TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This Thursday marks the 25th anniversary of Arizona winning the national championship in basketball.
We look back at that improbable run in March of 1997, with two men who literally had front row seats.
“We were not prepared for this at all,” recalled Dave Silver, longtime sports director at KGUN 9.
Silver covered Arizona’s run to a national title in 1997. A run few expected.
Arizona Athletics
“They had a lot of young guys on that team,” said Silver. “A lot of freshman, a lot of people we just weren’t sure about. o, as that season unfolded it was like wow this is a pretty good team. They still didn’t finish great. Remember they lost two Pac-10 games, but then they go hot. It was just an unbelievable run to the end.”
“Every Lute team had a chance,” said Ryan Hansen, a member of Lute Olson’s staff for many years. In 1997, he was the video coordinator.
“That particular team was struggling down the stretch and didn’t play it’s best basketball,” Hansen remembered. “You felt like this group, if they could ever get it put together, was going to do something special.”
The Wildcats were only a 4 seed, in what was then known as the Southeast Regional.
Arizona disposed of South Alabama and College of Charleston, before facing top seeded Kansas. It was a Jayhawks team loaded with talent.
“That Kansas team had Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, all these guys that played in the NBA,” said Silver. “Roy Williams was their coach. He was in tears when that game ended, and Arizona’s walking away with a win.”
That is when many stood up and took notice of an Arizona team now on a roll.
The Cats beat Providence in the regional final, and their confidence was sky high.
“We believe that Mike Bibby’s going to hit a big three when he gets the ball,” Arizona Guard Miles Simon told the media. “Michael Dickerson’s going to take it to the hole and get an ‘and one’ when he gets the ball. It’s just the confidence that we have.”
“We’re finally coming together,” said Arizona Forward Bennett Davison. The guards are getting confidence in us and we’re building confidence in the guards.”
At the Final Four in Indianapolis, Arizona took down another one seed in the national semifinal game. The wildcats beat North Carolina by eight points.
“The underdog role that’s great,” Simon told the national media. “No one, no one gives us a chance to win or come close in these games. We’re just coming out and believing in ourselves and playing good Arizona basketball.”
Up next, the national championship game against yet another number one seed, Kentucky.
It was a very long day waiting for the late Monday night tip-off. Dave …….
Source: https://www.kgun9.com/absolutely-az/remembering-arizonas-1997-national-championship-run