Great gifts in Arizona sports history

Dec 23, 2011, 9:02 PM | Updated: 9:52 pm

BY ADAM GREEN/ARIZONA SPORTS
Arizona Sports

‘Tis the season for giving, and though Arizona sports fans
have suffered quite a bit, we have been on the receiving end
of quite a few gifts.

Below is a list of some of the best players and coaches who
have come through the Valley, a group of people who we are
fortunate to say belong to us.

Did we leave anyone out? Let us know in the comments below.

Diana Taurasi

Sure, a team landing the number one pick
should find itself a good player, but the
Phoenix Mercury were incredibly fortunate to
land the top selection in 2004, when UConn
star Diana Taurasi was the consensus top
choice. Taurasi has averaged nearly 21 points
per game in her WNBA career, leading the
Mercury to a pair of championships and
earning a league MVP award, too.

Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov was one of the NHL's better
goaltenders as a member of the Anaheim Ducks,
but there was simply no room for the then-27-year-old on the roster with Jean-Sebastien
Giguere already entrenched as the top goalie.
So, the Ducks waived Bryzgalov, and by virtue
of their record the Coyotes were able to
claim him. For all his faults, Bryzgalov did
lead the Coyotes to the playoffs two-
consecutive years, a stretch no fan would
want to give back.

Derrick Williams

Derrick Williams was one of the least-heralded members of Sean Miller's 2009
recruiting class, but ended up being the best
of them all. The No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA
Draft, Williams was all set to be a USC
Trojan when coach Tim Floyd resigned under
allegations of breaking NCAA rules. Williams
left for Arizona and the rest, as they say,
is history. Thanks, Tim.

Dave Tippett

Dave Tippett was hired by the Coyotes on
September 24, 2009. The season started on
October 3. The Desert Dogs were fortunate to
land a coach of his caliber, especially after
the debacle that was the Wayne Gretzky
regime. Tippett has guided a team with
middling talent to the playoffs twice, and
could do so for a third time this year.

Curt Schilling

The 2000 Diamondbacks were floundering. Just
one year after winning the NL West, Arizona
was struggling to keep pace when they decided
to pair another ace with stud Randy Johnson.
On July 26, 2000 the team swapped Travis Lee,
Vicente Padilla, Omar Daal and Nelson
Figueroa for the veteran righty, and while
Arizona didn't win the West in 2000, the
trade paid big dividends. Schilling was the
team's ace in the 2001 World Series run, and
would have won a Cy Young or two had it not
been for teammate Randy Johnson. As for the
players Arizona gave up? Meh.

Charles Barkley

Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.
That's all the Suns needed to part with in
order to land one of the NBA's 50 Greatest
players before the 1992-93 season, and all
Sir Charles did was win the league MVP and
lead the team to the NBA Finals in his first
year in the desert. A member of the Suns'
Ring of Honor, Barkley will go down as one of
the best players in history.

Lute Olson

How did the University of Arizona not only
land a coach like Lute Olson, but keep him
around for 24 seasons? Who knows. Olson
arrived in 1983 and quickly turned UA into a
basketball powerhouse, and resisted overtures
from schools like Kentucky to remain in
Tucson. He guided the school to 14 Sweet 16s,
nine Elite 8s, four Final Fours and one
National Championship.

Pat Tillman

Does this one even really need an
explanation? Tillman was an outstanding
linebacker during his time at Arizona State
and fell the the Arizona Cardinals in the
seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He
amassed 238 tackles and three interceptions
in four NFL seasons, playing with the passion
he was always known for. Everyone knows what
happened in Tillman's post-NFL career, but we
are all thankful for having been able to
watch him in our own backyard.

Luis Gonzalez

Quick, name the player the D-backs traded
away to get Luis Gonzalez. Can't do it? OK,
fine. Karim Garcia is the player, and these are his career stats.
While not the worst player ever, he doesn't
really compare to a guy who hit .298 over
eight seasons with Arizona and slugged 224
home runs and tallied 774 RBI. Oh, he led the
team to a World Series win, too.

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