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Former Arizona basketball manager Todd Walsh, now of Fox Sports Arizona, brought two Wildcat immortals together this week for the network’s Cactus League Weekly Show.
In the above clip, Chip Hale of the 1986 NCAA baseball title team and Steve Kerr of Arizona’s first Final Four team in 1988, discuss their friendship on campus particularly at McKale Center where all the athletes convened at that time.
No Richard Jefferson Gymnasium or Lowell-Stevens Facility existed back then. The baseball team practiced and played across the street from McKale at Sancet Field.
As Walsh points out in his piece, McKale was a mecca for everybody involved with the Wildcats in that generation, including the media, to congregate.
Walsh writes that athletes from different sports and the media from then, including Dan Hicks, Kevin McCabe and Brad Steinke, would engage in shooting the basketball before or after hoops practice.
As a manager, it was Walsh’s responsibility to make sure the court was cleared where the McKale seats were moved back for additional rims, before Lute Olson appeared for the start of practice.
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McKale had a certain ambiance in the 1980s when Lute Olson was building Arizona into a power (Fox Sports video screen shot)
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“Trust me when I tell you that you learn the art of negotiation in a hurry when you are trying to ask Chuck Cecil for the basketball back so he can get to his football practice and you can help start your own practice,” Walsh writes.
Kerr and Hale together was a reminder of Arizona’s imprint on professional sports today. The school is one of only 10 institutions with multiple alumni as head coach of a major professional football, baseball or basketball team in the United States.
Terry Francona, manager of the Cleveland Indians, gives the Wildcats three alumni coaching or managing a pro team. That ties Minnesota and is one behind leader California.
The following are lists of the schools with the most professional coaches/managers and then a listing of every school:
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School,NBA,MLB,NFL,Total
California,Jason Kidd/Milwaukee,Bryan Price/Cincinnati,Ron Rivera/Carolina,4
,,Bob Melvin/Oakland,,
Arizona,Steve Kerr/Golden State,Terry Francona/Cleveland,,3
,,Chip Hale/Arizona,,
Minnesota,Kevin McHale/Houston,Paul Molitor/Minnesota,,3
,Flip Saunders/Minnesota,,,
Arizona State,Byron Scott/L.A. Lakers,,,2
,Lionel Hollins/Brooklyn,,,
North Carolina,George Karl/Sacramento,Walt Weiss/Colorado,,2
Oklahoma State,,John Farrell/Boston,,2
,,Robin Ventura/Chicago White Sox,,
Princeton,David Blatt/Cleveland,,Jason Garrett/Dallas,2
San Diego State,,Bud Black/San Diego,John Fox/Chicago,2
USC,,,Jeff Fisher/St. Louis,2
,,,Jack Del Rio/Oakland,
Virginia,Rick Carlisle/Dallas,,Mike Pettine/Cleveland,2
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TOTAL LIST OF SCHOOLS WITH ALUMS COACHING/MANAGING NFL, NBA OR MLB TEAMS
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School,NBA,MLB,NFL,Total
Air Force,Greg Popovich/San Antonio,,,1
ARIZONA,Steve Kerr/Golden State,Terry Francona/Cleveland,,3
,,Chip Hale/Arizona,,
Arizona State,Byron Scott/L.A. Lakers,,,2
,Lionel Hollins/Brooklyn,,,
Ark-Little Rock,Derek Fisher/New York,,,1
Baker,,,Mike McCarthy/Green Bay,1
Baylor,Melvin Hunt/Denver,,,1
Boston University,Brett Brown/Philadelphia,,,1
Brigham Young,,,Andy Reid/Kansas City,1
Brown,,,Bill O’Brien/Houston,1
California,Jason Kidd/Milwaukee,Bryan Price/Cincinnati,Ron Rivera/Carolina,4
,,Bob Melvin/Oakland,,
Cal-Irvine,Scott Brooks/Oklahoma City,,,1
Catawba,,,Jim Tomsula/San Francisco,1
DePauw,Brad Stevens/Boston,,,1
Duke,Quin Snyder/Utah,,,1
Eastern Illinois,,,Sean Payton/New Orleans,1
Eastern Michigan,,Terry Collins/N.Y. Mets,,1
Florida State,,Kevin Cash/Tampa Bay,,1
Georgia Tech,,,Ken Whisenhunt/Tennessee,1
Gonzaga,,Mike Redmond/Miami,,1
Idaho State,,,Marvin Lewis/Cincinnati,1
Illinois State,,,Mike Zimmer/Minnesota,1
Indiana,Randy Wittman/Washington,,,1
Iowa,,,Jim Caldwell/Detroit,1
Iowa State,Jeff Hornacek/Phoenix,,,1
Juniata College,Frank Vogel/Indiana,,,1
Kentucky,Dwayne Casey/Toronto,,,1
Lafayette,,Joe Maddon/Chicago Cubs,,1
Louisville,,,Jay Gruden/Washington,1
Maine-Farmington,Steve Clifford/Charlotte,,,1
Marquette,Doc Rivers/L.A. Clippers,,,1
Miami (Ohio),,,John Harbaugh/Baltimore,1
Michigan,,Mike Matheny/St. Louis,,1
Minnesota,Kevin McHale/Houston,Paul Molitor/Minnesota,,3
,Flip Saunders/Minnesota,,,
Mississippi State,,Buck Showalter/Baltimore,,1
Moorhead State,David Joerger/Memphis,,,1
Nevada-Las Vegas,,Matt Williams/Washington,,1
New Hampshire,,,Chip Kelly/Philadelphia,1
North Carolina,George Karl/Sacramento,Walt Weiss/Colorado,,2
North Dakota State,,,Gus Bradley/Jacksonville,1
Northwestern,,Joe Girardi/N.Y. Yankees,,1
Notre Dame,Monty Williams/New Orleans,,,1
Oklahoma,Terry Stotts/Portland,,,1
Oklahoma State,,John Farrell/Boston,,2
,,Robin Ventura/Chicago White Sox,,
Pacific,,,Pete Carroll/Seattle,1
Pomona College,Mike Budenholzer/Atlanta,,,1
Portland,Erik Spoelstra/Miami,,,1
Princeton,David Blatt/Cleveland,,Jason Garrett/Dallas,2
Salem State,Tom Thibodeau/Chicago,,,1
Salisbury State,,,Dan Quinn/Atlanta,1
San Diego,James Borrego/Orlando,,,1
San Diego State,,Bud Black/San Diego,John Fox/Chicago,2
Southwestern Oklahoma State,,,Rex Ryan/Buffalo,1
Stanford,,A.J. Hinch/Houston,,1
SUNY-Brockport,Stan Van Gundy/Detroit,,,1
Syracuse,,,Tom Coughlin/N.Y. Giants,1
Temple,,,Todd Bowles/N.Y. Jets,1
Texas A&M,,,Gary Kubiak/Denver,1
Tulsa,,,Lovie Smith/Tampa Bay,1
UCLA,,Ron Roenicke/Milwaukee,,1
USC,,,Jeff Fisher/St. Louis,2
,,,Jack Del Rio/Oakland,
Utah,,,Mike McCoy/San Diego,1
Valparaiso,,Lloyd McClendon/Seattle,,1
Virginia,Rick Carlisle/Dallas,,Mike Pettine/Cleveland,2
Virginia Tech,,,Bruce Arians/Arizona,1
Wesleyan,,,Bill Belichick/New England,1
William & Jefferson,,,Joe Philbin/Miami,1
William & Mary,,,Mike Tomlin/Pittsburgh,1
Wyoming,,,Chuck Pagano/Indianapolis,1
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He has also written articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
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