Lute Olson All-Star Classic Recap

Jason Terry, Miles Simon and the rest of Arizona’s 1997 national championship team led the Blue All-Stars past the White All-Stars, 132-124, in the fun-filled 2007 Lute Olson All-Star Classic Shootout on Sunday at McKale Center.

The festivities included performances by the Phoenix Suns Gorilla, the Phoenix Suns Dancers and halftime recognition of the 1997 team.

Arizona head coach Lute Olson enjoyed the game as a spectator in the front row, and remarked after the game, “This game is indicative of how these guys feel about the program. They love coming back here to see their buddies and even get together with the guys they have never played with before.”

Terry led all scorers with 30 points and was followed closely by Simon with 24 points. Fellow national champion and Blue All-Star Eugene Edgerson was the only player to register a double-double, as he scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

In addition to his 30 points, Terry stayed busy by shooting t-shirts into the crowd, taking a digital camera onto the court to take a photograph during the action and relieving a UA yell leader of his megaphone to lead the crowd in cheers while the White All-Stars were shooting free throws.

Fresh off some good-natured ribbing from UA’s $3.5 million benefactor Richard Jefferson, who had 17 points of his own, Gilbert Arenas tallied 25 points for the White All-Stars – all but eight of which came in the fourth quarter.

Fan favorite Steve Kerr came off the bench for the White All-Stars and delighted the crowd of 8,101 with 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers in an efficient six attempts.

“It was an awesome day,” Kerr said. “All of us had a great time; it’s always good to get together and play against one another. The fans were great and to top it off it was all for a good cause.”

A total of 25 former Wildcats saw action in the exhibition, which has now been held three times in the last five years.

While addressing the crowd at halftime, Olson announced that the players donated a combined $50,000 towards research and treatment of women’s cancer at the University of Arizona.