Top 5 Big Men in U of A Basketball History: #1

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Who is #1?

Well Mr. Schmidt, your list is very similar to mine when it comes to the top 5 big men in U of A history. I actually placed Bob Elliott on my list by default even though I had never seen him play, but without Elliott my list would have been similar to yours. I am pretty sure we all know who #1 will be, but here is my complete list:

#5. Jordan Hill

#4. Luke Walton

#3. Michael Wright

#2. Channing Frye

And the #1 Big man in U of A basketball history is none other than Derrick Williams. Derrick Williams is one of the only Wildcats that I have ever seen play that just looked bigger, stronger, and more athletic than anyone on the floor at any given time. Williams only played two seasons at Arizona but they were amazing seasons. In his Freshman year he averaged 15.7 PPG, was Pac-10 Freshman of the year, and a Sporting News First Team Freshmen All American. His sophomore season was easily one of the best in U of A history. He averaged 19.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG, was Pac-10 player of the year, and a 2011 First Team All American by Sports Illustrated. Most amazing was his run in the NCAA tournament where he led the Wildcats to an unexpected Elite 8 birth, knocking out Memphis and Texas in dramatic fashion and blowing out Duke in one of the most memorable games ever. Willimas did everything for his team as he also shot high two and three point percentages and came up with many important blocks (can anyone say Washington?) throughout the season.

All of these big men were extremely instrumental in leading “pointguardu” to deep NCAA runs. Coach Miller has a chance to add some names to this list in the upcoming seasons, but will anyone ever surpass what Derrick Williams did in the dessert?