From log cabin to wood court, Arizona's Kaleb Tarczewski grows into game

Paul Myerberg | USA TODAY Sports

At 18 years old, Bonnie Wyand packed up her belongings, borrowed her father's truck and moved from Lockport, N.Y., 20 miles east of Niagara Falls, to the wilderness of New Hampshire.

She got a job in construction and began to save enough money to buy a parcel of land in Charlestown, a small town in Sullivan County. In the beginning, she spent warmer months in a tent, storing supplies in the back of the truck. Winters were spent on properties where she worked, exchanging chores for lodging.

With her own two hands, Wyand built a log cabin.

The cabin had a simple layout: kitchen, living room, loft. It had oil heating, though wood was a cheaper and more abundant option. There was a chicken coop. There was a grassy area, good for gardening, but was mostly wooded; the maple trees were tapped for homemade syrup.

Kids could grab branches off trees and swordfight, or play spread-out games of tag on the 10-acre plot, or fish a nearby stream. As time wore on, Wyand built on an addition, turning the base level into a living room and constructing a kitchen and two bedrooms on an upper level.

This is where she raised her son, Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski, in an area and environment that can best be described as off the beaten path — particularly in college basketball, where 7-foot centers are rare enough.

Seven-foot centers who claim log-cabin roots in hand with NBA potential are an even rarer breed.

"I kind of came from a different background than a lot of basketball players," Tarczewski said. "It was country rough, you know. When I look back on my childhood it makes me happy. It just something that makes me smile thinking about."

He likes to fish, senior guard T.J. McConnell said. He's into the outdoors, freshman forward Stanley Johnson said. He's unselfish but a fierce competitor, coach Sean Miller said, calling it "a great combination."

"I think his upbringing and where he's from really contributed to bringing that out in him," said Miller.

He's just a little different: Geography, his family and his upbringing combine to make Tarczewski stand out in a crowd.

"He lived in a log cabin, and I'll take a house with air conditioning," McConnell said. "That kind of has built him into what he is today. I love him for it.

"He's just altogether a tough kid. He plays like he has something to prove out there, like he was given nothing when he was younger. He plays like that."

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Tarczewski's basketball career began at Stevens High School in Claremont, N.H., where he spent his freshman and sophomore years before enrolling at St. Mark's, a private school outside of Boston.

He was discovered, essentially, by former Boston College and NBA forward Jay Murphy, who ran a local big-man camp that Tarczewski attended after his freshman season. Through Murphy, who had sent both of his sons to the school — Erik went on to play at Florida, Alex at Duke — Tarczewski was introduced to St. Mark's basketball coach Dave Lubick.

Eventually, Tarczewski developed into one of the elite prospects in his class: ESPN ranked him as the third-best center and fourth-best talent overall in the 2012 recruiting cycle. That led him to Arizona, which recruited Tarczewski through his family, Lubick and local AAU circuit.

"He was intense," former St. Mark's assistant coach Greg Snyder said. "And as intense as he was on the floor, he was that good a person off it. There was definitely a switch that flipped right when he stepped on the court. He was one of the most competitive people I've been around.

"It was like Kaleb was always under the radar and he kept working and working and working. And all of a sudden, he went from a gangly, 6-foot-10 kid to one of the top five recruits in the country."

He was able to contribute as a freshman — Arizona reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2013 before falling to Ohio State — based on his size, athleticism and commitment to defense; a trustworthy offensive game, on the other hand, eluded Tarczewski's grasp.

He's made strides on offense during the past two seasons, building a 15-foot jumper into his repertoire, while retaining an intimidating presence on the defensive end.

"He's only going up," McConnell said. "He might have had a rough start and people were getting down on him, but he's blocked all that out. In my opinion, he's the best defensive center in the country."

Tarczewski has also remade his physique, transforming himself from a gangly recruit into a musclebound, 260-pound center — a true center, in the NBA sense of the word, one at his most comfortable using his physicality at or near the basket.

"I met (Tarczewski) in high school when he was a skinny little boy," said Johnson. "He wasn't little, he was tall, but he was skinny, just an athletic freak. Run it forward two years and I see him at school and people are calling him Zeus because he looks like a goddess, you know what I'm saying?"

Maybe Tarczewski's not a scorer, Miller said, but he's a rebounder, a great defender. Besides, the Wildcats aren't starving for points: Johnson, Brandon Ashley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, his partners in the frontcourt, combine for more than 37 points per game.

"He really works and fits into the framework of what we do at Arizona," said Miller.

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As often as possible during the offseason, Tarczewski will travel back to New Hampshire, joining his mother, stepfather and stepbrothers in Claremont, N.H., a short drive away from Charlestown.

During the season, however, Tarczewski's mother comes to him.

Before the start of his freshman campaign, Wyand, who worked in day care, rented out her home and moved into a guest house in Tucson, Ariz., close to the university's campus; she's done the same in each of the past two seasons, trading bitter New Hampshire winters for the opportunity to be close to her son — a snowbird, basically, but motivated more by family than temperature.

"She really just thought, 'I want to be with you. I want to be able to watch you play,'" Tarczewski said. "I've been just blessed with great people in my life."

Wyand attends every Arizona home game during the season, giving her the opportunity to not only see her son but also develop a bond with Tarczewski's teammates. She's a team mother of sorts, one who will leave notes, homemade food, candy and, this past winter, a Christmas ornament in their lockers.

She's been able to share in his experiences, Miller said.

"His mom is so awesome," Johnson said. "She's always giving us a hug. She's always there, just being nice and giving good vibes out. She's like the perfect person. You can kind of see where he gets his genuineness from because his mom's so genuine."

If there's something different about this arrangement — mother following son more than halfway across the country each fall and winter — it fits into the bigger picture: Tarczewski's background and road to Arizona are nothing if not unique, not only among his teammates, many of whom claim from major basketball hotbeds, but along high-major college basketball at large.

"He doesn't get enough credit for what he does out there for his team," said Miller. "He's been to three straight Sweet Sixteens. He's started on all three teams. I think that's really a testament to who he is."