lute olson

Question of the Week: Who Will be Arizona's Next Coach?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:28:56 -0800

This Week's Question: Who Will be Arizona's Big-Name Coach Next Year?

Its safe to assume Arizona will go big-time when hiring a full-time coach to replace retired legend Lute Olson. Who do you think Arizona will hire? Or who do you think they should hire? Some potential candidates that have been thrown around media articles and message boards includes:

John Calipari - Memphis

Jamie Dixon - Pittsburgh

Scott Drew - Baylor

Mark Few - Gonzaga

Jim Livengood - Will the Arizona AD hire himself?...

Sean Miller - Xavier

Kelvin Sampson - Milwaukee Bucks (not really)

Jay Wright - Villanova

What do you think? Post your thoughts below:

-- Question of the Week Archive:

Nov. 26 - Did the NCAA Come Down Hard Enough on Kelvin Sampson?

Nov. 19 - When Will UNC Lose For the First Time?

Clip of the Day: Meet Russ Pennell

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:19:18 -0800

Clip of the Day

Thanks to the genius of YouTube, the world has access to thousands of great college basketball videos to keep us busy every second of every day. We'll be featuring daily movies to whet your college basketball appetite. Even if you've seen them before, some clips are just too good not to watch again and again.

Who is This Masked Man?

Unfamiliar with new Arizona coach Russ Pennell? Here's what he had to say during his debut press conference.

- Watch all of CHN's favorite College Basketball Videos!

- Also check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- And finally the Picture of the Day!

Russ Pennell to Serve As Arizona Interim Coach

Press Release — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:28:33 -0700

TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona director of athletics Jim Livengood announced the men’s basketball coaching responsibilities for the 2008-09 season in the wake of Lute Olson’s retirement Thursday.

Russ Pennell will serve at the interim head coach, while associate head coach Mike Dunlap and assistant coach Reggie Geary will remain in their current positions.

“Russ is a veteran assistant coach with a wealth of coaching experience,” said Livengood. “His experience of working in three of the best basketball conferences in the nation will serve us well.”

Pennell, 47, joined the Wildcat staff on May 5, 2008, returning to college basketball after spending the last two seasons running the Arizona Premier Basketball League in the Phoenix area. He also provided color commentary for the Arizona State University radio network during the 2007-08 season. Most recently, Pennell served as an assistant coach for Arizona State for eight seasons from 1998-2006.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” said Pennell. “I look forward to the challenge of leading this program. As the son of a former coach and one who has spent his life around the game of basketball, I’m humbled to get a chance to lead such a storied program.”

While working for the Sun Devils under coach Rob Evans, the program amassed a 119-120 (.498) record that included one NCAA Tournament berth (2003) and three trips to the N.I.T.

Prior to his tenure in Tempe, Ariz., Pennell served on Evans’ staff at the University of Mississippi for six seasons (1992-98). In that span, the Rebels went 86-81 (.515) and made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1997 and 1998. In those two seasons, Mississippi won the Southeastern Conference West Division championship and won at least 20 games. It was the first time the program had posted consecutive 20-win seasons in 60 years.

Dunlap, 50, came to Arizona after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the National Basketball Association’s Denver Nuggets. While working under head coach George Karl, the Nuggets compiled a 95-69 (.579) record and made two playoff appearances. The 2007-08 club won 50 games, a first for the organization in 23 seasons.

Prior to joining the Nuggets, Dunlap, a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coach of the Year and winner of two national championships, was the head coach at Metropolitan State College, for nine seasons. In his nine years at the Denver, Colo., school, Dunlap posted a 248-50 (.832) record.

Former UA standout Reggie Geary returned to the Wildcat coaching staff after spending the majority of the last two seasons as the head coach of the Anaheim Arsenal in the National Basketball Association's Development League. Prior to that, Geary served as Arizona's recruiting and basketball operations coordinator during the 2005-06 campaign.

Geary, 35, amassed a 36-39 (.480) record in guiding the D-League's Arsenal. First hired as an assistant coach, he was promoted to head coach mid way through the 2006-07 season, leading the team to a 13-12 record over the final 25 games of the season. His 2007-08 club posted a 23-27 record and finished fourth in the West Division.

Legendary head coach Lute Olson announced his retirement yesterday after more than 25 years at the school. Livengood announced that a national search will begin soon to find a permanent replacement.

