Arizona basketball is famous for its unique record of reaching 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. While this record may be unique, it also points out to the fact that the system of basketball and the infrastructure of Arizona basketball is of the highest standard. There are numerous national level players who have come out of the system and the overall standard of the level of talent available in the state is well reflected in its consistency of performances. Much of the success of Arizona basketball can be attributed to the systems that were set up and put in practice by the renowned coach Lute Olson. This enigmatic coach took over the reins of the Arizona wildcats in early 1980s and was instrumental for their subsequent success, till the present days. His famous training model was specifically targeted to improve the skills of guards, apart from the development of the overall game. The systematic improvement of the skills of the guard and their eventual mastery of that aspect of the game has been famously referred to as the “Point Guard U” by many sports journalists. Point guard U has become the reference point of coaching of many other teams of the country and also at the international level. This list of notable players to come out of the Arizona wildcats roster is huge, which is a testament to the efficiency of the coaching model.

Apart from the coaching model, Arizona basketball is also famous for its talent identification programs and talent development programs. There are many state level and local level talent identification camps. Some of these camps are specialized and are conducted only for specific people and are the sources of identifying players with specific talents, while most others are general camps that are open to the public. The public entry camps are very important events and many thousands of people vie with each other to gain entry into these programs. Apart from talent identification, Arizona basketball also is famous for its player development programs. These programs are known for not only increasing the existing skill levels of the players, they are also efficient for identifying the weakness of the players and rectifying them. Lute Olson is not the coach of the wildcats anymore but the systems that he put in place will ensure that the team continues to perform well at the national level and will also ensure that the right talent gets identified and developed on a constant basis.