A running thread of events at today's Red-Blue Game:
The live stream of the game can be accessed here (though it seems to be having issues). Our live chat is here if you want to jump in.
4:04 p.m. Final: Red 62, Blue 58. Filed this quick game summary:
Arizona senior wing Kevin Parrom had 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to lead the Red to a 62-58 win over the Blue team in the Wildcats’ intrasquad scrimmage today before 14,365 fans at McKale Center.
Parrom added six rebounds while freshman Grant Jerrett added eight rebounds and 14 points for the Red.
Sophomore guard Nick Johnson led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 4 of 8 three-pointers, for the Blue team. Solomon Hill added 14 points for the Blue and freshman Brandon Ashley had 11 points and five rebounds.
The game was played in front of a small group of high-importance UA recruiting targets, including 2013 forward Aaron Gordon, while the Wildcats’ 1988 Final Four team was honored for its 25th anniversary.
In the first half, graduate transfer Mark Lyons had 11 points and two assists in the to lead the Red to a 28-24 halftime lead.
Lyons, who transferred from Xavier, hit 4 of 6 from the field and hit both free throws he took.
The Red team also had nine points and five rebounds from Jerrett.
Johnson and Hill each had six points in the first half for the Blue, which shot only 34.6 percent from the field. The Blue team struggled nearly as much, with a 37.5 percent mark.
There appeared to be some early jitters with many missed shots, starting with a missed hook by Kaleb Tarczewski. The Red team didn't score for four possessions and two minutes before Lyons scored inside and the Blue team took three and a half minutes before Ashley finally put it on the board.
Before the game, freshman guard Gabe York won the team’s dunk contest by flying over UA big men Matt Korcheck and Angelo Chol for a dunk.
3:52 p.m. Timeout at 3:55 mark. Kevin Parrom has 12 points over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The crowd is announced at 14,365.
3:46 p.m. - Walkon Jacob Hazzard hit Nick Johnson for a well-timed alleyoop pass and Johnson threw it in for the Blue.
3:41 p.m. Timeout with 7:55 left in the second half. Red leads 47-32. Kevin Parrom highlighted the early second half with a dunk that turned into a three-point play.
3:31 p.m. Steve Kerr addresses the crowd. He said the 1988 teammates remain all "best friends" and that the current team should realize it is now part of the family.
"You’re in that family for life now and that’s pretty exciting," Kerr said.
Kerr also thanked Sean Miller for incorporating the former players into his program and Greg Byrne for his leadership of the athletic department.
3:26 p.m. Sean Elliott speaks to the crowd at halftime. Says he didn't think his teams ever sold out the Red-Blue Game.
"It was once in a lifetime," he said of the 1988 team. "In the process we helped build something special that these guys can build on."
Elliott said he and Steve Kerr were impressed with the size and raw talent of the current team and if the Wildcats play as a team "there's going to be a lot of hell to pay for people when they step into this building."
3:19 p.m. Red leads 28-24 at halftime. I filed this halftime report:
Graduate transfer Mark Lyons had 11 points and two assists in the first half to leave the Red to a 28-24 halftime lead in the Arizona Wildcats’ preseason Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmage.
Lyons, who transferred from Xavier, hit 4 of 6 from the field and hit both free throws he took.
The Red team also had nine points and five rebounds from freshman forward Grant Jerrett.
Nick Johnson and Solomon Hill each had six points for the Blue, which shot only 34.6 percent from the field. The Blue team struggled nearly as much, with a 37.5 percent mark.
Before the game, freshman guard Gabe York won the team’s dunk contest by flying over UA big men Matt Korcheck and Angelo Chol for a dunk.
2:56 p.m. Timeout at the 7:47 mark. Rich Rodriguez takes the mic and asks the crowd to show up at football games and "bring some friends" to help UA win.
2:47 p.m. Game tips off. Appears to be some early jitters with a ton of missed shots, starting with a missed hook by Kaleb Tarczewski. The Red team didn't score for two minutes before Mark Lyons scored inside and the Blue team took three and a half minutes before Brandon Ashley finally put it on the board.
2:44 p.m. -- Andre Iguodala thanks UA and its fans during a video address before his induction to the Ring of Honor. Because of his trade to the Denver Nuggets, who play today, Iguodala was not able to make it.
2:32 p.m. -- Dunk contest. Gabe York takes early lead by dunking over Matt Korcheck and Angelo Chol. Nick Johnson tried to tie him with some 360-degree moves but failed to dunk it, so York will run away with it.
Brendon Lavender was impressed.
2:30 p.m. Miller pulled the old Lute Olson trick of dividing McKale fans in half and asking them to vote for a certain team, in order to let everyone (i.e. recruits) "to see what McKale is really like."
Miller took the microphone to thank the fans for showing up for the scrimmage and said they were "by far the biggest advantage we have as a program."
Miller also briefly spoke about this year's team.
"The one thing I’ll tell you about the current team-- certainly we're bigger deeper than we were," he said. "But one of the things I want to share with you is this is a team from day one that has been very unselfish. Every day that we've been together has been virtually the same. I give our leadership tremendous credit but I equally give the seven new guys credit for coming here and buying in to be part of something bigger than themselves."
2:21 p.m. - The players begin fullcourt layup drills.
2:11 p.m. -- The 1978-88 Final Four team is introduced. Steve Kerr got the obligatory "Steeeeve Kerrrr" introduction.
The former players are going through a receiving line headed by Sean Miller, with the current and other former players then greeting them. Afterward, both teams posed for pictures at midcourt.
--
2:05 p.m.
The players have been introduced, with Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom predictably gaining the loudest applause. There was a chant of "Zeus" when Kaleb Tarczewski was introduced.
Before that a video about the program featured former Wildcats such as Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill, Jerryd Bayless, Damon Stoudamire and Jason Gardner.
--
The Blue team: Jordin Mayes, Nick Johnson, Solomon Hill, Brandon Ashley, Ashley Chol, Matt Korcheck, Jacob Hazzard and Drew Mellon.
The Red: Mark Lyons, Gabe York, Kevin Parrom, Grant Jerrett, Kaleb Tarczewski, T.J. McConnell, Max Wiepking, Quinton Crawford
James Whitford is coaching the red team while Joe Pasternack and Book Richardson are handling the blue.
Please Wait…