An incredible seven former Arizona Wildcats players are participating in the NBA Finals. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr arrived at Arizona in the 1983-84 season, the same year that legendary coach Lute Olson began his 24-year tenure at the school. Also representing Arizona for the Warriors are forward Andre Iguodala and assistant coaches Luke Walton and Bruce Fraser (Kerr's backup point guard in college). On the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wildcats are represented by forwards Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson, plus assistant coach Bret Brielmaier.
Before Thursday night's Game 1 win by the Warriors, Arizona posted an NBA Finals hype video on YouTube and Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star weighed in on his column. "It's the most Wildcats in an NBA Finals by far, with the previous high being when the 1997 Chicago Bulls featured former UA players Jud Buechler, Bison Dele and Kerr," writes Pascoe. "It's also the first Finals since 2011 that featured former Wildcats facing each other on the court, as Jason Terry (Dallas) and Mike Bibby (Miami) did that year."
In Game 1, all three Wildcats players saw the court and scored but nobody made their presence felt more than Iguodala. The Warriors forward stuffed the box score with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block. Jefferson added three points and two rebounds while Frye recorded two points and one rebound in the Cavaliers' loss.
When asked who Arizona fans should root for in the series, Lute Olson offered a simple solution in an interview on Fox 11 in Tucson: "Cheer for the Wildcats."