Tales From The Arizona Wildcats Hardwood

by Steve Rivera

The images are forever etched in the minds of Arizona basketball fans, from Miles Simon falling to the court clutching the basketball as Arizona won its first and only NCAA title in 1997, to Lute Olson’s hair being mussed in the process, to Jason Terry sleeping in his uniform for four consecutive games in the middle of all the madness. All are indelible in Wildcats history as Arizona calmly drove the winding and bumpy road to the Final Four and beyond. Before Simon, Terry, and Olson, however, there were the likes of Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Fred Enke, and Pop McKale—all pivotal figures in Arizona’s hoops history. There were also Fred Snowden, Mo and Stewart Udall, and a host of others who helped bring prominence to a school looking for respect in the Southwest first, and then in the rest of the nation. Arizona’s rise has made them one of television’s must-see teams and one of the country’s top winning programs over the past 25 years. In Tales from the Arizona Wildcats Hardwood, author Steve Rivera takes readers back to the time when James Pierce wanted to be more of a movie idol than a coach. They will learn about the troubled times of the 1950s and ’60s when racial tensions were high and how Arizona’s first black player, Hadie Redd, dealt with them. Rivera also details Arizona’s participation in the Border Conference, its switch to the Western Athletic Conference, and its current dominance of the Pacific-10 Conference. Fans will hear from Bob "Big Bird" Elliott, who helped Snowden achieve heights never before seen in the UA program as it fell one game short of the Final Four; from favorite son Steve Kerr, who suffered heartache and achieved hero status while at Arizona; and about the ups and downs of Miles Simon, the Most Valuable Player of UA’s NCAA championship, as he became a star while in an Arizona uniform. The troubles the program has faced are also detailed, like Ben Lindsey failing as coach in his one and only year; the academic troubles of Simon and Joseph Blair; and the unfortunate death of Bobbi Olson, Coach Lute Olson’s wife of 47 years. Tales from the Arizona Wildcats Hardwood is sure to be a must-have book for any true Arizona fan.

227 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

While this book is packed with information about UA basketball and it's programs history, it's formatting leaves so much to be desired. The book jumps around and is filled with useless information that has no real need to be in the book. Overall it has the feel of a lazy writer who took a bunch of news paper clipping and mismashed them together into a book. I was super disappointed as a huge fan I thought I was in for a treat, that was not the case.

[Abdu Solieman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Tales from the Arizona Wildcat Hardwood, author Steve Rivera takes readers on an amusing trip back to the beginning of Arizona Wildcat basketball. They will learn about the down years in the 50’s and 60’s, how racial tensions were high and how Arizona's first black player, Hadie Redd dealt with them. Readers will also experience the better years, like the journey to the championship UofA won in 1997 under coach Lute Olson.

The book is filled with entertaining stories. For example, UofA player Khalid Reeves who scored the most points in a season ever for UofA was notorious for being afraid of water. Othick said "He was standing in it and was still scared. He wasn't going to get in, but there were four or five good-looking girls in there so he decided to do it.” All the players were amused at the fact he couldn’t swim.

Any true UofA fan like me would enjoy this book. It's great to see the ups and downs of the program throughout the years and its establishment as a powerhouse in the NCAA. For example in the 50’s UofA had a 4 win season. in the 90’s they had an astonishing season with more than 25 wins. Many of the best UofA players are highlighted throughout the book as well as their memorable moments. Not many books can compare to this one, it has stories that almost nobody’s heard before. Although, the book can be compared to Tales from the Arizona Wildcats Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Wildcat Basketball Stories Ever Told (Tales from the Team). Both these books are written by Steve Rivera and are very similar. They both are about stories about the players but the Locker room edition is written from a players perspective.

Tales from the Arizona Wildcat Hardwood is a great read and I recommend it to any UofA sports fan. Steve Rivera tells many stories, funny and sad, that help you understand many of the players backgrounds. It’s a must read!