All-time Arizona Basketball March Madness starting lineup

Shooting guard

A list of this magnitude would be entirely incomplete without at least one reference to the 1997 National Championship-winning squad that Arizona had. Even though Michael Dickerson was more productive over the full season and Bibby was the biggest name on the team, it was Simon who caught fire in the tournament and was one of many deciding factors in Arizona taking home the ultimate prize. Overall, his 132 points are the second most ever scored in an NCAA Tournament by an Arizona player (behind Reeves).

Simon earns the nod here because of his two key 30-point performances; one in the Elite Eight against Providence and the other in the National Championship win over Kentucky. Against Providence, he paired his scoring with six rebounds, four assists, and a block. Against Kentucky, he hauled in three rebounds and tallied an assist. Sandwiched between those two games was a 24-point performance in the Final Four against North Carolina that featured five rebounds, five assists, and a block.

In six games, Simon averaged 22 points per game, but he got better and found his footing as the tournament went on. His worst showing was in the Round of 64 against South Alabama, where he only notched 11 points but supplemented it with four assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Simon was always a scoring threat, and could even get hot from behind the arc; he shot 4-6 from the 3-point line in the Elite Eight. This scoring ability, combined with stunning endurance — he posted two 40-plus minute games — earns him the starting shooting guard spot on this list.