After a group of eight faculty members in the UA Classics Department sent a petition in protest of claims of favoritism being given to a graduate student basketball player by interim head Alexander Nava. Nava resigned Monday, according to a report by the Tucson Citizen.

According to the same Citizen report, a student who fits the description of Wildcat senior guard Chris Rodgers is being accused of receiving favoritism from Nava.

According to a source close to the team, Nava was a “”regular around practice”” and often ate meals with the team.

“”He even balled with us,”” the source said.

Arizona associate head coach Jim Rosborough said he could not comment on the matter, saying only “”Chris was a college graduate and was very diligent on what he did to get through in three and half years, and outside of that, we’re really out of that.””

The petition, which was given to the dean of the College of Humanities and athletic director Jim Livengood’s office, was a vote-of-no-confidence, which ultimately led to Nava’s resignation, the Citizen reported yesterday.

Several phone calls to Rodgers yesterday were unreturned.

Shakur to test NBA waters

Junior point guard Mustafa Shakur will test the NBA Draft, according to Rosborough. Shakur said last week he was pondering the decision but was still unsure.

“”I think he’s basing a lot of how he feels on how he played those last two games,”” Rosborough said.

Shakur was named to the preseason Naismith Award Watch List but had an up-and-down season, scoring 11.2 points per game. He ended his season on a high note, though, averaging 19 points and seven assists in two NCAA Tournament games.

Shakur will skip the team’s European trip to prepare for private workouts and a possible invitation to the NBA pre-draft camp, where 65 prospects will be in attendance.

“”He’ll hope that he gets invited to Orlando,”” Rosborough said. “”If he’s not invited to Orlando, that’s a clear indication (of his draft status).””

The Wildcats have had a number of players declare for the NBA Draft, but Rosborough said most of them had different circumstances.

“”The downside is with Bibby all we heard is lottery, (same with) Jefferson, with Iguodala,”” Rosborough said. “”With ‘Staf, we’ve been honest; people have said second round, and that’s maybe second round. We’ve tried to get the facts as best we can, and that’s kind of what we’ve been told. On the other hand he feels good about how he played at the end.””

NBAdraft.net founder Aran Smith said Shakur’s decision to declare will probably not hurt him. Former Wildcat guard Jason Gardner tested the process after his sophomore season only to perform miserably and come home early. Gardner was undrafted after his senior season.

Smith doesn’t think Shakur will go the same route and said Shakur is “”the better prospect.””

“”Gardner wasn’t a pro before that camp or after,”” Smith said. “”(He was) too small, not skilled as a PG. Shakur has the competitive drive. He just needs to gain confidence.””

Rosborough said it is always a risk to put oneself in front of numerous NBA scouts.

“”That is the big risk that you go to Orlando, if you’re not a sure-fire first rounder and you don’t play extremely well, then all the weaknesses you have will be exposed to every NBA team, and it will be absolutely glaring right in the front of their minds,”” he said.

“”My opinion is a lot of the pro teams saw Jason then, and it may have hung with him for the next couple of years.