Saturday, October 11, 2008

2008-09 Opponent Breakdown: University of Arizona

It's safe to say that very few schools have had to deal with what the 2007-2008 Arizona Wildcats went through. On November 4, legendary head coach Lute Olson announced that he was taking a personal leave of absence from the Wildcat basketball program. Initially, there was not timetable set for his time away from the program, but it ended up being a season long absence. His replacement was Kevin O' Neill, who had been hired earlier in the year, and many believed he would be the coach to replace Olson when he retired. However, many of the Wildcat players did not mesh with O'Neill and his defense-oriented system of basketball. Furthermore, there was a reported divide between O'Neill and Olsonthat emerged during the season. The situation reached its peak when O'Neill announced that he would not return next season if he was forced to be an assistant coach under Olson. It remains to be seen how Olson will respond to his return to coaching, as well as to see if he still has the respect of his players and coaching staff.

Last Season's Results: With the talent that Arizona had at its disposal last season, their performance throughout the year was inexplicable. How does a team that features Jerryd Bayless, Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill, and Nic Wise manage only 19 wins in a season? The obvious person to blame for the misfortune is Kevin O'Neill. It was clear from the beginning that his structured style of basketball did