Toronto's Jerryd Bayless was the highest rated former Arizona player in the NBA during the 2011-12 season according to one ESPN.com system

Arizona’s 2011-12 All-NBA first team, according to player-efficiency ratings (PER) conducted by ESPN.com’s John Hollinger, includes a decent lineup.

Hollinger’s top rated former Wildcat is Jerryd Bayless of Toronto, who would take the off-guard spot. The next rated player is wing player Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia.

According to Hollinger, the PER is a rating of a player’s per-minute productivity.

“To generate PER, I created formulas — outlined in tortuous detail in my book ‘Pro Basketball Forecast’ — that return a value for each of a player’s accomplishments,” Hollinger writes at ESPN.com. “That includes positive accomplishments such as field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals, and negative ones such as missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls.

“Two important things to remember about PER are that it’s per-minute and is pace-adjusted.”

He adjusts each player’s rating for his team’s pace, “so that players on a slow-paced team like Detroit aren’t penalized just because their team has fewer possessions than a fast-paced team such as Golden State,” he writes.

Bayless’ PER is 17.80, which ranks him 70th among NBA players who averaged at least 6.09 minutes per game. Iguodala’s rating is 17.59.

Rounding out Arizona’s 2011-12 All-NBA first team, by order of the ratings, are point guard Jason Terry (15.80, 111th among NBA players) of Dallas, post player Jordan Hill (15.80, 111th) of the Los Angeles Lakers and forward Channing Frye (14.92, 139th) of Phoenix. Houston’s Chase Budinger (14.92, 139th) had an equal player-efficiency rating as Frye, but Frye gets the nod for the first team because Budinger and Iguodala are basically at the same position.

The other former Wildcats who qualified for the ratings include Minnesota’s Derrick Williams (12.98, 215th), Golden State’s Richard Jefferson (11.15, 263rd) and New York’s Mike Bibby (7.82, 335th).

Those who did not qualify were Luke Walton of Cleveland and Gilbert Arenas of Memphis because of their lack of playing time.

Among players with at least 500 minutes in 2011-12, the highest rating was Miami’s LeBron James at 30.80. The lowest was Charlotte’s Cory Higgins at 4.41.

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

Semifinals Arizona Elite Eight Event Matchup:
>> Poll: 1996-1997 versus 2000-2001. Story: TucsonCitizen.com game story
>> Poll: 1987-1988 versus 1993-1994. Story: TucsonCitizen.com game story

First Round Arizona Elite Eight Event Matchups:
>> Poll: 1987-1988 versus 2010-2011. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis
>> Poll: 1993-1994 versus 2004-2005. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis
>> Poll: 1996-1997 versus 2002-2003. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis
>> Poll: 1975-1976 versus 2000-2001. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis

EDITOR NOTE: The following is a fictional depiction of what could occur between the 1996-97 and 2000-01 teams.

We take you back to McKale Center …

Indicative of the 1996-97 team’s resiliency, it never gave up after falling behind by as many as 22 points. Mike Bibby, Miles Simon and Co. forced the 2000-01 team into an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers, including 12 during the game’s final 11 minutes. Conversely, the 1996-97 team committed just six turnovers the entire game and outscored the the 2000-01 team in points off turnovers by a 25-6 margin.

After a resounding dunk on a breakaway by Richard Jefferson gave the 2000-01 team its largest lead of 54-32 with 11:21 left in the game, the 2000-01 team committed turnovers on four straight possessions giving the 1996-97 team life and momentum. The 1996-97 team took advantage of the sloppy passes, slicing the 2000-01 lead to nine points — 54-45 — with 6:35 to play.

Mike Bibby had the opportunity to put the 1996-97 on top with a four-point play in the waning seconds

The 2000-01 team, behind two three-pointers from Gilbert Arenas, used an 8-3 spurt and took what looked like an insurmountable 14-point lead — 62-48 — with only 4:37 remaining.

