By posting one of those “how it started … how it’s going” memes on Twitter during the preseason, Arizona freshman Dalen Terry lofted the image into cyberspace for good.
There he was: Grinning widely, standing up tall, with long, outstretched arms and — most notably — a full set of Arizona practice gear on.
And that was the photo on the left.
“I think I’m, like, 8,” Terry said.
The photo on the right, of course, was Terry’s current Arizona basketball profile picture. Also grinning widely, also standing up tall, but with his long arms folded into a flex to show off his biceps this time — a player who has become a starter throughout the Wildcats’ 5-0 start so far this season, ready enough to justify the position at age 18 while also flashing considerable promise.
“The best is yet to come,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “He’s going to get better. He makes mistakes sometimes in games — all freshmen do — but he learns from those mistakes. The reason that we’re starting him is he’s one of our five best players right now and he’s really earned it.”
Terry’s presence in the UA lineup could appear a much-needed dose of good luck for the Wildcats, who literally looked all over the world to fill out their 2020 recruiting class, and yet picked up the lone starter so far from that class out of their backyard.
The kid who was repping UA at age 8. The kid who kept playing youth club basketball at places like Moon Valley High School (alma mater of Richard Jefferson) and Shadow Mountain High School (Mike Bibby), and realizing UA greats had once played there.
Arizona Wildcats guard Dalen Terry (4) practices a dunk routine before the Arizona Wildcats vs Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men’s basketball game at McKale Center, 1721 E. Enke Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. on Dec. 9, 2020. Arizona won 85-60.
“Richard Jefferson — I used to see his jersey was retired and they always used to say, ‘He went to U of A’ “ Terry said. “Channing Frye (from Phoenix St. Mary’s), all these guys who were from Arizona went to Arizona. I’ve been running into that all my life.“
It didn’t stop when Terry actually started playing high school ball himself. Playing his first two seasons of high school at Tempe Corona Del Sol, Terry struck up a friendship and rivalry of sorts with transplanted Bahamian big man Deandre Ayton, who committed to the Wildcats in 2016 and joined them for the 2017-18 season before becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
“He always had a presence,” Terry said of Ayton. “It was always like, ‘If you go in there, you got to deal with Deandre.’ But it’s always been cool and once I got older, we started actually talking to each other.”
As a junior in 2018-19, Terry transferred to Ayton’s old high school program, Phoenix Hillcrest Prep, and even more Wildcat blood poured in. His coach at the beginning of last season was none other than Bibby.
There, the freshman point guard who helped lead the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship worked with the Wildcat freshman-guard-to-be.
“He did a lot with me,” Terry said. “He focused on me a lot while he was at the school and he still does. He always used to tell me about my shooting and how to be a point guard and do his little stuff that he did, but he knew we weren’t the same type of player.”
While Terry’s point guard abilities are one reason he’s been in the starting lineup, he’s also a longer, more versatile wing player — and one, like Miller points out, who is only 18 years old.
“He’s got a huge upside,” Miller said. “The other part about Dalen is that his size is very deceptive. He’s been a thin, almost skinny guy growing up here. But Dalen stands almost 6-7, and he his wingspan is I think 7-1, so he’s got really long arms and great size, and he’s starting to get bigger and stronger now.
“A lot of guys in Phoenix kind of looked down upon me for leaving Phoenix to come to the U of A instead of ASU,” said Wildcats guard Dalen Terry. “But it is what it is. I feel I did the best thing for me.”
“He’s played a lot of point guard and he might eventually be a point guard here. He really sees the floor well, he passes the ball well and he’s very unselfish. When he’s in the game, I feel like the ball moves up and down the court and has an energy about it.”
Terry said working on his strength was another reason he came to UA, although a summertime surgery to repair a torn meniscus slowed him down before he arrived on campus. But during the times when he’s been able to work out or even relax at the Hillcrest facility or around town, guess what?
More Wildcats keep showing up.
“We see a lot of them,” Terry said. “I see Deandre a lot, and when I committed, Deandre just told me to keep my head up, that Coach Miller was great, all positive things. Rawle Alkins, he comes in the gym sometimes, Nick Johnson.
“I’ve seen a lot this summer, like Dylan (Smith). … Those guys always say good things about Arizona when they come in and play open gym with us.”
So even though Terry grew up in Phoenix, playing his initial seasons of high school ball down the street from ASU, maybe there was never a doubt about where he was destined to go.
That 8-year-old kid certainly might have thought so.
“A lot of guys in Phoenix kind of looked down upon me for leaving Phoenix to come to U of A instead of ASU,” Terry said. “But it is what it is. I feel I did the best thing for me. I’m living the dream.”
