By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Former UA stars, current players point to the coach as their guiding force
SAN ANTONIO - Forget about the whole NCAA Tournament for a moment.
Last night's 87-81 victory against Illinois was a celebration of Arizona basketball. Old friends came together, screamed until they were hoarse, and then cried a little.
It didn't really matter that they were Sean Elliott and Steve Kerr, two of the greatest players in Arizona basketball history and teammates on the San Antonio Spurs.
The two returned on afternoon flights following the team's loss to the Miami Heat to watch the closing moments of the Wildcats' win against the Illini from courtside seats.
UA head coach Lute Olson was the reason for both players' attendance. Kerr and Elliott remain close friends with the coach and his family.
Kerr, in fact, was with Olson's family as he cut down the nets in a post-game celebration.
Elliott said that Olson's willingness to return to work following the death of his wife, Bobbi, on New Year's Day said a lot about both his character and the quality of the team.
"I don't know (the team) too well," he said. "But if I've ever been proud of a team, it's that team. I'm just really excited for the school and especially for coach.
"This team has been through a lot, but he came back to work. You can't speak enough about a person like that."
It seems the two got their money's worth. The Midwest Regional Final game was as close as any the Wildcats have been in all season.
It took adept free-throw shooting and a little bit of last-second luck to propel the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 1997.
Following the game, UA players said they were having a hard time controlling their emotions.Arizona, a team that has experienced death, suspensions and dissension after starting the season as the nation's No. 1 ranked team, pulled off UA's first NCAA Tournament upset since 1998.
"I can't even begin to explain it," sophomore forward Luke Walton said after the game. "It's such an unbelievable and amazing feeling. We have really worked hard."
In a way, the hard times that Arizona has endured this season enabled them to get to the next level.
Early in the season, senior center Loren Woods and junior forward Richard Jefferson were each suspended for accepting personal gifts from family friends.
In late December, Olson stepped away from coaching to take care of his ailing wife, Bobbi. While Olson was on hiatus, interim head coach Jim Rosborough suspended senior forward Eugene Edgerson, who was having personality conflicts with the coaches.
Then, on New Year's Day, just after midnight, Bobbi Olson died of ovarian cancer.
The team was at rock bottom. Life all of a sudden was bigger than basketball.
And then Olson returned. The team started winning and getting along with each other in the process. Since Olson's return, Arizona has won 16 of its last 18 games and will take on defending-champion Michigan State Saturday in Minneapolis.
Senior forward Eugene Edgerson said he attributes the Wildcats' togetherness to the hard times Arizona faced this season.
"If we didn't have all the hard times and bad times, we wouldn't be here," he said. "We've tried to let the past be the past. If we dwelled upon the hard times and bad times, we would have never gone far."
The night was especially sweet for the patriarch of the Arizona program, who decided to focus more on his players' accomplishments than his own.
"I'm so pleased for our guys, they're in a position where they can achieve their season goals," Olson said. "It's a tough road still."
Walton said the win meant a lot to the coach, who has been through enough personal tragedy this year to last a lifetime.
"I know how much he loves this," Walton said. "To hear that buzzer and see the reactions on everybody's face is amazing."
Forget about the Final Four.
Last night was about Lute Olson and the players who, after all these years, came back.
