Former Arizona legends Jason Terry and Richard Jefferson have been hinted at becoming the Wildcat’s next assistant coach, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium. The news of Terry being the lead candidate was announced Tuesday, April 21, by Goodman on Twitter, which ignited a response from Jefferson quoting the tweet and indicating that he is also a candidate for the position and wishing Terry the best of luck in the race to become Wildcat’s newest assistant coach. 

Terry or Jefferson would be replacing Justin Gainey, who left Arizona a few weeks ago to become the associate head coach at Marquette University. Although neither one of them has any coaching experience at a high level, both Terry and Jefferson have a ton of recruiting connections and are constantly staying involved with the University of Arizona athletics. 

Terry and Jefferson were teammates at Arizona during the 1998-99 season where they went 22-6, finishing second in the Pac-10 under the helm of head coach Lute Olson. Terry was also named Pac-10 Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team that year. He won an NCAA national championship in 1997, prompting Arizona to retire his number back in 2015 and hang his No. 31 jersey in the rafters. 

Terry was selected No. 10 overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the following season and was named Sixth Man of the Year in 2009 and won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, playing 19 seasons in the NBA for six different teams before ending his professional career in 2018. 

Jefferson was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft. He was named All-Rookie Second Team in his first season with the New Jersey Nets and won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. He was also a member of the USA national team and won a bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Jefferson retired in 2018 and is now a broadcaster for ESPN and the Pac-12 Network. 

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