Arizona Daily Wildcat Online
sections
Front Page
News
Opinions
Sports
Go Wild
Live Culture
Police Beat
Datebook
Comics
Crossword
Special Sections
Photo Spreads
Classifieds
The Wildcat
Letter to the Editor
Wildcat Staff
Search
Archives
Job Openings
Advertising Info
Student Media
Arizona Student Media Info
UATV -
Student TV
 
KAMP -
Student Radio
The Desert Yearbook
Daily Wildcat Staff Alumni

Pastner's notebook: Men's hoops mourns Polk's death


Photo
File Photo/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona men's basketball senior Chris Rogers is expected to recover from a knee injury in four to eight weeks. The coaching staff expects him to be healthy enough to return for the beginning of practice Oct. 15.
By Roman Veytsman
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Print this

In this edition of Pastner's Notebook, Arizona men's basketball assistant coach Josh Pastner talks about the death of Shawntinice Polk, Chris Rodgers' injury and McKale Madness.

Wildcat: Is there any way you can put Monday's tragic loss of "Polkey" into words?

Pastner: I don't think you can put a horrible event like (Monday) into words because it was just an extremely tough day for everyone involved. Polkey was such a beautiful, beautiful young lady. I'm talking attitudewise, personalitywise, how she treated other human beings. It's a sad loss for this earth but a big gain for heaven, and we can all know she's in a better place right now. I think it's going to take time for everybody involved to grieve and mourn her loss.

Wildcat: Polk was great friends with a lot of the players on the men's basketball team, and they all loved her very much. How are they holding up right now?

Pastner: It's hard for them, especially a guy like (senior forward) Hassan (Adams), who was so close to her, and (sophomore guard) Jawann (McClellan) and (junior guard) Mustafa (Shakur). All those guys were really close. It's going to be tough, and you're not going to get over it any time soon. It's just a situation where we need to be there for them and give them as much comfort as possible.

Wildcat: Switching gears to basketball, how frustrating is it to lose (senior guard) Chris Rodgers to a knee injury for the next four to eight weeks, after he was playing so well early in the team's workouts and pickup games?

Pastner: He won't be missing practice because he will be back for the start of (official) practice. We're expecting him to (be there). We have great trainers and the world's best in Justin Kokoskie. We're expecting a quick recovery with him and we're expecting him to be back at the start of practice on October 15.

Wildcat: Whom are you looking for to step up in his absence?

Pastner: That's the reason you have bench depth - if you do have an unfortunate situation and have an injury, then someone else is going to step up. ... With the injury, (Rodgers) won't be missing any (regular-season) games, so it's not that type of situation.

Wildcat: The start of official practices, which was formerly known as Midnight Madness, has been moved up three hours and will now be known as McKale Madness. Is that a good thing?

Pastner: I think it's actually a good thing because it brings the family and little kids, and they can be involved in the activities. Plus, the 9 p.m. start, it eliminates people having to drive home that late on a Friday night when sometimes there could be danger driving after midnight. Any time when there are drunk drivers on the road or stuff like that, you want to be careful and avoid driving home after midnight. I think it's good for everyone involved.



Write a Letter to the Editor
articles
Football notes: Practice, upcoming game help ease pain of Polk's loss
divider
Practice now, Play later: Redshirt athletes prepare for future
divider
A Slice of Bacon: Got tickets? I hate you
divider
Elston-Marshall balances marriage with golf, school
divider
Pastner's notebook: Men's hoops mourns Polk's death
divider
Restaurant and Bar Guide
Housing Guide
Search for:
advanced search Archives

NEWS | SPORTS | OPINIONS | GO WILD
CLASSIFIEDS | ARCHIVES | CONTACT US | SEARCH



Webmaster - webmaster@wildcat.arizona.edu
© Copyright 2005 - The Arizona Daily Wildcat - Arizona Student Media