The votes are in, and the winner is

[Steve Rivera]

You’ve voted and made some decisions. The results are now in!

And it looks like the overwhelming choice for the best guard in the last 40 years at UA is, drum roll please. …. Mike Bibby.
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Not sure if I would have made him my first choice but he definitely would have been my second choice behind your third choice, Damon Stoudamire.

Had Bibby stayed at UA for four years he would have been unbelievable.

Heck, he was unbelievable in two years. Unflappable. Never nervous. Never complained. If you needed a big shot, you go to Bibby. Damon was the same way. I still remember the night Damon scored 45 against Stanford in an overtime win. Still remember he brought UA back from the brink of defeat in Pullman in 1995. Another overtime. He was/is 5-foot-10 and was huge.

That stop and pop, man oh man. Bonus was he got the media. Returned calls; spoke after wins – AND losses. Stand-up guy.

Not that Bibby wasn’t, but he wasn’t as talkative. But that wasn’t part of the voting.

No. 2 on your list? Jason Terry, the player of the year in 1999. He single-handedly carried UA on his back in 1999. He was huge save for that damn NCAA problem. But that wasn’t part of the voting.

No. 4 was Steve Kerrrrrrrr. The most unathletic guard on the list but who else would you want to take the last shot in a clutch situation? OK, so maybe Bibby but Kerr didn’t make mistakes. What else do you want in a point guard? A mistake-free leader who wins. That’s all. That’s Kerr.

No. 5 was Khalid Reeves. There were few better than Reeves when he came to play. Just ask Michigan, a team he scorched in 1993 by hitting 13 of 14 shots and finishing with 40 points. He had a defensive backs’ body and when he got into the lane there was no stopping him. Strong.

Thanks for the votes, particularly those who went back and voted for guys like Eric Money, Coniel Norman, Joe Nehls and Warren Rustand. Sorry to say you guys missed one. Russell Brown. He may be the godfather of the UA point guards. He still leads all-time in assists and it’s not even close. He had 810 for his career and 247 for a season. That’s another record.

[Azwldctfan]

Pretty good list. I'm surprised Jason Terry finished so high on that list though.

Steve, do you have the top 10 point getters with their scores?

[Cmurder]

Bibby FTW (literally)

[Mich]

cant argue against Bibby, the guy brought us a national title

[dakotalivlrg]

Hell yeah! I figured it would be Bibby since he did help us to the Championship!

All great players on the list, and for the older ones I really haven't heard of em since I didn't really "follow" intensely in U of A sports till about 5-10 years ago, been a fan my whole life as thats what you do when you grow up in Tuscon!

[Steve Rivera]

CMurder. I get FTW! Just FYI. Kind of like a last-second jumper, only better..

[Cmurder]

CMurder. I get FTW! Just FYI. Kind of like a last-second jumper, only better..

Hell yeah! Great analogy. Thanks again for compiling these votes. It's awesome when these articles can be interactive and compile a bigger piece if information/data. With all the MEGA FANS on this website, Bibby winning this one speaks volumes about his game.

[JT31]

Although Bibby was undoubtedly one of the greats, he did not win us the championship alone. Heck, he wasn't even the MVP. He played a very vital role and we would NOT have won it without him, but I don't think we could have won it without Simon, Dickerson, Davidson, A.J. and so on either....

Nothing against him, I love the guy and had him on my list, but I'm a little bitter that he gets so much props and yet he only stayed 2 years. Damon was my favorite player (before JT came along). Him and Khalid together were unstoppable. I am in agreement with Steve, I think he's the best PG we've had.

Thanx for putting this poll together Steve! It leads to very interesting findings and discussion!

[GoAzCatsBlows]

Nice list POINT GUARD U!!!!

[Staffan15]

I think Bibby is our best PG ever, but I think Kerr is our best guard ever.

