This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jagan Zalaz Sound Fox Sports
fourteen fifteen powered by Nova Insurance Services and Sure Your Most Prized Possessions kat z
R two sad at iHeartRadio Station. Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome
to I on the Ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera.
He's Jagan zaus in most today is my guy Ryan. I have to
look at all you guys. Yeah, I was gonna say you you hesitated
there for a second. I have to say. I want to say Kevin,
but is Ryan Well, he's wearing that you were in that crap braves
hat. I mean, I almost did you. I almost didn't want to
let you in. Bring some stability into this room. No Dodgers talk right
now. Hey, Mookie butt, it's Mookie bets Bobblehead night tonight at Dodgers
Stadium. Mookie Butts, Mooky bets bets and don't bad mouth him. He's
kind of my wife's boyfriend. Show. Hey bets too, but we won't
go show. He had the bobblehead last week on the seventeenth number seventeen.
You missed that show. He bets. Yeah, I got it. Okay,
Hey, welcome to Tuesday. We pulled one out of our whatever you
want to call it today. I think we have a good show. You
kind of start. I think we can start going back in time talking about
something. We will tack twelve days Old Pac twelve days, biggest memories,
Yeah, favorite moments, maybe not favorite moments, yep. Uh. So
we have two those guys can help us, yep. Pete Williams uh sort
of as we've called him a number of times. He and Andy Smith were
kind of the cornerstone of the of the Loudolfsson years and you know, kind
of got things started here when it got here. Yeah, and just again,
still one of the I don't know, one of the toughest basketball players
ever at Arizona. Still is. Yeah, it still is. Even if
he's hobbled, he's he's in shape like all hell. He's like fifty something
and he looks fantastic, and I hate him. He's he always comes in
the summer. We see each other and have a good time. But he's
just a good dude, just one of those great Dudesay Smith, it's still
a huge wildcat. Oh he lives. Yeah, So Pete Williams had joined
us in the in the first hour, coming up in about ten minutes,
and then actually more than fifteen minutes. But and then Jim liven Goood he
was the AD here from ninety four to two thousand. So those were some
big years for Arizona. Will you get me ninety four two thousand and nine,
you're gonna give you thosezumbustions gone. It seems so much longer than that.
Ninety four, nineteen years, fifteen years, fieen years, went through
some great times, right, won a national championship in basketball, kept Lute
in the house, hired Sean Miller, uh, you know, mostly a
good hire for Arizona. Yeah, you know, there's a great football season
in there, a lot of the softball during that period of time. So
Live and Good saw a lot of great stuff here as the AD and it's
great coaches came through here. And we've talked to him about some of that
time. Will reminisce with him a lot too, and just the difficulty in
being a d Yeah. Then you remember he you know, he followed,
said Dempsey. You know, he followed kind of the legend, you know,
the guy who really you know, was the one who put Arizona on
the mat. You know, he's the guy. He's the guy who had
the who had the nad to uh get rid of Ben Lindsay after one year
and then go after Ludelson and then get him right you know. Uh,
So you know a lot of that stuff, you know, said Said Said
was also the one who both brought Larry Smith and Dick Tomy. No,
maybe not Larry Smith, definitely Dick Tomy. So you know, said did
a lot of great things and the stuff that he did here led to him
being the n cua A Right, So Jim Live and Good had some big
shoes to fill and he filled them pretty well. Yeah, Okay, with
that thought, I think Rocky would be great for some of the women's some
of the women. We'll get through this the summer, since we have the
whole summer. We've got the whole summer to break it down, right,
So that should be a lot of fun, a lot of ruminiscent and a
lot of the people who listened to us, I venture to guess have those
memories too, because that it's an older crowd and have We've had the daughter
who the cousin of some one of the AD's. We saw her at at
the tailgate a couple of years ago. She calls. She listens, Oh
sweet Johnson's daughter. Sweet Johnson is there's a building, the Alumni Association building
named after her. I could remember who yo, so she can call us.
He wants to please. So yeah, we'll go reveniste through the good
old days. Yeah, no, and still have news for the today's world.
There's a lot of memories, Steve, you know, yeah, I
mean they're just star and I you know, I still think about the day,
you know, in I think it was in nineteen seventy six when it
actually got announced that we heard that we were going to the Pac ten and
how excited we were. What was that year, seventy six and seven?
You got into seventy eight, right, they started in seventy eight. Okay,
so did you seventy six and eventy seven? Did they dominate? Dominate?
No, I'm talking about dominate the Whack. No, A s U
had the best football program in the Whack by a lot of Arizona was good.
Issue was the team. Yeah, I mean fred Stone's teams were good,
but they weren't dominant. Right they went to the well, that's what
I'm saying, but you know, they weren't. They were good, but
they did not dominate the league. A s U dominated the whacking football right.
