"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

Win can net him $40,000 in bonuses

Mike Stoops

By Anthony Gimino and Javier Morales

A victory over USC could mean $40,000 in bonuses for UA coach Mike Stoops. Here’s how it works: He already has received a $40,000 bonus for achieving seven victories in a 12-game regular season. If the team beats USC and gets to eight wins, that would be worth an additional $10,000. Also, it seems feasible that the Cats could move into the Top 25 in the BCS standings. If Arizona finishes anywhere from No. 16 to No. 25 in the final BCS standings, Stoops receives $30,000. So that’s how a victory could mean $40,000 in bonuses for Stoops. He also gets a bonus if the team meets certain attendance and season ticket levels for home games, including $60,000 if the UA averages 50,000 or more fans at games. The UA easily passed that mark this season, so a UA win today against USC will net Stoops at least $100,000 in bonuses. …

Speaking of a Stoops and finances, the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator is reporting that Youngstown State athletic director Ron Strollo “has a million dollar question sitting on his desk.” It might take more than $1 million for UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, 42, to be the next football coach at Youngstown State. The contract for Mark Stoops, a Youngstown native, could be worth between $250,000 and $280,000 per year, at least double the value of former coach Jon Heacock’s deal. Stoops, according to the Vindicator, is also negotiating for a pool of $850,000 for his coaching staff if hired by Youngstown State. The YSU counter-offer is reportedly for $750,000. Over the length of a standard five-year contract, Stoops’ contract increase from Heacock’s, coupled with the difference in the assistants’ salaries, could mean an increase of between $1.125 million and $1.5 million for YSU. This all might be moot if Jim Livengood is hired, as expected, as the UNLV athletic director this weekend. It is already rumored in the Las Vegas media that Livengood would bring the younger Stoops with him to head the Rebels’ football program. Arizona has tapped into Las Vegas talent recently with Juron Criner and Keola Antolin. Class of 2010 all-purpose recruit Garic Wharton of Las Vegas Valley High is also on his way to Tucson. Will Stoops’ potential relocation to Las Vegas affect that successful Las Vegas pipeline to Tucson? … Brad Allis of Wildcat Sports Report (like us, a partner with TucsonCitizen.com) writes that there are only four Arizona football players who had a written offer from USC. Those four are senior corner Devin Ross, freshman safety Adam Hall, junior corner Michael Turner and junior offensive guard Jovon Hayes. Ross has been a recruiting “hit,” but Turner and Hayes haven’t made much of an impact (Turner’s muffed punt recovery against Arizona State notwithstanding). Hall will get his big chance at safety, probably next season. Hitting 50 percent in football recruiting — even at the top level — is about all you can expect. … What do the past 17 Pac-10 football champions have in common? They have all defeated Arizona. The last time the Wildcats beat the eventual champ was 1992 in the famed 16-3 victory over top-ranked Washington. …

Is there a better secondary coach in the country than ex-Arizona assistant Duane Akina? He has coached three winners of the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back — Darryll Lewis at UA in 1990, and Michael Huff (2005) and Aaron Ross (2006) at Texas. He also coached Chuck Cecil for a year at Arizona. And, really, the best cornerback he ever had — Chris McAlister — should have won the Thorpe Award in 1998. Now, he has Texas sophomore safety Earl Thomas, who is one of three finalists for the award after setting a school record with eight interceptions. Akina’s secondary likely won’t be challenged much by Nebraska in today’s Big 12 Championship Game. …When Louisiana Tech comes to Tucson for next Wednesday’s game against Arizona, it will be a homecoming for Bulldogs forward David Jackson, who is a Rincon High graduate. Jackson began his career at Idaho (when the Vandals program was really a mess), spent a season at Mesa Community College and then landed back in the WAC at Louisiana Tech. He entered the weekend averaging 5.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and he is the top reserve for a team that might be a bit better than you think. Kyle Gibson is a high-scoring guard and former LSU Tiger Magnum Rolle, a 6-11 center, will be a tough matchup for the Cats. …

