Javier Morales took first place in the 2010 Arizona Press Club’s Metro Sports Reporting category

In case you missed it: The Top 10 Badass Defensive Players and the Top 10 Badass Offensive Players in Arizona football history

1987-88 Arizona Wildcats (35-3)
–Beat North Carolina 70-52 in the West Regional Final; lost to Oklahoma 86-78 in the Final Four. To note: The Wildcats of 1987-88 continue to hold school records for victories (35), points in a season (3,234), average margin of victory (22.9 points), field goals made (1,147), field-goal percentage (54.5 percent), three-point field-goal percentage (48.3), fewest foul-outs (only six), and fewest blocked shots by opponents (only 1.4 a game).

2010-11 Arizona Wildcats (30-8)
–Lost to Connecticut 65-63 in the West Regional Final. To note: The 2010-11 Wildcats set school records for three-point field goals made (296) and opponent three-point field-goal percentage (only 29.3 percent).

VOTE ON THIS MATCHUP AT WILDABOUTAZCATS.NET!!!

Previous Arizona Elite Eight Event Matchups (Polls still open at WILDABOUTAZCATS.net):
>> 1993-1994 versus 2004-2005
>> 1996-1997 versus 2002-2003
>> 1975-1976 versus 2000-2001

MATCHUPS

Point Guard

Steve Kerr (1984-1988) vs. Lamont “MoMo” Jones (2009-2011)

Steve Kerr

Lamont MoMo Jones

A Kerr vs. Jones matchup at the starting point guard spot is as contrasting as this Elite Eight event can muster. Kerr is the cool, calm and collected player from the serene beach town of Pacific Palisades, Calif., while Jones is the rough and tumble, get-in-your-face player from Brooklyn.

Their polar-opposite characteristics is indicative of the different capabilities each team had to offer. The teams had one thing in common: They share the record for playing the most games in a season (38) in the program’s history. But more contrasts exists than similarities.

The 1987-88 Wildcats, led by the deft outside shooting of Kerr, shot a school-record 48.3 percent from three-point range. The 2010-11 edition, captained by the defensively active Jones on the perimeter, held opponents to a school-record low of 29.3 percent from three-point range.

Who would win the battle? The 1987-88 team with its offensive perfection or the 2010-11 team with its defensive prowess?

Kerr set UA records shooting 57.3 percent from three-point range and posting an assist-to-turnover ratio of almost 5-to-1 (150 assists compared to only 36 turnovers). Jones was not as good of a shooter making only 31.6 percent of his three-pointers last season. But he converted 82.8 percent of his free-throw attempts and was clutch in memorable victories over California, scoring a career-high 27 points in a three-overtime game in Berkeley, and Duke, with 16 points, six assists and no turnovers in the Sweet 16 game.

Kerr was the model of reliability and consistency. Little-known fact: Kerr played all 50 minutes (a school record) in a double-overtime 79-72 victory over Cal at McKale Center on Jan. 12, 1986.

Jones is the only starter on an Arizona Elite Eight team who transferred to another school. He switched to Iona this season to be closer to home so he can be near his ailing grandmother. The NCAA granted Jones, a junior, a hardship waiver and allowed him to play this year for Iona.

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I can hear the Lute Olson die-hards now after reading that headline.

“What do you mean unparalleled?” they will say. “Ever heard of Sean Elliott? Mike Bibby? Brandon Jennings (even though he never attended Arizona)?”

“What about that class that had Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton and Michael Wright in 1998?” they’ll argue.

Olson’s best two-year recruiting run arguably was in 1998 and 1999, on the heels of his first NCAA title with the Wildcats in 1997.

In 1998, Olson signed Jefferson, Wright and Walton (key components to the 2001 Final Four team) along with Ricky Anderson, Ruben Douglas and Traves Wilson. Anderson became a senior leader in 2001-02. Douglas and Wilson transferred after their freshman season. Douglas became the NCAA’s leading scorer as a senior at New Mexico.

In 1999, Olson inked Gilbert Arenas and Jason Gardner, one of the best backcourt combinations in the program’s history. Little-used Robertas Javtokas and Lamont Frazier were also part of the class and they did not last.

Compare those two classes with the assortment of talent Sean Miller has attracted to Tucson the last two years.

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Note: Lamont “MoMo” Jones is the first regular starter to transfer from the Arizona program since Ruben Douglas left for New Mexico during the 1999-2000 season. Douglas started 14 games in 1998-99 and was labeled a returning starter until Gilbert Arenas took over the starting role.

The snapshot of Lamont “MoMo” Jones’ brief Arizona career, in my opinion, was not his 27-point heroic performance at Cal this season or his buzzer-beater at Stanford as a freshman.

Former Arizona guard Lamont Jones will take his leadership qualities to the East coast in 2012-13 (US Presswire photo/Gary A. Vasquez)

It was his demeanor in the Arizona locker room after Washington’s Isaiah Thomas nailed a game-winning jump shot over him as time expired in the Pac-10 tournament championship on March 12 in Los Angeles. The 77-75 overtime loss to the Huskies was hard enough to bear, but Jones also had one of his worst performances as a Wildcat.

Jones committed more turnovers (three) than he converted field goals (only one in a 1-of-8 afternoon).

He took it like a man. He did not hide from reporters. He did not offer one-word answers. He did not sulk. His eyes were not red from tears. I know this because he looked at me and other reporters in the eye. He spoke with conviction that he and his teammates would use the bitter loss as a springboard for the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats reached the Elite Eight thanks in part to Jones’ 16-point performance (14 in the pivotal second half) in the Sweet 16 rout of Duke. Jones tallied six assists without a turnover in 28 minutes.

Arizona freshman sensation point guard Josiah Turner, who is bound to fill Jones’ spot in the starting lineup, should follow Jones’ lead in terms of being a leader by looking adversity in the eye. Arizona’s greatest — Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr among them — never ducked a hard moment.

Jones is no different. He is by no means the second-coming of Mike Bibby, but his leadership qualities do not take a backseat to most. Jones’ fiery, take-no-bull personality will be missed by the Wildcats. It’s a far cry from early in his freshman season, when UA coach Sean Miller benched him for complaining about playing time.

He matured mentally as much as Derrick Williams progressed physically in their two-year Arizona careers.

With Jones’ pending transfer to a school closer to his New York City home, Arizona just became decidedly younger and more wide-eyed.

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