Have you bought your tickets yet??? putt-ingkidsfirst.org

— Blair Charity Group (@BCharityGroup) March 25, 2013

When I covered the Arizona basketball team in the 1990′s for the Arizona Daily Star, Joseph Blair was the most imposing figure I came across.

Former Arizona basketball player Joseph Blair is active in Tucson community development

At 6-feet-10 and 265 inches, he towered over most. He claimed his territory in the lane and banged his sizable body to keep it. He was such a competitive and fierce basketball player that one time he got thrown out of a pro game in Russia for fighting in a brawl that included many ejections and relegated the game to a three-on-three affair at the end.

Now 38, Blair physically looks like he can still muscle his way for a rebound or post up his defender on the blocks. Four years removed from his career overseas, Blair’s diligent work has changed from the hardwood to helping those suffering through hard knocks.

Based on all the charity work Blair has performed in Tucson over the last three years, his name should be on the ballot for city mayor.

Blair first organized the Arizona Basketball Alumni Foundation that performed various charity functions before ceasing operations last April. He is now the executive director of the Blair Charity Group. Its mission as stated at its Web site — BlairCharityGroup.org: Create and support programs that address the priorities of the Southern Arizona community, while still helping to strengthen the non-profit sector through collaboration and consultation.

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Sean Elliott celebrated Senior Day in 1989 with his parents Odiemae and Robert (YouTube still - click on the picture to view video)

Some of the more memorable mothers of Arizona athletes that come to mind as we celebrate Mother’s Day 2012 …

Odiemae Elliott — You can tell where her son Sean Elliott — the best player to wear an Arizona uniform — got his classy ways. When interviewed on TV during Sean’s career at Arizona, Odiemae always appeared firm in her ways, yet also loving and caring — the ideal mother. In a 1999 column, after Sean’s brother Noel donated a kidney to essentially save the UA basketball legend’s life, former Tucson Citizen sports columnist Corky Simpson hit it on the head: “Sean has been a champion all along. He came by his fortitude and integrity honestly; Odiemae Elliott, his devoted mother, brought this guy up right.”

Judith Blair — The mother of former UA hoops player Joseph Blair also made an incredible sacrifice — donating a kidney to save the life of Dr. Michael Burgoon, a UA professor, in 2001. Moreover, Judith had just a casual acquaintance with Burgoon, a communications professor who served as an academic counselor to UA recruits. She found out about his deteriorating health after battling the kidney and lupus disease for 21 years while talking to Burgoon’s wife at halftime of a UA basketball game. Judith offered a kidney on the spot. “God had once restored something to me, and I thought it was only right to restore something to Michael,” Judith told Simpson in a 2002 column. She was in the midst of stellar performances in the Senior Olympics in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter runs. She continued to compete after the transplant. Her giving ways has made an impact on Joseph’s life. He is very active with charity events in the Tucson community as the executive director of the Blair Charity Group.

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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

Other Semifinal Arizona Elite Eight Event:
>> Poll: 1996-1997 versus 2000-2001. 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 1987-88 and 1993-94 teams.

Sean Elliott

Damon Stoudamire

Khalid Reeves

A couple of minutes after the thrilling finish of the 1996-97 vs. 2000-01 semifinal of the Arizona Elite Eight Event, the next two legendary Wildcat teams took the court at McKale Center and the lights from the rafters shook from the noise.

The scene at McKale conjured memories from when Arizona swept USC and UCLA for the first time in the arena in the 1978-79 season, the Wildcats’ first in the Pac-10 with Fred Snowden as coach. This was like Arizona beating Duke in 1987 or again in 1991 in double-overtime at McKale, multiplied.

You thought the roar at McKale Center after Derrick Williams’ game-saving block against Washington last season was deafening?

Drunk with emotion from the classic finish that just transpired between the 1996-97 and 2000-01 teams, Arizona’s fans were immediately treated to the sight of the program’s best player — Sean Elliott of the 1987-88 team — preparing to face the Wildcats’ best backcourt in history — Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves of the 1993-94 team.

The voice of the late Roger Sedlmayr, the arena’s former public-address announcer, was played when Steve Kerr of the 1987-88 team went to midcourt during the introductions of the starting lineups. The crowd’s imitation of Sedlymayr’s “Steeeeeve Kerrrrrr” announcement could be heard on Cherry Avenue a block away.

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