There was a sellout crowd of 14,023 at McKale Center last Saturday for the Arizona basketball team's final regular season game against California.

The fact was, however, that most of them probably cared less about the game. Sure, it was an important game, but for the first time all year, the halftime ceremony was more important.

For the first time in the 111-year history of UA, a jersey was being retired. For most, it was only fitting that it be Sean Elliott's old No. 32.

Elliott played his high school basketball at Tucson's Cholla High School before moving on to Arizona, where he played from 1986-89, and as a junior, led the Wildcats to their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the weekly polls and to Arizona's first-ever Final Four appearance.

During his collegiate career, Elliott scored a then- Pacific 10 Conference record 2, 555 points. He is currently second all-time behind former UCLA forward Don McLean.

After his senior season, he was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 3 pick in the first round. He has since been named to two All-Star contests.

"I was kind of indifferent," Elliott said. "I really didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal."

Well, it was.

When the lights dimmed inside McKale Center and Arizona radio play-by-play man Brian Jeffries introduced Elliott, the crowd showed just how special they thought it was with a five-minute standing ovation.

Elliott thanked head coach Lute Olson, his former teammates - three of whom, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler and Sean Rooks are also in the NBA - and the fans that had stuck behind him throughout his career.

After the ceremony, Elliott said he really hadn't had time to ponder the meaning of being the first athlete ever honored in such a way.

"I hadn't really thought about it," he said. "Maybe this summer, when I come back and sit in the seats and look up at it, maybe that is when it will hit me."