U Of A Too Young To Know Better Fun-Loving Wildcats Stay Loose Before Playing For National Title

Miles Simon tilted his chair back, looked slyly to his left and chucked a piece of ice at Michael Dickerson.

The two dissolved in giggles, and that got Mike Bibby going. A.J. Bramlett and Bennett Davison joined in, and Arizona’s starting lineup was convulsed in laughter as coach Lute Olson tried to answer questions during a team news conference Sunday.

This is the team that’s one game away from being national champion?

“We came here just to have fun,” Simon said. “It’s a business trip, but we’re going to enjoy it, also. This might be the only time we get here.”

Staying loose has gotten the Wildcats (24-9) this far, and a little thing like playing Kentucky (35-4) tonight for the NCAA title isn’t about to get them uptight.

On Sunday, it was tough to get a straight answer out of anyone from Arizona - including Olson. He was cracking jokes, making fun of himself and poking fun at his players.

His players were too busy laughing to hear many of the things he said. They tuned in when one of them spoke, but only so they would know what to make fun of.

When Davison tried to explain why he plays better when he’s guarding someone like All-American Ron Mercer, Simon interrupted him.

“What are you talking about?” he said, then leaned back in his chair and laughed.

Nobody got it worse than Bibby. Olson made fun of the freshman point guard’s brief, to-the-point answers, cutting him off and having someone else respond if he didn’t like what Bibby said.

When someone asked Bibby later if he was cocky, his eyes grew wide and he started shaking his head.

“I’m not cocky at all. (Simon) said he was kidding,” he said, and then hesitated. “I think he was kidding.”