Fred W. Enke and Joe Batiste might have been the most versatile athletes in southern Arizona history.

Enke was named all-state in football, basketball and baseball at Tucson High in the 1940s – and starred in all three sports at the University of Arizona before playing in the NFL.

Batiste, also a Tucson High star, set a world record in 1939 in the 120-yard high hurdles at 14.0 seconds. He also was a standout running back.

Abe Chanin, a graduate of Tucson High and the former sports editor of the Arizona Daily Star, marveled in a 1999 Citizen article at the talent of Enke, whose father was the longtime basketball coach at the University of Arizona.

“He was a marvelous athlete all the way around,” Chanin said. “He was the greatest all-around athlete for the University of Arizona ever, as well. He was a great three-sports star, just superb in each of those sports.”

During his years as a Badger, Enke was voted all-state in each sport at least once: football (1941-42), basketball (1943) and baseball (1943). In his three years at the varsity level in three sports, he was on eight state title teams with the Badgers, missing a sweep in 1941 when the basketball team failed to win.

He was the quarterback in football, a guard in basketball and a fleet outfielder in baseball.

Enke was the first Arizonan to play quarterback in the National Football League. From 1948 to 1951 he played for the Detroit Lions. Then he spent a year with the Eagles and finished his career with the Baltimore Colts in 1953-54.

Batiste, an African-American, was not allowed to participate in football at first because of his race. It wasn’t until Mesa High tried to lure Batiste away that Tucson High allowed him to play. His refusal to run track unless he was allowed to play football was another factor in finally getting a shot at football.

Joe’s main talent was track. His 120-yard hurdles world record stood for 18 years.

“He could do almost anything there is in track. He was brilliant in sprints. Today, he would most likely be a decathlon athlete,” Chanin said.

Batiste qualified for the 1940 and 1944 United States Olympic teams as a hurdler and a decathlete, but the war forced the cancellation of those games. He died in 1958.

Fred Snowden's first recruiting class, known as the Kiddie Korps and featuring five freshman starters, took Tucson by storm.

University of Arizona basketball does not begin or end with Lute Olson, despite the four Final Fours and one NCAA title to his credit.

Olson’s 24 seasons at the helm of UA basketball cast a giant shadow, one that perhaps obscures another principal contributor to all that is Arizona basketball today.

Former UA star and current Wildcat broadcaster Bob Elliott sums it up this way: “If there’s not a Fred Snowden, there’s probably not a Lute Olson.”

Elliott explains that Olson was already a Final Four coach who had his choice of schools to move on to – and that Snowden’s success here showed Lute the possibilities.

“It’s a lot easier to go to a program where the fire had already been lit. . . . Lute knew the fire had been lit by Freddy,” Elliott says.

Snowden is the man who took the Cats from the 3,000 seats or so of Bear Down Gym to brand new McKale Center and its nearly 15,000 seats in 1973.

It was a lot of pressure for a rookie head coach. Not only was he tasked with filling McKale and creating a national reputation for the program, he also had the added glare of publicity that came from being the first African-American head coach in men’s Division I basketball.

Snowden’s first recruiting class, known as the Kiddie Korps and featuring five freshman starters, took Tucson by storm. By the time McKale opened at midseason, Tucson’s love affair with basketball was in full bloom and sellouts were the norm.

“Fred was the catalyst,” says Jerry Holmes, an assistant coach under Snowden.

“The Fred Snowden regime in that time started the tradition of Arizona basketball, without question,” Holmes says.

Success built quickly, as Snowden’s breakneck offense captivated Tucson.

“The community really bought into this team. . . . It was the most exciting time in UA sports history,” Holmes says.

Two members of the Kiddie Korps, Eric Money and Coniel Norman, left early for the NBA, and another, John Irving, transferred. But two of them remained to take the Wildcats to then-unheard of heights: the final eight in the NCAA Tournament and within eight minutes of the Final Four.

That 1976 team, which featured Elliott at center, was led by Kiddie Korps holdovers Al Fleming and Jim Rappis. In what was certainly Snowden’s finest season, his Cats beat John Thompson’s Georgetown Hoyas in the first round. It was also the first meeting of two black head coaches in the NCAA Tournament.

