ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

It began in June 1962 when Arizona's rising lefty pitcher Dan Schneider of Rincon High School pitched the Wildcats to the nation's No. 1 ranking — a first in school history for any sport — and set a school record with a 13-1 record and 186 strikeouts. Schneider, a sophomore, was so good that he struck out 16 Texas Longhorns in an NCAA Tournament game.

With two years of eligibility remaining, Schneider was almost overwhelmed by the interest of major-league teams. He ultimately told the Daily Star that his asking price was a $65,000 signing bonus plus $2,000 a year to help him complete his UA degree requirements. (His father, Donald, was a biochemist professor at the UA).

A few days after the conclusion of the UA's season, the Milwaukee Braves offered Schneider an unprecedented bonus of $100,000 to sign with the Braves. That's the equivalent of $1.1 million today. The Braves were so proud of their transaction that they flew Schneider to Milwaukee and took photographs of him standing next to Hall of Fame lefty Warren Spahn, creating a narrative that Schneider would be Spahn's replacement.

A year later, Schneider was in the big leagues, where he remained for five seasons, pitching 117 games. Maybe he wasn't the next Warren Spahn, but Schneider ultimately returned to Tucson and became an insurance executive for more than 40 years.

The lid was off. For the next six decades, elite UA athletes faced stay-or-go situations similar to Schneider. For example:

– On April 4, 1974, UA star-level basketball players Eric Money and Coniel Norman told assistant coach Jerry Holmes they no longer wanted to be students and were going to apply for the NBA's "hardship draft" process, of which both easily passed. After two memorable seasons at the new McKale Center, Money and Norman were off to the NBA. Said Arizona coach Fred Snowden: "If two young men leave our program, that's not going to upset our progress. It's not a shock. I'm not mad at the kids."

Snowden was correct. Three years later, Arizona played in its first Elite Eight game. Norman and Money had modest NBA careers. Money played eight seasons, Norman three. They were drafted 33rd and 37th overall, respectively.

– In April 1988, a few days after Arizona was eliminated from the Final Four, Wildcat superstar Sean Elliott held a press conference to address rumors he would bypass his senior season.

"I'd like to help keep the program stable," said Elliott, a first-team All-American from Cholla High School. "I think I can provide a lot of leadership and I really like the look of our incoming recruits."

Elliott went on to be the college basketball Player of the Year in 1989, helping UA to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

– In mid-April 1991, UA star power forward Bison Dele (then Brian Williams) showed up at Lute Olson’s office and introduced him to Fred Slaughter, a well-known NBA player agent. Dele would bypass his senior season at Arizona.

"Coach Olson was not surprised," he said in a press conference a day later, although Olson later said he was totally caught unprepared. "I appreciate the way Coach Olson called NBA general managers to find out how much interest they had in me. He was very supportive."

Dele went on to become a lottery pick, No. 10 overall, and play eight NBA seasons.

– In April 1992, a month before the NCAA women's golf championships, Arizona sophomore Annika Sorenstam announced she would bypass her final two seasons of eligibility at Arizona and try to make the LPGA Tour. She was the reigning NCAA champion and would finish No. 2 a month later.

"I like it here," said Sorenstam, "but it's time for me to move on. I need to get experience for the Tour." Three years later she won the U.S. Open. Good move.

– After a first-round NCAA loss to Seton Hall in 2004, UA sophomore Andre Iguodala announced he would enter the NBA Draft. It seemed premature.

Much like Peat, Iguodala didn't have a polished offensive game. In the UA's final eight games, Iguodala shot 25% from 3-point distance and 31% overall. It seemed like a mistake, the same type made by power forward Michael Wright in 2001. Wright bypassed his senior season at Arizona and was selected No. 39 in the NBA Draft. He never played a game in the NBA. Iguodala? He was selected ninth in the first round and started all 82 games as a Philadelphia 76er rookie. He went on to play 19 NBA seasons, was a four-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medal winner.

Those 3s that Iggy missed at Arizona didn't haunt him in the NBA. He made 1,081 3s in his pro career and was paid $188 million.

Now comes Peat. Will he be the next Iguodala or the next Wright? About the only thing we know for sure is that Peat won't be the last Wildcat athlete to be lured by the big money of pro sports.