NCAA OKLAHOMA ST ARIZONA

Arizona’s Salim Stoudamire puts up the game-winning shot in the final seconds to beat Oklahoma State 79-78 in their Chicago Regional semifinal game of the NCAA tournament Thursday, March 24, 2005, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

Because he played only three seasons in the league, Salim Stoudamire's name might not be as well known in NBA circles as it is around Arizona.

But the Warriors' Andre Iguodala gave him a big shout-out in his new memoir, The Sixth Man.

"Salim Stoudamire is the greatest 3-point shooter ever in college history," Iguodala said. "It is a fact you can argue all you want."

In a passage posted to Twitter by Zoob, Iguodala spoke of how distracted he became in his first pickup game with Stoudamire at UA because Stoudamire didn't miss a single shot.

Iguodala then pointed out how Stoudamire hit 50.4 percent from 3 as a senior β€” making 120 of 238 shots β€” and also shot 91.0 percent from the line and 50.4 from 2-point range.

"His true shooting percentage β€” that's field goal, free throw and 3-pointers combined -- was 68.9," Iguodala wrote. "That's insane. By comparison, Steph Curry's true shooting percentage in his best college season was 64 percent. ... There has never been, and never may be, another shooter as purely good as Salim Stoudamire."

Stoudamire is UA's all-time leading 3-point shot maker (342) and is second to Iguodala's coach, of all people, in UA career 3-point percentage at 45.8 (however, Steve Kerr's 57.3% mark was based on 199 attempts, while Stoudamire put up 747 3s). Stoudamire (87.0) is also second to Dylan Rigdon (87.2) in career free-throw percentage.

In all, Iguodala's book traces his life from childhood in Illinois, as well as the conflict and racism he experienced along the way.

FWIW, longtime UA fans may recall Iguodala also began his UA career as a sixth man, coming off the bench as a freshman for a loaded 2002-03 team that featured a starting lineup of Jason Gardner, Luke Walton, Channing Frye, Ricky Anderson ... and Salim Stoudamire.


The Pac-12 coaches polled by Stadium voted Arizona the best basketball coaching job in the league, due to the program's history, facilities and support.

However, the lack of a fertile recruiting backyard was a negative. One anonymous Pac-12 assistant told Stadium of UA's drawbacks: β€œLocation. Tucson. It’s not a great city, and there just aren’t a lot of players in the immediate area. It’s tough to get to."


UCLA coach Mick Cronin is defensive about being called defensive-minded.


Yahoo's Pat Forde says the Pac-12 was among the losers over a decade of college sports realignment.


USA Today's Dan Wolken took a detailed look at the NCAA's new transfer waiver policies, which appear to be much stricter on granting immediate eligibility, including cases where athletes cite a need to be closer to home to be near an ailing family member.


Former UA and St. John's guard Justin Simon says he's "super excited" for the chance to play for the Bulls' summer-league team.


Salpointe's Evan Nelson, en route to visit Rice this weekend, picked up an offer from Colorado State.


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Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at 573-4146 or bpascoe@tucson.com. On Twitter @brucepascoe