Next up was Nevada-Las Vegas, ranked No. 3 in the country. The Cats won 114-109 in overtime, propelled by what may have been the finest backcourt performance ever by a Wildcat twosome. Rappis and junior Herm Harris combined for 55 points on 23 of 36 field-goal shooting and 21 assists. They did it without the benefit of the three-point shot.

Then came mighty UCLA in the West Region final, on its home court at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Bruins broke open a tie game with eight minutes to go and went on to earn the Final Four berth.

“It was the first team in Arizona history to go to the Elite Eight. That set a benchmark,” says Elliott.

Combined with Olson’s first UA Final Four squad in 1988 and the 1997 NCAA title team, they form a trio of milestones that new UA coach Sean Miller will try to surpass.

“The milestone is to win two national titles. Everything else has been done,” says Elliott.

Fred W. Enke played three seasons for the basketball Wildcats, 1945-48, becoming team captain in the 1947-48 season.

The Cincinnati Reds' Adam Rosales (left) scores on a wild pitch as the Arizona Diamondbacks' Bobby Korecky waits for the ball. The Reds outscored the D'backs 26-9 in the three-game sweep.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks hoped a managerial switch would change their fortunes.

It has – for the worse.

Picked by many to contend this season, the Diamondbacks are 1-5 since they replaced Bob Melvin with A.J. Hinch, a front office executive with no managerial experience.

The Washington Nationals, the only major league team that has fewer wins than the Diamondbacks, took two out of three at Chase Field.

Then the Cincinnati Reds came to town and swept a three-game series by a combined score of 26-9.

As the Diamondbacks begin a 10-game road trip Friday, they’re 13-22 and in last place in the NL West, 10 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It’s been tough, not only because we’re changing staffs but because we’re not winning games,” third baseman Mark Reynolds said.

Hinch has tried to jump-start the team by shuffling the lineup. He moved error-prone third baseman Reynolds to first base for a game, the second time he has played that position in his career.

He batted catcher Miguel Montero second for the first time in his career, then put shortstop Stephen Drew in the cleanup spot for the first time.

“I’m not grabbing it out of a hat,” Hinch said. “I’m doing it with a purpose.”

The new lineups have worked about as well as the old ones. With the exception of streaking right fielder Justin Upton, the Diamondbacks have been unable to shake themselves out of a season-long slump at the plate, where they’re hitting a major league-worst .232.

Outfielder Eric Byrnes is hitting .200 in the second year of a three-year, $30 million contract.

Outfielder Chris Young, who was given a $28 million, five-year contract extension in April 2008 after only one full major-league season, is batting .185 and has 11 more strikeouts than hits.

Catcher Chris Snyder is batting .215. Infielder Chad Tracy has been benched with a .200 average.

The malaise at the plate has carried into the field, where the club has looked disorganized and lethargic at times.

In a 13-5 victory Monday night, Cincinnati scored twice on wild pitches by reliever Bobby Korecky. Two nights later, Montero threw a ball into center field while trying to nail a base stealer at second, allowing a runner from third to trot home.

“There’s no magic potion here,” Hinch said. “There’s obviously some fundamental things that we can do better.”

Every miscue has prompted a new round of boos from the usually placid Chase Field crowds.

“If anything, we share that frustration with the fans,” Hinch said. “Ultimately I think everybody kind of understands that this is a rut that we’ve got to get ourselves out of, and we’re going to have to do it ourselves.”

Hinch, who turns 35 on Friday, has faced questions about his credentials. But as a former vice president for player development, Hinch is intimately familiar with the background of homegrown players such as Reynolds, Upton and Stephen Drew.

“My frustration is obviously not six days old,” Hinch said. “I feel exactly what these guys have gone through and I’m willing to dig down and help them get out of it the best we can as a group.”

Bryant

It’s difficult for Wendell Bryant to pinpoint the moment that he finally decided to end years of drug and alcohol abuse.

Maybe it was the death of his grandfather, who helped raise him, in January 2008. Or, it might have been May 2008 when his baby daughter, Devin, who couldn’t tell her dad was in a stupor, pulled Bryant close and kissed him.

Or maybe it was last June 3, when Bryant, the Cardinals’ first-round pick in 2002, was leaving his Ahwatukee home to check into the Chandler Valley Hope treatment center.

“I had one last piece of joint,” Bryant said, “and I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to smoke this on the way.’ ”

But his lighter wouldn’t work. Bryant pulled the car over, tried the lighter again. Still no flame. He looked at the joint. Then the lighter. Then he looked up.

