When an undermanned Arizona team rode the bus across midtown Manhattan to the 2001-02 Coaches vs. Cancer event at Madison Square Garden, the Wildcats’ new leadership trio — juniors Jason Gardner, Rick Anderson and Luke Walton — had a talk with the rest of their teammates.
The Wildcats, who lost four starters to pro basketball the previous spring, were expected to lose both games in the mini-tournament. The juniors told them, basically, that they wouldn’t. They talked about having pride in Arizona basketball, how the team always succeeded at Madison Square Garden, where Lute Olson routinely scheduled his team so they would receive East Coast respect and attention.
And then, UA beat well-regarded Maryland and Florida teams on successive nights.
But this season, Russ Pennell straddles what he calls a “fine line” in providing motivation for this season’s NIT Tip-Off, which could result in a trip back to MSG if the Wildcats can win both Monday and Tuesday. He wants the team to be fired up, of course, but not petrified by the normal UA expectations.
“One of the things I want to do is make sure I do is not put too much pressure on them,” Pennell said. “I hope our fans don’t take this wrong, but I don’t want to take our teams in the past and say ‘measure up to these guys or `we’ve got to get to another NCAA tournament’ or ‘we’ve got to get to a Final Four’ because I think that can be overwhelming.
“I really think our message needs to be `Let’s get better today and let’s work toward beating Florida Atlantic. I know that sounds cliché-ish. But I’m not so sure that isn’t all this team can handle. I just don’t think they can handle the big picture right now.”
The Wildcats are 15-2 in what used to be called the Preseason NIT, with titles in 1990, 1995 and 1999. They lost only at UNLV in 1986 and against Chris Paul and Wake Forest in the 2004 final.
That’s a lot to live up to.
Bruce, can you provide us with a bit more insight how the players are reacting/feeling about Pennell and what he has done so far?
I like Pennell’s approach so far to the upcoming season. The players know what is at stake, what they are facing. They do not need to be constantly clubbed over the head with Arizona’s past. The unknown about Pennell will be in-game coaching, down-to-the-wire type of decisions that help win/lose games. We will have to wait to see about that.
Arizona has a few ‘needs’ this season. First, they need some early season success to gain confidence in themselves and the coaching staff. Second, they must find a consistent 4th scorer. I think Horne is the key here. He needs to average 10-14 points a game for Arizona to have a successful year. Lastly, they must stay healthy. I am very concerned about Hill’s back and Onobun’s and Wise’s legs. Can they hold up?
On the future coaching front, keep an eye on Baylor’s Scott Drew. He has literally brought that program back from the dead, recruited well, and created NCAA worthy teams. If he can recruit to Baylor he could definitely recruit at Arizona. Baylor was picked third, tied with Kansas, in the Big 12 this season. Drew’s teams like to get up and down the court and are perimeter oriented. They tend to average in the upper 70’s and lower 80’s in points per game. Sounds a bit like what we are used to with Arizona Basketball. I think he would be an excellent fit.
By the way, anyone notice Washington LOST to Portland last night? And yes I am talking about college BB, not the pros!!!
— SCDave 11/16/2008 12:13 PM #
Word on the street is that Tom Izzo of Michigan State is interested in talking about the AZ job.
If he truly is that would be a good pickup. Well known and good recruiter.
— adman 11/16/2008 01:42 PM #
TOM IZZO would be great. He has been my top choice since this whole situation went down.
— chris from the oc 11/16/2008 06:50 PM #
Izzo would be a great hire. I always thought he was home in and wed to the state of Michigan.
— confused, maybe not 11/16/2008 09:16 PM #
Izzo would be a great fit. Below is the early off-shore line.
Mon 11/17 543 Florida Atlantic +18
08:00 PM 544 Arizona -18
— vegasallen 11/16/2008 10:26 PM #
1-SCDave-Just went back and read your post. Nice suggestion on Drew. I notice that you never go for the easy knee jerk suggestion of Mark Few or the moronic calls for a Steve Kerr or Reggie Geary. I always appreciate your posts.
— vegasallen 11/16/2008 10:35 PM #
I have to agree, SCDave. I also second vegasallen. The more I think about it, Drew would be a great hire. What he has done at Baylor is amazing. Even if Bliss had not destroyed the program, Drew’s success there is incredible considering that Baylor is not the easiest place to draw recruits.
— confused, maybe not 11/17/2008 07:43 AM #
Drew is at least a possibility. I agree with vegasallen that calling for Steve Kerr is moronic, but they keep coming. The money situation with Calipari and Jamie Dixon also pretty much precludes those two choices. Both of them are smart individuals and to leave their respective positions for this chaos would border on stupidity.
