Cat Claws: Father of potential Arizona Wildcats recruit emotional after scholarship offer

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Justin Holt

Julius Holt was one of the more animated Arizona Wildcats for Larry Smith’s program-changing 1981 and 1982 teams. Holt did not hold back his feelings today after his alma mater offered a scholarship to his son, Salpointe Catholic defensive tackle Justin Holt. The elder Holt messaged me this: “The U of A offered Justin today. I cried like a newborn baby. So proud for him and the Salpointe Lancers.” Justin Holt, who will be a junior this fall, has now received scholarship offers from most of the Pac-12 schools despite having two more seasons of high school football to complete. His youth, size and potential (not to mention his football genes), makes him a prize catch for the Class of 2016. . . . The younger Holt tweeted about his scholarship offer from the Arizona Wildcats: “Just received my first offer from the University of Arizona #D1Bound”. … When I interviewed Julius Holt recently in this site’s Blog Talk Show, he compared Rich Rodriguez to Smith. “I would have loved to play for Coach (Dick) Tomey and I would have loved to play for Rich Rod,” Holt said. “Rich Rod, to me, is a player’s coach. I think he gets it. … My son (in the background) just said, ‘Definitely.’ … (Rodriguez is) able to relate. He’s approachable. I’ve gone out and watched them practice and he’s a no-nonsense kind of guy, but at the same token, he’s teaching. He’s doing a little bit more than just the football thing. He reminds me of Coach Smith in a lot of ways. He’s teaching those life lessons. You want to play for him. He has your back.” …

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In matter of 3 days sons of 2 former #ArizonaWildcats offered scholarships by UA: Samuel Morrison Thurs and Justin Holt of Salpointe today

— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) June 8, 2014

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Aaron Gordon worked out Saturday morning for Utah, which has the No. 5 overall pick, one spot ahead of Boston. The Celtics have shown a keen interest in Gordon. Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, attended two games at McKale Center. People who follow Boston are writing the Celtics are “locked in” on Gordon. … Utah VP of player personnel Walt Perrin told the media Saturday that Gordon has a “high ceiling”. “He went as hard at the end of the workout as he did at the beginning,” Perrin was quoted as saying by the Salt Lake Tribune. “He shot the ball well from the corners and he’s really improved his shooting over the last year. With his athleticism, he has a high ceiling.” … Gordon admitted that critics of his shooting, particularly from the perimeter and free-throw line, “are a little edgy” about his overall prospects. “I want to play wherever they need me to play,” Gordon said in the Salt Lake Tribune article. “I’m a basketball player. I know some people are a little edgy on this answer, but you can put me on the floor, I can defend and I can give you what I can give you on offense.”

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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.