His relationship with Sean Miller mended, Jason Terry looks forward to 'impacting lives'

During the tense final week of February 2018 at Arizona, nobody appeared less likely to work under Sean Miller than former Wildcat star Jason Terry.

By now, you’ve probably heard why.

“Bear down,” Terry tweeted on Feb. 23, 2018, shortly after ESPN reported that evening that Miller discussed a pay-for-play scheme with an agent. “It’s time to clean house and bring home our own bloodlines to carry on Lute’s legacy. We have too much pride, too much tradition to allow outsiders to tear down what we built.”

Terry has Olson-era bloodlines — in fact, his jersey is hanging inside McKale Center because of his superlative 1998-99 senior season — but the house is still run by Miller ... who last week hired Terry to replace Justin Gainey as one of his three assistant coaches.

How did that happen?

First, they had to fix the relationship, something both sides said happened once Terry called Miller shortly after posting his tweet.

“I can’t recall exactly when it was but once I realized the impact my statement had made, I had to call him directly,” Terry said during a Zoom press conference Friday. “I told him, ‘Look I’m attached to this program as much as anybody. You know, I care about the tradition and history and all that.’

“It was an emotional tweet and I told him it was nothing personal towards him at all.”

Earlier this week, Miller said he appreciated that Terry reached out to him, and that he didn’t need to explain the emotion behind his tweet. In the days that followed the ESPN report, Miller sat out the UA’s game at Oregon and spent four extra days away from the Wildcats undergoing questioning from UA administrators before he was reinstated.

Everybody was on edge.

“It’s one of the things that you appreciate about our program... there’s people that our program matters to them,” Miller said about Terry’s reaction. “They want us to do well. They care a great deal about it and when you care about something, sometimes you can become emotional but we crossed that bridge, a long, long time ago.”

The next step came about a year ago. Having retired from a 19-year NBA career, Terry contacted UA associate head coach Jack Murphy about someday joining the Wildcats as a coach.

“I wanted to set up a breakfast and lunch with Coach Miller, and kind of talk about the future of the program and see how I could actively get involved and possibly start my career coaching,” Terry said. “At that particular time they didn’t have a position open, but we had a great dialogue. We expressed our interest in how we can help each other in the program and that conversation led us to where we are today.”

A position opened in April when Gainey left to become Marquette’s associate head coach, leaving only one obstacle of sorts.

That one involved Terry himself.

Would a guy who made $108 million over his NBA career really want to work 80-hour weeks for much less than the NBA minimum salary at Arizona?

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Yes, apparently.

“My passion from Day 1 is for impacting lives,” Terry said. “We could say ‘coach,’ but at the end of the day it’s about impacting these student athletes’ lives, giving them guidance … who’s experienced the things that they’re going to experience, and then putting them in position to be successful, not only on the court but in life.

“And so that is my purpose. I’m a God-fearing man, and God has given me that purpose. And it’s something that I’ve worked extremely hard for in preparation.”

While he doesn’t have college coaching experience, Terry calls himself a “coach through and through,” having focused on learning about coaching while playing the final years of his NBA career under Kevin McHale (at Houston) and Jason Kidd (at Milwaukee).

Terry also coached girls club basketball for 12 years during NBA offseasons.

“The one thing about coaching grassroots AAU basketball is you get adept at the recruiting process, and you understand there’s certain guidelines or rules that you have to go by,” Terry said. “Obviously I’m on the other side now, but even then I (understood about) helping them qualify, test scores and all of that.”

Terry also has the sort of basketball playing experience that should allow him to easily communicate to all sorts of players, stars and frustrated ones alike. He considered transferring as a UA freshman, came off the bench during the UA’s 1996-97 championship season, and in 1997-98 then blossomed into a team leader and NBA lottery pick as a senior in ’98-99.

“I’m an overly confident guy, so believe if I came out my junior year after we won the national championship and went to the (1998) Elite Eight, I may have had a long career — maybe not as long, but (a) pretty good career,” Terry said. “But I’m telling you — that fourth year for me with Coach Olson gave me all the confidence to run my own team, to be in charge, to be held accountable for wins and losses in the success of our team.

“It prepared me for my rookie year. It prepared me for my fifth year when I got to Dallas when I was chosen to replace Steve Nash and basically for the rest of my career. So I wouldn’t change my path for anything, because four years at the University of Arizona … was tremendous value.”

Terry’s outgoing personality and hometown roots in the talent-rich Seattle area are also expected to make him a natural recruiter for Arizona.

The Wildcats are pursuing two top-50 prospects in the class of 2021 who are from the area in forward Paolo Banchero and guard Nolan Hickman, while Miller pulled in a signature in April from Seattle U grad transfer Terrell Brown — who just happens to be a godson of Terry’s.

“You’re talking about a kid that I literally changed his diapers,” Terry said. “Didn’t know that he would have an opportunity to play at the University of Arizona. He was having a great career where he was at. But (now) he graduates and gives himself an opportunity to showcase his talents at the highest level.

“I’ve always thought highly of him and his talents, and he’s proven time and time again at whatever level has been that he’s a winner. He can lead a team and yes, he has all the potential to take his game to the next level after this. So I’m excited and happy for the kid to get an opportunity to play somewhere where I had a great experience.”

At the same time, Terry is looking for another great experience at Arizona.

“My family’s gonna be like, ‘Ah, you want to go back to something you just retired from?’” Terry said. “But it’s in me. I mean coaching is something that you have to truly believe in. …

“Yeah, there’s gonna be long hours, but the joy and the gratification I get when I see these young men become fathers, husbands, better sons, college graduates … That’s gonna be the ultimate joy. And at the end of the day, if we hoist up another national championship into McKale, then that’d be a great day.”