“I believe that this staff will do a first-class job during the upcoming season,” Livengood said. “We will continue to move forward with our efforts to find the next great Wildcat head coach.”

Arizona opens the regular season in McKale Center on Nov. 17 against Florida Atlantic in the first round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods N.I.T. Season Tipoff. The game will be televised nationally by ESPNU at 9 p.m. MST.

Lute Olson Retires

Press Release — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:01:12 -0700

TUCSON, Ariz. – Lute Olson announced today that he will retire as head coach of The University of Arizona men’s basketball team, effective immediately.

UA Athletics Director Jim Livengood announced that a national search will begin soon to find a permanent replacement.

“This was not a decision that was made lightly,” Olson said. “I’ve had a wonderful run at The University of Arizona. I leave with a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished here.”

“At this stage in my life, I want to devote my time to my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family and friends. I look forward to watching Wildcat basketball and visiting with my colleagues in the coaching profession. It is time to pass the program on to a younger staff, to transition the university to the next generation of basketball.”

“To my family, all of the players who have put on our uniform, our fans in Tucson and all of the great supporters of this basketball program, I offer my heartfelt thanks for your support, and I look forward to reconnecting with each of you,” Olson said. “The University of Arizona will always be a basketball school. It will continue to flourish.”

UA President Robert N. Shelton said, “Lute Olson transformed the UA and Tucson into premier basketball country. Arizona now stands in the company of great college basketball programs, and we have Lute to thank for that. We will sorely miss his brilliance as our head coach, but we will benefit from the legacy he leaves for decades to come.”

“We will never replace Lute Olson. But we do have to find a successor, and we have to move quickly,” Livengood said. “I intend to recruit a coach who is worthy to inherit Lute’s astounding legacy.”

The announcement from Olson, who has served as Arizona’s head coach since before any of his current team members were born, marked the end of a remarkable era in UA sports.

He was Arizona’s head coach for 25 years, starting in 1983. His leadership made the UA a national powerhouse in basketball, thrilling generations of fans in 25 consecutive appearances in the NCAA basketball tournament that included four Final Four appearances, two national championship matchups and one national title.

Olson has a career record of 780-280 (.736) in 34 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach and 589-187 (.759) in 24 years at Arizona. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 27, 2002, Olson is one of only 16 coaches in basketball history to tally 1,000 career victories (covering all levels; Olson also coached on the high school and junior college levels), and has the most Pac-10 wins (327) of any coach in league history.

During his quarter century at Arizona, the Wildcats have won one national championship (1997), played in the national championship game (2001), participated in four Final Fours (1988, 1994, 1997, 2001), won 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, four Pac-10 Tournament crowns (1988, ‘89, ‘90, 2002) and been to the NCAA Tournament for 23 consecutive seasons, which is the longest active and second-longest streak in NCAA history (North Carolina, 27).

In his collegiate career, Olson has produced 52 NBA Draft picks, including 31 at Arizona, and coached 19 Wildcat All-Americans. He’s led UA to 20 consecutive 20-win seasons and has 29 overall in his career, making him one of only three head coaches in NCAA history to record 29 or more 20-win seasons.

Head Coach Q&As: Arizona's Lute Olson

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:32:48 -0700

College Basketball's Best Coaches

CollegeHoops.net is lucky to have access to some of the best coaches in college basketball. As part of our preseason interview series, we thought it would be appropriate to ask these basketball minds about the best things that their team and college basketball has to offer.

Lute Olson: Arizona

We continue this month long Q&A Series with legendary Arizona coach Lute Olson, a guy whose been winning NCAA Tournament games since before I was born (literally). Coach Olson was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer some quick questions for CollegeHoops.net:

CollegeHoops.net) Who are the best leaders on this year's squad?

Lute Olson) Nic Wise and Chase Budinger (Ed: Both are juniors)

CHN) What will be the best strength of this year's team?

LO) Quickness. Definitely our quickness. I think we are going to be a very quick team on the floor.

CHN) What's the best change you've made in your coaching style in recent seasons?

LO) I haven't made any changes to my coaching style. I'm just finding better ways to teach what we have always believed in.

CHN) What's the best arena you visit during the year?

LO) Mac Court in Oregon.

CHN) If everything goes according to plan, what's the best case scenario this season?

LO) We will contend for the Pac-10 title and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

CollegeHoops.net 08-09 Preview: Interviews | Complete Top 144 Ranking | 08-09 Preview Homepage | Discuss the Preview