Last week's Nike Desert Classic in Phoenix was the first time UA senior Joseph Blair was able to demonstrate his skills to NBA scouts, after sitting out the spring semester with an academic suspension. The 6-foot-10 Blair, who weighed 265 at UA, but was noticeably trimmer at the camp, made the most of his opportunity. For his play - he averaged 15 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Pacific team - he was elected to the All-Tournament team and assured himself of a trip to Chicago in June for the next round of scouting camps in preparation for the draft.

"I just have to keep building from this," Blair said after the camp concluded Saturday. "I'll keep working hard, and hopefully, I can turn some heads while I'm doing it."

While he would not comment directly about the suspension, Blair shared some thoughts about his time at Arizona.

"I'm going to miss it. It's hard to imagine myself not being there," Blair said. "But it's just another challenge in my life that I'm going to look forward to. I'm going to go head-first into it, and I'm sure that God will place me where he wants me to be. U of A, I had a lot of good memories here, and a lot of bad memories. I think every player would say that, not just coming from me because I didn't play last semester. It's definitely a big emotional experience for me not to be going back there. I made a lot of friends, true friends that I'm going to keep for life, and I appreciate that more than anything."

It was also an experience playing with his former teammates in a game setting, and being on opposing sides.

"It's different, that's for sure," Blair said about playing against the other Arizona seniors. "When I'm playing against Ben, it feels like practice all over again. Playing against Reggie, it was really different to see him in a different uniform than me. But I'm happy for all of them. I think all of them had a productive week. Reggie definitely did, and Corey I think exceeded everybody's expectations. Ben did well. I think everybody came in and got a lot out of this."

Geary, who was also named to the All-Tournament team and will accompany Blair to the camp in Chicago, felt the same way as his former teammate about sitting at different ends of the court.

"It was a little odd," Geary said. "We were both battling out there. We definitely can be friends afterwards, but during that game, we both wanted to win."