[Steve Rivera]

Because AZWildct asked: just no numbers.
6th - Jason Gardner
7th - Miles Simon
8th - Gilbert Arenas
9th - Salim Stoudamire
10th - Eric Money

[Azwldctfan]

Although Bibby was undoubtedly one of the greats, he did not win us the championship alone. Heck, he wasn't even the MVP. He played a very vital role and we would NOT have won it without him, but I don't think we could have won it without Simon, Dickerson, Davidson, A.J. and so on either....

Nothing against him, I love the guy and had him on my list, but I'm a little bitter that he gets so much props and yet he only stayed 2 years. Damon was my favorite player (before JT came along). Him and Khalid together were unstoppable. I am in agreement with Steve, I think he's the best PG we've had.

Thanx for putting this poll together Steve! It leads to very interesting findings and discussion!

I agree with you completely.

Mike Bibby arguably wasn't even the best guard on his team during both of his seasons!!!! The NBA didn't like Miles Simon, but I watched the 1997 tournament. Do you know what Miles Simon scored in the last 3 games of the NCAA tournament? 30 against Providence, 24 against UNC, and 30 against Kentucky. Bibby was 17, 20, and 19. With the title in sight, Simon averaged 28 points and Bibby averaged 18.7. That is why Miles Simon was my #1 Arizona Guard of all time. He is the guard that blew up and brought the title home to Tucson more than any other. Mike Bibby wasn't on the cover of Sports Illustrated as Cool Cats. Jim Nance didn't say "Mike Bibby Says Championship." He didn't say it was a "Mike-stone victory for Arizona."

Miles baby, Miles.

Mike Bibby Stats from 1996-1998 (2 seasons)
69 games, 32.4 minutes per game, 15.4 points, 5.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 0.2 blocks, 2.3 steals, 45.6% FGs, 39.0% 3s, 72.9% FTs

Miles Simon Stats from 1996-1998 (2 seasons)
58 games, 31.6 minutes per game, 17.7 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 0.1 blocks, 1.3 steals, 46.7% FGs, 38.3% 3s, 76.8% FTs

Miles Simon was there both years Bibby was there, and Miles was better both years. The end.

[ibryce]

The best thing about these questions is that they facilitate debate and conversation. I chose Bibby, but could easily have chose Damon. Steve - I remember that game in Pullman - I don't think it was on tv (or the one in my dorm anyway so we listened on the radio). Down 11 I believe and one of his shots included a banked 3. No way they were going to win that game.

[azcatfan_84]

I remember the Pullman game. It was on the old Fox Sports RM channel. I remember that WSU fans were already lounging in there little hot tubs that were inside the arena when out nowhere from the brink of defeat came Mighty Mouse who lead the Wildcats to argueably one of the best comebacks in my short UA memory. Great last 90 seconds of the game.

[Applequest]

Thanks Steve, and great job voting everyone. Definitely an outstanding list, you cant go wrong with any of those guys.

[smith1rd]

Very good list. Even though we're PGU, I think our all-time F list would equally be just as impressive.

[RXCATS]

and Bibby deserves it being the PG of the national championship team. Great list overall

[N1-X]

great list!

[Azwldctfan]

and Bibby deserves it being the PG of the national championship team. Great list overall

Disagree. He only played 2 years and wasn't THE MAN on either of his teams. He was good, good enough to be Top 5 all time at UofA, but not #1. Miles Simon clearly did more for the National Championship team than Bibby.

Granted Miles Simon was a Junior and Bibby was a Freshman, but that wasn't the question. Bibby is getting too much credit for "playing better than a Freshman", but Freshman Bibby wasn't as important as Junior Simon (28 PPG From the Elite 8 on!) and Sophomore Bibby had a worse season than Senior Simon. And if you ignore Simon blowing up in the tournament and only look at the 1996-1997 regular season stats, Miles Simon still had better stats than Mike Bibby.

