TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona Wildcats center Kaleb Tarczewski is a thinker. He's a smart dude. The junior started classes this semester in the Eller College of Management, noted as one of the top public business schools in the country.
"It's definitely been tough, but it's a challenge I wanted to take," said Tarczewski, who is taking four business classes while starting for the Wildcats, who begin the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the West vs. Texas Southern on Thursday.
If all goes well on the court, Tarczewski will be missing a lot of class in the next few weeks.
"I'm lucky," he said. "All the teachers are really supportive and are really nice people. There is a lot of group work my first semester in, and I have a great group -- a lot of presentations, reports, things like that. I've been learning lots, and I think it's going to make me the most successful I can be."
Yes, Kaleb Tarczewski is a thinker. Which also means he's an analyzer. That has been good and bad on the court. And that's why about halfway through the season, he sought outside help.
Tarczewski hasn't taken a rocket ship to stardom this season. He's been a flashpoint for criticism from fans, who figure someone who looks like that -- 7-foot, 245 pounds, strong, mobile -- should be, as his nickname "Zeus" implies, hurling thunderbolts all over the court.
But, even as Arizona coach Sean Miller has said, Tarczewski spent part of the season too much inside his own head, dissecting, fretting, suffering from a lack of confidence.
"I like to analyze things," Tarczewski said. "Sometimes, I overanalyze them."
So he decided to let someone else analyze them for him. Tarczewski said he started to talk to a psychologist on the Arizona medical staff, Amy Athey.
"She's awesome. It was something that I wasn't sure would be a good thing, but it's helped me so much," Tarczewski said. "And I know she has helped some of the other guys on the team, and all the other athletes as the U of A. I'm just trying to take advantage of it. It can't hurt, right?"
How much has it helped?
"I think I have been playing some of my best basketball because of it lately," he said.
Recently, and after his sessions began, Tarczewski embarked on his most impressive stretch of the season, perhaps his career. In seven games, from Feb. 15 to March 7, he averaged 13 points and 6.3 rebounds, shot nearly 70 percent (32 of 46) from the field and played what Miller has referred to all season as some of the best big-man defense in the country.
That wasn't a coincidence, he said. It was most definitely cause and effect.
"I think your mind is the most important thing in sports. It really is," he said.
Tarczewski appears to be the all-business guy on the court. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is the affable goofball. Stanley Johnson can be a showman. T.J. McConnell lets loose rebel yells each game. One of the lessons to come out of his meetings with Athey is how to let go of the stress and have fun.
"Enjoy the moment," he said, sitting in the locker room after Arizona's 80-52 win over Oregon in the Pac-12 title game on Saturday.
"That's the reason why we play sports -- to have fun, enjoy ourselves, be competitive and enjoy winning. We're champions today. Not too many people in the world can say that. To be able to enjoy the moment and the process and building a family -- that's really what we are -- is unbelievable. Just take a step back and realize how lucky you are, and how much you've been given in life."
Tarczewski is averaging 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds this season, down from his averages (9.9, 6.3) of last season. He is not polished in the low post. That's not the whole story, though. Miller compares his junior center to a defensive lineman who gets little credit for taking on blockers and eating up space while others around him get the glory, with tackles and sacks.
"The things that Kaleb does within a game, really his whole career, has been that he's in the right position on defense just about on every possession," Miller said.
"He's big, he's mobile, he's really smart, and he loves contact. If you combine those elements, he's one of the reasons our defense has improved (during the season). It's not because of his shot blocking, or even his defensive rebounding, as much as doing things the way he's supposed to do them very consistently."
After his hot streak, Tarczewski wasn't at his best in the Pac-12 tournament, with 18 points and 12 rebounds in three games. But he should now be more emotionally equipped to let it go, remain confident and have fun during the NCAA tourney.
The bigger question can wait. Will Tarczewski, who has started 103 games at Arizona, turn pro after the season? He's not considered first-round stock at the moment, and even the second round remains a question. Either way, given his combination of basketball, business school and brainpower, everyone should be so lucky as to have his future.
"He's just real cerebral about everything," McConnell said. "I mean, I would have failed out of the business school by now."
As for basketball, the NCAAs could be Tarczewski's college final exam.
"Anyone can give a great effort, but really being mentally sound is the most important thing," he said. "I've kind of based my life around that."
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