One thing I’ve learned following college sports for 50 years is that there is rarely a “best this” or “you can’t top that” moment.
After UA freshman Koa Peat scored 30 points in his college debut Monday, it didn’t take long to find that freshman Chase Budinger scored 32 points in his second game as a Wildcat and that Azuolas Tubelis, Jerryd Bayless, Bennedict Mathurin and Deandre Ayton all surpassed 30 points as UA freshmen.
But none could compare to point guard Eric Money, who scored 53 points in the 1972-73 Red-Blue game — he took 33 shots — and followed it by scoring 37 in his college debut a few days later. Money, the prize recruit of Fred Snowden’s first UA season, not only scored 37 against Cal-Bakersfield that night (he went 14 for 20 from the field in an era when there were no 3-point baskets), but he also committed 10 turnovers. Crazy stuff.
“Eric was great but he had to be restrained,” said Snowden. Restrained? In his second UA game, Money scored just nine points.
Expectations were tempered. And remember this: Damon Stoudamire, who I consider the second-best player in UA history, did not score in his UA debut. He played 21 minutes against Dayton.
Money was just 17 years old that November night at Bear Down Gym. He went on to average 18.9 points per game, a freshman record that has stood for 53 years. He left school after two seasons and averaged 12.2 points per game in six NBA years. Among other things, Money subsequently became a car salesman in Tucson. True story.
Former Arizona guard Eric Money, left, smiles while shaking hands with Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd in 2022.
