It’s hard to believe Sean Miller has already been here six years.
While we wait through another long summer and fall for basketball season to arrive, I thought another “Top 5 list” might make things a little more bearable until November. Today we look at the Top 5 Fan Favorites of the Sean Miller Era.
I know I might take a lot of heat for this list, because I left off some important guys all of us Wildcats fans love. Before you get the pitchforks and torches together please read the list and then let me know who you think I left off that deserves a spot at the table.
I can think of many more who probably deserve to be on this list.
Next: No. 5 : D-Will
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5. Derrick Williams
When Derrick Williams came to Arizona for the 2009-10 season, he was considered the lowest ranked prospect the Wildcats had in Sean Miller’s first recruiting class.
When the NBA came calling two years later he had just finished one of the most outstanding seasons an Arizona player had ever put together. He averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds a game and was named First Team All-American by Sports Illustrated his sophomore year in Tucson.
In 2011 Williams led the Wildcats on one of most fun tournament runs Tucson has ever seen. In the first game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Williams saved the day with a game saving block much like he did earlier in the season against Washington, at McKale for it’s annual White Out.
Next up was the Texas Longhorns. Williams gave the Cats a late lead after an out of control and-one play in which he fell down after making an impossible shot. Williams made the free throw and the Cats held on to win by one point.
In the Sweet Sixteen the Cats were matched up with the Duke Blue Devils. Williams dominated in what some consider one of the best wins in school history. He had 32 points and 13 rebounds in Arizona’s win.
Fans in McKale still go crazy when D-Will comes on the screen during the pre-game hype video.
Next: No. 4: Shimmy Shimmy Ya
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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.
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3. T.J. McConnell
T.J. McConnell loved playing at McKale Center. During his college career he only lost one game at the famous arena.
It was 2011. McConnell, at the time, played for Duquesne. The Cats beat T.J’s squad that night but something about Tucson rubbed off on the point guard with East Coast roots.
Luckily he transferred the next season and led the Cats to two straight Elite Eight appearances. The fans loved McConnell and he loved the fans. He would often brag about the Arizona Basketball fan base, and how they were the best fans in the country.
McConnell was one of those players you loved if he was on your team, but hated if he wasn’t. T.J.’s tenacity and confidence made him look cocky to opposing fans, but Arizona fans ate it up.
One of the saddest things I have ever seen in Arizona Basketball history was at this year’s Elite Eight, when a tearful T.J. came off the court for the last time and embraced Sean Miller. He apologized to Coach Miller for not taking him to the Final Four.
T.J. had nothing to apologize about. His leadership and play took the program back to heights it had not seen in many years. T.J. will go down as one of the best point guards to play at Arizona. I hope an NBA team gives him a shot, to show off his skills at the next level.
Next: No. 2 : Nick Johnson
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2. Nick Johnson
Arizona fans enjoyed seeing Nick Johnson in a Houston Rockets uniform this year, but we missed watching the high-flying dunks and defensive prowess he brought during the 2013-14 season, for the Wildcats.
He won Pac-12 player of the year in that year. In large part to having the conference player of the year, the Wildcats ended up locking up a no. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, after a stellar season and Pac-12 Championship.
Lots of memories come to mind when thinking of Johnson in an Arizona uniform. His countless displays of athleticism above the rim and game winning three-pointer at Stanford are two such moments, but my favorite Johnson memory came in the 2014 Sweet Sixteen game against San Diego State.
I was at the game in Anaheim and it was one of the most stressful and exhilarating feelings I have ever felt at a sporting event. The stress changed to exhilaration thanks to Nick Johnson.
In a nip and tuck contest, Johnson had been shutout offensively for the first 37 minutes of the game. Thanks to a T.J. McConnell steal that lead to a Johnson lay-up, the game went a different direction. In the final 3 minutes of the game, Johnson scored 15 of the last 16 points for the Wildcats.
He was 10-10 from the free throw line and hit a big time three-pointer that put Arizona in the driver’s seat. The Cats won the game 70-64.
I can’t wait to see Nick play in the NBA for many years to come.
Next: No.1 : No Easy Buckets
1. Kevin Parrom
Arizona Wildcats
Kevin Parrom, A.K.A No Easy Buckets. A story I never get sick of happened when Sean Miller took his first Arizona squad up to Tempe.
Ty Abbott thought he had a breakaway dunk. He thought wrong. Kevin Parrom was trailing behind him and gave Abbott a nice love pat. Abbott thought K.P.’s foul was a little excessive.
When Abbott angrily approached K.P., he didn’t back down. Instead he smiled like an 8-year old kid and started talking trash like Gary Payton. The Cats thrashed the devils 77-58 and the phrase ‘No Easy Buckets’ was born.
Like Steve Kerr a quarter of a century earlier, the Old Pueblo adopted K.P. after family and personal tragedy affected his life.
One of the most touching moments of the Sean Miller era came in Parrom’s first game back after his mother had passed away. Parrom was also recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound he had received when visiting his mother in New York.
When Coach Miller took K.P. out of the game, he gave him a long hug (2:28 on the video above) that had Arizona fans fighting back tears.
K.P. missed lots of time on the court because of many injuries, but when he was heathy opponents could be sure that K.P. was there to play defense.
I wish K.P. would have had the opportunity to come back for one more year at Arizona, but getting a medical red shirt with the N.C.A.A, with their cooky rules would have been difficult.
Thanks for the memories Derrick, Rondae, T.J., Nick and Kevin!
Bear Down!