Jawann McClellan had to pay his own way to get to Houston last season.

He sat in the stands, fighting academic ineligibility as those who came to watch him play wondered aloud why the Houston native was in street clothes. McClellan was also fighting the thought that he was letting his teammates down.

As Houston waxed Arizona by taking an early 18-point lead and winning 69-65 in a game Cougar head coach Tom Penders thought would be a “”huge letdown”” for his team, McClellan could not bear to watch.

“”I should have been back, and I wasn’t able to come back,”” said McClellan, a guard. “”It was hard for me to sit there and watch and have everybody asking me, ‘Why are you not out there?'””

Fendi Onobun was on the bench last season. But he didn’t come off the bench. Onobun was a redshirt at the time and like McClellan felt a sense of embarrassment to be on the sidelines in front of his hometown friends.

“”It was tough, for the first time coming back home and everybody seeing you, and you’re not playing,”” Onobun said.

Nic Wise was a senior guard at Kingwood High School in Houston at the time. Having already signed at Arizona, Wise watched as his former high school teammate Lanny Smith dished out 11 assists in the contest.

UA assistant coach Josh Pastner, a Houston boy himself, is responsible for recruiting the Houston area. He said he received flack here and there from friends back home after the loss but downplayed the significance of having a Houston rematch.

“”They kicked our butt, no one to blame but ourselves,”” he said. “”They flat out kicked our butt. The credit goes to them last year.””

So is there a revenge factor in No. 10 Arizona’s (7-1) 8 p.m. game against Houston (4-2) Sunday in McKale Center?

“”Definitely, especially for the Houston boys,”” said forward Ivan Radenovic, who was one of the few bright spots with 12 points and 11 rebounds in last year’s game.

McClellan said he’s had the date circled on his calendar for awhile. With his mom coming from Houston to watch him play and a bitter taste in his mouth remaining, McClellan is out for payback.

“”I want revenge,”” he said.

Having seen the Houston program in the dumps most of the time (Houston had one winning season from 1996-97 through 2003-04) made McClellan feel even worse about losing.

“”Especially giving them confidence like they can play with us,”” he said. “”I feel like they’re nowhere close to us, and we just have to come out and prove that.””

McClellan has seen plenty of action so far this season, averaging 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game. But Onobun has toiled on the bench mostly, playing in only three of Arizona’s eight games and averaging just five minutes per game.

But UA head coach Lute Olson said his light use of the bench in the first eight games may change. And Onobun may be one of three players who will reap the rewards of Olson’s proposed generosity.

“”This week we’d like to get a better look at a couple of people including (forwards) Jordan Hill, Fendi, and Mohamed (Tangara),”” Olson said.

With center Kirk Walters highly doubtful to play, Olson said he’s seen Onobun and Hill play with “”a lot more confidence in practice recently.””

Onobun, Wise, and McClellan, the Texas trio, lead the Texas basketball surge at Arizona whose roster is represented by Texas more than any other state.

Known mostly as a football state, Texas, and Houston in particular, has seen a slew of basketball talent come from the region in recent years. Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Houston have all emerged from down times, and players like C.J. Miles, T.J. Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dee Brown, Deron Williams, and Gerald Green have made the leap to the NBA.

McClellan has his own explanation for a city whose basketball style he described as “”hard and physical.””

“”New York came out with the And 1 Mix Tape, and everybody got excited about that trying to have their own things in their own town,”” he said.

McClellan played at MacGregor Park in Houston and at Milby High School and said he loves going back and seeing high school games.

“”Football is still, big but I think basketball is rising just for the simple fact there’s a lot of talent out there,”” he said

“”Some basketball games are like football games,”” he added.

Arizona and Houston figure to play more finesse basketball as both teams come into the game loaded with high-powered offensive weapons. And even though the Houston boys pay homage to their hometown, nothing will make them feel better than changing their memory of last year.

“”Although I am from Houston, I play for Arizona,”” Onobun said.

Guard J.P Prince said he’s been feeling fine for the past week while attending UA signee Jerryd Bayless’ high school game on Friday, but Olson did not say whether he would be available to play.

Arizona practiced in Bear Down Gym on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday because of graduation ceremonies in McKale Center.

Olson said Walters, who had mononucleosis, felt tired on Wednesday at practice. Walters played one minute against San Diego State.

“”I don’t think anyone can predict at this point when he’ll be ready to go,”” Olson said. “”I thought a couple of times last week he looked really fresh but of course that was in the half-court stuff. Then we had Sunday off and Tuesday off and (Wednesday) he felt very tired.””

Guard Mustafa Shakur said Arizona will stick with its blue jerseys on the road after having success with them against San Diego State.

According to ESPN.com, Arizona will wear specially-made jerseys only in the NCAA Tournament, along with No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Florida and No. 23 Syracuse.