Arizona Basketball is hoping to make a splash on the national scene at the 2015 NBA Draft in Brooklyn, New York.
Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley and T.J. McConnell are all looking to find an NBA home.
Over the years a select number of Wildcats have been picked in the Top 10 of the NBA Draft. This year we could see it happen again.
Many NBA Draft “experts” have Johnson joining the Top 10 club at Arizona.
The Top 10 might be hard for fan favorite Hollis-Jefferson to crack, but according to an article on fivethirtyeight.com, his overall draft value is being severely underrated.
Hollis-Jefferson is still expected to be picked in the first round as experts now have him going between 20-25. Three months ago, he was projected to go 24-30.
Let’s take a look at what Arizona Wildcats have been picked in the NBA Draft Top 10 over the years.
Next: Leon Wood
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Leon Wood
10th pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984
Wood was only at Arizona for the 1979-80 season. He finished his college career at Cal State Fullerton. He played for six different NBA teams during his six-year playing career.
The summer he was drafted by the 76ers, he won a Gold Medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as a member of the USA Basketball National Team. Chris Mullin, Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing were teammates of the former Wildcat, on that classic team.
Wood just finished his 20th season as an NBA referee.
Next: Brian Williams
Brian Williams was undefeated at McKale Center during his two-year Arizona career. Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Brian Williams
10th Pick by the Orlando Magic in 1991
Brian Williams, A.K.A. Bison Dele was one of the most ferocious big men Arizona has ever had. He transferred from Maryland and played for Arizona during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons.
His 18 points helped Arizona defeat rival UCLA 82-77 at McKale in 1991. It was the 56th straight home win for the Wildcats. Williams ended the game with an exclamation point dunk.
He never lost a game at McKale Center and was named to the All Pac-10 First Team in 1991.
Williams played eight years in the NBA. Wildcats fans are probably most fond of the time Williams spent in Chicago. In 1997 he helped former Wildcats Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler win an NBA title with the Bulls.
Next: Jason Terry
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Jason Terry
10th pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 1999
Jason Terry is my all-time favorite Wildcat not named Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott.
J.T. was the sixth-man on Arizona’s 1997 National Title team. After waiting his turn for three years, the Jet started regularly for the first time during the 1998-99 season.
His patience paid big dividends. During his senior year he averaged 22 points and 6 assists a game. That was good enough to land him on the cover of Sports Illustrated and win him National Player of the Year in 1999.
J.T. is a 15-year NBA veteran. He was a key contributor to the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks. The Jet currently plays for the Houston Rockets who lost in the recent NBA Western Finals to the Champion Golden State Warriors.
Terry’s No. 31 hangs from the McKale rafters.
Next: Larry Demic
Larry Demic
9th pick by the New York Knickerbockers in 1979
Demic was a 6’9 big man who played at Arizona from 1975-79. He was a member of the 1975-76 Arizona team. That Wildcats squad was the first in school history to advance to the Elite Eight.
In 1979 Demic was named to the All Pac-10 First Team.
From 1979-82, he played in the NBA for the Knicks.
If you want to learn more about Larry Demic, check out this great article by Zach Rosenblatt.
Next: Andre Iguodala
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Andre Iguodala
9th pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004
Andre Iguodala came to play for Lute Olson in 2002. His two years in Tucson were full of high-flying dunks and triple-doubles. Like most Arizona Top 10 picks, his time in the Old Pueblo was short but Arizona fans still like to claim him as one of their own.
Iguodala has played in the NBA for 11 years and if you don’t know what he’s been up to lately then you might live under a rock.
Next: Jordan Hill
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Jordan Hill
8th pick by the New York Knicks in 2009
Urban legend says that when Lute Olson discovered Jordan Hill, it was by accident. The legend says Lute went to originally watch a physical specimen of a player named DeAndre Jordan. That’s when Hill caught Olson’s eye. During a game, Hill threw down a monster jam on DeAndre. Hill didn’t do much else the rest of the afternoon but Lute didn’t care, he was taken by that phenomenal jam and the rest is history.
Hill played three years at Arizona and was First Team All Pac-10 in 2009. That year the Wildcats made a run to the Sweet 16 when they surprised many by squeezing into the NCAA Tournament as a 12 seed.
Hill is a six-year NBA veteran and currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, although rumors abound on the possibility of that not being the case next year.
