Eugene Edgerson (born February 10, 1978, in New Orleans, Louisiana) [1] is an American basketball player who used to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. As is tradition with the Globetrotters, Edgerson has a nickname: "Wildkat", presumably in honor of his alma mater, the University of Arizona.
Edgerson spent 1996–2001 as a member of the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team. He played on a pair of Final Four teams (1997, 2001) with the Wildcats and was a member of the UA 1997 National Championship squad. In an 1998 game vs. BYU, he intentionally threw an elbow into the face of BYU's Brett Jepsen that knocked Jepsen unconscious for 20 seconds and ended Jepsen's playing career. Edgerson wrote Jepsen a letter of apology but Jepsen did not respond. [2] . As a result of the incident, All Sports Tucson named Edgerson one of the Top 5 Badass Wildcats of All Time [3] .
He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.[ citation needed ] He appeared as a Globetrotter on the ESPN2 program Cold Pizza on March 1, 2007.[ citation needed ]
During his career at Arizona, Edgerson took a one-year hiatus from competitive basketball to fulfill student-teaching duties at a Tucson kindergarten. [4] He was a detention officer and joined the Pima Community College Police Department after graduating for the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center. [5]
The University of Arizona is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university established in the Arizona Territory. The University of Arizona is one of three universities governed by the Arizona Board of Regents. As of fall 2023, the university enrolled 53,187 students in 19 separate colleges/schools, including the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson along with the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix and the James E. Rogers College of Law.
Sean Michael Elliott is an American former professional basketball player who starred as a small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career as a two-time All-American, winner of the 1989 John R. Wooden Award, the 1989 Adolph Rupp Trophy, the 1989 NABC Player of the Year, 1989 AP Player of the Year, and two time Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats men's team for 25 years. He was also head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes for nine years and Long Beach State 49ers for one season. Known for player development and great recruiting, many of his former players have gone on to have impressive careers in the NBA. On October 23, 2008, Olson announced his retirement from coaching. Olson died on August 27, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona. He was 85 years old.
McKale Memorial Center is an athletic arena in the southwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. As the home of the university's Wildcats basketball team of the Big 12 Conference, it is primarily used for basketball, but also has physical training and therapy facilities. Its construction is marked with a large copper cap that has oxidized brown.
Miles Julian Simon is an American basketball coach and former player who recently served as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Simon was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1997 NCAA tournament, leading the Arizona Wildcats to the national championship. As a professional, he played briefly in the NBA and then for several domestic leagues around the world.
Oliver J. Miller is an American former professional basketball player. He was nicknamed "The Big O" because of his large size. Miller played college basketball at the University of Arkansas and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1992. After his initial stint in the NBA from 1992 to 1998, where he became the heaviest player in league history, Miller played overseas and for semi-professional American teams. He returned to the NBA for the 2003–04 season, but he transitioned back to minor-league and semi-professional play, and he retired from professional basketball in 2010.
The Arizona Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Arizona's chief intercollegiate rival is the Arizona State Sun Devils, and the two universities' athletic departments compete against each other in multiple sports via the State Farm Territorial Cup Series.
Wayne Keon Turner is a retired American professional basketball player. He played high school basketball at Beaver Country Day School in Brookline, Massachusetts. As a star point guard for the Kentucky Wildcats during a four-year period in which they won two national titles and lost in the championship game once (1997). He set the NCAA record for games played with 151 games in his four-year Kentucky Wildcats career.
The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. They compete in the Big 12 of NCAA Division I and is coached by Tommy Lloyd. Arizona previously spent the past 50 seasons in the Pac-10/12.
Sean Edward Miller is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the Xavier Musketeers. He previously held that position from 2004 to 2009, after which he took the head coach position at the Arizona Wildcats, which he held until being fired in 2021.
Joseph Blair is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. Standing 2.10m tall, and weighing 120 kg, he spent his playing career playing at the positions of power forward and center. He was reputed for his spectacular playing style, most notably while he was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Derrick LeRon Williams is an American professional basketball player who last played for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats from 2009 to 2011.
The 2015–16 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Sean Miller, and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 12–6 in Pac-12 play to tie with California for third place. They defeated Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Oregon. Arizona received an at-large bid to the fourth-straight NCAA tournament, the program's 31st appearance, as a 6-seed in the South Region. They lost in the first round to Wichita State.
The 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the 2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and it determined the national champion for the 2000-01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The game was played on April 2, 2001, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota and featured the East Regional Champion, #1-seeded Duke versus the Midwest Regional Champion, #2-seeded Arizona.
Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2017 and a McDonald's All-American, he played one season of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, where he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Ayton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2019. In 2021, he helped lead the Suns to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993.
The 2017–18 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by ninth-year head coach Sean Miller, and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as members in the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 14–4 in Pac-12 play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Colorado, UCLA, and USC to win the Pac-12 tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where, as a No. 4 seed, they were upset in the first round by No. 13 seed Buffalo.
Alexander Barcello is an American professional basketball player for Filou Oostende of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for the BYU Cougars of the West Coast Conference (WCC) and for the Arizona Wildcats.
The 2019–20 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 11th-year head coach Sean Miller and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as members of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 10–8 in Pac-12 play to finish in tie for fifth place. They received the No. 5 seed in the 2019 Pac-12 tournament, where they defeated Washington in the first round and were set to take on USC in the quarterfinals before the remainder of the Pac-12 Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Herman B. Harris is an American former professional basketball player.