Celebrating former Arizona Wildcat Damon Stoudamire on his birthday

There have been many great players to put on the Arizona Wildcat jersey and No. 20, Damon Stoudamire, was one of those. Time to honor the birthday boy.

Happy 45th birthday Damon Stoudamire! In honor of his birthday, time to to revisit the basketball career of one the great players and points guards at Arizona. There have been many to have played the point position, Steve Kerr, Khalid Reeves, Gilbert Arenas, Salim Stoudamire and Mike Bibby just to name a few. At Arizona, Damon became a fan favorite for his ability to shoot the long range ball and his ability to be a solid floor general.

Nicknamed “Mighty Mouse” for his size and mickey mouse tattoo, Stoudamire performed at a very high level in both college and NBA. He set several records while at Arizona, including the most made three-pointers with 272. He also became the only Wildcat to have back to back 40-point games. Stoudamire helped his team make a run to the Final Four in the 1993-94 season.

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Under hall of fame head coach Lute Olson, Stoudamire put up All-American numbers. He played in a total of 123 games, averaged 15.0 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 5.4 assists per game and shot 40.2% from three-point range. Not too shabby at all!

For his efforts, he was Pac 10 Player of the year his senior year and a finalist for College Basketball Player of the Year.

As if it was meant to be, Stoudamire found his way back to Arizona to be part of Coach Sean Miller’s coaching staff from 2013-2015, before leaving and eventually becoming the head coach of the Pacific Tigers men’s basketball team.

Relive all of his Wildcat highlights here:

After his time at Arizona, Stoudamire was drafted as the first player ever for the expansion team Toronto Raptors in the 1995 NBA Draft. His rookie season was one not to be forgotten. He was named Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team and was the NBA Rookie Challenge MVP. Stoudamire went on to have a remarkable career with the Raptors for three seasons before being traded to the Portland Trailblazers.

He played in Portland for 8 seasons, then played 3 seasons for the Memphis Grizzlies and finished his career with one season in San Antonio. Stoudamire for his career averaged 13.4 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 6.1 assists per game and shot 35.7% per game.

Even though his playing career may be over, that hasn’t stopped him from staying in shape at the gym.

At Zona Zealots, we would like to wish Damon Stoudamire a very happy birthday! From college to the pros and now as a coach, you continue to make Wildcat fans proud. Bear Down, Arizona!