They they created a bowl game for a SU because of how they were,
because how good they were, the festival was formed for a SU to
play in it, and they played in the first bunch of them Arizona.
But Arizona was the one that said, look, a lot of it was
done for academic reasons. The U of A wanted to be part of the
pack, the Pac ten because of largely because of the academics. I mean,
the the athletics was a big piece of it. I mean that's what
kind of captured all the all the things. But you know Arizona, I
mean when we when we thought about Arizona going into the pack, then we
thought, oh crap, we got to play USC in U c l A
in football, and oh crap, we got to play U c l A
and basketball. You know, but they came out of the box and and
pretty quickly made themselves pretty competitive. So you were also the step son or
step brother in the whack. Yeah. See, I grew up in I
grew up in New Mexico. Is watching New Mexico basketball, they were.
They were just also rather as well in basket. There were some great years
with Fred Snoden, Norm Allenberg or ned Walk all those coaches from that period
of time, and and and it was fun. But and nobody was really
dominant in basketball. New Mexico was good. S You was good. Uh,
Arizona was good, you know under Fret Snowden. Nobody dominated the league
as you did dominate in football. I mean, they had that undefeated season,
beat Nebraska in the festival. They finished you know, second in in
the in the rankings. And and that was the only reason a SU winning
the national championship out of the whack would have been like a group of five
team today winning the national championship. It wasn't gonna happen. Oklahoma lost the
game and they got they were number one that year. Uh, you know,
they won the national championship. But sports wise, it was I mean,
we thought it was gonna be cool, didn't We didn't know how long
it was gonna be for Arizona could be good enough to beat anybody in the
league. Well, it didn't take too long, it didn't. It didn't
basketball. That weekend we had with with with their guard guard here with who
you will see the Spaghetti game, the Spaghetti game U s l A with
UCLA. Yeah, that that that team had keeky vandaway David Greenberg Arizona,
Arizona's team with h Russell, Joseph Brown, Joe Nels, John you can
kind of get a sense that they could compete and maybe not all the time,
right, but well, yeah, well, as you said, Arizona
was coming off in seventy six having been you know, to the lead eight
against U c l A. Later on U c l A's court and got
eat Vegas the year before. No, they played Vegas that year they played
Vegas in the sweet seen to get to get to that. Yeah, why
do I remember all this teme Well, I remember for the books because there
was all the greatest games in the history of the program. Yeah, and
that was one obviously two of them. Yeah, because they played U Silly
pretty well, they played Hi pretty well, and then it got away from
a late late but you know, so you know that period of time,
it was cool because we were it was like we had grown up, right,
we'd grown up. We were big boys now and and uh and playing
you know, playing with the big boys you know, they played Notre Dame
in in in nineteen eighty and nineteen eighty we're playing some playing Notre Dame in
football. What the hell is that? Right? Arizona played him in eighty
and eighty two. You know, all of a sudden, us C is
coming to town. You know, the very first year, very first year
in the in the in the Pac ten, Arizona played at UCLA. We
went to that game and incidentally, I mean that game was the day after
that playing that was on campus. That was they played it on a Friday
because USC and UCLA were both at home that weekend. So Arizona played the
UCLA on Friday, then USC played there on Saturday. Then we go the
next year and we played see them play USC, and we see a Heisman
Trophy winner, Charles White was in the middle of winning the Heisman trophy,
right, and we thought, this is cool. Arizona got the ass kicked
that day. This is USC. But it was cool to go to the
La Coliseum and see games. Mister children, May I have another one,
may have another? And then the next year Arizona beats the UCLA, come
in here and defeated number two in the country and they beat him. And
then the following year after that, USC was number one and Arizona went to
the coliseum and beat USC as number one. So pretty early on Arizona got
competitive right right, and ben football in football football, and it was all
around, you know everything at that time over over going to the Pac Ten
was all about how zones Horizona was going to do them and eventually superseded Arizona
State. I don't know levels well then and then again in that first season,
the first time u c l A came to Tucson HM as part of
the pack Pac Ten, Arizona BEATAM. That was the el's team double the
double whammy on consecutive days or again the same weekend. Yeah, okay,
So we'll talk a lot about all that and more with Pete Williams and uh
mister liven Goood because iven Good was at Washington State for all those years before
a lot of those years and we'll talk to so many word that where the
hierarchy was. Again, I don't think Arizona and just me being an outsider,
have been here a while. It's always been in the middle, right,
It's a outside of basketball, it's always been in the middle. Four
five, six seven in that you know, you had your Oregon States in
Washington States, and then you cannot find yourself in the middle of a lot
of different things outside of being a swimming who was great, but with with
Bush softball, with Candrea Loot with basketball, Miller with basketball. Yeah,
I said, I still go back. I've got this a column that or
a story that John Wilner wrote back in twenty eighteen. Yeah, we talked
about how it all came together and it all almost fell apart. Uh eighteen
was I thought, I was, so we are together when it just came
out twenty twenty. Well, no, I've got that I've got in front
of me. Ran in the it ran in twenty eighteen. Maybe it was
the like the it was it was the forty forty year anniversary because it was
aids some some presidents, right, Yeah, we kind of had to Yeah,
there were I think it was I believe I have to go read it
again, but I believe it was the Stanford and Washington presidents who were going
to vote it down and USC like they called him break in the meeting.
