Top 5 Fan Favorite Players of the Sean Miller Era
By Brad Malone
Mark Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
4. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson reinvented the word ‘posterized’ at Arizona.
When Rondae committed to Arizona, he was considered the gem of the 2013-14 class. That was until Aaron Gordon committed late in the game.
Going into the 2013-14 season, people were talking less about Rondae and more about Gordon. You couldn’t blame them. Gordon was a future NBA player and he just dropped into the Cats lap.
Once the season started people started talking about Rondae again. His sky walking dunks and lock down defense made him a key component for Arizona’s success.
This past season was more of the same for Rondae. His role increased along with his NBA Draft Stock.
And there was the Shimmy. At first some of us thought it might be a gimmick, but as Rondae’s career at Arizona progressed, we accepted it because it seemed to work when Rondae went to the foul line.
Last season, the day the Cats were on the road at Utah, I was in Phoenix interviewing (shameless self promotion) a Wildcat great for a film my brother and I are making, about the classic 1988 Arizona Wildcats. After the interview some friends let me come over and watch the game with their family before my trip back to Tucson.
Their son Drew was cracking me up. Every time Rondae went to the line to shoot a free throw, Drew would mimic Rondae’s shimmy and pretend to shoot a free throw. Almost every time Drew did this, Rondae made the shot.
I later heard from a friend at work, that he knew of a kid who did the same thing while watching Arizona games. I imagine for many years to come, Tucson’s basketball courts will be full of kids that will be imitating Rondae Hollis Jefferson, like kids imitated Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr when I was younger.
Next: No. 3 : T.J.