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Arizona basketball: 30 Greatest Wildcats of all time

By Shereen Rayan

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Former Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson waves to fans as he walks with wife Kelly Pugnea during the first half of the college football game against the Utah Utes at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Former Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Lute Olson waves to fans as he walks with wife Kelly Pugnea during the first half of the college football game against the Utah Utes at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport
Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport /

Arizona Basketball Greatest Player No. 7 – Miles Simon

Position: Shooting Guard

Years at Arizona: 1994-1998

College Stats: 14.6 pts, 3.8 reb, 3.6 Ast, 1.1 stl, 0.1 blk

College Awards: 

NCAA Assistant Coach (Arizona)
1997 NCAA Champ
1997 NCAA All-Tournament
1997 NCAA Tournament All-Region
1997 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
1998 Consensus All-America (1st Tm)
No. 34 retired by the University of Arizona

NBA Draft: 1998 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42nd overall Selected by the Orlando Magic
Years in the NBA: Six

NBA Position:

NBA Asst. Coach (Lakers)

CBA Awards:

2002 CBA champion
2002 CBA MVP
2002 CBA Playoff MVP
2002 CBA Newcomer of the Year
2002 All-CBA First Team

If you don’t know who Miles Simon is, then you had better check your Wildcats fan membership card to see if it is valid. Simon’s jersey has been retired by the University of Arizona.

While at Arizona, he and Mike Bibby became household names after defeating three No. 1 seeded teams (Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky in overtime) to win the 1997 NCAA Tournament Championship. Simon ended up winning the Most Outstanding Player in the Tournament.

After the Arizona Wildcats won their first and only NCAA Championship over a Rick Pitino coached Kentucky team. In the final seconds of the game announcer, Billy Packer exclaimed, “Simon says Championship!” Simon’s free throws, 17 points and play in overtime sealed the win for the Wildcats as the ball remained in his hands to end the game.

After playing a season for the Orlando Magic, Simon went on to the CBA in Canada and became the most honored player in the league in 2001–2002 including Player of the Week four times, playoff MVP and league MVP.

Simon recently was hired by Luke Walton as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Luke gave him the head coach position for the Vegas Summer League team. Simon’s Summer League team made it to the finals. He has been helping develop the talent on the Lakers, which is a challenge because the personnel keeps changing.

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