Arizona basketball players get 'one final weekend off'

By Patrick Klein

Arizona Daily Wildcat

The Arizona men's basketball team will be without any madness this season ü Midnight Madness, that is.

The Wildcats have never participated in this most recent of collegiate rituals ü starting the season at 12:01 a.m. on the first official day of practice and opening it up to the public.

While ESPN will be televising several schools' practices and broadcaster Dick Vitale will even visit a lucky campus, Arizona coaches have decided to give the players one more day off before the rigors of workouts set in.

Under NCAA regulations, the first official day of practice is Oct. 15, which this year falls on a Sunday. Arizona will start its formal practices Monday.

"Generally, the first day of practices falls on a night prior to classes, which makes it a problem for classes," assistant basketball coach Phil Johnson said. "This year, it falls on a Sunday, so the fact that we won't have one lets us give our guys one final weekend off.

With the exception of senior forward Corey Williams, who is receiving treatment for back problems and is question

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