"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

Look Ahead and Back: Sun Devils vs. Cats

Compiled by Javier Morales

Arizona 2009-10 schedule
(Full schedule and statistics available at ArizonaWildcats.com)

G.J. FIMBRES VIDEO:

Steve Kerr’s legendary status at Arizona began with his 15-point performance in a win over ASU only two days after his father was assassinated in Lebanon

Nov. 26, 1976: Arizona 91, ASU 90 (OT) – The balance of power in the state started to shift from Ned Wulk’s Sun Devils to Fred Snowden’s Wildcats as the UA won its season-opener at McKale Center. The Wildcats played their first game since losing to UCLA in the Elite Eight of the 1976 NCAA tournament. This was Arizona’s second straight win over ASU after the Wildcats had lost to ASU in 10 of 11 games. Herman Harris led the Cats with 34 points. Little-used reserve Tim Marshall, who started only five games in his UA career, made a driving layup with two seconds remaining in overtime to give the Wildcats the victory. ASU and UA played three games during that era, playing an early-season non-conference game before playing each other in the WAC schedule.

Jan. 20, 1984: Arizona 71, ASU 49 – This game is one of the more meaningful games in McKale Center’s history. Lute Olson notched his first Pacific-10 Conference win in an emotional game involving freshman guard Steve Kerr. Only two days previously, Kerr’s father. Malcolm Kerr, was assassinated by terrorists in Beirut, Lebanon. Kerr was given the option of taking the night off, but he suited up saying that’s what his father would have desired. His legendary status with the Cats began as he hit his first shot, a 25-footer, and finished with 15 points. “The first game against ASU was special,” Kerr told Steve Rivera of the Tucson Citizen in 2007. “It was Lute’s first Pac-10 win. And being a huge sports fan, I knew all about the rivalry. So I wanted to beat them in the worst way. They had dominated the rivalry in recent years, so to beat them twice that first year was key. I think it set the tone for Lute’s dominance of ASU over the years.” ASU had a nine-game winning streak against the UA entering the game. Olson won 16 of his first 17 games against ASU and finished with a 43-7 record against the Sun Devils.

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Look Ahead and Back: Cats vs. Cougars

Compiled by Javier Morales

Arizona 2009-10 schedule
(Full schedule and statistics available at ArizonaWildcats.com)

Former UA coach Fred Snowden was 1-4 in Pullman, but he managed to win his last game there.

Feb. 4, 1982: Arizona 58, Washington State 56 – Fred Snowden, in lame duck status as the UA coach, won at Friel Court for the first time in five tries. In a pregame ceremony, Cougars coach George Raveling provided a gift to Snowden, who announced a month previously that he was resigning as head coach effective at the end of the season. Greg Cook led the Wildcats with 18 points, including 12 in the first half, against the Craig Ehlo-led Cougars. The game had potential for controversy as two points were deducted from the UA in the first half because the official scorekeeper had the Cats with 30 points, although in reality they had 32. Where was ESPN when they needed it back then?

Jan. 30, 1986: Washington State 65, Arizona 63 (OT) – The Cougars, coached by the unsuccessful Len Stevens knocked off a Sean Elliott led Arizona team behind Brian Wright’s 16 points, all of which were scored in the second half. WSU overcame a 31-23 halftime deficit. The Cougars led 56-54 when Elliott scored two of his game-high 23 at the buzzer to force the extra stanza. In overtime, Arizona’s Anthony Cook hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game 63-63 with 41 seconds left. WSU forward Keith Morrison scored the game-winning bucket with one tick on the clock. This would be the last loss for Arizona against WSU until the Cougars won in Tucson in 2005, a span of 38 games.

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Former UA guard maintains strong relationship with potential recruit

RELATED LINK AT TUCSONCITIZEN.COM: Recruiting visit beneficial for Arizona and Jordin Mayes

By Javier Morales

Darryel Mayes, father of potential UA recruit Jordin Mayes, acknowledged that his Portland roots are shared with former UA standout guards Damon and Salim Stoudamire.

“We’re really close, almost like cousins,” the elder Mayes told me Sunday night. “I helped raise Damon and Salim. We all came up together, one teaching the other. Jordin goes back to Portland regularly. He was brought up in Damon’s camps over there.”

Jordin Mayes, a 6-2 combo guard from Los Angeles Westchester, paid tribute to the Stoudamires by wearing No. 20 last season. As a senior this year, he chose his father’s old number — 12 — which Darryel Mayes wore with Jerry Tarkanian’s UNLV Running Rebels in 1979-80.

