“Kamp was a natural leader — smart, vocal, selfless, willing to tell his teammates what he needed from them. Gutierrez, at first anyway, was far from that. Because he didn’t speak much English immediately, he was far quieter, less likely to say something to his teammates. Gradually, that changed, to the point where Gutierrez complemented Kamp, giving Montgomery two excellent senior leaders. There is no clear replacement for either of them. Cobbs is the most obvious candidate, as the starting point guard and one of the team’s best players. But he’s still becoming the player Montgomery wants, and not yet a guy who can be Monty’s alter-ego on the floor.”

“I would like to clarify that my actions last night were a reflex in response to a player falling on top of me while running at top speed toward our bench,” Pasternack’s statement read.

“Prior to my arrival at Arizona and as a former head coach and an assistant coach for eight seasons at the University of California, I have great respect for the Pac-12 Conference, the Cal program and Jorge Gutierrez and the competitiveness he brings to the court. In no way was I deliberately attempting to engage him.

“My hope is that this statement will clear up any misconceptions about the incident and that we can move on in a positive fashion.”