LAS VEGAS — As Arizona’s player relations director, Jason Gardner is supposed to spend some good times with fellow former Wildcats.
When an updated version of Wildcats’ late-Lute Olson-era uniforms came in last month, that made his job even easier.
In an effort to promote the new-old jerseys, which were best known as the ones UA won its 1997 national championship in, Gardner traveled to Phoenix to meet with former UA point guard Mike Bibby in the basketball court at his house.
In Salt Lake City last week, Gardner also did the same with former UA standout guard Jason Terry, who is now an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz.
Both Terry and Bibby played for the Wildcats’ 1997 national championship team, while Gardner arrived in 1999-2000 and played through 2002-03.
“It was pretty cool to hang out with JT and Mike Bibby,” Gardner said Saturday, before UA debuted the throwback uniforms against Indiana at the MGM Grand Garden.
The uniforms also have special meaning to Gardner, who committed to the Wildcats in 1998 out of Indianapolis North Central High School after watching them win the title in his hometown. He then wore the uniforms for his entire UA career.
“The uniforms we have now are awesome,” Gardner said of the ‘80s-era inspired jerseys UA has mostly been wearing so far this season. “But the ’97 team wore these in my hometown and practiced in my high school. That just brought back some memories of players and games for me.”
In the video, which Arizona released on social media before Saturday’s game, Gardner asked Bibby what was something he remembered about the 1997 game. Bibby noted the “family environment” that Olson and his wife Bobbi set up — and the uniforms.
“They’re iconic,” Bibby said. “A lot of people look back at the games and are like `Oh gosh, you guys have the best uniforms in college.’ I think we did.”
Terry said he had always wondered if UA would bring back the ’97 uniforms, then the video cut to Gardner revealing them to both Bibby and Terry.
“Oooooh wee,” Terry said, looking at the jersey top and grinning. “C’mon, man. That’s clean.”
Gardner then pulled out the shorts for Terry to see.
“Ooh, the iconics, the ‘CATS’ down the side to match my CATS socks — gotta have that,” Terry said. “And then iconic basketball (on the other side) with the ‘block A.’”
Near-homecomings
While UNLV and Arizona didn’t meet Saturday, the Rebels brought the Wildcats a couple of familiar faces while playing in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader while UNLV played Washington State.
Former Wildcat guard Shane Nowell stood in a corridor between games while receiving some warm greetings from special assistant T.J. Benson and athletic trainer Justin Kokoskie, while Kokoskie also spent time visiting with UNLV deputy athletic director Mike Ketcham.
Formerly UA’s senior associate AD for men’s basketball and administration, Ketcham left UA last February for UNLV. He now oversees UNLV men’s basketball as well as the Rebel Athletic Fund and ticketing. UNLV’s athletic director is Erick Harper, who was Arizona's associate athletic director for football operations from 2003-11.
Nowell, who signed with UA under then-coach Sean Miller then stuck around to play for Tommy Lloyd last season, didn’t play in Saturday’s game. He’s played in only three games so far this season, averaging 2.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Catching Tark (maybe)
By beating Washington State 74-70 in Saturday’s early game, UNLV moved to 10-0 for the first time since 1990-91, when the then defending national champion Rebels went undefeated until losing to Duke in the Final Four semifinals.
Coach Kevin Kruger was reminded of that fact during the postgame news conference.
“Settle down,” Kruger said with a smile. “We’re not doing that. We’re not doing that. The guys have done a really good job of competing every day. And I think if you remember all the way back to March of the previous year, we talked about having a team that the city loves to support.”
Maybe the comparison is premature, at this point at least.
Washington State was actually the highest-rated team in Kenpom.com ratings that UNLV has beaten so far. The Rebels have played only one true road game, winning at San Diego, while their other eight wins have come against Southern, Incarnate Word, Dayton, High Point, Southern Illinois, Minnesota, Life Pacific and Hawaii.
Tough times for Cougs
After opening Pac-12 play with a 14-point loss at Oregon and an overtime loss to Utah at home on Dec. 4, Washington State slid to 4-5 overall with the loss to UNLV.
WSU, which will visit Arizona on Jan. 7, has been playing without potential rotation players Myles Rice, Jabe Mullins, Dishon Jackson and Andrej Jakimovski, allowing opponents to focus even more attention defensively on Cougar standout forward Mouhamed Gueye, who was just 3 for 10 Saturday.
“That’s what they do,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said of UNLV’s defense on Gueye. “They just doubled every time and it’s tough. Mouhamed really tried to play the right way.”
The Cougars at least had an upbeat moment when former standout Efe Abogidi joined them pregame. Abogidi left WSU for the G League in the offseason but Smith indicated their relationship remains strong.
“We’re part of his history and he’s part of our history,” Smith said. “He was one of the first guys to opt into our program when it was a little bleak.”