“I hear from Damon all the time,” Darryel Mayes said. “We’re family. Whenever he hears something about Jordin he gives us a call. After Westchester beat Oak Hill (Dec. 30), Damon gave us a call. There’s a lot of closeness.”

Damon Stoudamire, now an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies, has on occasion suggested to Darryel that Jordin follow in his and Salim’s footsteps and attend Arizona.

“Damon has discussed that, but he knew Arizona was not the same before Sean Miller was hired,” the elder Mayes said. “Damon is still very much in the background as a Wildcat alumnus. He’s spent many years there and put a lot of work into that program.

“He wants to see it get back to where it once was under Lute Olson.”

Sunday’s 76-72 victory over Cal, which gives Arizona a share of the Pac-10 lead halfway through the conference season, is a step in the right direction. On top of that, the Wildcats did that with Jordin Mayes and his father in attendance.

If anybody has concerns about Mayes’ potential, check out the video with this post. Mayes last season was the best performer in Westchester’s victory over John Wall and Raleigh (N.C.) Word Of God Christian Academy. He made four three-pointers and was named the game’s MVP. Wall, now at Kentucky, may very well be the national freshman of the year by season’s end.

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Look Ahead: Cats vs. Sun Devils

Compiled by Javier Morales

Arizona 2009-10 schedule
(Full schedule and statistics available at ArizonaWildcats.com)

MEMORABLE GAMES IN TEMPE Nov. 26, 1977: UA 72, ASU 70 – Former ASU coach Ned Wulk established supremacy over Arizona much like Lute Olson did against the Sun Devils, but on this night, Fred Snowden’s team literally fought back. Back then, the teams played three games a season, including a non-conference meeting generally in early November. The Wildcats won their season-opener in this game, snapping a seven-game losing streak in Tempe. Joe Nehls nailed a 20-foot jumper from the baseline with four seconds left to give the UA, which trailed by 10 with 3:18 remaining, the victory. ASU then put together another seven-game winning streak in Tempe, ending in a classic listed next. Feb. 17, 1984: UA 65, ASU 64 – Another late-game comeback, this time much more dramatic, ended Arizona’s struggles in Tempe in Olson’s first year as UA coach. The Wildcats trailed ASU by nine points with 53 seconds left — without the three-point line — and rallied to win the game behind Eddie Smith’s heroics. Smith scored five points in the run, including a last-second shot that bounced around the rim and fell through in one of the greatest comebacks in Wildcat history. Arizona won six of its next seven games in Tempe. Feb. 27, 1988: UA 101, ASU 73 — After Steve Kerr heard chants of “PLO, PLO, PLO” by ASU’s fans in a reference to his father’s assassination in Lebanon, he nailed his first seven shots (six three-pointers) in Tempe for 20 first-half points. At the time, the 28-point win was the UA’s largest margin of victory at ASU.

PAC-10 STANDINGS TEAM PTS OVERALL PAC-10 RPI SOS ASU 2 14-5 4-2 59 101 Arizona 1 9-9 3-3 74 6 California 0 12-6 4-2 24 2 Wash. St. 0 14-5 4-3 78 130 USC 0 11-6 3-3 67 27 Stanford 0 9-9 3-3 133 66 Oregon St. 0 8-10 2-4 203 189 UCLA -1 8-10 3-3 149 28 Washington -1 12-6 3-4 65 38 Oregon -1 10-8 2-4 159 110 PTS: Team is awarded a point for a road victory and deducted a point for a home loss SAT., JAN. 23 (Tucson times) Oregon State at Cal, Noon Wash. St. at UCLA, 2 p.m. Oregon at Stanford, 6 p.m. Arizona at ASU, 7:30 p.m. Washington at USC, 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 5, 1995: ASU 53, UA 52 — The ninth-ranked Wildcats shot only 40 percent in their lowest scoring output in Tempe since 1949. The UA also lost for the third time in four games in Tempe against the No. 19 Sun Devils, coached by Bill Frieder. Damon Stoudamire appeared to hit the game-winning shot with 6 seconds remaining but Lute Olson called a timeout before Stoudamire released his shot. The points were removed from the scoreboard. After the timeout, Reggie Geary became tied up with defenders as time expired and never attempted a shot. The UA won the next five games in Tempe — the first three by no more than two points and the last two by 31 and 30 points.

