Arizona has a long and rich basketball history.
Under Enke, UA competed in the now defunct Border Conference. Under Enke's direction,
Arizona won 12 conference championships, including a span in which the Cats won
or shared seven consecutive Border Conference titles (1942–51). No Border
Conference team won as many league games (231) or overall contests (398) during
its membership. In 1962, Arizona joined the Western Athletic Conference as a founding
member after the Border Conference disbanded.
In 1972, Fred Snowden was hired as the head basketball coach, making Arizona the
second Division I school and the first major program to hire an African American
head coach. Known as "The Fox," Snowden brought the excitement back to Wildcat basketball
during his 10 years on the Arizona sideline, averaging more than 80 points per game
in six of his 10 years and topping the 100-point barrier 27 times.
The program came to national prominence under the tutelage of former head coach
Lute Olson, who since 1983 has established the program as among America's elite
in college basketball. One writer referred to UA as "Point Guard U" because the
school has produced successful guards like Steve Kerr, Damon Stoudamire, Khalid
Reeves, Jason Terry, Gilbert Arenas, Mike Bibby and others.
From 1985 to 2009, the Arizona basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament for 25
consecutive years, two years shy of North Carolina's record of 27. Despite a 1999
appearance later vacated by the NCAA, the media still cites Arizona's streak, and
simply note the change. The Wildcats have reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament
on four occasions (1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001). In 1997, Arizona defeated the University
of Kentucky, the defending national champions, to win the NCAA National Championship.
In Pac-10 play, former head coach Lute Olson currently holds the record for most
wins as a Pac-10 coach at 327. In addition, the team has won 12 Pac-10 regular season
titles and 4 Pac-10 tournament titles. Arizona also holds the distinction of recording
5 out of the 7 17–1 Pac-10 seasons (one-loss seasons). No team has gone undefeated
since the formation of the Pac-10. Arizona has spent 110 weeks in the top 5 which
is 10th all-time, 226 weeks in the top 10 which is 8th all-time and 423 weeks in
the top 25 which is 10th all-time. Arizona has intense rivalries with the in-state
Arizona State Sun Devils, and the out-of-state UCLA Bruins and Kansas Jayhawks.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Wildcats_men's_basketball