I'll have to read it to make sure. And when I think happened with
the USC and U c l A president went to those two presidents and said,
if you don't vote, if you don't prove this, we're leaving the
conference. And then they did. They got they got strong armed in.
But I have to pizt go figure politics play the part. No, no,
So it will be fun. We'll do that periodically throughout the summer with
our guests and kind of remember when what are the big games, big moments.
And we'll do that today specifically and more as we move forward in this
summer, as we try to get guests who can remember stuff like this.
Yeah, okay, what else is going on? We got the NBA playoffs
tonight, My guy here's diligently looking for some breaking news. But which one?
Which one starts? Both? So tonight we got the know that they're
they're gonna they're only playing one to night. Both got the Pacers and the
Celtics. Okay, we will, We'll hold our breath for you. Yeah.
With with only two series going day, they alternate alternate day, so
there's one every night. Right, there was a game set. I have
no idea about hockey, but there's no there was a Gabe seven last night.
Last night was Boilers and connects. Okay, and what else in the
else call? Do we need to get now here? Oh? Well,
I don't know. Should we? Should we talk about Chip Hail? What
happened? We're saving that for break breaking news. He probably doesn't know what
you're talking about. Coach of the year. Oh so then they can did
get it? Your your prediction? H He didn't get an email. I
sat on Twitter. Somebody, our friend Bryan sent me the tweet on it.
I haven't seen an email from the conference. Yeah, there it is.
It came across at nine o'clock this morning, Steve, you had to
get out of bed. No, no, no, I don't. I
don't have to look through it, have to look for it. Yeah,
they send an email out this morning, Chip hal Coach of the year eight
eight with all conference. I don't know how many were first team. But
no, I don't have it. Yeah, it is what it is.
Yeah, maybe you fell off fell off? Okay, I'm good with that.
Did you get a list about yesterday's PSS conference with a swimming coach?
I didn't. I didn't see that either because he had a press commerce yesterday.
Really yeah, yeah, so it's fine, it's fine. I know
where we stand and then last I start talking nice about that, so I
can get somebody who can make up a Facebook Facebook profile and send me nasty
notes and then eliminate it. But then I don't have I don't have a
swimming I don't have a swimming They had a press commons yesterday. That's why
we're going to try to get them on the show this week. Yeah,
we'll say we can do that. Okay, Hey, let's go. We
got to go, all right, get ahold of Pete. Let's it throat
to Pete. Williams be joining us, and we'll go back in time to
his days in the mid eighties, in the PAC twelve or PAC ten when
Arizona was stilled kind of new to it. So stick around. The window
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Salles, they have their eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Stage chet Fox
Sports fourteen fifty Hey, welcome back to winning the Ball here Fox Sports fourteen
fifteen. I'm Steve, He's Jay. Now on the pune we have former
you a basketball player, Pete Williams from the early years, the cornerstone,
A cornerstone. Do you like what I'm want to call you? That peak?
I love it? Jay? How's going man? We're doing fine.
We always like talking to you, Pete. You know that it's always a
popular about you. Guys. Hey, just real quick, I'm thinking,
as I was thinking about talking to you today, I think you may be
one of the more affected players or or even former former players fans that's going
to be affected by the transition from the Pac twelve to the Big twelve,
in part because you go to a lot of the games in LA. Now
you can't. Well that's true. But now that I'm a I'm a Pact
eight fan, you know, like seventy to seventy three when I was nine
years old, you know, watching USC James eight delay. Uh, you
know, I love for USC. My disdain UCFA. It goes all the
way back to seventy two to seventy three. Well, yeah, you're perfect
for us because we're gonna reminisce. So so I mean, look, wait,
I know we're all sad that that it's ending, But what did you
like about Arizona being in in the league? You know, I mean,
you know, I was a since I was here, you know, I
followed them, you know, in the whack. To me, I was
telling I was saying that last year it's kind of like Arizona had grown up.
You know, you come their zone, they're already in the in the
packed in the Pac ten. But what was that like for you to see
the league expand and include, you know, these two teams from Arizona.
Well, well, for kids, it didn't really mean secable, not to
me because I didn't really follow U of a SU that much. I was,
you know, strictly H mean USC And you know, I thought it
was great, you know, for the league and U. Let me step
back for a moment, because you know, when it was the Pack eight
by the time I or eleven years old. I kid you not. I
can name every starter on aighteen CS. That's how much this meant to me
then, and so once the U of an A su joined, you know,
I started getting more you know, familiar with their programs, you know,
especially as because I mean they're they're eighty eighty one team. Oh my
god. Yeah, and so I had no visions of even ending, you
know, the U of A. But once Ho chosen, you know,
got the job. You know, Hey, the rest is history after that.
