Other articles by Bruce Pascoe:

Diamondbacks see a similarity to '07 season Webb throws a stinker D-backs hoping for postseason punch from Eckstein Ramirez's hot bat ends Dodgers' skid Rested Scherzer may be sure thing Home-grown Shumpert to play for Wildcats Arizona Wildcats basketball: Local forward earns UA scholarship Court date on schedule Uncertain on Olson, prep star rejects UAArizona Wildcats basketball: First guard of 2009 class commits

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Arizona has taken advantage of its suddenly expanded 2006-07 basketball schedule by agreeing to face Louisville in the Dec. 5 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Wildcats were looking to add another major home-and-home series after the NCAA board of directors voted last month to allow teams to play up to 29 games.

But they decided instead to accept the one-game opportunity in New York before ESPN's cameras.

It will be the second time in less than a month that the UA will travel to the East Coast; the Wildcats open the season Nov. 12 at Virginia. And the Jimmy V game comes just three days after the UA will face Illinois at Phoenix's US Airways Center.

"Our players come to Arizona to play the best games in the best arenas," said Ryan Hansen, a UA athletic department administrator who handles men's basketball scheduling. "This is a quality opponent in the mecca of basketball … and the beautiful thing is that we get the ESPN exposure that we need so much."

Hansen said UA coach Lute Olson also likes playing in the Coaches vs. Cancer and Jimmy V games because they benefit cancer research, a cause that Hansen said is "near and dear to the Arizona basketball family.''

Olson's first wife, Bobbi, died of ovarian cancer in 2000. The UA beat Texas 91-83 in the 2003-04 Jimmy V event.

The game also will mark the first time that Olson and Louisville coach Rick Pitino have faced each other since the 1997 national championship game.

Arthur to Kansas

The bizarre recruiting saga of Dallas prep star Darrell Arthur appeared to end Tuesday when he announced a commitment to Kansas.

Arthur, who had earlier considered Arizona, but never visited Tucson, was quoted in the Dallas Morning News saying he went to bed Monday night expecting to commit to Baylor but "was dreaming about Kansas all night.''

Arthur had scheduled a Monday news conference, then canceled it. He said Tuesday he would have chosen Baylor had the decision been announced Monday.

Recruits coming

The Arizona Cactus Classic is expected to attract many of the region's top elite-level players and their AAU teams to McKale Center next weekend.

According to event organizer Jim Storey, among those expected to attend include Alex Jacobson, Jamelle Horne, Gary Johnson, Brandon Jennings, Kevin Love, Kamyron Brown and Jai Lucas.

Jacobson and Horne have verbally committed to Arizona, while Johnson (2007), Brown (2007) and Jennings (2008) are UA targets. Brown is the cousin of UA assistant Miles Simon, and Lucas is the son of former NBA coach John Lucas.

It is unknown whether point guard Jerryd Bayless will participate, Storey said.

Bayless, who committed to the UA in November, is the subject of speculation that he is now considering other schools.

The UA, meanwhile, is planning to host an elite camp from June 29 to July 1, but it will not be open to the public. All-session tickets for the Cactus Classic, to begin at 6 p.m on May 19, are $10.

New Adams charge

The Tucson City Court calendar of former UA standout Hassan Adams became more crowded Monday after he was cited for speeding 19 miles over the posted limit on West Starr Pass Boulevard and failing to possess a legible driver's license.

Adams, who faces a June 8 arraignment for the traffic violation, already has a Monday pretrial hearing for his Dec. 11 disorderly conduct charge, and a June 12 evidentiary hearing on his March 5 DUI charge.