- In another example of the family and networking that has connected the past and present of Arizona Wildcats basketball together, former UA player and coach Josh Pastner, hired former player Damon Stoudamire as an assistant coach on the Memphis Tigers' basketball staff. Said Pastner in a press release from the school:
"I have said many times about finding the right fit with our assistant positions, and Damon is one of those. Damon played and coached at the highest level of basketball in the world, and that experience will help our program immediately.
"Damon's basketball accolades speak for themselves. He will be a great mentor to the student-athletes in our program, and we're excited to have him join the Memphis Tigers family."
Mighty Mouse had previously served on the Memphis Grizzlies' coaching staff after a 13-year NBA career. Said Stoudamire in a press release:
"I'm looking forward to joining the Memphis Tigers basketball family. I've been looking to get back to the college game for awhile, and this was a chance I couldn't pass on. I am thankful for this opportunity, and I'm ready to get to work with Coach Pastner and his staff to help the Tigers reach their goal - which is every college program's goal - of winning a national championship."
The addition makes Stoudamire the third member of the Tiger coaching staff that has Arizona ties back to the Lute Olson era. Memphis assistant coach Jack Murphy worked his way into college hoops as a team manager at UA before Pastner brought him along to Memphis.
- If you hadn't figured it out, former Wildcats Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks and Mike Bibby of the Miami Heat will square off in a few hours, when Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals tips off. There's a couple weird things about this. First of all is the fact that like the 1997 National Championship team, Bibby will start while Terry comes off the bench. Only this time it is not much of an argument as to which of the two players happens to be a better NBA player. It's JET who has been in the Finals before (2006, an ugly series for the Mavs if you remember correctly). It's also Terry who not only has a mildly decent chance at hitting open jumpers but nailing them. On the other side of the coin, Bibby has creaky knees, a terrible playoff shooting percentage and third-string point guard Eddie House, a Sun Devil, is getting down with his sister. If I had to choose to be one or the other, I'd pick Terry, naturally.