The odd point-guard couple of Mike Bibby and Jason Terry meets again, this time in the NBA Finals.

The fire of Terry matched with the ice of Bibby made Arizona’s chemistry flow 14 years ago when the Wildcats won the NCAA title. Now they will try to offset the other for their first NBA ring.

“They were always different,” former teammate Josh Pastner said this morning from his Memphis basketball office, where he is approaching his third season as the Tigers’ head coach. “J.T. was always outgoing, the funny guy. Mike was the quiet one.

Jason Terry #31 of the Dallas Mavericks takes a jump shot against Mike Bibby #10 of the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center in a 2007 game at Dallas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

“But as competitors they’re very much the same. Very intense. They had absolutely no conflicts (with Bibby starting as a true freshman and Terry the top sub as a sophomore in 1996-97). They actually got along and respected each other.”

More than 13 years after they played their last game together with the Wildcats — an Elite Eight loss to Utah in 1998 after winning it all in 1997 — Bibby and Terry still have championship aspirations. Bibby and the Miami Heat host Terry and the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Seventeen Arizona alums have appeared in the last 16 seasons, including Terry in 2006 when the Mavericks lost to the Heat. This is Bibby’s first trip to the championship round.

Overall, the UA alums have won a total of 12 NBA championships. The last time a pair of former Wildcats met in the NBA Finals was in 2003, when Steve Kerr and San Antonio defeated Richard Jefferson and New Jersey, 4-2.

Aside from their skills — Terry’s defense and timely shooting and Bibby’s playmaking and setting the tone — Pastner said one significant reason why they are in the NBA Finals goes back to their two years together at Arizona.

“Look at it this way: A lot of their development occurred when they went against each other every day in practice at the UA,” Pastner said. “I mean, you’re talking about two lottery picks competing hard against the other for two years under a Hall of Fame coach like Lute Olson.

“For those guys to be still going strong after all these years speaks volumes for what Coach Olson did for those guys and that program.”

The beginning of the 1996-97 season was not easy for Terry, who realized Bibby was a highly-touted recruit from Phoenix Shadow Mountain brought in to be the starter. Terry played approximately 10 minutes a game as a freshman in 1995-96, biding his time behind Reggie Geary.

Three games into the 1996-97 season, Terry was shooting only 34.4 percent from the field. In a pivotal bounce-back win after the Wildcats lost at New Mexico, Terry led the UA over Utah and All-American forward Keith Van Horn in Anaheim. Terry scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, had four assists and only one turnover.

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A look at what to expect Friday at 11:45 a.m., Tucson time, as No. 12-seeded Memphis and No. 5 Arizona play in the first round of the NCAA tournament

PERIMETER

Memphis freshman wing/guard Will Barton, whose long arms are obvious in this photo, leads a balanced scoring attack with 12.3 points a game (US PRESSWIRE PHOTO/Douglas Jones)

MEMPHIS

What’s going right: Freshman wing player Will Barton is a slender player (6-6, 175) in the same mold as Washington’s Justin Holiday, only his arms are much longer. Barton, who has a wingspan of 7-5, is Memphis’ motor, playing by far the most minutes dispersed among the young Tigers. He is the only player averaging more than 30 minutes (30.5). He is among the top three Memphis players in scoring (leads team with 12.3 points a game), rebounding (second with 5 a game) and assists (third with 95).
What’s going wrong: Barton and fellow freshman, Chris Crawford, are not shy behind the three-point line, and that may not be a good thing. They are the only Tigers who have jacked up more than 100 three-point attempts, and they are a combined 81 of 285 (28.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The rest of the team is not bad, 123 of 339 (36.3 percent).

Barton said Thursday: “This year we made it a mission to get it done and make sure we get to the tournament (after playing in NIT a year ago). At the same time, we’re not just happy to be here. We’re not setting our standards on just getting to the tournament. We plan on staying here and doing damage and getting these two games and trying to make it to Anaheim (for the Sweet 16).”

ARIZONA
What’s going right: Kyle Fogg is working his way back from a left quadriceps strain but is expected to take back his starting job from Kevin Parrom. Memphis starts four guards and only one true frontcourt player (freshman Tarik Black). Point guard Lamont “MoMo” Jones Jones, Derrick Williams and Solomon Hill are the only Wildcats to start every game this season. Jones’ leadership and intelligent play will be critical in a game that matches a vast majority of players who have yet to experience March Madness. Of the players in the top eight rotation of each team, only two players (Fogg and Jamelle Horne of Arizona) have played in an NCAA tournament game. Jones is second behind Williams in scoring at 9.6 a game.
What’s going wrong: Jones’ play in the Pac-10 tournament was a bit shaky. He shot only 25.9 percent from the field and tallied only six assists in the three games with seven turnovers.

Jones said Thursday: “It’s just about hard work. Right now we’re playing great together as a team though we lost the last game in the (Pac-10) tournament. But we’re playing great as a team, playing great defense, and we’re just playing great basketball. Hopefully that can translate over into the NCAA Tournament and it can help us get a win.”

Who has the edge? Since the starting guard play is loaded toward Memphis, the Tigers get the nod in this category. Despite Memphis’ lack of size inside, the Tigers are slightly outrebounding opponents by an average of 35.7 to 34.9 a game. That is attributed to their athleticism and hustle. Overall consistency a question mark for Memphis, however, with junior guard Charles Carmouche (a transfer from New Orleans) the only player to start the last 10 games.

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Archie Miller (left, background) and his brother Sean, the head coach at Arizona, lead the Wildcats into the NCAA tournament Friday against Memphis (US Presswire photo/Chris Morrison)

How long it will take for mid-major and high-profile programs to get a piece of the Sean Miller coaching magic?

That does not include hiring Miller. He has too much of a good thing going at Arizona, the least of which his lucrative $2 million-a-year contract through 2014. Miller should become a fixture in Tucson, especially after landing a top five recruiting class (with many more like it to come) after winning the regular-season Pac-10 title a year ahead of schedule.

Miller, 42, is the second-coming of Lute Olson and I don’t mean that in a grandiose way. He became the leader of a national championship-caliber program at the right time. Olson’s leave of absence, abrupt retirement and two seasons of interim coaches preceded Miller’s opportune arrival. It is in the same realm of Olson’s hire from Iowa after Ben Lindsey almost sent the program back to the Ice Age with a 4-24 record in 1982-83.

This is ascension time for Miller at Arizona, but with consequences. With coaching vacancies an annual occurrence — this year’s lot includes openings at Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech to name a few — athletic directors will come calling, not for him, but his staff.

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