Seniors Kyle Fogg, Jesse Perry, Brendon Lavender, Alex Jacobson and Dondre Wise will play their final home games in an Arizona uniform on Saturday at noon against UCLA.
“Their loyalty toward the University of Arizona and their loyalty toward us as a new coaching staff is greatly appreciated and never forgotten,” UA head coach Sean Miller said of his seniors. “My hope is that we as a coaching staff can take these guys as far as we can and vice versa. They’re a resilient group and they’re a group of great people, I think their families are very proud of them.”
Here’s a look at each senior and their career at Arizona:
Kyle Fogg
Height: 6-3
Weight: 188
UA Tenure: 2008-09 to 2011-12
Accolades: 2008-09 Honorable Mention Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, 2010-11 Honorable Mention Pac-10 All-Defensive Team
Miller: “Obviously, his statistics reveal that he’s been one of the most consistent players to play at Arizona in that he’s participated in more single games than perhaps any single player ever has in the history of our program. I think that says it all.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a player that’s invested more of himself between when last year’s season ended and this year’s season began and you look at his numbers, it’s great to see all that hard work pay off for him. Great kid and somebody who’s going to be really successful when he leaves Arizona, that’s for sure.”
Jesse Perry
Height: 6-7
Weight: 217
UA Tenure: 2010-11 to 2011-12
Accolades: 2011 NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
Miller: “I don’t know if we could have asked him to do any more than he’s done at Arizona. He became a starter on last year’s team, really improved as the year went on, is one of the big reasons that we had the successful run that we did in the tournament and in his last year we’ve asked him to guard the other team’s biggest player almost in all 28 of our games. He’s embraced that. I’m proud of what he’s been able to do, especially in two quick years, to be in the position to graduate is also difficult.”
Brendon Lavender
Height: 6-5
Weight: 212
UA Tenure: 2008-09 to 2011-12
Accolades: Currently first in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage at 52.4 percent. Also third in the NCAA in 3-point percentage.
Miller: “We always had great confidence in Brendon’s shooting, and sometimes his role on last year’s team is understated. He played in all 38 games a year ago. He had big moments. As he’s been thrust into a bigger role, it’s one thing to have that opportunity, it’s another thing to deliver and really seize that opportunity. I think we all know that some of his shooting in games this year have been a real big reason why we’ve been on the winning side of things.”
Alex Jacobson
Height: 7-0
Weight: 253
UA Tenure: 2007-08 to 2011-12
Accolades: Scored a career-high six points against Lipscomb on December 21, 2009 and grabbed a career-high five rebounds against Washington on February 2, 2010.
Miller: “I don’t know if he’s been 100 percent since I’ve been here. He’s fought through it, he’s never complained. He’s done the best that he could do. When we’ve put him in games he’s always come in with a great attitude and helped us. He’s been on the scout team representing another team’s center quite a bit. He obviously practices hard every day. I would say on our team there’s probably not a more popular teammate than ‘Tree’ because everybody knows that his heart’s really in the right place. I think everyone respects the odds that he’s overcome just to even be a part of our team right now, knowing what he’s gone through with his lower back.”
Dondre Wise
Height: 6-1
Weight: 220
UA Tenure: 2009-10 to 2011-12
Accolades: Scored a career-high two points against Rice on December 1, 2010
Miller: “Dondre comes from a basketball family with Nic being his brother. Dondre has basketball in his blood. I think he’s going to make a great coach with whatever path he starts out at. We want to be very helpful to him. I have no doubt that he’ll be successful as a coach and because of that our team really respects him because he’s knowledgeable. It probably stems from the family that he’s from. Dondre’s taken advantage of the opportunity he has here. He’s met a lot of great people.”
