The Bounce: SI waxes clever about Olson
by Multiple Authors on Jan. 19, 2007, under Sports
<strong>Posing with koala </strong>
Belgium's Kim Clijsters (right) poses with <strong>Ella</strong><strong/> the koala and keeper Jocelyn Hockley at the Australian Open.
> Go to www.tucsoncitizen.com for more sports photo galleries.
It’s worth picking up the Jan. 22 issue of Sports Illustrated if you are a University of Arizona and Pacific-10 Conference basketball fan.
Sports Illustrated has a four-page package on the Pac-10 race. Unfortunately, no photos of the Wildcats are in the spread.
But writer Grant Wahlhas has a great line about Lute Olson’s offense: “Olson has unleashed an attack that has more wings than a Chernobyl butterfly.”
Also in the edition is a question-and-answer piece on former Wildcat Luke Walton. He’s pictured on the edge of a swimming pool.
Ex-Wildcats Arenas, Kerr on second-round hit list
Bob Young of The Arizona Republic recently ranked the top NBA second-round draft picks, beginning with the first season after the NBA-ABA merger.
Ex-Wildcats Gilbert Arenas and Steve Kerr made his list.
10. Kerr (50th overall, Phoenix): Yes, the former Wildcat was a career reserve, but he still is the most accurate 3-point shooter in league history (45.4 percent for his career), won five NBA championship rings with the Bulls and San Antonio and hit the winning shot against Utah in Game 6 of the 1997 Finals.
9. Jeff Hornacek (46th, Phoenix): Averaged 14.5 points for his career and shot 49.6 percent, tremendous for a guard.
8. Mark Price (25th, Dallas): Traded to Cleveland on draft day, he averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists for his career and is the NBA’s all-time career free-throw percentage leader (90.4).
7. Michael Redd (34th, Milwaukee): An All-Star in 2003-04 who once hit eight 3-pointers in a quarter, a league record. Averaging 19.9 points per game in his career. He should keep moving up this list.
6. Eddie Johnson (29th, Kansas City-Omaha): Scored more points (19,202) than any other NBA player never to make an All-Star team. Shot 48.9 percent for his career and spent 17 seasons in the NBA.
5. Clifford Robinson (36th, Portland): The only player from the 1989 draft still in the NBA. He might be the only player from that draft not collecting Social Security. Scored 50 points in a game for the Suns at age 33, the oldest NBA player to score 50 for the first time.
4. Dennis Rodman (27th, Detroit): Better known for his bizarre off-court antics, but he was a unique and productive basketball star. Won two NBA titles in Detroit and three with Chicago and led the league a record seven straight years in rebounding. Twice named defensive player of the year.
3. Arenas (31st, Golden State): Some day he may top the modern list. He was drafted in 2001. We want him to have something else to shoot for. And he’ll shoot, that’s for sure. For now, he’ll have to settle for “best second-round pick in the fantasy-league era.”
2. Dennis Johnson (29th, Seattle): One of the NBA’s toughest players, who belongs in the Hall of Fame. A clutch performer, he won the NBA Finals MVP for Seattle in 1979. Won two more NBA titles in Boston. Five-time All-Star, first- or second-team all-defense nine times.
1. Alex English (23rd, Milwaukee): His rookie season was the first after the merger, and he scored 25,613 career points and was an eight-time NBA All-Star. English’s best years were in Denver. He is the only second-round pick in the post-merger era elected to the Hall of Fame. That’s good enough for us.
Site: Henry may be picked in first three rounds
Declaring early for the NFL draft might pay off for Arizona tailback Chris Henry.
Collegefootballnews.com projects him to be picked somewhere in the first three rounds.
“He would’ve been one of the hot backs coming into 2007, but he’ll use a good end of the year to be one of the more interesting running back prospects,” the Web site wrote. “At best, he’ll probably be around the fifth back taken.”
Underclassmen can change their mind until today, but look for Henry to try to reach the high draft projections by working out for individual teams.
Indians to get $75.5 million facility in Goodyear
GOODYEAR – City leaders have approved a financing deal that will give the Cleveland Indians a new, $75.5 million spring training facility in this west Phoenix suburb.
The Goodyear City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority that will pay for half of the complex. The rest will come from the city and developers.
The Indians trained in Tucson until 1993. Their current spring home is in Winter Haven, Fla.
City staff and developers said the stadium should be ready for the first pitch by March 2009.
QUOTABLE 'I've always been on the outside looking in. I've always wondered what the players went through. I think I'd enjoy that experience.'
VINNY TESTAVERDE,
Patriots backup QB, who has never made the Super Bowl
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ON THIS DATE
1937: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the second year of voting.
1952: The Professional Golfers Association approves the participation of blacks in golf tournaments.
1972: Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the youngest player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame at 36. Yogi Berra and Early Wynn also are elected.
1974: UCLA’s 88-game winning streak is snapped when Notre Dame overcomes an 11-point deficit in the final 3:32 to win 71-70. With 29 seconds remaining, Dwight Clay’s jump shot from the right corner gives the Irish the lead.
1977: Oakland wins the Super Bowl, beating the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.
1988: Anthony Carter catches 10 passes for an NFL postseason-record 227 yards to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 36-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, advancing to the NFC title game.
1991: Dean Smith collects his 700th career coaching victory as North Carolina routs Maryland 105-73. Smith is the sixth Division I basketball coach to reach the 700-win plateau, and he did so in the shortest time.
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SPORTS SOUND-OFF
UA will survive loss of recruiting coordinator
Arizona football recruiting coordinator Dan Berezowitz has been here a long time. He survived the Tomey to Mackovic changeover and has done some good things.
I think lately, though, coach Mike Stoops has not been real happy with some of the efforts and has been pushing the recruiting process for more first-class recruits.
The timing of this move is not good, but I think in the long run, we’ll be better.
- BOB B.
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NUMBER OF THE DAY
15,806
Career assists by John Stockton, the most in NBA history. Other leaders:
Mark Jackson 10,334
Magic Johnson 10,141
Oscar Robertson 9,887
Isiah Thomas 9,061
Gary Payton 8,845
Jason Kidd 8,304
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TRIVIA CORNER
How many wild-card teams have won the Super Bowl?
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Answer: Four; the 1980 Oakland Raiders, the 1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
By John Moredich, Dave Petruska, The Associated Press
