University of Arizona - Desert Yearbook (Tucson, AZ)

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Forward Bennett Davison gleefully dunks the ball in the Kentucky game. Al- though the opportunity for fancy shots didn ' t come up often they were savored. One very sad Kentucky player covers his face in disbelief. No one believed Arizona could win the championship this year but our Wild- cats had a plan of their own and brought the trophies home. SCampus Life

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c i Y tHt e J nrcAo Photo by Andrew R. Reimisch MUDDY AND WINNING THE GAME t fuCi OHilyt : pron. tT dlfioyi or d nrcei- Defending the honor of a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation, junior Tiamo De Vettori asserted, I Uke to see Homecoming as a celebration. I see it as students and the community all revolving around the U of A and taking a day, just like Thanksgiving, to give thanks for being a student here. Meanwhile, sophomore Michael Herman stated, I don ' t care about Homecoming. I am not a fan of football at all, and Homecoming is just another football game. Or is it? Homecom- ing evolved into a ritual extrava- ganza including a pep-rally bonfire and pre-Homecoming mall events. During the parade that has been at the core of UA festivities since 1929, smiling crowds watched as eighty- two floats circled the mall. De Vettori commented, We ' ve been doing it every year, and every year it ' s huge. On Homecoming Day after the parade, 1 just feel so proud to be a U of A student, and that ' s what it ' s all about. Whether symbolic pageantry or overrated fun, frolicking Greeks and honorary club members fought in a pit of mud to be able to claim that they won the tug- of-war. At the culmination of the pep-rally, anxious spectators watched as Dee Dee Buzzi and Fai Mo were crowned as Queen and King before a stack of wooden pallets was sacrificed to the tradition gods. Scratching the UCLA Bruins in the face, the Wild- cats clawed to the top of the football food-chain and carved out a 35-17 victory. Homecoming, with all of its associated rituals and traditions, lived on. Homecoming Phoic by Andrew R. Reimisch Dave ' s Big Deluxe performed during the week before Homecom ing. Dunk the Roy- alty and Singled Out were other events.

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yin H c nrtz nCM CHAMPIONSHIPS WINNERS won the NCAA championship. By defeating the defending national champion Kentucky, 84-79, the men ' s basketball team ended it ' s season with glory. Miles Simon, junior guard, commenting about winning said, We ' re here now, w e ' re not a year aw ay. 1 think w e w ent into the Final Four w ith an advantage, w e didn ' t have a care in the world. The team not only won the championship, but on the w ay they beat three number one seeds. This was the first time any team accomplished this feat. They beat North Carolina, Kan- sas and finally Kentucky w ho w as favored to w in the title. The last game w as close all the w ay through. In the final minutes of the game, Kentucky made two amazing three-point- ers which tied them with UA and pushed the game into overtime. In overtime it w as soon apparent that UA was going to win. UA outscored UK within the first four minutes of overtime. Then Miles Simon hit two free throws pushing the score up to 82-76 w ith only 41.7 seconds to go. Each hit one more basket, Kentucky ' s a three pointer , but it w asn ' t enough to put them over the top. Jason Terry had an inkling UA w ould w in, When we w ent into overtime after they tied it up, I looked into everybody ' s eyes and knew w e w ould win. I saw the determination that w ould not stop until we were champions. Intense joy crosses Mike Bibby ' s face as he hits a key shot. Bibby was only a freshman but he played better than most seniors. Photos Courtesy of The Associated Press Basketball 9