Yeah, yeah, I can't. I've written the story so many times.
Now, how did he find you? Okay? So, so when
he took the job, you know, because coach Osten has a background in
southern California to coach COACHMB City, you know, obviously he was familiar with
a lot of the coaches in the in the area, and also he knew
the quality of California junior college basketball. But he did got he got in
touch with George H. First Persian. He's the head coach at Pasadena City.
He was a John Eger's coach at ECC. So I was a sophomore.
Time was a freshman at ECC. And what coach did was he asked
coach Ursian, who are the top soas that hadn't signed yet? And I
hadn't signed, So Persian told you about me. Next you know, I
get all and it's coach Osten. And it was kind of a sticky situation
because you know my juco coach him and George Sarkan at UNLV, they were
best buds and so you know, they weren't fans of coach Oh because the
whole long beat State situation. So that was kind of sticky. But uh
cave, uh coach will get recommendation for me. Coach O came out to
sea play and inviting me out the two on my trip. Rest is history?
Did you you must have been disappointed that us he did not go after
you. You know what, I thought, maybe you might ask me a
question like that and I'll put election to you like this. I love you,
but man, that's sports arena. Man. I couldn't see myself playing
in the sports arena, you know, if they had the Galen Center at
that time. Story. But as much as I love USC basketball, man,
I didn't want to play at the sports arena. Particularly my only high
school loss came in the semi finals when I was in high school at the
sports arena. I think, and I know we're know what you're talking about.
Okay, So so you come to Arizona and say you grew up watching
the Pack eight and now you're you're in the you're in the league, but
you're at Arizona. You're not at one of the California schools. What did
what did make you think about the California schools? Are? Were they suddenly?
Were they the enemy? Did you just want to beat the hell out
of them because you were in Arizona. Regardless of where I went, U
c l A was always was always going to be an enemy because of much
respect for the program in the sc guys can't like yeah, but here here's
the difference. So my sophomore year at my bag Ben Lindsay was the uf
A for that one year, the U of A played at U c l
A second to the last game of the Pact. They lost one hundred and
eleven to fifty. I watched it now, one eleven to fifty eight.
What's that? Forty two and fifty three? Huh year they lost stew points
and so U of A. I think at some point we got to play
UCLA again, you know. And so my my first game against U of
A, it was into this ucl was in Tucson and we lost by two
points, you know now granted leaders again. Yeah, I was a little
nervous because, you know, which is like two points. The thing that
sticks out to me about the game was televised Metro Sports. I'm not sure
who was the game, but the guy gave a very complimentary and about me
and eighty Smith. They went along the line someone like, uh, I
really liked the way in the Smith walk up and down the court. Uh.
They walk up and down the court like own it. Now, obviously
that was but I think what he saw is that we had a lot of
confidence in ourselves and we weren't back down to anybody at anything. So I
think that was an ultimate compliment. And remember I told you guys several times
Coach O didn't care about you know, moral degrees and this and that,
but at that point we did because we we lost like two were the last
time playing I was fifty four points man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's get to some of the greater moments that you you saw and you participated
in in the eighty three, eighty fourty five years. Uh, where were
you go back? What was your first game you would go back in and
say, I'm really proud of that, and you're kind of breaking up a
little, Okay, I would say, beating ASU what a week after Steve
kurks dad was killed, because Arizona they had such a losing streak against ASU,
and I think we had to win it the game, like seventy three
forty eight emotional game, you know, because we had just met Steve kurz
Dad on campus, you know, a few weeks prior, so that that
was big beating as U. And then towards the end of the year we
saw my junior year, we played at UCLA. Now again in Tucson.
We lose by two, but now we go at UCLA and that was pretty
interesting because, you know, my uncle was there, my grandmother was there,
my brothers, my mom's friends, and they were sitting right behind our
bench. And I'm just hoping we played well and don't don't get blown out
by fifty seven points like it did the year before. But you know,
we played up pretty tough. You know, we lost by eight and it
went down to the last two minutes. I scored twenty five points that game.
And what was really cool was after the game, after our post came
talking the locker room Coacho allowed us to go back on the court to speak
the family and friends and I'm going huddled up with all my family and friends
and coach Ricky bird song ripped and peace our assistant coach love Ricky bursts on
the death. He came over that big old smile of his and he said
three words over and over again, you can't send my family and friends eighty
bad bad. It was just the greatest thing ever, you know. Again,
not into moral victories or whatever, but hey, he showed that we
were on the rise and we want to come up, you know. Yeah.
