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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Here’s a look of each Arizona high school and junior college recruiting class since Fred Snowden was hired in 1972 and how the Wildcats fared three years later (future NBA draft picks are italicized, transfers from other programs such as Chris Mills and recruits who never played at Arizona, i.e. Brandon Jennings are not included):

Head coach: Fred Snowden

1972: Ron Allen, Dave Burns, Al Fleming, John Irving, Eric Money, Coniel Norman, Jim Rappis and James Wakefield. Three years later (1974-75): The UA finishes 22-7 and is selected to the National Commissioner’s Invitational Tournament. Money, Norman, Fleming and Rappis are the best foursome recruiting class the Wildcats have ever amassed based on pure talent. Rating (scale 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest): 9.

Fred Snowden’s first two recruiting classes at Arizona included seven NBA draft picks

1973: Bob Aleksa, Bob Elliott, Jerome Gladney, Len Gordy, Herman Harris, Gary Harrison and Steve Kanner. Three years later (1975-76): The UA finishes 24-9, wins the WAC title and loses in the 1976 Elite Eight to UCLA. Elliott is the UA’s career scoring leader before Sean Elliott (no relation) breaks his record. Herman Harris’ scoring average might have increased by four points if a three-point line exists back then. Rating: 8.

1974: Tom Ehlmann, Mitch Jones, Tim Marshall, Gilbert Myles, Phil Taylor. Three years later (1976-77): The UA finishes 21-6 and loses in the first round of the 1977 NCAA tournament (the last time the UA made the NCAA tournament under Snowden). Rating: 4.

1975: Larry Demic, Ron Fuller, Brian Jung and Sylvester Maxey. Three years later 1977-78): The UA finishes 15-11. Demic is a first-round draft pick in 1979. Rating: 6.

1976: Kenny Davis, Joe Nehls and Tommy Williams. Three years later (1978-79): The UA finishes 16-11, the last time the Wildcats have a winning record for six years. Nehls becomes one of the best pure perimeter shooters in Arizona history. Rating: 3.

1977: Russell Brown, Robbie Dosty, Steve Lake and John Smith. Three years later (1979-80): The UA finishes 12-15. Brown remains the school’s career leader in assists with 810 (no other player has more than 700). Dosty becomes a fourth-round draft pick. Rating: 5.

1978: John Belobraydic, Ray Donnelly, Greg Hawthorne, John Hutcherson, Donald Mellon, Charles Miller and Michael Zeno. Three years later (1980-81): The UA finishes 13-14. Hawthorne, Mellon and Zeno are highly-regarded recruits but nothing materializes from this group.Rating: 3.

1979: Ron Davis, David Mosebar, Frank Smith Jr. and Leon Wood. Three years later (1981-82): The UA finishes 9-18 in Snowden’s last season. Wood transfers to Cal State-Fullerton after his freshman year and is later drafted in the first round. After extremely impressive recruiting classes his first couple of seasons, Snowden never really sustains that level of success and the UA gradually declines. This class is good, however, with Davis, Smith and Wood. Rating: 7.

1980: Jeff Collins, Greg Cook and Ricky Walker. Three years later (1982-83): The UA finishes 4-24 in Ben Lindsey’s only season at Arizona. None of these recruits are around for that debacle. Rating: 1.

1981: Brock Brunkhorst, Mark Jung, Jack Magno and John Vlahogeorge. Three years later (1983-84): The UA finishes 11-17 in Olson’s first season. The only player from this class on Olson’s first team is Brunkhorst. Rating: 1.

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Lute Olson tallied a mark of 589-187 (.759) in his 24 years at Arizona

Thirty years ago on Friday, Lute Olson stood in front of a small group of reporters at McKale Center and mentioned the word “potential” when describing his new challenge at Arizona.

Practically all of the people in the room did not know anything about Olson and why or how he could bring out the potential in the downtrodden program.

The date was March 29, 1983, when former athletic director Cedric Dempsey officially hired Olson from Iowa and introduced him to Tucsonans. Seventeen days earlier, the Wildcats finished a 4-24 season under Ben Lindsey, who was fired after his lone season in Tucson. The UA’s 1-17 record in the Pac-10 that season stands as the worst in the program’s history.

During his nine-year tenure at Iowa he coached the Hawkeyes to a Final Four appearance in 1980, but he was not a household name, especially in Tucson.

“I feel the potential is here at Arizona,” said Olson, who knew that Fred Snowden took the Wildcats a game away from the Final Four in 1976.

“It won’t be a case of waving a wand and it suddenly happens. It will take time and it will be exciting. You build a program with good people. Good people in the long run will build a successful program. We will work as hard as we can to build a first-class program.”

With this being the 30-year anniversary of Olson’s hire at Arizona, I offer you …

The Top 30 Lute Olson Accomplishments at Arizona

1. National championship in 1997

2. Olson was selected for enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on June 5, 2002.

3. Coached first team to beat three No. 1 seeds en route to the NCAA title.

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