Where are they now?: Former UA tight end Mark Walczak, who was with the Wildcats from 1981-1985, resides in Scottsdale and is a real estate broker. He played in the NFL from 1986-94 in the NFL for the Cardinals, Colts, Chargers and Bills. For Thanksgiving, Walczak drove to a shelter near his home and assisted in feeding the homeless. He prides himself on his Red 1966 Convertible Delta 88. … New Zealand 6-11 center recruit Rob Loe will visit the UA unofficially Dec. 9-10 and will attend the Wildcats’ game Wednesday against Louisiana Tech. Loe will be in Tucson with his family to visit his older brother, who is a foreign exchange student at the UA. It has been reported that Loe might attend the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., during the spring semester, but that does not appear to be the case, according to the NBE Basketball Report. The East-coast based Web site said that if Loe needs a fifth year to gain academic eligibility per NCAA clearinghouse standards, he might attend Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass. If that is the case, Pittsburgh would be the early leader for Loe’s services because of the proximity to Pitt’s campus. Panthers coach Jamie Dixon coached against Loe during the summer when Team USA played New Zealand in the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand. Loe reportedly is impressed with Dixon. … During a recent tournament championship with his high school in New Zealand (in which U.S. coaches were in attendance), Loe dominated at both ends of the court, compiling 14 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, four assists and two steals. “He was a terrific part of our press break as well and one of the things that has really impressed the college coaches out here scouting him is his ball-handling ability,” observed coach Mark Jackson, who spoke to the New Zealand Basketball Web site. Loe showed experience under pressure hitting the first two jumpers of the game. Can you imagine a frontcourt of Loe, Jamelle Horne (by then a wily senior) and Derrick Williams next season? That would instantly be one of the five best frontlines in college hoops. …

UA softball coach Mike Candrea sometimes considered it a home-field advantage to not have a warning track and having an unforgiving wooden outfield fence. He relented last season by putting in a warning track and now pads are going on the wall. It’s the prudent thing to do, although it comes two years too late for Caitlin Lowe, who went full speed into the fence in the 2007 postseason, becoming a YouTube sensation in the process. Last season, right fielder Karissa Buchanan suffered a fractured nose while hitting the wall, but making the catch. “I was never was a fan of the wooden wall,” Candrea said in a UA press release. “We’ve had a few kids hit it pretty hard, and I just felt that it was time.” … According to the Web site, spysoftball.com, Candrea has a commitment from one of the nation’s most promising pitchers — and she is only a sophomore. That would be Nancy Bowling from Royal High School in Simi Valley, Calif. She also pitched last summer for the Orange County Batbusters, a powerhouse travel-ball team, in the 18-and-under Gold national championships. Bowling, considered the top freshman in the state of California last season, would arrive at Arizona when current freshman Kenzie Fowler is a senior. … Candrea said in an interview with the Tucson Citizen last year that an athletic administration job would be intriguing for him because, “I like managing people,” he said. He might soon get his chance to be at least considered for an AD post after Jim Livengood takes a similar post at UNLV. Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti took over that job after coaching the Ducks for 14 years. Candrea has coached the UA softball program for 24 years and has maintained an international profile as the coach of Team USA. He has eight College World Series titles to his credit. The question is: How will Candrea do with fund-raising responsibilities and work as a figurehead of the whole department? Does UA president Robert Shelton view the athletic director position as one that merits hiring someone with previous AD experience and requires a track record of collegiate sports administration? …

Max Zendejas informed us after his nephew Alex beat ASU with a game-winning field goal that his Mexican food bar/restaurant “Zendejas 13″ will open soon after Jan. 1 across the street from Arizona Stadium (on the South side near the Circle K). Zendejas said his establishment is putting together the finishing touches, including acquiring a liquor license. “If you come in, I’ll show you what a real burrito is supposed to taste like,” boasts Zendejas. … Friday Night Lights: UA recruit Jerry Whittaker, an Oceanside (Calif.) High School all-purpose player, has led the 12-0 Pirates to the California Division South I state championship game against Helix High School of La Mesa (Calif.) next weekend. Helix is the program that produced Chuck Cecil, UA special teams/defensive ends coach Jeff Hammerschmidt and successful defensive back Allen Durden. Whittaker can be useful for Stoops and the UA staff in so many ways: 360 yards rushing on 36 carries and 572 yards on 35 receptions. On the other side of the ball as a defensive back, Whittaker is among Oceanside’s tackling leaders with 15. … UA basketball signee Daniel Bejarano scored a team-high 29 points in Phoenix North’s 92-90 overtime loss to Mesa on Thursday. He made 10 of 17 from the field, including 8 of 10 from within the three-point line. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists. Mesa junior point guard Jahii Carson, who has verbally committed to Oregon State, scored 31 points with five assists and four steals.

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Tags: Daniel Bejarano, Jim Livengood, Mark Stoops, Mark Walczak, Mike Candrea, Mike Stoops, Rob Loe

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