“I said, ‘All right, I get it,’ ” Bryant said. “I threw it out of the car window and drove my ass over to Chandler and from there I started on the path.”

The path has led him to nearly a year of sobriety and maybe back to the doorstep of the NFL. Bryant wants back in the league, although he hasn’t played since being suspended for the 2005 season after committing his third strike in the league’s substance abuse policy.

“You really don’t know the opportunities you have until they are gone,” Bryant said. “It took me a long time to realize that. You don’t realize how much you love something until it’s taken away.”

Bryant knows the odds are against him. He’s a recovering addict who hasn’t played a down of football in five years. Even when he did play, he was far from a Pro Bowler. He turns 29 this September and knows he spent his prime getting drunk and high.

But Bryant’s physique is testament to his seriousness. He’s dropped nearly 30 pounds, down to 295, while working with Scottsdale trainer Chad Ikei over the past year. Bryant appears in far better shape than he was in his three years with the Cardinals, when other players teased him about his doughy body.

“He actually has a physique,” Ikei said. “He’s not going to be on the cover of Men’s Fitness, but he’s much better than he was.”

Ikei had worked with Bryant before, knew his history and had seen Bryant at the house-warming party of a mutual friend about a year earlier.

“He’s done,” Ikei thought to himself.

So Ikei was dubious about Bryant’s commitment when Bryant approached him last summer. Not any more.

Bryant has been diligent about training, even though he lives 40 minutes away from Ikei’s facility. Bryant hasn’t missed sessions, even when there have been two-a-days, and Ikei believes Bryant is ready to give the NFL a shot. If the NFL will give him one.

“The league is very nonforgiving for some and sometimes forgiving for others,” Ikei said. “In Wendell’s case, I don’t think it will be very forgiving. If he was a Pro Bower the first two, three years before he got kicked out, it would be a different story.

“If he does what I think he’s capable of doing, it’s going to be a great inspiring story for many young athletes.”

CDO players congratulate Ryan Cota after he scores a run against Cienega.

Ryan Retz gets an A-plus recalling his history batting against Cienega pitcher Seth Mejias-Brean.

Retz singled to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field, driving home the winning run to lift Canyon del Oro to a 4-3 victory over Cienega in a Class 4A Division I quarterfinal game.

“I know Seth from history and he’s a fastball pitcher,” Retz said. “I have a lot of history with Seth. I’ve played with him and against him ever since my sophomore year.”

Retz connected on the second pitch from Mejias-Brean, who came in earlier in the inning to relieve Mario Sanchez, and lined the ball into right field to score Griffin Ronstadt from second base.

“I got a first-pitch fastball inside and the next pitch I was looking fastball away,” Retz said. “. . . I felt good with Griffin running. I knew he was going to score.”

The dramatic win was set up when Ronstadt reached base on a one-out infield hit. David Metz reached on a bunt single off Sanchez, bringing up Retz.

“The tougher the situation, the better (Retz) is,” CDO coach Len Anderson said.

The difference between winning and losing came down to one play for Cienega coach Todd Welch.

“Not making the play on Metz’s bunt was huge,” Welch said. “It allowed (Ronstadt) to get to second and in scoring position. That was the kicker.

“I went to Seth because I believed he would get the job done. I went with my best against their best and ended up on the short end of the stick.”

Cienega fought back from a 3-0 deficit with a run in the third and two in the fifth to tie the score 3-3. Michael Bregante accounted for two of the runs and Sanchez added an RBI.

CDO plays No. 10 Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor at 4 p.m. Friday at Tempe Diablo Stadium in the 4A-I semifinals.

Saturday’s 4A-I title game starts at 3 p.m. in Tempe Diablo Stadium and will be televised on Cox cable Channel 7.

No. 4 Scottsdale Chaparral 4, No. 5 Nogales 3: At Scottsdale, Nogales’ season came to an end at the hands of perennial power Chaparral.

The Apaches finish their season at 23-9-2.

No. 1 Glendale Cactus 6, No. 8 Catalina Foothills 3: At Glendale, Cactus senior right-hander James Fajardo was solid in picking up the win in the complete-game six-hitter.

The transfer from Phoenix Sunnyslope allowed six hits, struck out 12 and walked one.

