“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but they balled out this season,” Perez said. “In the tournament, they balled out. No one expected us to go this far with as many freshmen as we had. But they just totally balled out this season. And we love our Wildcats.”

The two didn’t know each other, but engaged in conversation while they waited next to each other.

On the other side of the barricade was Tucsonan Beth Cole, who graduated from the university in 1997, the same year the Wildcats took home the national championship. She was out at McKale Center to show her love for the Final Four team.

“It’s a big thing for the city of Tucson, for the university,” she said. “It’s not a celebration like a national championship, but we should still be really happy and really proud and rally behind the team and coaching.

“They’ll be back,” she added.

The return of the Wildcats was a family affair for many Tucsonans, who showed up and showed out with kids in tow.

The Brown family, consisting of Devon and Chelsie, who are Arizona alums, and their two young sons, showed up around 11:30 a.m. to wait for the Wildcats. They held “welcome back” and “thank you” signs along the barricade for their favorite team and players.

Their sons also participate in Arizona’s youth basketball camps.

“We’re diehard Arizona fans,” Devon Brown said. “We were students years ago … and our kids, they scream ‘Bear Down,’ and they’re already choosing to come to the U of A when it’s their turn. Our circle of friends, our family, we’re all U of A alums.