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TSS Host: This is The Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Austin Hepola and welcome to your weekly intake of Sports stories from across the Valley.
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TSS Host: On today’s show we listen in on the Phoenix Suns media day, check out how the Arizona Wildcats handled Washington Football. As well as a peak under the hood of Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils Men’s Basketball team, and how transfers have effected the high school football scene at Mountain Pointe.
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New owner, new coach, new players for new-look Phoenix Suns
Host: The Phoenix Suns’ media day took place at Footprint Center just a few days ago. The franchise has undergone a lot of turnover since owner Mat Ishbia took the reins this past February. The Suns acquired superstar players Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and hired a new head coach in Frank Vogel. There Has Been a plethora of questions surrounding the team with these drastic changes, so I attended the Suns media day in Phoenix to get answers from staff and players.
Hepola: Over the past few years, NBA media day has been anointed as the unofficial start of the new season. Teams across the league interact with dozens of media officials to give their respective fanbases more insight on what to expect for the upcoming season. The Phoenix Suns had their fair share of questions and attention, especially after recently trading former number one pick Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers as a part of the blockbuster Damian Lillard trade. In that deal, the Suns got back Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johson.
<<James Jones, Suns GM: We’re playing to win championships and if you get a really good player who’s motivated, and you give them an opportunity to win a title, you usually see the best versions of those players.>>
Hepola: That is Suns general manager James Jones, who believes the addition of Nurkic is a better fit for the team over Ayton. He also said the trade was an opportunity for the Suns to get better.
<<James Jones, Suns GM: I know we talk about Nurk (Nurkic), but we also got Nassir, we targeted Grayson, Keon. All of those guys collectively, they make us a better team. So we make those decisions that we know will make us better and when we see those opportunities we go and attack it.
Hepola: The relationship that Jones and owner Mat Ishbia have built in their short time together is one that follows a specific goal- to get better at all costs. From the moment he became owner of the Suns, Ishbia has been bold in every decision that he has made. That boldness also carries over into his confidence in the team.
<<Mat Isbia, Suns Owner: I think we got the best team in the league, but obviously we got to play it out, you know? We’re really excited, I think we got a great coach with Frank Vogel, obviously James Jones and Josh Bartelstien have done a great job working together, building this as an organization along with so many other people. And then the players.>>
Hepola: The players indeed. The Suns have built a super team in the eyes of many NBA fans as they made massive trades for players that complement their franchise superstar Devin Booker. Booker, who is the only player remaining from the Suns 2021 Finals run on the current roster, realizes that trades are all a part of the business, and that the team needed to get better.
<<Devin Booker, Suns guard: You know, trades are the hardest part of this business. I know me personally, I’m so invested in but; you know just understanding that, you know, people might be in a better situation.>>
Hepola: When the Suns traded Mikal Bridges and Cameron Jonhson for Kevin Durant back in February, they were able to flourish on their new team in Brooklyn as they got more of an opportunity. Booker hopes to see Ayton get that same opportunity with Portland.
<<Devin Booker, Suns Shooting Guard: I seen Deandre get to Portland, he had a big smile on his face. You know, even when we shook hands before he walked out after the trade, like, you know you could tell his energy was you know; a new opportunity, new momentum. So, that’s all you can ask is that they’re in a better situation, they continue to flourish and get better.
Hepola: Fans across the Valley are eager to see what this Suns team will look like. Many are expecting the team to have a high-powered offense, with some defensive versatility mixed in. It will be interesting to see how coach Vogel will handle all of these new additions, as building chemistry will be the main point of emphasis in the first few months of the season.
Hepola: While building chemistry doesn’t occur overnight, it shouldn’t be hard for the players to buy in on the team. Newcomers’ Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic were certainly not afraid to express their excitement on joining the team.
<<Bradley Beal, Suns guard: It’s amazing to be a part of this. This is easily, you know, the best team I’ve ever been a part of. So, I’m mentally checked in and I’m ready to get going.>>
<<Jusuf Nurkic, Suns center: To have the ability to see how they’re going to guard KD, Beal or Book; who are they going to double? It will be fun man, I think it will be fun.>>
Hepola: To say that the Suns organization and fanbase are excited would be an understatement. There are clear championship aspirations for this franchise, one that has never hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy. The offseason was a roller coaster for the Suns, but this is just the beginning as the regular season will offer more twists and turns along the journey. From Cronkite Sports in Phoenix, Austin Hepola reporting.
