Properly Honoring Damon Stoudamire

If there was a phrase synonymous with the domination of the Lute Olson era it was merely “Point Guard U.”

And the assembly line of lead guards produced during the Olson tenure was dizzying. The bookends of Steve Kerr and Jason Gardner served as an appetizer to the core names of Damon Stoudamire, Mike Bibby and Jason Terry.

But one player above all made Arizona a destination for point guards around the country. And that was the little point guard from Portland, Oregon with the Mighty Mouse tattoo on his right arm opposite the old English etched “Damon” on his left.

“I didn’t see all the older players here but outside of Sean Elliott, Damon was the best player that I’ve ever seen here,” said longtime Arizona  Associate Head Men’s Basketball coach, Jim Rosborough. “His speed, creativity and skill was just different from our other guys. If you saw it, you know.”

And that claim (becoming the second consensus first team AP all American in school history along with winning conference player of the year) is backed up by individual awards. But Stoudamire’s impact went well beyond the awards.

“Damon was the reason that we were able to transition to going faster and playing the uptempo style we became known for. And it worked pretty quickly,” Rosborough explained with a chuckle.

Indeed, the Wildcats advanced to the school’s second Final Four during the first full year of the up tempo transition.

Kelvin Eafon earned most of his notoriety as the touchdown leader and team captain of the 1998 Arizona 12-1 football team that finished ranked fifth nationally.
But the Dallas, Texas native arrived in Tucson in the mid 90’s as a highly sought after basketball recruit.

And when he was deciding whether to sign with the defending national champion Arkansas Razorbacks or the Arizona Wildcats, the choice was simple.

“I wanted to go to a place that let it’s guards go,” Eafon said. “Damon just had so much flair to his game. I wasn’t even a point guard but being there in practice watching him was like watching a streetball legend dominate organized hoops. He brought in a new era, for sure.”

Yet looking up at the McKale Center rafters one sees the jerseys of  Elliott, Kerr, Gardner, Simon and Terry.

Stoudamire’s jersey is nowhere to be found.

In the past, the incredibly specific criteria of needing to win an individual national honor was used as a reason to explain away obvious omissions.

That criteria is absurd and outdated.

For example, does anyone really think Jason Gardner’s Francis Pomeroy Award for the best player six feet and under is superior to being a consensus first team AP All American and conference player of the year?

“Don’t get me wrong, everyone up there were great players for us,” Rosborough said. “But Damon was clearly a better basketball player than some. And that is no knock to those guys.”

It’s long past due the Arizona Athletic Department elevate Stoudamire’s number 20 above Lute and Bobbi Olson court.