Elite Arizona program hits hard times

TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona has gone from contending for national titles to leading the nation in press releases.

Here’s a quick summary of the news generated by the Wildcats since practice opened in mid-October:

•Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson retired suddenly after 24 seasons.

•Arizona named first-year assistant Russ Pennell its interim coach. Pennell, who spent last season as a radio analyst for archrival Arizona State, is the Wildcats’ second interim coach in as many seasons.

•Arizona’s top freshman, 6-foot-10 center Jeff Withey, is reportedly planning to transfer, although the school has yet to make a formal announcement. His expected departure comes after the Wildcats’ entire fall recruiting class backed out in the days following Olson’s retirement. That included the highest-rated recruit in Washington state, guard Abdul Gaddy of Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, who announced he would change his commitment from Arizona to Washington.

This is the new reality of Arizona basketball. A program that once seemed as invulnerable as the nearby Santa Catalina Mountains has been pitched into chaos, although athletic director Jim Livengood cringes when he hears that word.

“The last word I would choose is ‘chaos,’ and I’ve seen it in print and heard it on the air,” Livengood said. “Have we gone through some difficult times? We have. But that’s not unusual in college basketball.”

Perhaps. But it will take time for the Wildcats to recover from the upheaval of the last two weeks, as well as the uncertainty of the past year.

At the team’s media day on Oct. 21, Olson said he was “energized” for the new season, and his players spoke enthusiastically about Olson’s return and the upcoming season.

Two days later, ESPN’s Dick Vitale reported Olson was stepping down immediately. Vitale also reported assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who joined the staff last spring, would become the interim coach.

In fact, Dunlap opted to remain an assistant, so Livengood turned to the 47-year-old Pennell, a former assistant at Arizona State and Mississippi.

Olson initially gave no reason for retiring. On Tuesday, his doctor, Steven Knope, said an MRI had revealed that Olson had suffered a stroke in the last year. Knope said the stroke plunged Olson into severe depression and impaired his judgment, and Knope said he advised the coach to retire.

Olson arrived in Tucson in 1983 and quickly built a national powerhouse out of the desert sand.

The Wildcats had won one conference title in the 29 years before Olson arrived from the University of Iowa, and they went 4-24 the season before he took over. Olson had them in the Final Four by 1988. They made three other trips, including winning the 1997 national title.

Those are now known as the good old days in Tucson.