In 1997, Arizona defeated Kentucky in overtime of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game.
The two schools who share the nickname “Wildcats” again made headlines this year as the University of Kentucky replaced Billy Gillispie with John Calipari, who left the University of Memphis to take the Kentucky job. Arizona replaced the Hall of Famer Lute Olson, who guided Arizona to the ’97 title, with Sean Miller, who left Xavier.
Both coaches are veterans. If you’re thinking about pursuing a career coaching basketball, it may be interesting to read the profiles of each coach. It dcouments the dues each paid as an assistant before landing a head coaching job.
Both coaches then faced tough decisions this year, leaving programs that they had fared well at in Memphis and Xavier.