That’s when Bibby started to take over, scoring 11 of the next 18 points for the 1996-97 team. The 2000-01 team would score just five points during the next four minutes. That stretch included four turnovers by the 2000-01 team, which also went 3-for-6 from the free throw line in that span. A Bibby three-pointer cut the lead to seven points with 1:46 left in regulation, followed by a Bennett Davison free throw and layup from Michael Dickerson that cut the 1996-97′s deficit to 64-60 with 59 seconds to play.

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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

2000-01 Arizona Wildcats (28-8)
–Beat Illinois 87-81 in the Midwest Regional Final; beat Michigan State 80-61 in the Final Four; and lost to Duke 82-72 in the national title game. To note: Four players were drafted in the first two rounds of the 2001 NBA draft — Richard Jefferson, first round, 13th pick overall (Rockets); Gilbert Arenas, second round, 30th pick (Warriors); Michael Wright, second round, 38th pick (Knicks); and Loren Woods, second round, 45th pick (Timberwolves).

1996-97 Arizona Wildcats (25-9)
–Beat Providence 96-92 in overtime in the Southeast Regional Final; beat North Carolina 66-58 in the Final Four; and defeated Kentucky 84-79 in overtime to win its first NCAA championship. To note: The Wildcats had five players drafted in 1998 and 1999, three of them in the first round — Mike Bibby, second pick overall in 1998, Grizzlies; Michael Dickerson, 14th pick in 1998, Rockets; and Jason Terry, 10th pick in 1999, Hawks.

First Round Arizona Elite Eight Event Matchups:
>> Poll: 1987-1988 versus 2010-2011. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis
>> Poll: 1993-1994 versus 2004-2005. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis
>> Poll: 1996-1997 versus 2002-2003. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis
>> Poll: 1975-1976 versus 2000-2001. Story: TucsonCitizen.com analysis

EDITOR NOTE: The following is a fictional depiction of what could occur between the 1996-97 and 2000-01 teams. The quotes used are also fictional.

VOTE ON HOW YOU FEEL THIS GAME STORY SHOULD END AT WILDABOUTAZCATS.NET!!!

The buzz at a standing-room-only McKale Center before this semifinal game of the Arizona Elite Eight Event — pitting the only two Wildcat teams to advance to an NCAA title game — centered around which starting lineup matchup was most intriguing.

Mike Bibby of the 1996-97 team engineers a dramatic comeback against the 2000-01 team but is the effort good enough for a victory?

Mike Bibby vs. Jason Gardner — A couple of young leaders who pioneered Point Guard U., their retired jerseys hanging from the rafters.

Miles Simon vs. Gilbert Arenas — Simon and his Final Four MVP credentials going against one of Arizona’s most potent shooting guards in the program’s history.

Michael Dickerson vs. Richard Jefferson — Dickerson with his equally strong defensive and offensive capabilities against the athletic Jefferson, who always had the capability to go for 19 points and eight rebounds.

Bennett Davison vs. Michael Wright — The wiry athletic Davison with springs for legs against the burly, strong Wright, who owned the paint around the basket.

A.J. Bramlett vs. Loren Woods — The efficient Bramlett who ended his career as a very strong rebounder against shot-blocking extraordinaire Woods.

Indicative of the 1996-97 team’s resiliency, it never gave up after falling behind by as many as 22 points. Bibby, Simon and Co. forced the 2000-01 team into an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers, including 12 during the game’s final 11 minutes. Conversely, the 1996-97 team committed just six turnovers the entire game and outscored the the 2000-01 team in points off turnovers by a 25-6 margin.

“The one thing I can always can count on with that ’96-97 team is that no situation was too much to overcome,” said Arizona coach Lute Olson, whose team beat three No. 1 seeds en route to the 1997 NCAA championship. “Mike (Bibby) and Miles (Simon) and those guys always know how to make things interesting don’t they?”

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