How good is the Arizona job?
Arizona generally has been included among the nation’s best basketball jobs, and rightfully so. The Wildcats have been to 25 straight NCAA Tournaments. That’s 1985 through 2009. That’s a heck of a run.
‘Zona routinely leads the Pac-10 in attendance, which next to NCAA Tournament wins is as good a place to start as anywhere in measuring the quality of a program. So all in all, Arizona ranks somewhere between 6 and 15 in ranking the best programs in America.
‘Zona is not one of the blueblood schools — North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky and UCLA — but ranks right below them, with the likes of Michigan State, Louisville, Connecticut, Syracuse, Maryland and a few others I’ve probably left out. Just ahead of the likes of the Bedlam rivals, Texas, Purdue, Arkansas, Wake Forest and Georgetown. That crowd.
But as Arizona keeps looking for a coach, and Jeff Capel’s name keeps popping up and will until ‘Zona hires someone else, there is one worrisome issue with Arizona basketball. The Wildcats really never have done anything without Lute Olson.
In the history of ‘Zona basketball, the Wildcats have only four NCAA Tournament victories without Olson, and two of those came this season, with interim coach Russ Pennell. That puts UofA even with Connecticut, which had four NCAA wins before Jim Calhoun took over and turned the Huskies into a national power.
That’s always cause for concern when measuring a job. Is it the program, or is it the coach?
Places like Kansas, where Phog Allen, Larry Brown and Bill Self all coached NCAA title teams, it’s obvious the program is elite. Same with Kentucky, where until Billy Gillispie, Eddie Sutton was the only coach since the Depression who DIDN’T win an NCAA championship (Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith). And UCLA. And Carolina. And Duke.
Even OSU, which was revived by Sutton, won two NCAA titles under Henry Iba, albeit in the 1940s, and the early returns on Travis Ford are promising.
Three coaches have taken OU to Final Fours (Bruce Drake, Billy Tubbs and Kelvin Sampson), and two others (Dave Bliss and Jeff Capel) have taken the Sooners to the Sweet 16.
But you get to UConn and Arizona, and it’s pretty much pioneer-driven. Calhoun at Connecticut and Olson at Arizona.
The basketball culture — along with geography — makes Connecticut likely to remain a power post-Calhoun. UConn is a statewide team with a rabid fan base. And there are a lot of ballplayers in the Northeast.
I think Arizona will retain its status. But it’s not for sure. Tucson is strategically located to continue to recruit great Californians, and the Pac-10 is not a sabertooth conference. Arizona has been its best program for 20 years, and that could continue. But it’s not for certain.
Cincinnati was considered an excellent job but hasn’t done much since Bob Huggins left. Virginia has been mediocre except when Terry Holland was the coach. Nevada-Las Vegas was an elite program under Jerry Tarkanian; it’s been a non-factor since Tark left.
Could Arizona suffer the same fate? You can easily make the argument that ‘Zona is a better job than OU. You also can make the argument that it’s a riskier job than OU.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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