Something I have wanted to do for a while was hold a fantasy draft of Arizona basketball players in the Pac-10/12 era. That opportunity came Thursday when our Steve Rivera joined me and host Mike Luke on the UA pregame radio show on Sportsradio 1290.
The three of us, along with board operator J.W. Madden — whose Twitter handle, @GumbySquad, tells you he knows his Arizona hoops history — did indeed hold an on-air draft.
You know, just for fun.
It’s hard to go wrong because there are so many good choices — and maybe we’ll have to hold a deeper draft at some point — but keep reading for how it all came out … and then vote on which team is your favorite.
We picked a starting five (being mindful of positions; you couldn’t draft five guards) and two bench players.
Rivera had the first pick and went, of course, with Sean Elliott. I took Damon Stoudamire with the second pick; again; pretty much a no-brainer. Luke then went with Mike Bibby, another logical selection. With back-to-back picks, Madden grabbed Chris Mills and Gilbert Arenas.
OK … so here are the four teams, with players listed in order of round and also be overall draft selection.
STEVE RIVERA
1. Sean Elliott
8. Derrick Williams
9. Steve Kerr
16. Jerryd Bayless
17. Chase Budinger
Bench: 24. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, 25. Channing Frye
ANTHONY GIMINO
2. Damon Stoudamire
7. Khalid Reeves
10. Lauri Markkanen
15. Michael Dickerson
18. Sean Rooks
Bench: 23. Reggie Geary, 26. Andre Iguodala
MIKE LUKE
3. Mike Bibby
6. Jason Terry
11. Loren Woods
14. Michael Wright
19. Miles Simon
Bench: 22. Salim Stoudamire, 27. Jordan Hill
J.W. MADDEN
4. Chris Mills
5. Gilbert Arenas
12. Anthony Cook
13. Brian Williams
20. Jason Gardner
Bench: 21. Richard Jefferson, 28. Aaron Gordon
And just think of all the other great players who went undrafted: T.J. McConnell, Nick Johnson, Luke Walton, Jud Buechler, Ben Davis, Ray Owes, Pete Williams, John Edgar, Larry Demic …
Anyway, now it’s time for you to decide. Which team’s parts fit together the best — offense, defense, 3-point shooting, rim protection, etc. Which is your favorite?
Have your say …