And so you know, a big deal's been ade about the fact that,
you know, ASU had to come along with Arizona. They really didn't
want to want to go to the Pac ten because they were the big dogs
in football in the whack. But you know, you guys go in there
together. I know, look, it's just not for you. You hate
your rival and stuff like that. But was there also any kind of camaraderie
of the two you the two teams, the two programs kind of going into
this thing together where you were sort of the new kids on the block.
Did you guys talk about any of that at all? Or was that just
like, no, we don't even like him, weren't even to talk to
him. How was that relationship? Well that that it never occurred me the
way you just put that. It never really did. But I've kind of
been wish you washed you on this. I've gone back and forth. I'm
a I'm a Pack Can Pac twelve guy, and I always said, as
long as U c l A and A s U are playing somebody out of
conference, then I would find myself scheering for them out of Pack can Pack
two of solidarity. But you know there's some comments over the years from certain
players from a s U. I was like, man, bunt that Pack
twelve solidarity. I hope they lose every game, you know, But uh,
I never you know, I didn't do that with U. C l
A. But I still kind of had that, you know, towards A
s U. But hey, listen, I'm over it now. You know
there's bigger price, so I don't even worry about it anymore. Yeah,
uh, anything else before you before you graduated, and I always kind of
referred to the Washington Triple. I won't do it today. I like you
too much. What they see, you know, it's just I mean We've
been through this before about the break up of the conference. You know,
I said my ps hor, I feel I just wish if they were doing
all this because of the football money, I just wish all the football teams
would have formed their own little affiliation and all the other sports alone or whatever.
So you know, I'm going to miss that, particularly the Southern California
trip. You know. Now I got to figure out which trips in the
Big Twelve I might want attend. TCU would definitely get one, you know,
because that was my first recruiting trip. Going to TCU interesting, But
I'll find others to go to. But like so many people, athletes of
all the different sports, you know, we're all disappointed. I mean,
a great challenge I had no doubt, but just disappointed at the regional competitions
that are lost. Now. Yeah, well but you know, you go
to the Big Twelve, and now I think the basketball does become way more
interesting with you know, with the quality of the league in basketball. I
don't know so much about football, but you know, you know, with
Kansas and and all those teams, I mean, that's got to at least
generate some interest for you, Jay, basketball is going to be crazy crazy,
crazy, good, crazy, interesting, crazy competitive. I mean,
no more road games where you may have like six or seven thousand. You
know you're gonna be looking at twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen thousand,
you know, every game. But one thing I will say that I do
like I would like to add something that's significant to me, is that,
you know, my senior year we started that street. See my senior year
of leading the PAC twelve and attendance, well packed can pack twelve and attendance
And it's been thirty nine straight years and my senior year we started the streaking
man. That's the unbeliefab accomplishment right there. Halfs off to the people in
Tucson. And since you've been gone, you're still seeing a lot of the
teams out in LA. Any favorite moments maybe obviously the national title game.
I'm sure there's been a lot of heartbreak, but some of the great moments,
there's been some heartbreak and there in these regionals. I've been at a
center in Anaheim twice to be disappointed. I was at the recent game in
Clemson, you know, just recently here in LA and just disappointed. But
you know, there have been some good memories going to USC and when my
son was like one or two years old and he's walking up to Mike Dibbie
and you know, touching a little basketball on Mike Bibby's leg. You know,
having Bobby Olsen, you know, pick him up and give him the
kiss on the cheek when he was like one or two years old. Those
are some of the most significant moments to me right there, right right before
we let you go. How is being a grandfather? Steve Davis? I
love and knowing that now you know, my daughter fiance, he's already committed
to a contract with the hospital in Las Vegas, so his contract in Pennsylvania
is up in August September, so they'll be moving back off to Vegas for
good. And it's just it's a beautiful thing. I absolutely love to death.
And she is just an amazing, amazing little girl, beautiful temperament,
Love the grandpa. I love her daily. It's just awesome. Man.
They can do anything, can't they. I've got my first as well,
and I mean, you know they they're allowed to do anything whatever they want.
I got it. I got it. No, super that's good.
I love your posts on Facebook and all that. So thanks for coming on
as usual. Appreciate it. Pete. Okay, real quick, did you
guys please get my guards. Regards to mister love and Good. I know
he's supposed to be coming on later today. Is that correct? Yes?
I love the guy. He is awesome. He treated my family awesome.
When my daughter went to UNO be on the freshman orientation, Eve Walkin just
greatly took us on a tour of the Thomas and Mac. Let us go
in his office and hang out. Mister love and Good is the best man.
We'll let him know. We will definitely pass that on. Great.
