona Cactus Classic at McKale Center and Bear Down Gym.

Last May's inaugural Cactus Classic included McDonald's All-Americans James Harden, Jai Lucas, Taylor King and UA recruits Jamelle Horne and Zane Johnson.

This year's list of players appears to be more impressive: 12 of America's top-40 ranked high school seniors (class of 2008) are expected to be in Tucson for the weekend, as well as five of the top 20 from the class of 2009. Lute Olson is actively recruiting about 10 of those who will be in the Cactus Classic.

My suggestion: try to see California-based Pump N' Run Elite, a star-stocked club that includes Modesto, Calif., power forward Reeves Nelson and Mater Dei High School 6-foot 9-inch twins Travis and David Wear. All have included Arizona and UCLA among their final choices. Their team will play at 8:20 p.m. Friday at McKale and again at McKale at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.

UA recruit Brendon Lavender of Phoenix will play for the Arizona Magic. His team is scheduled to play at McKale at 6 p.m. Friday and 1:40 p.m. Saturday.

This national-level AAU/recruiting event has attracted powerful economic support in Tucson, with 21 sponsors and financial help from former UA athletes Nyal Leslie, George Rountree and Tim Garigan.

Twelve former college football players were elected to the College Football Hall of Fame last week, including Doug Flutie and former ASU lineman Randall McDaniel. Almost conspicuous by his absence was former UA consensus All-America safety Chuck Cecil, an honor student during his college days.

The Southern Arizona Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame two years ago submitted Cecil's name for consideration.

"Chuck meets all the stated criteria,'' said Tucsonan Joe Kearney, former WAC commissioner and an active leader of the local chapter of the NFF-College Hall of Fame. "I think it's just a matter of time.''

Kearney said the two requirements are (1) that a player be a consensus All-American, as Cecil was in 1987, and (2) that his post-football life include meritorious community service.

Cecil, secondary coach of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, and his wife, Carrie Gerlach-Cecil, are in Tucson this weekend conducting a fundraiser for the UMC Trauma Center. The third Cecil Family Golden Hour Golf Classic has raised more than $100,000 for emergency room equipment at UMC.

"It's so important to keep a Level 1 trauma unit in Tucson that we want to do our part in assisting in any way possible,'' Carrie said. "This is Chuck's way of helping to give back to the Tucson community.''

Kearney said that, "I'd like to think Chuck will be elected sooner rather than later,'' and added that ex-UA pass rusher Tedy Bruschi is likely to be added to the ballot soon after he retires from the NFL.

How's this for irony? On Cecil's epic 106-yard interception return to beat eventual Rose Bowl champ ASU in 1986, the last man he cleared on his return was McDaniel.

Tucsonan Josh Brisco is in the New York Jets rookie camp for an extended period, May 10 to June 6. The Catalina Foothills High School graduate was an all-conference cornerback for the San Diego Toreros and was ranked as high as No. 19 among cornerbacks in some NFL draft projections. … Cienega High School lineman Zach Davila was offered a scholarship by Utah coach Kyle Whittingham last week. Davila, 6 feet 4 inches and 300 pounds, also has drawn recruiters from Colorado, Baylor, Arizona, Wyoming and Nevada during the May recruiting period at the Vail school. … Former UA coach Dick Tomey, in Tucson last week for the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation golf tournament fundraiser, has been reunited with former UA All-Pac-10 safety Jeff Hammerschmidt. Tomey hired Hammer to be San Jose State's linebackers coach last week. The ex-UA assistant coach had been out of work since Stanford's coaching change in January. … Jordan Brown, part of Arizona's 2004 College World Series baseball team, is hoping for promotion to Class AAA by the Cleveland Indians. An outfielder with the Class AA Akron Aeros, Brown is batting .345 and is tied for the Eastern League lead in hits, second in doubles, fourth in batting average and second in total bases. In addition, he has stolen six bases without being thrown out. Brown was the 2006 Class A Carolina League player of the year.