— adman 11/17/2008 08:23 AM #
Guess I am a fan of the Az Daily Star—Greg H. suggested Scott Drew when the speculation was just beginning a few weeks ago. I have mentioned his name to non-memebers of out little fraternity here and they ask me who is he? Never heard of him- Cant be responsible for them but it sounds like a long look is in order. I also think Izzo would be a great catch, but is it a real possibility?
I love Steve Kerr, but as an alum and booster for now. Besides he has his hands full trying convince the pro fans his choices of Shaq and Porter were well founded. My best wishes in that endeavor.
Go CATS; beat FAU.
— Larry 11/17/2008 11:02 AM #
Adman, we will never agree on Dixon. Have you been to Pittsburgh? It is alleged to have more cloudy days in a given year than any other city in the U.S. (including Seattle.)The winter is horrible. The nothern cold air collides with the southern warm air. It is the spot for the ‘perfect storm.’ They tried to keep Howland from going to UCLA’s disaster of a program. Zona is not UCLA, but geographically it’s a lot better than Pitt. Pitt is an urban campus without trees. The buildings in and of themselves are nice, but it’s not a beautiful campus by any means. Pitt does not have a strong basketball history and upon visiting Pitt in the winter and summer, one can see why. :-)
— confused, maybe not 11/17/2008 01:03 PM #
My sources tell me the UofA is prepared to spend some money to replace Olson.
— confused, maybe not 11/17/2008 01:04 PM #
With this new NIT set up does UAB play @ Santa Clara, or is it in tucson??Why the H do we play so late tonight and tommrrow
— Trev In Kc 11/17/2008 01:51 PM #
Well confused I guess we’ll see, but his contract extension is until 2016. Sure doesn’t look like a guy who’s in the market for another job. It would cost UA a ton of money to buy out that contract. Click might even have to mortgage something.
— adman 11/17/2008 01:59 PM #
Do I think Scott Drew would be the BEST possible hire for UA from what is available i.e. not locked up in a longterm contract costing big buyout bucks? YES! Do I think Livengood has the smarts to go after him? NO!!!
— Ron W 11/17/2008 02:48 PM #
adman, where are you hearing Izzo rumors?
— Darren 11/17/2008 06:25 PM #
SCDave – UA has not allowed much media access to players since Pennell took the job, so it’s been hard to tell (they’ve had only one player interview session since Nov. 4). From what I can tell, it is OK so far and they seem to like him. They certainly like the style better than last season. But then again, everyone’s happy at the beginning of the season so we’ll see how it goes…
— Bruce Pascoe 11/17/2008 07:11 PM #
Trev — The times are all about ESPN. UAB-Santa Clara was here, in front of about 200 fans in the first half…the loser’s game will be here tomorrow.
— Bruce Pascoe 11/17/2008 08:18 PM #
Arizona is second only to Kentucky in basketball revenue, so why would any of you think they can’t match Pitt or Memphis for their coaches? Suggesting a second tier coach for a program as established as Arizona’s would be a mistake. Why has no one mentioned Tony Bennett, he’s winning in Pullman, that is as difficult as winning at Pitt.
I’d be happy with Dixon, Bennett, or Drew, I think we need a young guy, we don’t need a re-tread, hope the moronic AD doesn’t make that mistake again like he did with Mackovic.
— Steal Your Face 11/17/2008 10:41 PM #
The Izzo rumor is coming from goaz. Take it with a grain of salt as the site is also pushing Cal. for the job when everyone knows Cal is eyeing a return trip to the NBA.
— jdub 11/17/2008 11:20 PM #
Izzo rumor also came from East Lansing. I should have posted the thread. Sorry. Oh, yeah, also picked it up on the Bruin Zone. We’ll probably hear a bundle of rumors as time progresses.
Of all the coaches named so far the most logical to me is Drew. He’s really proven himself. He’s young, he’s energetic, and he seems to get the most out of his players. He also is probably the most affordable. Zona could be getting a real gem here if they landed him.
The PAC 10 has really up graded their basketball coaches. I might have to alter that statement after Washington getting beat by Portland State at home. Romar just doesn’t seem to get the job done with all the talent he’s had there. Ditto Ernie Kent. They just don’t seem to progress as well as the season progresses as some of the other teams. Robinson at OSU is showing he can recruit, but how much of that is the Obama factor I don’t know. He plays a Princeton offense. The games with WSU might last all night.
— adman 11/18/2008 09:12 AM #
Steal your face — Tony Bennett has publicly stated he will never take another Pac-10 job, and he has proven so far to be a man of his word. Cal was believed to have approached him last spring but he did not pursue it. If he left for anywhere, I’d guess it would be for a Big Ten job. Plus he makes $1 million, which goes pretty far in Pullman, and he seems happy with the lifestyle there.
— Bruce Pascoe 11/18/2008 12:51 PM #
What about the guy who is coaching the defense for Pannell? He knows defense and seems to work well with the players.
— Fleming 11/19/2008 12:36 PM #