Foothills had its chances, especially in the fourth inning when the first three hitters reached base, but the Falcons managed just one run off of Fajardo.

“I threw a lot of cutters, and my curveball wasn’t sharp (at the end of the season), but it was right on today,” Fajardo said. “I hadn’t thrown in a little over a week so I was fresh.”

Class 4A Division II

Sahuarita’s season ended at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Wednesday.

No. 6 Phoenix Greenway beat the No. 3 Mustangs 7-1 as Sahuarita finished the season with an 18-7 record.

For more on high school sports, check out the Grammer School sports blog.

Canyon del Oro's Ruben Rivera (right) is congratulated by Dorados teammate Doug Steele after Rivera scored during Wednesday night's game against Cienega. CDO won 4-3 to advance to Friday's 4A-I semifinal game against No. 10 Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

University of Arizona football signee Ryan Milus tied a 31-year-old state record in the boys 100 meters on Wednesday in a preliminary heat on Day 1 of the Class 5A Division I track championship at Chandler High School

Milus, a senior at Chandler Hamilton who will play cornerback for the Wildcats, finished in 10.33 seconds, the sixth fastest high school time in the country this year, according to the track and field Web site Dyestat.com.

He tied the record set in 1978 by El Mirage Dysart High School sprinter LaNoris Marshall.

The championship heats for most events, including the 100 meters, are Saturday at Chandler High School.

In the five events that crowned state champions Wednesday, the best southern Arizona result was by Sierra Vista Buena’s Jeremy Tuttle, whose discus toss of 169 feet, 7 inches was good for second place.

Class 4A Division I and II

Sabino’s Alex Evans won 4A-I state championships in the boys 1,600 meters (4:19.61) and the 800 meters (1:54.72) at Mesa Community College, giving his team 20 points in the meet’s first of two days.

Daniel McIver’s high jump of 6-feet, 6-inches was good for the 4A-II title for the Catalina senior.

In girls competition, Canyon del Oro senior hurdler Kala Stepter posted the top preliminary times in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

For more on high school sports, check out the Grammer School sports blog.

Seniors Brice Nzeukou and Matt McDaniel clinched the quarterfinal win by blocking Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor’s Zach Neilson’s kill attempt, giving Rincon the win 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22).

“It was mostly Brice on that block, but it got me right here,” said McDaniel pointing to his forearm.

McDaniel finished with 29 assists to go with his block for the No. 2 seed Rincon.

Teammate David Berens gave his team a 24-22 lead when his kill from the back row landed between three diving O’Connor players.

“Something we’ve gotten really good at is playing our game until the end,” said Berens, who finished with 11 kills and five digs. “We turn it on and take the game in the end and we don’t get nervous about it. . . . We don’t care what the score is, we push through it.”

O’Connor, the No. 7 seed, always seemed to have an answer for the Rangers as they erased several leads throughout the three games.

Neilson, O’Connor’s outside hitter, led the team down the stretch with three straight kills toward the end of the third game that tied the game at 22-22.

Rincon plays No. 3 Catalina at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mountain View High School in the 4A/5A-II semifinals.

No. 3 Catalina 3, No. 6 Tempe McClintock 0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-20): At Catalina, Jared Simte had 26 assists for the Trojans in the win.

No. 1 Sahuaro 3, No. 8 Cienega 1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-14, 25-14): At Sahuaro, Kyle Tatum had nine blocks for the Cougars and Colin Kennedy finished with 13 kills.

Sahuaro plays No. 5 Ironwood Ridge at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Mountain View High School in the semifinals.

No. 5 Ironwood Ridge 3, No. 4 Catalina Foothills 1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16): At Foothills, the three-time defending state champs will not repeat.

The Nighthawks were led by Spencer Griffin’s 18 kills.

Class 4A/5A Division I

The Gilbert Mesquite boys volleyball team pushed host-Salpointe to the limit Wednesday.

In the end, however, the Lancers pulled out a hard-fought win 3-2 (27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 16-14) to advance to the 4A/5A-I semifinals.

“I really thought we were going to win in three, but then we lost that second game and we had to fight back,” said Salpointe’s Chris Winters, who had 13 kills and eight blocks. “It was hard. It was probably one of the hardest games we’ve ever played.”

Salpointe returns to the semifinals for the second straight year where it plays No. 1 Phoenix Mountain Pointe at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Glendale Ironwood High.

