It was no surprise that well-conditioned guards Nick Johnson and T.J. McConnell were among the top three finishers during the Arizona Wildcats' annual preseason mile run today.
What might have been is that freshman Aaron Gordon, all 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds of him, also was.
Then again, maybe not. Tales of Gordon's intensity, conditioning and work ethic have already emerged about the incoming freshman forward.
According to what was posted on UA coach Sean Miller's Twitter account, Johnson was first at 5:21, with Gordon second at 5:22 and McConnell third at 5:23.
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"They came prepared," the tweet said.
Among the spectators to the event was a new member of the Indiana Pacers.
No other information about the run was available.
USC gained a much-needed point guard when Maryland transfer Pe'Shon Howard was given a waiver to play immediately this season. Howard had appealed for immediate eligibility because his grandmother is fighting cancer in Los Angeles.
The Trojans lost Jio Fontan from last season's team and if Howard didn't get eligible, USC was likely to have to play 6-3 freshman Julian Jacobs of Las Vegas or maybe even 5-11 freshman Kahlil Dukes at the point.
Howard told the Washington Post earlier this summer that he likes the lower-profile existence in Los Angeles after receiving criticism at Maryland.
Sounds like Oregon -- which seems to keep recruiting until the moment classes start in September -- is pulling in Detroit rent-a-grad Jason Calliste for this season.
The move comes shortly after the NCAA ruled Brazilian big man Cristiano Felicio ineligible to play next season. Felicio has been removed from the Oregon roster and, according to a report in Portugese (translated version here) has signed with a Brazilian club.
And if anyone's interested, there's some more detailed breakdown on Fendi Onobun's unique situation with the Chicago Bears in the third point of this blog post. Onobun has been told to "stop thinking so much," which was one of the same issues he faced as a basketball player at UA.