Thank you, Pete, you will see you soon. Pete Williams, Pete
Williams one of the great guys, great dudes. Of all the great dudes
I've met in this program, he is in the top ten and you never
know, you know, to talk to just how friendly and that when he's
on the basketball court. Medicine you medicine. Yeah. I've told the story
a million times about the eighty six eighty seventeen that you know Steve Kurt said
that they needed a guy like Williams on that team because they kept losing games
late because they just weren't tough. The me and he wouldn't let you,
he said, he said, Pete Williams would not have let us lose those
games. Next total sense. That guy he just said he would put a
would put a grimace on his face on the off on the basketball court,
and it didn't come off until he walked off. There are a few guys
like that. We used to have a little time. A few guys like
that. We can maybe go through that. Maybe let's talk about it more
on the other side. Guys that we've seen through the years like that,
Mike Bibby does that to me, Miles to a certain degree. Just guys
that have that it, that toughness, that's something. Yeah, yeah,
yeah, Okay, let's go and well, well, very pack. If
you're an Arizona Man's basketball fan, you know it's been successful for nearly forty
years. Now take a look back at the Loudolsen era. In my new
book, Lessons from Loot, it was a labor of love through the eyes
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Twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's beloved coach. Lessons
from lut is an insight to how he built the program in to a national
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eight or Picture Rockschooling dot com Rosing and Plumbing. Steve Rivera and Jag and
Salez they have their eye on the ball on Tucson Sports Stage Chef Fox Sports
fourteen fifty streaming live. I mean iHeartRadio. Wap Hey, welcome back to
my I the ball Here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera,
He's Jakin's Aws. Gotta guy Ryan in for the next fifteen minutes of the
first hour before he goes to breaking news. So I was talking to you
about just dudes that we've covered through the years that have that thing. Steve
Kurt was one of the definitely one of them. I think Pete was too.
Guys that kind of will you to play better, play harder, or
else or else. Right, Miles had that. Bibby had that in a
different way because when they were on the court, you knew you had to
play your butt off. And I don't know if he had this, but
he was a scary dude. Ryan Williams, right, Brian Williams, Yeah,
he was just a scary guy. He saw him on the court,
I'm like, I wouldn't want to I wouldn't want to have to get in
his way or defend the guy. Yeah, but I don't know that he
was a guy he pulled the team. He was. He was the guy
exactly what you think that day he lost Alabama. Either he was on or
he was off, and mostly he was off. But who was that guy
on? That was jud Bush and Jude Bush right right, right, right,
Yeah, you could depend on Judd, not so much Brian because you
didn't know what Brian didn't exactly. He was just scary. He would dunk
and I'd go, I'm glad I wasn't like near him. Well, we
talked about him guy yesterday. T J Mcconwell, yeah, it made everybody
better, willed them to win in his own way, in his own in
his own way, right, Not a guy who was intimidating. He didn't
take crap on the court. You had you had a guy here when I
was gone two weeks ago. I think Kelvin. Yeah, Calvin. He
was a bad He was a badass, more so on football than basketball.
Yeah, you just didn't football. I mean we were there late eighties,
uh, Jay, And I'd have to go back and see. I don't
know if the Jeff Hammerschmidz, but those dudes, I have to go kind
of go back to the memory banks of those times. But I'm sure Chrystal
McCallister was one of those guys. Yeah, well, I think Glenn Parker.
Parker with a guy like that, I'm trying to think who the linebackers
were on those teams. Donny Salem, Donnie Salem. Oh yeah, I
don't think this guy was that much. But he was just so darned good.
Was was therea Lewis so dark? But he was very quiet. He
was quiet. But again, a guy that was so damn good, you
thought, if I'm not pretty good, Yeah, I'm disappointing him, right
because because you know, you know, he was giving it everything he had,
you know, to be who he was. You know, Teddy Bruski
to football and talk about some of those guys, you know, Bruceki and
go go back to Ricky, Ricky and Lamont Huntley give you and I think
we know more about this Rob Walder just but also in a quiet way,
right, in a really quiet way. Tough dude. And if you if
he played tough, everybody around him. Okay from that from that time,
baddest dude of that of that whole Desert Swarm team, Brandon Sanders. Yeah,
he killed some guys, right he I think of some of the hits
that I you know, from the from the highlight takes that you think he
would have been so pended like every game that he played in because he killed
guys. He was came from Helix. Yeah, he killed guys there.
You know there was that in that in that nine, uh, the ten
and two seasons, the Festival season. You know, in the Illinois game,
he kills the guy and he causes the fumble, They pick it up,
run it in for a touchdown, one of two one of two touchdowns
that fumble recoveries that went for touchdowns and then there was there's another great hit
where he kills the guy in the A s U game, And I mean
just hits that. You go, you can't do that any you can't do
that anymore. That's it. That's like a crying I'll give you another guy.
Maybe I don't know Antonio Pearson, Yes, yeah, during during a
tough time when they the some of the you know he played with Macovic and
some of those and those teams lacked a lot. But some of those guys
who were left over from you know, from uh from from Dick Tomey's time,
we're badasses. You know, next time we have Jake, we'll talk
about some of it was because they had some of those dudes later in the
days. The guy's like a guy like Marquise Flowers right went on to play,
you know, playing in the NFL. He was a bad ass at
safety. Tremaine Bonder remember him. I mean we had him on the show,
Ye Show. He was at the right place at the right time all
the time, right right all the time. Just again, we're just guys.
