Nick Saban having a statue at Alabama after only 43 wins in Tuscaloosa, Ala., begs the question: What’s taking Arizona so long to erect one of Hall of Famer Lute Olson?

Other than the meaningful statue of John “Button” Salmon outside McKale Center, the Wildcats offer a statue of two bobcats playing with each other. Why not a statue of Olson flanked on each side by a likeness of Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr — the father, son and holy toast of the town?

Other long overdue peripheral objectives that should be on the desk of athletic director Greg Byrne at this very moment:

• It’s time to give Jason Terry his just due by retiring No. 31. Terry, who received illegal benefits from agents as a senior, repaid Arizona the $45,363 it forfeited from the 1999 NCAA tournament. Terry was made ineligible for jersey retirement and induction to the UA Sports Hall of Fame. The school supposedly has petitioned the Pac-10 to retire his jersey, but how serious is Arizona after 12 years and counting? We know how serious Terry is to Arizona’s image as a marketing tool. He is one of 11 NBA players this season who are former Wildcats. We also know how serious Terry is to giving back to the community. Terry comes from an impoverished background in Seattle so he knows how important it is to not be passive in our society. Retiring Terry’s number is a no-brainer for Byrne, who thankfully is a progressive athletic director. With Terry’s effervescent personality, having him on stage at McKale Center being honored with his jersey number retirement, the nation — through the ESPN cameras — will take note.
• Get Coniel Norman at midcourt in front of a standing ovation of a packed McKale Center. How many leading scorers of a program become destitute on the streets, wondering if or when they’ll get another paycheck? Norman has what appears to be an untouchable Arizona record — a career average scoring mark of 23.9 points a game from 1972-74. His name is synonymous to Arizona’s development as a basketball school. His story is not only touching but educational, especially for players of this generation who believe a ticket to a sustained NBA career can easily be punched.
• It’s ridiculous that UA career rushing leader Trung Canidate is not on Arizona’s Ring of Fame in Arizona Stadium. Even more silly is the fact Tedy Bruschi was left off the jersey-number retirement ceremony last November. OK, OK, the official criteria is a player must have won a national player of the year award or earn induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The school should modify it to include consensus All-Americans who established a career NCAA record while at Arizona. Bruschi was a consensus All-American who left Arizona with 52 sacks, which tied a career Division I-A record. Moreover, Bruschi has that star appeal, similar to Terry, that would help Arizona’s image with a much-publicized ceremony.

Be practical, Arizona, not stodgy. This is not Cooperstown.

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RELATED LINK: Analyzing Arizona’s recruiting classes since 1972

Arizona coach Sean Miller has a high-profile recruiting class and adequate returners that would soften the blow of a potential departure of Derrick Williams to the NBA after his sophomore season (US Presswire photo/Jason O. Watson)

Arizona coach Sean Miller has a potential top five recruiting class to soften the blow if Derrick Williams foregoes his last two years with the Wildcats to enter the NBA draft and hires an agent.

What did former coach Fred Snowden, bless his soul, have in mind in a similar situation in 1974 with the threat of losing prolific-scoring sophomores Eric Money and Coniel Norman to the NBA?

This is what was written by Steve Weston of the Tucson Citizen near the end of Snowden’s second season at Arizona on March 2, 1974:

No. 1 on most (recruiting) lists this season is 6-11 Moses Malone from Petersburg, Va. “We hope to have him visit,” said Snowden. “Of course, he’d be a great asset to our program.”

A great asset? How about a validation for a national championship?

Moses, a 13-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer, never took that recruiting visit to Tucson, although he reportedly became interested in Snowden and the Wildcats after watching them play New Mexico in Albuquerque that season. He signed a national letter of intent with Maryland but eventually went straight from Petersburg High School to the ABA in 1974.

Money and Norman, meanwhile, were chosen in the NBA draft that year. Money was taken in the second round (the 33rd pick overall) and Norman was the first pick in the third round (37th overall). That equates to early-second round selections today because the number of NBA teams has increased from 18 then to 30 now.

How did the Wildcats respond the following season after they finished 19-7 and failed to reach the postseason in the final year with Money and Norman? They actually had a better season, finishing 22-7 after losing to Drake in the championship game of the defunct National Commissioner’s Invitational Tournament (which featured teams that finished second in their respective conference).

The Wildcats excelled behind All-Western Athletic Conference frontcourt players Bob Elliott and Al Fleming, and a solid recruiting class that included playmaker Gilbert Myles and burly forward Phil Taylor.

Sports Illustrated, noting the Wildcats would take on a more physical look without Money and Norman, rated the UA No. 16 that year in its preseason Top 20. Snowden wanted more of a fearsome defensive presence after the loss of his star guards, who combined for more than 40 points a game in their UA careers.

Taylor, SI wrote, “bears a strong resemblance to Sonny Liston.” Snowden, known for his hyperbole, told the magazine that the team would be his best at Arizona after he went 35-17 in his first two seasons in Tucson.

Snowden proclaimed that Arizona would be “one of the five best in America by season’s end.” He looked like a prophet when the Wildcats started 11-1, but they staggered down the stretch.

Chances are that Miller, who is more close to the vest, will not proclaim next season that Arizona will be one of the nation’s top five teams if Williams does not return.

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MoMo Jones brought his swagger from New York City thanks to his relationship with Book Richardson, who is vital to the program bringing in East coast talent (US Presswire photo/Chris Morrison)

Check out video of the Arizona-Cal game, including interviews, the most recent Pac-10 standings and a brief look ahead to ASU at our partner site, WILDABOUTAZCATS.com

Random thoughts while wondering about the publicity Arizona will receive next year in New York City with Lamont “MoMo” Jones, Kevin Parrom and Class of 2011 signee Sidiki Johnson playing in the Coaches Vs. Cancer event in Madison Square Garden …

>> Jones made the clutch shots against Cal — again, as he did in wins over UCLA, USC and Stanford previously — and Parrom played his breakout game with 25 career-best points. The Most Valuable Person, however, in the 107-105 triple-overtime thriller is Arizona assistant coach Book Richardson, a Queens, N.Y., native who was instrumental in Jones (Harlem) and Parrom (Bronx) leaving New York City and heading to Tucson, of all places. Arizona coach Sean Miller, knowing Richardson’s value as recruiter and communicator with coaches and parents, has entrusted Richardson to work on some of his West coast targets, including post players Angelo Chol (a Class of 2011 prospect from San Diego Hoover High School) and Brandon Ashley (2012, from Oakland Bishop O’Dowd). …

UA assistant coach Book Richardson

>> The 52 points combined by Jones and Parrom in the thriller Saturday is reminiscent of when two Detroit prep stars — Eric Money and Coniel Norman — followed former UA coach Fred Snowden from Michigan to place a mark on the Arizona program in 1972-73. Norman remains the school’s career scoring average leader (23.9) and Money is at No. 6 (18.6). Their names would not have littered Arizona’s record books, much like Jones and Parrom would not be wearing “ARIZONA” across their chest, if it weren’t for them agreeing to leave a metropolis for the desert. Jones, who produced a career-high 27 points, after the game said to reporters: “You’re not a New York guard, if you don’t want the ball at the end of the clock. Point blank, end of story.” …

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