SAN ANTONIO — The Sweet 16 was a reunion of sorts for both Arizona and Houston.
UH coach Kelvin Sampson held an advisory role under legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich more than a decade ago. He received a welcome gift from his former boss.
“Of course, ‘Pop’ left me a bottle of wine, a really, really nice note and a bunch of Spurs gear,” Sampson said. “I felt like a camper. Except you wouldn’t give wine to a camper, would you?”
Arizona, meanwhile, was welcomed to San Antonio by arguably the greatest Wildcat of all time. Sean Elliott stopped by its practice and film session the day before Thursday’s Sweet 16 contest at the AT&T Center, home of the Spurs. Elliott played for San Antonio from 1989-2001 before moving into television; he’s now an Emmy Award winning color analyst for Spurs broadcasts on Bally Sports Southwest.
Leading up to Arizona’s showdown with Houston in San Antonio, Elliott — the star of Arizona’s 1988 Final Four team and a Spurs legend — talked about about the state of UA hoops, his relationship with head coach Tommy Lloyd, and what former Wildcats coach Lute Olson would think about this year’s team:
Sean Elliott led the UA as the Pac-10's all-time leading scorer.
How excited are you to watch your alma mater play in San Antonio?
A: “I’m excited, I gotta tell you. I’m just excited because Arizona basketball is back, No. 1; I’m excited they’re coming to San Antonio, No. 2, and I’m hoping they’re able to extend their stay. I’m just really proud of the way Tommy Lloyd has taken the direction of the program. I had a chance to see him (Wednesday) and just kind of let him know that it’s remarkable what they’ve done with bringing all these guys together from different places and forming a real team. I feel like that’s what was missing over the last several years with Arizona basketball. Now you have a team that plays like a team and they help each other out, they’re unselfish, they’re a good defensive club and they’re exciting to watch.”
Are you looking forward to this year’s Arizona team potentially breaking the school record for wins, currently held by the 1988 team?
A: “I’m thrilled if they do that, because that means they’re going to keep winning. I’d love to see them do that. I don’t care about anybody breaking our records to be honest with you. I just want the young kids to be successful.”
Have you met Lloyd prior to your conversation with him this week, and what are your impressions of Arizona’s new head coach?
A: “I’ve spoken to him before, after he got hired. He reached out and I appreciated that. Those guys don’t need our input, but they look for it and that’s appreciated. I had a good talk with him once he got hired and I told him that for years, I was frustrated because we were just a revolving door and turnstile of talent. The way we got it done back in the day was we were team-building. That’s what Coach Olson did, and we got away from that the last couple years. He totally understood where I was coming from. … Again, I’m just happy that they’re back on the map and they’re doing it the way it’s supposed to be done.”
What do you think about Arizona’s style of play, and do you see any similarities to when you were a Wildcat?
A: “They can play fast, they can play slow. They’ve been in a lot of tight games and won a lot of close games. I think they can match up with anybody when it comes to style. They’ve played all kinds of teams, all manners of styles and here we are with 33 wins. If you want to compare them to our (1988) team, they’re a lot more athletic than we were and they’re bigger. I told (Lloyd) yesterday that I appreciate the guys playing for each other and it seems like they play for the guy to the right and left of them, and I think those are the same kind of similarities we had back in the day. … I got a chance to watch them and the coaching staff in their film session, and I was just really impressed. He was getting after people, they were paying attention to detail and I really appreciated — I’ve been in so many film sessions with coaches my whole career — by how he handles his team.”
Does Bennedict Mathurin remind you of a player who you’ve played with or watched?
A: “That’s a tough one. So many of these guards are so athletic nowadays. All of them are athletic, but he’s got a work ethic that a lot of people don’t have. A lot of people can put up the numbers, but they don’t have that drive and determination. That rebound the other night (against TCU), he snatched it away from two or three guys, you don’t see that every day. So, it’s hard for me to compare who I think he plays like that. I’d have to think about that one for a little while.”
Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd received high praise from ex-Wildcats star Sean Elliott. "A lot of people close to the program felt like it should’ve been a former player and an Arizona guy, but it’s worked out really, really well, and I think that speaks to the character of Coach Lloyd and his staff," Elliott said.
When Arizona initially hired Lloyd, what was your first impression?
A: “I thought it was a good hire, to be honest with you. I know there was a little bit of backlash because we didn’t hire somebody within the organization. But he came from a great program. Mark Few is easily one of the best coaches in the game today. Just watching the way Tommy conducts himself, you were already impressed. I liked everything he had to say coming in. A lot of people close to the program felt like it should’ve been a former player and an Arizona guy, but it’s worked out really, really well, and I think that speaks to the character of Coach Lloyd and his staff.”
Did you offer any NCAA Tournament advice to the Wildcats?
A: “I had a chance to talk to them (on Wednesday), and basically I just said, ‘You gotta block out the noise. Don’t listen to anybody else around you. Don’t listen to all the praise. Don’t listen to the criticism. It’s you guys in the locker room, that’s who’s gotta get it done. It’s not somebody on television. Don’t fall for that trap. And to play for each other and have fun. If you do that, then you’re going to win.’ I didn’t have too much to say — I take that back, I had a lot to say. I just tried to keep it simple and just talk about the basics and to enjoy the moment. … When we get together, that (’88) group, we still hurt from losing that semifinal game in ’88. We still feel like we were the best team in the country, and we didn’t get it done. It still stings a little bit after this long. … We should’ve been that team to get it done for Lute first.”
If you could take any player from this year’s UA team and apply it to the ’88 Final Four team, who are you selecting?
A: “I like the big guys a lot. I know Bennedict Mathurin — it’s easy to pick the best player. We would’ve loved to have a guy like (Oumar) Ballo or (Christian) Koloko, but Koloko kind of reminds me a little bit of Anthony Cook, maybe it’s because they have the same kind of physique. (Koloko) is a lot bigger, but I would take any of those big guys. And I would also take Dalen Terry. I think he’s a hell of a player. I’m going to say Dalen Terry, I think he would fit in nicely with us.”
Coach Lute Olson is beaming while listening to star player Sean Elliott at a rally and parade for the 1988 UA men's basketball team, which made the Final Four.
What do you think Coach Olson would say about this year’s Arizona team?
A: “I think he would be thrilled. I wish Coach was around to see this team, because again, it’s putting the program back to where it should be. I know that from watching Coach Lloyd and his coaching style that Coach (Olson) would be over the moon with the job that he’s done — and the way he treats his players. It’s really good. (Lloyd’s) film session was great. He wasn’t soft on his guys, he was on them: ‘If we don’t do this, we’re going to get our butts kicked. We gotta be ready to play.’ He wasn’t sugarcoating anything, he wasn’t pampering guys, he was straight-forward and honest. There was a lot of attention to detail. I’ve been around all of them. I’ve played for Lute for four years, I played under Larry Brown, played under ‘Pop,’ had a stint for six weeks with John Thompson, had a second stint for five weeks under Mike Krzyzewski and I’ve been around all of these Hall of Fame coaches, and Coach Lloyd was very impressive.”