We're out there kicking somebody's butt every chance they got that football. Yeah,
I mean you had stay were sprinkled. Yeah, you didn't have a
fucked complete team. He had sprinkled guys all over the wall. Another guy
from the from those from the Desert Swarm, uh time, who was who
was a badass but kind of quietly under the radar from because of all the
other guys. But a guy who I remember uh saying. I was at
Bob Dobbs one time and Pat Hill remembered the assistant coach was there and he
was telling stories and he said the scariest dude of all from that group,
from that group of uh when he was the defensive coordinator, that the scariest
guy of all in that group was Chuckle. That he's never would have gifts,
that he was partly because he was fearless, and he said he was
nuts. He said he was crazy. He didn't he didn't care about his
body. He he wanted to kill you. Yeah, and and you know,
he was a guy who was just part of the whole thing, right,
part of that whole aggressive defense that they had. And that thing was
during the after the ninety two season, he said, Chuck Osborne is just
underrated in terms of what a badass he was. Yeah, there's been a
lot of them, a lot of them through the years that we've covered to
what we've seen. Yeah, but all those defenses, Steve, all those
all those defenses from that period of time, they had all those guys.
That's why those that's why those defenses were so damn right, because all those
guys were you know, Jim Hoffman and and uh, you know, God,
there's a defensive end I'm thinking of and I can't it's not coming to
me, which it was in the ninety three season, because I have I
have a vision of of a sack of the cal quarterback where he just I
mean he just came free from the defensive end and just landed on him and
like nearly killed him. The lot that game cast him the Rose Bull.
Give you another basketball guy who was not just talented, but it was That
guy was Geenie Edgerson. Yeah, Yes, a guy that you did not
want to get in his way on the basketball court, you know. And
then there were times and there were times when he got a little over over
the top where he got game. You know, I'll give you that time,
b yu will he nailed the dude in the back of the head and
had to apologize to a letter, was suspended from it yeah, so yeah,
but yeah, Jean Jeane was on one of those I'd love to have
seen Gene as a tight end in football, right, one of those guys
like a fendianobun who is just you know, a big, bruising kind of
dude. Put him in a football uniform and see what happens. There's a
lot of throughout the whole year. So yeah, okay, no, that
was cool. So we'll reminisce some more. Make sure we remind Jim about
Pete's note to Ye and anything else we have breaking news. I guess we'll
wait for for for Ryan here with Pima. Oh it still we don't know.
Yeah there, yeah they're still going okay, and anything else anybody want
to call. We have eight minutes five two zero, four one six seventy
four forty If you have any big time moments that you remember from anytime in
the Pack eight Pack ten, Packed twelve, you know, I wish I'd
been here for I wish I'd been here for the ton of Cliff. That
was a tough dude, right because he was undersized, but he was just
he was just you know, not afraid of anything, right, right,
right, And and and his toughness. Was was a big deal for the
you know, I mean he got here I think for the I think in
eighty yeah, yeah, eighty to eighty three. And I had a lot
to do with with Arizona taking that taking that stab. And he was he
said, he was very fortunate because that's when the the offense switched, Yeah,
because Larry moved it to more of offen because he wasn't the guy.
Yeah, and then he came in and he was the guy because of that
oflphanse Right, there's another. Here's another one of those memories that I have.
And again, my kids if they heard me say this, that shake
their heads because I can't remember, you know, I forgot him at the
school or whatever, but I remember they were I think they were playing USC
football in football nineteen eight. It was the first year. It was Larry
Smith's first year and they were just struggling at quarterback and he was he was
the true freshman company. And they bring him in and maybe it wasn't the
USC game, but whatever game it was, but they bring him into the
game for the first time, the first time he's played a quarterback. It's
his first play and they throw a bomb okay, and it was such a
great throw. It was an incomplete pass, and I remember the crowd like
went bananas here. Yeah, his first throw was an incomplete pass. But
people were so happy to see a guy who could throw the ball like that,
and they really, I mean they cheered at the throw even though he
didn't complete it. And just one that Larry Smith had had the nad to
let his guy, his true freshman, on his first play go yard and
then second he threw it a mile and then the crowd just went nuts and
and and uh, you know, there were some great games that here the
USC a forty eight to forty one game or something like that against USC that
both teams are just going back and forth. I mean that was they wanted
on a Ronnie Lott interception return for a touch Well, that wasn't the winning
score, but they threw a bomb on like the last play the first half.