Ashley Monceaux, who helped Flowing Wells to a state softball championship, was named the Big 12 softball player of the week last week. It was the second time the Baylor first baseman earned the honor this season. Monceaux was batting .405 with 16 homers and 58 RBIs entering the Big 12 tournament last week. … For the first time in three years, local qualifying for the U.S. Open won't be held in Tucson. Tucson's leading golfers will instead play Monday in Phoenix. Among those in the field are Tyler Neal, Brian Prouty, Brian Kontak, Glen Griffith, Ryan Witz, Rich Elias and Matt Rosen. Elias, last year's PGA Southern Chapter champ, is again playing well. He won the Skyline Country Club Member-Guest title among 25 pros two weeks ago and was second in last week's Chapter's Pro Series tournament at The Preserve. Griffith earned his win with a 5-under 67. … Florida Marlins pitching coach Rick Kranitz missed the team's weekend series against Washington to be in Tucson. Kranitz was at McKale Center on Saturday to watch his daughter, Christin, receive her UA degree in psychology.

Todd McCorkle, who coached Arizona to the 2000 NCAA women's golf championship, resigned suddenly last week from a similar position at third-ranked Georgia. School officials told reporters that they are conducting an "investigation'' and expect to make public their findings Monday. … Paul Hatcher, one of the most honored football players in UA history, died Friday. Hatcher, a center, was co-captain of Arizona's 1956 team and played in the 1956 East-West Shrine Game. He was inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He was 73. … Last week, Sabino High School grad J.J. Hardy somehow was not named the National League Player of the Week. The Milwaukee Brewers shortstop hit .536 with two homers and nine RBIs. Hardy told Milwaukee reporters that he had no problem with the award going to teammate Prince Fielder. "I don't like to be the center of attention,'' he said. "Ever.'' As good as the 24-year-old Hardy has become, that under-the-radar ship may have left the dock. … Incoming UA basketball guard Laval Lucas-Perry was named MVP of the Michigan High School Boys All-Star Game last week. He scored 30 points, and newspaper accounts of the game said he also was a defensive stopper. Lucas-Perry is due to move to Tucson on June 4. For the UA's basketball purposes, it can't be soon enough.

Desert View High School has never produced a big-time basketball player. And, frankly, over the last 25 years, Tucson's only big-shot college basketball players have been Cholla's Sean Elliott, Marana's George Banks, Santa Rita's Mark Brown and Sunnyside's Jermaine Watts and Deron Johnson.

But former DVHS power forward Mark Sanchez last week signed a letter of intent to play for Boise State of the WAC, a considerable achievement for a player whose previous recruiting interest came only from Drake and Texas-Pan American.

Sanchez averaged 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds for a bad Pima College team (10-20, ninth place in the ACCAC) but attracted attention when he was selected to the league's second-team all-star squad.

"That's a big-time deal for Tucson basketball,'' said Jerry Carrillo, coach of Cochise College, who twice has coached the Apaches to the NJCAA final field of 16. "Mark really blossomed as a nice player in his career at Pima. A lot of schools were calling me, as an opposing coach, asking about him.''

Carrillo's Cochise team placed all five of its sophomores on NCAA Division I teams, including Alex White to Drake of the Missouri Valley Conference and Frank Borden to American University of the Patriot League.

In the wake of NCAA graduation rate embarrassments, the hiring and firing of coaches at an alarming rate and excessive spending by our college athletic departments, there is proof that the system works.

Palo Verde High School graduate Nicole de Gennaro, the 2001 4A state golf champion, completed her college eligibility last week at the University of Nevada.

She had a terrific senior season, winning the Wolf Pack Invitational and placing in the top 10 at three events. Her final yearly stroke average, 77.46, was her best as a collegian.

No, de Gennaro isn't planning to turn pro. Rather, after she completes her student teaching requirements at the Reno school, she will put her elementary education degree to use by returning to Tucson to be a grade school teacher.

It's not a big headline. But you can't beat Nicole de Gennaro for a success story in college sports.