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"My family and I are excited to be part of the incredible ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ community again, where our story began,â€� Terry said in a UA statement. “I am looking forward to joining coach (Sean) Miller and staff to develop student-athletes that have a passion for education, basketball excellence and community leadership."

The Wildcats all but hired Terry a month ago, shortly after Justin Gainey left to become Marquette’s associate head coach, and Terry acknowledged interest via Twitter by retweeting a report he had emerged as a leading candidate with emojis signaling “Bear Down."

But the athletic department’s hiring freeze delayed the move and it wasn’t until after UA posted the job on May 19 that it became clear that Terry would be added soon.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s athletic department is still under an indefinite hiring freeze, though athletic director Dave Heeke told the Star last month that exceptions are possible in some situations, most likely when the coronavirus-prompted NCAA recruiting dead period is lifted.

“I know how important it is to have a staff member in there for our student-athletes and we’re going to do that when we when we need to,� Heeke said then. “Not yet because you can’t go out and recruit but stability on a staff is important. We’re staying in contact and we’ll make sure we fulfill the need when we need it.�

While the restrictions have actually been extended until July 31, the Wildcats likely want Terry immediately to help virtually recruit the class of 2021, in which several of their targets are from the Seattle area where Terry has hometown roots. Among them is five-star forward Paolo Banchero, who named the Wildcats among his top five finalists last month even though he did not have them among an earlier list of nine.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has already landed incoming grad transfer guard Terrell Brown, a godson of Terry who played for Seattle U last season, and is also recruiting 2021 guard Nolan Hickman of the east Seattle suburbs.

In a statement, UA coach Sean Miller said he was excited to welcome Terry and his family back to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

“Jason’s accomplishments as a player and champion are iconic in our sport, with so many of his incredible moments on the court taking place here at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥," Miller said. "His basketball journey is one that so many players dream of, but he was able to make it a reality.

“Jason’s knowledge of the game along with his charisma and competitive spirit are qualities that will make him an exceptional coach. He will impact and energize our current players as well as our recruiting efforts in a major way. We look forward to having back on our sideline in the McKale Center.�

Terry rose to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ fame as a key sixth man for the Wildcats’ 1997 national champions and an All-American as a senior in 1998-99, when some media outlets also named him player of the year, before going on to play 19 seasons in the NBA. Terry has since coached and run a Dallas-area girls club team and served last season as an assistant general manager for the G League’s Texas Legends.

In a UA-produced video, Miller called Terry "the epitome of unselfishness" for accepting a role off the bench for the Wildcats in 1996-97.

"He was a big reason why ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ won the national championship, but yet he didn't start," Miller said. "During that same career here, he went from a non-starter and a national champion, to the national player of the year. ... I love his passion for the game."

Terry earned a UA jersey retirement by being named the national player of the year in 1998-99 by Sports Illustrated, CBS and the Basketball Times, but ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ did not honor him for 15 years after an NCAA investigation found Terry accepted $11,500 from agents while playing for the Wildcats as a senior.

The NCAA’s finding prompted ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to forfeit $45,363 in NCAA Tournament revenues while vacating its 1999 NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Oklahoma. In 2000, the school made an agreement with the then-Pac-10 Conference to ban Terry from the UA Sports Hall of Fame, with a provision that his jersey would not be retired.

But Terry eventually repaid the $45,363 in forfeited NCAA Tournament revenue and went on to graduate from UA in 2014. The school in McKale in 2015.

In 2018, tensions surfaced between Terry and the UA program for a different reason.

After ESPN reported in February 2018 that Miller discussed a $100,000 pay-for-play scheme, Terry tweeted: “BearDown it’s time to clean house and bring home our own bloodlines to carry on Lutes Legacy. We have too much pride, too much tradition to allow outsiders to tear down what we built.�

However, Terry told a Phoenix radio station in April 2019 that he strongly supported Miller and that “we’re in good hands,â€� and in August 2019, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s basketball program tweeted out a photo of Miller, Terry and women’s golf coach Laura Ianello smiling together at McKale Center.

Terry becomes the first assistant Miller has hired at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ without previous college coaching experience. But Terry has a strong relationship with UA associate head coach Jack Murphy, who was a freshman manager during Terry’s final college season. As seniors that season, Terry and center A.J. Bramlett led an otherwise inexperienced team to a second-place Pac-10 finish and a No. 4 seed.

Terry left ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to become the No. 10 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and earned $108 million over his . While playing for the Dallas Mavericks, Terry became the 2009 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and won an NBA title in 2011.

The Mavericks defeated LeBron James and the Miami Heat in six games in the 2011 Finals, with Terry scoring a game-high 27 points in the final game.

Terry went on to play with the Boston Celtics (2012-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-14), Houston Rockets (2014-16) and the Milwaukee Bucks (2016-18) before leaving the NBA.

Terry wound up playing the ninth-most games in NBA history (1,410O) and he remains in seventh place on the NBA’s career 3-point field goals made list with 2,282.

In 2015, Terry finished his UA bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis on social, behavioral and human understanding in 2015, a qualification he needed to become an assistant coach.