Wild About '88: Chapter 19: Steve Kerr Vs. Gary Payton in Corvallis.
This season marks the 35th anniversary of one of Tucson’s most beloved teams of all time, the 1987-88 Arizona Wildcats that finished 35-3 and went to the program’s first Final Four. We will celebrate that team by recapping each game during that unforgettable season by referencing newspaper archives and interviews conducted during the making of the upcoming documentary film ‘Wild About ‘88: The Rise of Arizona Basketball.’ (Some interview quotes in this series have been edited for clarity.)
January 14, 1988 at Oregon State
When Arizona headed to Oregon State they were once again ranked No. 1 in the country. The people of Corvallis took notice, selling out Gill Coliseum for the first time all season.
The game included two of the best point guards in the country. Arizona had it’s golden boy in Steve Kerr and Oregon State countered with one of the best defensive players of all time, Gary Payton.
Freshman guard Matt Muehlebach wanted to fire up Kerr before the game and used a strategy from a Hollywood playbook.
In the movie ‘The Best of Times’ Kurt Russell plays Reno Hightower, the greatest quarterback in the history of his county. In the film Reno’s teammate Jack Dundee, played by Robin Williams, uses questionable strategic tactics in order to motivate Hightower.
In the pre-game layup line, Muehlebach tried something new to get Kerr motivated when he went up with the ball for an easy lay-in.
“I decided to jump up and swat it, like a total idiot. And I swatted it off the backboard,” Muehlebach said in 2015. “Steve looked at me like I was the dumbest person maybe on the planet. And he got mad. He was really mad.”
Muehlebach told Kerr he was trying to get him fired up like Dundee did to Hightower in ‘The Best of Times’.
When the game started Kerr was still upset. He used that energy to dominate Oregon State by not missing a shot from the field. During the game Muehlebach continued to call Kerr, Reno Hightower. The name stuck and Kerr loved it.
In the first eight minutes of the game, Oregon State remained scoreless missing their first 11 shots.
"If you're going to be No. 1 you've got to come out and play like you're No. 1,” Anthony Cook said after posting a 18 point, 7 rebound performance.1
In the second half the Beavers were able to cut the Arizona lead to six. Then they attempted to implement a full court press.
"We're a good team against the press. If we can break the press and get Sean in the open court, it's all over,” Kerr said earlier in the week.2
The press was ineffective as Arizona rapidly took a 50-31 lead and would eventually win by 22.
In 1981 with Hall of Fame Ralph Miller at the helm, Oregon State was ranked No. 1 in the country for 11 weeks. He was a believer in the 1988 Wildcats.
"This is probably the best the conference has had since our 1980-81 team, and then you’d have to go back to about 1978 at UCLA,” Miller said.3
Back to that legendary point guard matchup.
Kerr would finish with a team high 21 points. He was 7 of 7 from the field and 5 for 5 from behind the arc, adding three assists and two turnovers.
Payton’s box score showed six points. He was 3 of 10 from the field with four assists and four turnovers.
No. 1 Arizona would come out of Corvallis with a 70-48 win.
Next Up: Jan 16, 1988, No. 1 Arizona at Oregon
Blog content and original interview quotations © Waterfoot Films 2023.
Jay Gonzales, “UA goes out fast, blows out Beavers,” The Arizona Daily Star, January 15 1988 Page One and Two—Section D.; Jack Rickard, “Wildcats keep league reeling,” The Tucson Citizen, January 15 1988, Page One and Eight—Section C.; Jack Rickard, “‘Ralph’s Runts’ take shot at Cats,” The Tucson Citizen, January 14 1988, Page One and Four—Section D.; Roy Gault, “Miller: Arizona deserves No. 1,” The Corvallis Gazette-Times, January 15 1988, Page One—Section B.; Dana Cooper, Memories ‘88.
Jack Rickard, “Wildcats keep league reeling,” The Tucson Citizen, January 15 1988, Page One—Section C.
Jack Rickard, “‘Ralph’s Runts’ take shot at Cats,” The Tucson Citizen, January 14 1988, Page Four—Section D.
Roy Gault, “Miller: Arizona deserves No. 1,” The Corvallis Gazette-Times, January 15 1988, Page One—Section B.