Wild About '88: The Rise of Arizona Basketball. Chapter 2: The Red/Blue Game
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.’
November 12, 1987
The Red/Blue Game
Lute Olson had 5 starters returning for the 1987-88 campaign plus senior point guard Steve Kerr who had sat out the previous season rehabbing his once blown-out knee
But did Kerr’s knee fully recover?
Would he still be the same player he was when he helped the Wildcats win the Pac-10 championship in 1986?
Hall of Famer George Raveling didn’t seem phased by this at PAC-10 Basketball media day when he stated “I’m going to say Arizona’s starters to finish in first place. Arizona’s second team to place second; UCLA third; Stanford fourth and Arizona’s third team to place fifth.”1
Arizona received 9 of the 10 first-place votes in the PAC-10 coaches poll. 2
So with Raveling’s glorious endorsement who didn’t vote for the Wildcats?
Lute voted for UCLA. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.3
Even though Kerr had not played a second in 1986-87, he took the Cats first round exit to UTEP pretty hard, and with the lights shining bright for a glorious run in 1987-88, Kerr played his cards pretty close to the chest.
“We’ve been getting a little too much hype. We’re all very confident…but we haven’t won an NCAA game in three years, so I think we should make it a goal to get into the tournament before we start talking about the Final Four.” Kerr said on media day.4
When Arizona held its annual Red/Blue game a week later Kerr was back on the McKale floor for the first time in 20 months and the fans couldn’t wait to welcome him back. Before the game, during the introductions, something special happened.
“I'll never forget when Steve Kerr walked out last and he was dribbling the ball, and the crowd erupted. But it wasn't just yelling, it was like, this is our guy,” Arizona guard Matt Muehlebach said. “And he sort of just stopped. And he kind of acknowledged everything they did, and I thought that was probably the coolest sports moment I've ever seen.”
“And it was at that moment, I knew these Arizona fans were ready to explode. They were ready for a season,” Muehlebach added.
During the game, Sean Elliott dropped 20 points and teammate Tom Tolbert added 23 for the Blue team, but the biggest showing of the night came from Anthony Cook who scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds giving the White team a 68-65 win. 5
Kerr was nervous and had a quiet night from the field. After hitting a three-pointer early for the White team he did not score again until late in the second half. 6 He may have had a mild game but Lute knew better than that.
”I think a lot of people were anxious to see if he was the old Steve Kerr,” Olson said. “I think people could see he is quicker. He’s going to have an outstanding year.”7
Blog content and original interview quotations © Waterfoot Films 2022.
Tracy Dodds, “Raveling Picks Arizona to Finish No.1 — and 2,” The Los Angeles Times, November 6 1987, Sports Page 7.
Jack Rickard, “All hail Olson’s Wildcats,” The Tucson Citizen, November 6 1987, Sports 1C.
Jack Rickard, “All hail Olson’s Wildcats,” The Tucson Citizen, November 6 1987, Sports 1C.
Tracy Dodds, “Raveling Picks Arizona to Finish No.1 — and 2,” The Los Angeles Times, November 6 1987, Sports Page 7.
Jay Gonzales, “Lofton stands out in UA scrimmage: White team beats Blue team, 68-65,” The Arizona Daily Star, November 13, 1987, Page 1 and 2 — Section C.
Jay Gonzales, “Lofton stands out in UA scrimmage: White team beats Blue team, 68-65,” The Arizona Daily Star, November 13, 1987, Page 1 and 2 — Section C.
Jay Gonzales, “Lofton stands out in UA scrimmage: White team beats Blue team, 68-65,” The Arizona Daily Star, November 13, 1987, Page 1 and 2 — Section C.