Jan. 23, 2002: ASU 88, UA 72 — Chad Prewitt scored 22 points as the Sun Devils ended a five-year drought against No. 10 Arizona and handed Olson his worst loss to the Sun Devils. ASU beat a nationally ranked opponent for the first time in 24 tries in coach Rob Evans‘ four seasons. They were 0-10 against Arizona – 0-6 under Evans – since sweeping the Wildcats in 1995. Arizona State led by 17 points in the first half and 20 in the second. The Wildcats never got closer than 11 after that. Luke Walton scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and six assists, but committed seven of the Wildcats’ 19 turnovers.

March 5, 2005: UA 70, 68 — Olson achieved a record 305 Pac-10 victories and another outright conference title for Arizona, which survived a non-call against Salim Stoudamire in the last seconds. Stoudamire’s apparent shuffle of the feet went undetected and his double-pump 14-foot jumper went in with six-tenths of a second to play to give the 11th-ranked Wildcats the victory. It was the UA’s 20th win over ASU in 21 games. The Sun Devils rallied from 18 down in the first half to pull within one at the break and from 15 behind in the second half to take the lead. In the Arizona locker room afterward, the players chanted “3-0-5″ and then doused Olson with water to celebrate his 305th Pac-10 victory, breaking the record of 304 by John Wooden.

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A potential NCAA tournament bid goes through senior guard

STREAK FACT: When the UA’s streak began on March 15, 1985, the Wildcats had only three previous NCAA tournament appearances: 1977, 1976 and 1951.

By Javier Morales

How unlikely is an Arizona NCAA tournament appearance this season?

About as improbable as two last-second shots by Nic Wise to win consecutive games.

UA coach Sean Miller was fortunate Wise was on the floor to create the buzz that put Arizona in a positive light nationally for once. No other player on the roster could have nailed a three-pointer without squaring up against Lipscomb, or drive three-quarters of the court for a layup past three defenders against North Carolina State.

Aside from his two buzzer beaters, Wise scored 30 points — including 16 of Arizona’s final 19 points — in an overtime thriller over Colorado in Maui. Those three games could have been — should have been? — three losses but Wise saved the day. Arizona is a handful of possessions from being 3-8 right now but Wise was the difference in a three-win swing.

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Or is it? You make the call

By Javier Morales

Khalid Reeves

Those of us who are old enough to remember believe a couple of pre-Lute Olson players deserve mention as the best UA backcourt in school history.

That would not be Russell Brown and Joe Nehls in the 1978-79 season, although that tandem was impressive. The best for the old-timers: Eric Money and Coniel Norman in 1972-74. If anything, Money and Norman were the best scoring backcourt in UA history. Norman is also listed as a forward by Arizona, so he and Money were not always playing together as guards.

Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire were arguably the most productive together, including in the win column. The combination of Nic Wise and Lamont “MoMo” Jones is not as potent — because Jones is only a freshman — but it is similar to the makeup of the Reeves-Stoudamire pairing.

Those two guards were interchangeable. Reeves could also handle the point and Stoudamire was effective as the off-guard nailing threes.

On the jump are my rankings for the top backcourt combinations in UA history.

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Most important stat for UA guard: Winning

GUEST OPINION FROM GREG HANSEN, ARIZONA DAILY STAR SPORTS COLUMNIST: For my money, the three leading guards of the Pac-10 years were Oregon State’s Gary Payton, Cal’s Jason Kidd and Arizona’s Damon Stoudamire. In their junior and senior seasons, Payton and Stoudamire were 1-2 or 2-1 over the 30-year period. Kidd left Cal after two seasons, so it’s hard to compare him and maybe Mike Bibby, who also played two years. But of all the rest who should be considered — Oregon’s Luke Ridnour and Terrell Brandon, and maybe Arizona’s Jason Terry and Jason Gardner — Stoudamire and Payton were the two players you didn’t want to face in the final minutes of an important game.

By Javier Morales

An ideal point guard should have the intangible qualities to go with the raw facts. He should be the leader who has the propensity to get his teammates involved more than just by improving his assist totals.

Statistically speaking, the best point guard in Pac-10 history is Gary Payton, who played for Oregon State from 1987-90. A black hole exists between him and the next possible player. He is the conference’s only point guard to record at least 2,000 points, 900 assists and 300 steals.

However, when you look at the overall team success playing behind the point guard, Damon Stoudamire of Arizona had that special element about him that makes him as worthy as Payton and Cal’s Jason Kidd to be considered the best the Pac-10 has offered at the point guard position.

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