"My freshman year was good, sophomore year bad, junior year worse and now it's good again," Stoudamire said.
Olson said, "If I had black hair when he came in, then he would have turned it gray."
Arizona coaches have tried to improve Stoudamire's leadership skills and his public persona, but they have never tried to tamper with his shot. When Stoudamire elevates, he pushes his elbows out to the side instead of keeping them close to his body. This might not be the method taught at basketball clinics, but it is one of the ways Stoudamire devised to give himself room during backyard battles with his older brother, Antoine, in Portland, Oregon.
"We were not going to try and change that," the Arizona assistant Rodney Tention said. "He is so confident in what he does and he was so consistent with it since Day 1.
"Our guys are still sort of amazed when he misses."
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