On Saturday, March 5, with just a few minutes to go against Stanford University, Gabe York waved to the McKale Center crowd and smiled center court. He fell to his knees and kissed the “A”, T.J. McConnell-esque.
It was quite a weekend for Arizona seniors, especially York. He finished with 32 points and a career high nine 3-pointers, which ties an Arizona game high.
“He just picked up right where he left off,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said.
After Arizona derailed Stanford 94-62, 10 Arizona men’s basketball seniors were honored. First, five senior managers walked center court with their families to hug Miller.
Next was Jacob Hazzard, who finished the night with nine points. Hazzard, the four-year walk on and hype man, embraced the energy from the fans and wound up hitting three 3-pointers during the game. Hazzard, along with his family, gave Miller a hug and held a large, framed jersey up to the crowd with a big smile on his face.
Mark Tollefsen and family followed. Tollefsen, the graduate senior out of the University of San Francisco, received a roaring applause from the crowd.
Ryan Anderson and family followed Tollefsen, holding his framed jersey high up to the ceiling . The senior big man transfer out of Boston College was the double-double master this season and did so again against Stanford.
“I don’t think I could’ve drawn out a better way to go out … hopefully there’s more memories,” Anderson said.
The last two seniors to cross the floor in the ceremony were none other than York and Kaleb Tarczewski.
York, accompanied by many family members, received deafening applause and cheers from all the crowd members. After facing much criticism earlier in the season, York had the weekend and the game of his life against Stanford. From the 3-point line, he simply could not miss.
“I love my mom,” York said. “Been waiting four years to say that.”
Last but not least would be Tarczewski, who will finish as the winningest player in Arizona men’s basketball history, a feat that Miller acknowledged to the crowd.
Miller finished the ceremony with a huge shout out to the fans, thanking them for all the success this season.
“There’s only one McKale Center and one University of Arizona, and that’s because of all of you,” Miller said.
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