KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat Political science senior Robert Scoby cheers for the men's basketball team in its contest against USC two weeks ago. Scoby is one of the fan favorites because of his intensity and his tumbling abilities.

Robert Scoby will make the final home stand of his UA career Saturday in McKale Center. But for the senior cheerleader, it won't be so much of a stand - it will be a back flip with a tuck.

For the past four years, Scoby's sideline theatrics have made the political science major an Arizona sports icon. Saturday, in a ceremony honoring the squad's seniors, Scoby will grace the McKale court for the final time as an athlete.

Although the honor will come in between timeouts of the Wildcats' matchup with Washington State, for Scoby, the emotion will be real.

"I can't believe it's over," Scoby lamented. "It's so weird, because it's been so long."

Scoby admits that his emotions may get the best of him.

"I'm going to bawl," the 5-foot-9 senior said.

But faster than he can land one of his patented running back flips, the smile is back.

"Hopefully, I won't bust my ass."

Odds are, the senior will land his flips with precision. After all, he's been perfecting his trait since he was 12 years old. And it all started with a dare.

Acting on the challenge, Scoby, on a floor that didn't even have a rug, took a deep breath and perfectly landed his first back flip.

But it might have all started before he even tried his first flip. The Chicago native says he drew his biggest inspiration from watching a U.S. gymnastics legend.

"One day, I was watching Dominique Dawes on TV, back when I was like 12 or 13," Scoby remembers, "and I was like, 'My God, that is the coolest thing.' So I went outside and tried it."

Scoby said his current proficiency came with time and a lot of practice.

"I fell on my head three, four, five hundred times," Scoby said. "But I kept on doing it."

The boy who would "do whatever anyone would tell me to do" didn't get his start in cheerleading until high school. While playing football at Maryvale High School, Scoby caught the attention of the cheerleaders after practice one day while performing what he calls his "tumbles."

It took a long time and persistence to finally persuade Scoby to become the first male cheerleader at Maryvale.

"After a while, you get 20 girls asking all the time to join the cheerleading squad, and sooner or later you're going to try it," he said.

Scoby's talent has had the senior wowing the opposite sex for years, whether it is doing flips on the beach on spring break, on the UA mall or in the Fourth Ave. bars. He says he often gets recognized on campus, and the question is always the same: can you do a flip for me?

Scoby said he takes it all in stride and realizes he has a gift.

"I don't mind as long as I can do it," Scoby said. "God blessed with this."

That blessing has come in handy for Scoby off the basketball court and football field.

Once, after being stopped for a traffic violation and accused by the officer of being drunk, Scoby stepped from his vehicle and landed a perfect back flip. The stunned cop allowed Scoby to go, reasoning that an intoxicated person could never have done that.

Another incident where his tumbles tumbled in the 22-year olds' favor came in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve. Once again, this time in 'Sin City,' a perfectly executed back flip landed Scoby and his pals into a sold-out night club.

It doesn't always work out for Scoby, though. When he was 13, a flip gone awry shattered a giant mirror during a practice early one morning.

Amazing flips aside, Scoby isn't just a one-dimensional tumbling artist. The self-proclaimed "attention junkie" has his sights set on making the most of his political science degree. Once he graduates in May, Scoby said he has dreams of traveling to Africa, where he plans to work with AIDS victims.

"Everybody whose gone say it's totally different than what you see and what you hear about," Scoby said. "They say it's so beautiful out there, so I want to see how it is."

For now, Scoby's heart belongs in Tucson.

"I really do bleed red and blue now."

The Wildcat fans aren't the only ones to notice Scoby's high-flying theatrics; even the players take notice.

When Mustafa Shakur, Arizona's freshman point guard, is not focused on the game, he said sees what's going on around him.

"When you're on the bench, you always notice the guy who is always doing all the flips," Shakur said. "It's unbelievable."

As Scoby flips for the final time, only one fan in attendance will matter. For the first time in seven years of performing, Scoby's mother will come to Tucson to watch her son tumble.

"It's bittersweet," Scoby said. "I'm happy, and at the same time I'm sad."

In homage to his mother and the McKale faithful, Scoby has a parting gift of his own: a new tumble he's going to try for the first time.

All he asks is for a little divine intervention.

"Please God, let me land this," he said.