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Arizona Wildcats find some good to take away from loss to undefeated Washington
Host intro: The Arizona Wildcats football team faced its toughest test of the season last Saturday against the Washington Huskies, who came into the game undefeated and ranked number seven in the AP Poll. While the Wildcats weren’t able to come away with the win, there were some positives to take away from the game though, Alex Chenevey has more from Tucson.
Chenevey: Arizona hosted one of the best football teams in the PAC-12 last Saturday in the Washington Huskies. The Huskies came into the game with one of the best offenses in the country, spearheaded by the leader in passing yards in all of college football, redshirt senior quarterback Michael Penix Junior. Huskie wideouts Rome Odunze (O-DUNE-ZAY) and Ja’Lynn (JAY-LYN) Polk both are ranked inside the top 20 nationally in receiving yards. The Huskies also came in sporting one of the best defenses in the country, as they gave up an average of 17 points per game in their first four contests. Despite all of this, the Wildcats would give Washington their closest game yet, losing by a touchdown 31 to 24. Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch spoke after the game.
<<Jedd Fisch, Arizona Football Head Coach>> “I would say that these are the types of games that somebody’s gotta win and somebody’s gotta lose. Offensively, I thought we did a lot of good things under some interesting circumstances. Obviously there’s a couple of things we would like back as we always would, I wish we could all be perfect at everything we do. But I would say we had a lot of great opportunities tonight to be in position to take this game down to the very end and it was just a great game.”
Chenevey: In last week’s game against Stanford, junior quarterback Jayden De Laura and senior running back Michael Wiley both departed the game with leg injuries. Those injuries made the pair game-time decisions entering Saturday night. After being evaluated, neither would get the all-clear to play, which meant that other players would have to fill in. Redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita (FUH-FEET-A) and running backs Jonah Coleman and DJ Williams stepped up. Coleman and Williams combined for 138 scrimmage yards and Fifita would throw for 232 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start at Arizona. Redshirt senior tight end Tanner McLachlan (MICK-LOCK-LEN) thought Fifta played well given the circumstances.
<<Tanner McLachlan, Arizona starting tight end>> “To come in and that be a first time start to go against a top 10 team and you know for it to come down to the end like that, I don’t think you can ask much more of him.”
Chenevey: The Wildcats defense also played well, holding the Huskies offense to their lowest scoring output this season at 31 points while also holding Penix Junior to zero touchdown passes. The Wildcats do get another tough draw next Saturday going to Los Angeles to play number nine USC. They hope that the positives they can take away from last Saturday’s game will lead to an upset over the Trojans. For Cronkite News reporting, I’m Alex Chenevey.
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Sun Devil’s men’s basketball looks forward to coming season
Host Intro: Sun Devil Hoops Is Back, As The Men’s Basketball Team Held Its First Official Practice Of The Season. Bobby Hurley And His Players Reflected on Last Season, And What They Hope To Improve On In The Coming Year. Benjamin Yates Has More From The Weatherup Center.
<Nat Sound: Sneakers On The Gym Floor, Players Shouting For The Ball. Scrimmage Basketball Game
Yates: Basketball Is Back In Tempe, As The Sun Devils’ Men’s Basketball Team Is Holding The First Practice After The Offseason. The Last Time We Saw This Team Was In March, As The Devils Barely Lost To The Sixth Seed Tcu Hornfrogs 72-70. Since Then, The Sun Devils Have Lost Several Key Members From That Tournament Team To The Transfer Portal. With Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal, Alonzo Gaffney And Bobby Hurley Jr. Being The Only Returning Players To The Roster. And Coach Bobby Hurley Couldn’t Be More Proud Of His Veterans.