Salpointe coach Amy Johnson thinks the close games will only help her team as the tournament moves on.

“I think it’s huge,” said Johnson. “It’s huge to know you can win a five-game match. I don’t think anybody was up three or four or five points. So it’s good to know we can play a tight match.”

Setter Pat Tunnell led Salpointe with 54 assists, 12 kills, seven blocks and seven kills. He also had the match clinching kill in the fifth game.

“We kind of let it go in the second and fourth games,” Tunnell said. “It could’ve been a little quicker but we were expecting it to be a battle and that’s what it was. I don’t know we’re pretty lucky to get out the way we did.”

RODNEY HAAS

sports@tucsoncitizen.com (sports@tucsoncitizen.com)

———

Semifinals

Class 4A/5A Division I

Friday at Glendale Ironwood HS

• No. 1 Phoenix Mountain Pointe vs. No. 4 Salpointe, 5:30 p.m.

• No. 6 Gilbert vs. No. 10 Glendale Deer Valley, 7:30 p.m.

Class 4A/5A Division II

Friday at Marana Mountain View HS

No. 1 Sahuaro vs. No. 5 Ironwood Ridge, 5:30 p.m.

• No. 2 Rincon/University vs. No. 3 Catalina, 7:30 p.m.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James was the only unanimous selection of the All-NBA team.

NEW YORK – LeBron James should be getting used to sweeps by now.

The Cavaliers star was a unanimous selection to the All-NBA first team Wednesday, after leading his team to a franchise-best regular-season record and a pair of playoff sweeps of the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.

James was put on the first team on every ballot of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters who regularly cover the league. Lakers star Kobe Bryant finished second in voting, making the first team on 119 ballots, while Dwight Howard of the Magic, Dwyane Wade of the Heat and Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks rounded out the first team.

Center Shaquille O’Neal of the Phoenix Suns was named to the third team.

James was a first-team selection for the second straight season after finishing second in the NBA in scoring at 28.4 points and ranking in the top 10 in steals and assists. He led the Cavaliers to a 66-16 record, including a 39-2 mark at home, and the team’s first top seed in the playoffs.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said of James, who in addition to winning MVP, finished second in voting for best defensive player. “It comes with being the MVP. He’s proven he can do it all.”

The Cavaliers made it 8-for-8 in the postseason Monday night, completing a second straight sweep with an 84-74 win over the Hawks. Along with their dominant sweep of Detroit, Cleveland has won an NBA-record eight consecutive playoff games by double figures.

The Cavs should be well-rested for the Eastern Conference finals against Boston or Orlando, a series the Celtics lead 3-2 entering Game 6 Thursday night.

The All-NBA second team consisted of New Orleans guard Chris Paul, Brandon Roy of the Trail Blazers, Tim Duncan of the Spurs, Paul Pierce of the Celtics and Houston center Yao Ming.

The third team has Denver’s Chauncey Billups and San Antonio’s Tony Parker at guard, Denver’s Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers’ Pau Gasol at forward, and O’Neal at center.

Howard had 17 rebounds but just 12 points while taking only 10 shots in the Magic’s 92-88 loss Tuesday night, but he’s the biggest reason Orlando is still alive.

After becoming only the fourth player to lead the league in rebounding and blocked shots since 1973-74, when the block became an official statistic, the 6-foot-11 forward has averaged 20 points and leads all players with 16.1 rebounds in the postseason.

Bryant finished third in the league with 26.8 points, leading the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 65-17 finish.

They play Game 6 against the Houston Rockets on Thursday.Wade was a first-team selection for the first time after leading the league in scoring at 30.2 points, finishing second in steals and eighth in assists. He also became the fifth player in league history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists, and 150 steals in a single season.

Nowitzki was the league’s fourth-leading scorer and helped the Mavericks to a 50-32 finish.

“This is a great honor and means that you have played solid basketball for the whole season,” Nowitzki said. “This is about being consistent and helping the team night in and night out.”

The Houston Rockets' Shane Battier blocks the view of the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant as Bryant shoots Tuesday in L.A.

LOS ANGELES – The top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers did everything they didn’t do Sunday.