So to be the #1 guard of all time, shouldn't you have been better than another guard on your team? You can't say Bibby won the championship because Bibby and Simon were identical the first 3 games of the tournament and then Simon clearly outplayed Bibby the last 3 games. I look at the 2 years Bibby was at UofA, and Miles Simon played those same exact seasons and was better both seasons. So I don't get this result at all.

Wasn't Miles Simon a 4 year starter??? Way underrated for what he did for us.

[PG Anonymous]

I was at that game. It was me and about 40 Cats fans behind their bench. Down 10 with a minute left, Technical foul on the crowd, Damon banks in a THREE from 5' behind the line. Ike Fontaine barely missed a Free Throw that could've iced it. Greatest game I've ever been to.

Damon = #1 PG and maybe #1 player ever at Arizona. I mean, we are PGU. Our best player should be a PG. Who had a better career than Damon?



I remember the Pullman game. It was on the old Fox Sports RM channel. I remember that WSU fans were already lounging in there little hot tubs that were inside the arena when out nowhere from the brink of defeat came Mighty Mouse who lead the Wildcats to argueably one of the best comebacks in my short UA memory. Great last 90 seconds of the game.

[azdback32]

great points made by azwldcatfan, if bibby wasn't the best guard on the team for the two years he played with us, then he shouldn't be considered the best guard of all-time (or last 40 years). Bibby was a huge factor to us winning the title in 97, but Miles was even more important.

[mightymouse320]

Damon is who led me to be a Arizona Wildcat fan. He single-handley brought me to know who U of A was and I am glad to hear the he is WIDELY regarded as one of the best this school has ever churned out. Since I was too young to remember any games, as they did not show them much in Portland, I got to relish the years that he was a Trailblazer. He was turned on quickly up here, but I never left his camp! PGU is a great tradition and I love being a fan...thank you Damon for starting it all!

[JT31]

^ I remember the Beaver fans booing him...and Salim too I think for coming to UofA instead of OSU. Glad to see you weren't a hater! I was a HUGE Damon fan! He was and still is my favorite PG to go through the UofA.....AND then he became Rookie of the Year, which was AWESOME recognition for the UofA! Point Guard U BABY!

[hotshotheeb]

great list, brings back some great memories

[pommepere]

A lot of fun going back and comparing. Criteria has a lot to do with it. Most impact while here, or just the best? Impact, has to be Damon #1, The guy did it all. Best player, has to be Bibby, totally unflappable in leading us to championship (along w/Miles) as a freshman. JT right up there, no player has ever carried us the way he did his senior year. Without him- streak over.

Steve is right about the old timers, Russell Brown is right up with the best. Never made a bad pass in four years, led the break like none other. He was pass first, pass second, but could stick the jumper. Joe Nehls was a good player but played the same time as Russell, one year behind. Joe was not the player Russell was.

My first year out here was 74-75, so I missed Norman and Money by one year. The knowledgable fans at the time said Money was better, he was the point that ran the show (he had a better pro career than Norman too). In looking at the stats of the WAC era, have to keep one thing in mind, it is like looking at MLB stats during the steroid era, you have to look at them with a grain of salt. No defense was played, except by Don Haskins' UTEP team.

[catdefender]

Sorry it took so long to get to this Steve but how in the hell can you put Damon number one? Damon couldn't carry Mike's jock............and you do realize that Damon won the same amount of tournament games as Shakur right? Heck, if Khalid wasn't superman in 94 Loyola of MD might have bounced us.

[BD97]

great points made by azwldcatfan, if bibby wasn't the best guard on the team for the two years he played with us, then he shouldn't be considered the best guard of all-time (or last 40 years). Bibby was a huge factor to us winning the title in 97, but Miles was even more important.

Dont forget that Jason Terry gave up his spot for Simon when Simon's ineligibility was up... He was the ultimate team player. he still is!

[Thunder]

there is really no wrong answer here, they were all great players. you can say some accomplished more than others, but you have to take into account who they were playing with, along with a bunch of other factors. Still, it's hard to argue against Damon