<<Hurley: Yeah Those Guys Are Anchors, Vocally They’ve Been Excellent. Reinforcing The Messaging To The New Players. They’ve Been Great Leaders For Us On And Off The Court. They Know What Playing Great Basketball Looks Like Coming Off A 23 Win Season. >>
Yates: The Sun Devils Took A Trip Across Europe This Summer, As They Played In Three Different Games Against European Opponents. They Traveled To Paris, Athens, And Mykonos. While They Were There To Play Basketball, The Trip Had Other Purposes , Getting The Team Closer Together. Frankie Collins Use The Trip To His Advantage For His Game, And The Team’s Future Success..
<<Collins: Getting To Know Each Other, Most Likely How We Are Off The Court Is How We Are On The Court. So Getting To Know Each Other Off The Court, Especially Me As The Point Guard And Leader. I Got To Know Everybody 1-15 On The Roster. >>
Yates: There Are Ninenew Players On The Roster, As New Freshmen Recruits And Transfer Students Have Filled Out The Last Few Missing Spots In The Rotation. Jamiya Neal Said That The Trip To Europe Allowed Everyone To Bond Unlike Any Other Team He’s Been A Part Of.
<<Neal: It’s Alway Fun, Just Playing The Game You Love Is Fun. Enjoying The Process Is Fun. We’re Always Going To Have Fun Playing Basketball, But When You’re Doing It With People You Like, It’s Even Better.>>
Yates: The Sun Devils Had Another European Trip Back In 201.7 This Is The First Time Hurley Has Taken His Team Over The Atlantic Since Then. In 2017, The Devils Started 12-0, Reaching The Top Three In The Ap Polls At The Start Of The Season.The Next Season Of Men’s College Basketball Is Set To Start On November 8th At The Barstool Invitational Against Mississippi State.
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Yates: (For The Sweet Spot, I’m Benjamin Yates)
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Transfers help transform new-look Mountain Pointe High School football
Host: The wait is over for Mountain Pointe football as the team will have a new look team with the transfers now being eligible to play. Brandon Tran has more in Ahwatukee (owl-uh-took-key)
[Nate Sound]-Weight lifting,wristle
Tran: After last season ended, 27 transfers have come to Mountain Pointe, 12 of them alone are from their Ahwatukee (ow-uh -took-key) rival Desert Vista. This is really unheard of for high school athletes to jump from one high school to another like, the NCAA college transfers portal. Pride head coach Eric Lauer explains how the transfers can make a difference to the team.
<<Eric Lauer, Mountain Pointe, Head Coach “It’s relationship building you try to build it the best you can. This is something very different we never dealt with before having an influx of players like we did which is a crazy situation and now we are trying to make the best of it.”
[Nate Sound]-football being caught,
Tran: For some transfers, a new coach at their old school was the reason for leaving. For others like linebacker Jaylyn Colter (Colt-ter) from Chaparral High school it was a chance to continue playing with other teammates who also transferred.
<<Jaylyn Colter, Mountain Pointe, Sophomore Linebacker “This was my home before going to Chaparral. It’s just all the brothers here you know.I would come here to help them out too.”
Tran: Colter (Colt-ter) was one of the key transfers. He already has offers from Oregon, Arizona State, UNLV and Nevada. These transfers have been waiting for their chance to play after sitting out for five weeks as they look to work together and be part of the team.
<<Jaylyn Colter, Mountain Pointe, Sophomore Linebacker “It’s was a long five weeks you know on the sideline, screaming and yelling, helping my brothers out with the calls and stuff like that.
Tran: Senior running back Randle Parker explains how he can work with the transfers and contribute as a team.
<<Randle Parker Mountain Pointe, Senior Running Back “A lot more energy as they been waiting on the sideline waiting to get in. It’s gonna feel like a fresh start for the guys on defense. You know you got more guys on defense and offense, so a lot more energy getting more hype going on game day.”
Tran: The Pride was hyped heading into game day last week against American Leadership Academy from Queen Creek but didn’t get the result they wanted falling 28-0. The Pride will look to learn more from that game during the bye week before their matchup against last season’s 6A Central section champ Corona Del Sol. For Cronkite Sports in Ahwatukee (owl-uh-took-key), I’m Brandon Tran reporting.
HOSt: And this was The Sweet Spot. This show was produced by (ya boy) Benjamin Yates. Special thanks to Alex, Ben, and Brandon for reporting on these stories. I’m your host Austin Hepola. Until next time, thanks for stopping by the Sweet Spot!