Kobe Bryant needed only three quarters to score 26 points and the Lakers bounced back from their Game 4 flop, routing the Houston Rockets 118-78 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Lakers, coming off a 99-87 loss at Houston – hustled, rebounded and played tight defense on Houston’s smaller lineup, keeping Aaron Brooks in check and limiting wide-open shots.

On Sunday the Lakers trailed by 29 points. On Tuesday night, they had a 29-point lead by late in the second quarter, on a 3-pointer by Bryant, who led seven Lakers in double figures.

The Lakers can wrap up the series Thursday night in Houston.

“We’ve got to stay focused and understand that the effort we gave tonight is not going to be enough on Thursday. It’s just not,” Bryant said. “We’re not playing some chump team. I don’t care how many people they have out. This is a tough team, it’s a tough team full of competitors.”

The Rockets played their second game without Yao Ming, who sustained a season-ending stress fracture in his left foot in Game 3.

Bryant looked more like himself after being held to 15 points on Sunday. With the Lakers far ahead after holding the Rockets to only 15 points in each of the second and third quarters, he sat out the fourth period.

“We played just the opposite we did the last game,” Houston coach Rick Adelman said. “We turned it over in the first half, shot it poorly. We said if we turn it over against this team we’re going to be in big trouble. That’s exactly what we did.

“It just kind of fed their energy level. The second and third quarters are about as bad as we’ve played in a long time.”

Pau Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Andrew Bynum 14 points, Trevor Ariza 13 and Jordan Farmar 12. Lamar Odom and Josh Powell had 10 apiece.

Brooks was held to 14 points after scoring a career-high 34 on Sunday. Ron Artest had a horrible night shooting, 4-of-15 for nine points. The Rockets shot only 32 percent.

The Lakers fell behind by six points midway through the first quarter, but it didn’t take them long to answer the question of whether they’d show up.

Los Angeles gained control by outscoring Houston 23-6 during the final six minutes of the first quarter. Bryant had eight points, making three straight shots at one point. Odom sank a 3-pointer and Farmar another 3 at the buzzer for a 35-24 lead.

With Bryant sitting out at the start of the second quarter, the Lakers didn’t lose any of their intensity, going on an 8-0 run to push the lead to 43-24. Gasol made a hook shot and two free throws, Odom made two free throws and Sasha Vujacic blocked a shot by Von Wafer, raced down the court and took a pass from Gasol for a slam dunk.

With Houston going cold, the Lakers piled it on, taking a 64-35 lead on Bryant’s 3-pointer with 1:31 before halftime. It was 64-39 at the break.

That has the Suns looking ahead to the 2010-11 season, when O’Neal’s deal and probably Stoudemire’s, too, go off the books, leaving the team with the resources to be a major player in free agency.

“We’re in a position where a year from now we can say ‘All right, we’ve got options now,’ ” general manager and ex-Arizona Wildcat Steve Kerr said Tuesday.

Kerr spoke at a news conference with Alvin Gentry, who had the interim removed from his title and has a two-year contract – with a team option for a third – as Phoenix coach. The Suns had announced the new deal with Gentry on Saturday.

Kerr indicated the team would consider the possibility of a trade but there is no rush to make a deal.

“This summer we look at everything that’s out there and if we have to just grind our way through this year, we’ll do so,” he said, “but if there’s a move that makes sense, we’ll take a look at that as well.”

Finding a team willing to take the 37-year-old O’Neal and the $20 million he has left in the final year of his contract might be difficult, no matter that he’s coming off a strong season.

Stoudemire, meanwhile, is set to make $16.3 million next season. He has an option for 2010-11 at $17 million but is widely expected to opt out of it in search of an even richer deal.

The Suns flirted with trading Stoudemire at the All-Star break but owner Robert Sarver decided against it. Instead, coach Terry Porter was fired and replaced by his lead assistant Gentry. Gentry returned the Suns to the freewheeling style of former coach Mike D’Antoni and expected Stoudemire to be the centerpiece of the offense.

But two games into Gentry’s tenure, Stoudemire underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn retina in his right eye. That makes him damaged goods on the summer market.

Stoudemire still has not been able to run, Kerr said.

Kerr said he expected Stoudemire to be ready for the start of training camp this fall.

Gentry was 18-13 after taking over the Suns, even though he had to do without Stoudemire for all but two games and was without Steve Nash and/or Leandro Barbosa for shorter stints. Phoenix won 46 games but still missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004.