Next: Channing Frye
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Channing Frye
8th Pick by the New York Knicks in 2005
When I was in college I interned at the sports department of KVOA in Tucson. One day we got a tape of a scrawny kid playing basketball from Phoenix. When I heard he had committed to Arizona I thought it was a joke. I wondered why Lute recruited this kid.
The kid’s name was Channing Frye and I couldn’t have been more wrong about him. I guess that’s one reason Lute Olson is in the Hall of Fame and I’m not.
Channing was beloved in Tucson for good reason. Not only was he a super nice guy but he was a great basketball player.
Frye was an All Pac-10 First Team selection in 2004 and 2005 and his teams reached the Elite Eight twice in his four years in Tucson.
Frye has been in the NBA since 2005 and currently plays for the Orlando Magic.
Next: Damon Stoudamire
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Damon Stoudamire
7th pick by the Toronto Raptors in 1995
Damon Stoudamire was one of the all-time funnest Arizona players to watch. He had a killer instinct on the court.
If he was having an off night that did not stop him from continuing to chuck up shots. His philosophy was that he was a shooter and the shots would eventually start to fall. His philosophy made him one of the greatest Wildcats to ever play at Arizona.
At point guard he could shoot the three or drive the lane and throw it down on fearful opponents.
He was a three-time All Pac-10 First Team selection and the co-Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1995.
Mighty Mouse played 13 years in the Association and won NBA Rookie of the Year in 1995 while playing for the Toronto Raptors.
Next: Aaron Gordon
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Aaron Gordon
4th pick by the Orlando Magic in 2014
When Aaron Gordon announced he was coming to Arizona I was shocked. All I had heard for months is how the Cats got an athletic kid named Rondae Jefferson. That was good enough for me and then Gordon came out of nowhere. Gordon and Jefferson. Yes please.
Rondae decided to go by Hollis-Jefferson and Gordon’s defense and raw offensive ability made him an All Pac-12 First Team member and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Gordon’s dunks and defense helped the Cats reach the Elite Eight in 2014.
He just finished his first season in the NBA with Orlando.
Next: Sean Elliott
The Malone brothers pose with Arizona Legend, Sean Elliott. Photo by Sean P. Malone
Sean Elliott
3rd pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 1989
Sean Elliott grew up a Paul Bunyan stones throw away from McKale Center. Elliott was a great high school player, but Tucson was not known as a place where basketball players were produced. Thankfully Al Gore had not invented the internet yet, so Elliott grew up in Tucson with not much national fanfare.
Lute Olson had a lot to do with Elliott coming to Arizona and with both roaming the McKale court for four years together, lots of memories were made.
During Elliott’s career the Cats made the NCAA Tournament every year and won the Pac-10 three times.
Elliott also helped the Cats get to the first Final Four in school history in 1988.
During Elliott’s senior season he won the John R. Wooden Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding player.
Elliott played 12-years in the NBA and won a title with former college teammate Steve Kerr, with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.
Sean Elliott’s No. 32 hangs in the McKale rafters.
Next: Derrick Williams
Derrick Williams
2nd pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011
Tucson loves Derrick Williams because he helped put Arizona Basketball back on the map. D-Will’s sophomore season is hard to replicate. His 20 points and 8 rebounds a game that year guided Arizona to a missed shot away from a Final Four birth.
Cat fans were not to shook up about losing to UConn in a very close game in the Elite Eight, because two nights earlier, Williams had 32 points in the Cats convincing win over the defending National Champion Duke Blue Devils.
One interesting fact about Williams final year in Tucson is he shot 57 percent from three-point range. The only other Wildcat to do that just won his first NBA title as a head coach.
Williams is a four-year NBA veteran and currently plays for the Sacramento Kings.
Next: Mike Bibby
Mike Bibby
2nd pick by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1998
Arizona Wildcats
When Mike Bibby came to Arizona for the 1996-97 season, fans thought the Cats were a year away from making a run at the National Championship. Bibby helped the Cats get the National Championship out-of-the-way a year early during his freshman year.
During his time at Arizona, Bibby always made playing the point guard position look easy. When he was on the court he never looked flustered and always seemed to have ice water running through his veins when the game was on the line.
Bibby had a 14-year career in the NBA. He is most remembered for his years in Sacramento when he was the point guard for one of the best teams in the West. If the Lakers didn’t exist, Bibby might have a couple more rings to his credit.
His No. 10 is retired in the rafters of McKale Center.