Ronnie lot picked it off, ran it in for a touchdown, and
and there's only lost by a touchdown. Let me give you another one of
those dudes. So we haven't mentioned yet, Jay Dobbins. Richard Dice,
Yeah, Richard Richard disuspecting unassuming right, Yeah, again Richard Diyceon wasn't fast,
wasn't tall, but he'd go up there. He'd go up and get
the ball. And he played that ASU games seen your year on a torn
up knee and had a great game. I remember there was a one play
where he made a catch and he looks up at the su fans and he's
pointing at his knee like saying, I got a crap knee and I'm still
kicking your ass. You know, he was that guy. Yeah. No,
there's been a bunch of them. Another you kind of look back football.
I'll give you another one. Kevin Perr Oh yeah, yeah, don't
bring that stuff in here, right right, right right. He marginal player,
but it was one of those unfortunate guys from New York. Yeah,
yeah, yeah. And there's been a few obviously throughout the years. Let's
you know, let's talk about Damon Stottemire. Welly have too. There's one
problem with Damon. I love Damon. He knows that I love Damon.
Uh. He hated to lose. He willed this team as much but his
in fact, in fact, when I wrote one of the books, I
said, what's your what's your legers legacy? And he says, I don't
know. My team's lost in the first round twice, you know, yeah,
maybe even three times. Uh, but he got him to the final
four with Kalid uh in ninety six they went to the Sweet sixty ninety five
four, but ninety five they lost in Miami. Will High right, three
times he lost in the first round when he was there. Chris Mills another
guy. Yeah, yeah, but Damon, Damon is one of my favorite
guys. In fact, I'll go to my death saying this second best player
here that I covered, and probably the second best player in my time in
thirty some years. And people, I think people would there would be a
lot of people would call it a tie between Bibby and and and Gamon for
best point guard ever. Yeah yeah, yeah right, well Sean Sean being
the best player. Yeah, and then David to me number two, the
things he did, Jason Terry up there obviously, yeah, and probably none
of them. Shawn's team is because Shawn's guys because they didn't stay long enough.
You know, when year's not gonna do it right, right, No,
I get and even Bibby, I mean it seems like if people say
greatest, he's only here two years, two years. But but but he
but deliver the national championship. Then they did that thing at the Pond.
Yeah, I don't know which I you know, I know in two thousand
and one they lost, you know, they that game they lost for the
National Championship. But I kind of feel like the ninety eight loss in the
in the Elite eight hurt more, no no question, no question, one
of the biggest disappointments out of Chicago, after Chicago, after Rosemond, because
they how they got beat, who they got beat by, uh they were
and where they got beat and where they got beat. They were ready to
be that the defending the back to back national champions since since Duke, and
they just laid an egg. And there's reasons why. But but they just
didn't play well that day. It actually played horribly that day. You know,
you think, Okay, if Bibby has a bad day, Simon show
up. If Simon and Bbby don't show up, Michael Dickerson will show Jason,
none of U. It was bad. It was stunning. I remember
how stunny they I mean, they were down big at halftime and I thought,
yeah, they're going to lose. And I kind of felt like they
got no shot and then they got blown out. Yeah, and I'm not
to say that Utel wasn't it wasn't a bad team, because it was a
good team. But this was Arizona's at that time, the best team ever.
Yeah, because they had won it and then they were the same team
back and they were going to win it again, right, And so they
they fell on my list about four because I still say the two thousand and
one team, You'll say the eighty eight team, right, and then the
ninety seven in two thousand and three, ninety seven is barely in the top
ten teams in terms of how good they were. Right now, if you
were to play them against each other, I think ninety seven barely gets into
the top ten. But they won the national championship, so you have to
put them up there. I tells you how, you have to be good,
you have to be lucky, you have to be a lot of things.
You just got to get on a roll, right, and they and
they did and they did. But you know, as we you know,
as we head out of the out of the pack ten or the pack twelve,
you know, you gotta think Arizona really kind of is the one that
really made the Packed ten slash twelve kind of in basketball. I know,
there was UCLA and all the things that they did in the sixties and seventies
relevant, but the Arizonas what kept the pack yeah, Pack twelve relevant sure
during during that time, without question, without Arizona the league would have been
sure completely crap, even with UCLA's back to back Final four pairents a few
years back. No, Arizona was the was the cornerstone, right They were
the reason that people thought when they thought highly of it, and they still
think that. I mean, it's one of the reasons why you still think
they were blue blood because you remember those times, right, you know,
and the kids growing up, I don't really remember those times because it's been
forevering, but people our age remember, yeah, they do, they do,
and we remember what, you know, how far Arizona had to come
to get there. You know, you remember the four and twenty four season
and how just just at the snap of a finger, Arizona was relevant in
in basketball, not just at the you know, in the conference level,
but on a national level, you know, and all that happened in a
very short period of time, right right, right, Okay, we got
to go all right, let's take a break where you're at the top of
the hour. Ryan's gonna be back here with breaking news. He's been digging
in, so we'll see what he's got. Stick around