The Taming of the Wildcat

It’s not easy to play defense against a guy who will shoot from anywhere -- two feet from the basket or 32 feet -- and make it. It’s not easy to coach that guy. It’s not easy being that guy.

But finally, only weeks from the end of his rocky career as an Arizona basketball player, Salim Stoudamire is making basketball easy. For himself, for Coach Lute Olson and for his teammates.

As Arizona makes its annual Pacific 10 Conference trip to Southern California this weekend with games against USC tonight in the Sports Arena and at UCLA on Saturday, the 12th-ranked Wildcats seem to be hitting their stride at the same time Stoudamire is. And that’s no coincidence.

After being benched for a national-television game against Marquette in January, after overcorrecting himself in reaction to Olson’s criticisms, Stoudamire has become the most dangerous player in the Pac-10 over the last month.

The 6-foot-1 guard leads the conference in three-point shooting. Stoudamire has made 68 of 125 three-point shots. That’s 54.4%, and he has the second-most tries in the conference. (USC’s Lodrick Stewart has taken 140 and made 60.)

Against UCLA last month, Stoudamire scored 32 points -- 24 in the second half -- and made a 26-foot three-pointer in the face of freshman Arron Afflalo to win the game at the buzzer, 76-73.

“He’s so hard to guard,” Afflalo said this week, “because he’s not your textbook player. He will shoot from anywhere. You can’t get a form on him. Like most guys you can watch film and say, ‘He’ll take two dribbles to the right and shoot.’ But that’s not Salim.”

Added UCLA point guard Jordan Farmar: “His release is so quick, and he’s got no limitations. He’ll pop up and just shoot it from anywhere. And make it.”

Besides the 32 points against UCLA, Stoudamire scored 27 against Oregon, 25 each against Oregon State and Washington, and 26 against Stanford. Those were all Arizona victories. In the Wildcats’ only losses in the last month, Stoudamire had 14 points at Stanford and 11 against Washington State.

“I’m feeling good now,” Stoudamire said Tuesday after practice. “Coach Olson and I are in the best place we’ve been since I came here. I think we finally understand each other.”

The understanding hasn’t come easy.

Stoudamire is, admittedly, a moody perfectionist. “I’m not always the easiest guy to get along with,” he said.

During his first two seasons, the Wildcats could indulge Stoudamire’s grumpy days and play past his sulks with the help of solid citizens such as Jason Gardner and Luke Walton.

Last season, the Wildcats became Stoudamire’s team and it was mostly disappointments. Picked among the top 10 teams in the country by almost everybody at the beginning of the season, Arizona was swept by Washington in three Pac-10 games -- including the conference tournament -- finished 20-10, and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Seton Hall.

Olson saw Stoudamire’s bad moods affect his teammates, and before fall practice started this season, Olson said he gave his senior leader a harsh choice.

“I told him his scholarship would be here, but it was not a given that he would be on the team,” Olson said. “It’s been a difficult thing for both of us. His first year was great, but by his junior year he got to where he was thinking more about himself. And he’d get down on himself as soon as he’d miss a shot. It was a depressing thing for his teammates to look at him, depressing for me, depressing for him.

“Now the light has come on. It’s the end of this part of his life, and he needs to enjoy what he’s doing.”

The light is on bright.

Like UCLA forward Dijon Thompson, Stoudamire had heard some negative things from NBA scouts. Combined with his benching in December, Stoudamire said he has figured out things.

“It’s up to me what I accomplish,” he said. “It’s time for me and the team to do some good things.”

As Olson said, “I told Salim that people don’t know him and that 99.9% of people who watch him will never meet him. To them, you are projecting the image of what they think you are.

“That has finally registered with him. The NBA guys have enough problems and they’re not jumping up and down to add another.”

Stoudamire said he sympathizes with Afflalo’s consternation about defending him. “I looked at the film of that last shot,” Stoudamire said, “and I asked myself how I’d guard me. Honestly, I don’t know. Not with how I’m playing.”

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Three-Point Landings

Pacific 10 three-point field-goal percentage leaders in conference play:

*--* Player, Team Cl . G 3FG FGA Pct. 1. Salim Stoudamire, Arizona Sr. 11 34 63 540 2. Bryson Krueger, Arizona St. So. 11 16 32 500 Nick DeWitz, Oregon St. Jr. 10 11 22 500 4. Gabe Pruitt, USC Fr. 11 22 47 468 5. Dan Grunfeld, Stanford Jr. 11 18 39 462

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