"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

TucsonCitizen.com blogger covered Olson for almost 20 years

ANOTHER OPINION: Fox college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, a UA alum, believes the infractions are irrelevant for Arizona

By Steve Rivera,
TucsonCitizen.com

Let me first say it didn’t have to be like this. Never. Ever.

Steve Rivera

And I say that because for 20-something years – as far as I know – former Arizona coach Lute Olson was one of the hardest-working, had-a-presence-about-him coaches I’ve known in two decades of covering college basketball. He was first at a recruiting venue and last to leave. It’s been well-documented. The last thing he needed was for players to be brought to him.

But that was the case with the Cactus Classic behind the ever-present Jim Storey, a shrewd businessman and networker. A guy doesn’t make $197,000 from camps because he’s a dummy.

Let me also make a caveat here: I’ve covered Olson for nearly two decades and had/have a relationship with him. Two books on the program and hundreds, if not thousands, of stories through the years how could one not? I think a lot of him. Grew close to his late wife, Bobbi. He and I have had a disagreement or two, but we’ve always been able to move on from them. I think he was an unbelievable coach. Touch cookie? Sure. Ego? He was a Hall of Famer, of course. But I like the guy. And he returned calls – most of the time.

As for Storey, I’ve spoken maybe two minutes – total – to him through the years. Those two minutes were during an interview for the 2006 or 2007 Cactus Classic. I don’t really remember. I have no relationship with Storey.

READ THE REST OF RIVERA’S OPINION PIECE AT TUCSONCITIZEN.COM

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Class of 1985 signee has son who is top Class of 2013 guard

Eric Cooper Sr.

By Javier Morales

LAS VEGAS — Eric Cooper is familiar with the stage of Sean Miller‘s program at Arizona because he experienced a similar phase in Lute Olson’s timeline with the Wildcats.

Cooper was part of Olson’s famed Class of 1985, arguably the best Olson amassed, that included Sean Elliott, Anthony Cook, Kenny Lofton and Bruce Wheatley.

That was Olson’s third class at Arizona. Olson’s first class included emergency plug-ins, such as Steve Kerr, Pete Williams and Eddie Smith following Ben Lindsey’s 4-24 debacle in 1982-83. Olson’s recruiting scope broadened with his second class, in which he signed his first McDonald’s All-American Craig McMillan.

Olson’s third recruiting class with Cooper, Elliott and Co., hit the mother lode, a result of the former coach’s ability to take the UA to the NCAA tournament in only his second season. Olson’s full potential was not realized at the time of their signing, however.

Olson had no Pac-10 titles and no Final Fours with the Wildcats at that point. Sellouts at McKale Center were not yet the norm. McKale Center, which had a capacity of 13,658 at the time, averaged 7,297 fans in Olson’s first year and 10,932 in his second.

“The team has a little bit to prove,” Cooper said Saturday when asked of his thoughts about Arizona’s program under Miller. “The coaching staff has a little bit to prove. The fan support is there on another level.”

Please read the rest of this entry at TucsonCitizen.com

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Semifinalists make Arizona and its fans pround

>>No. 2 Francona vs. No. 1 Finch-Daigle. Winner: Finch-Daigle >>No. 2 Sorenstam vs. No. 1 Kerr. Winner: Kerr >>No. 7 Jefferson vs. No. 1 Bruschi. Winner: Bruschi >>No. 3 Cecil vs. No. 1 Elliott. Winner: Elliott >>Lute Olson Championship Round >>The Field of 32 bracket >>Mike Candrea Regional >>Frank Busch Regional >>Cedric Dempsey Regional >>Jerry Kindall Regional

The Bear Down Leader competition started with 109 potential athletes submitted by readers — from Abdi Abdirahaman to Max Zendejas — and now we are down to what amounts to the Mount Rushmore of Arizona athletes.

The Four Four of 2010, or as we proudly call it: The Lute Olson Championship Round.

Sean Elliott. Steve Kerr. Jennie Finch-Daigle. Tedy Bruschi.

It’s hard to argue against these four former UA greats as being the best representatives of the UA athletic community — A president figure of Arizona athletes. At any time, UA athletic director Greg Byrne can refer to any of these four as a model for how he wants his student-athletes to succeed.

They impact their fans and the community in which they live well beyond the playing field. We would challenge any other university to match what this foursome means to their school, fans and community.

The Lute Olson Championship Round starts Saturday with Finch-Daigle facing Bruschi. Kerr and Elliott, former teammates and longtime buddies, will be matched against each other Sunday. Polls will be open for five days before determining the winner. The championship will start next Saturday and polling will last the same five days before the Bear Down Leader competition champ is crowned.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

• ELLIOTT: Defeated No. 8 Rob Waldrop by an 89-11 percent vote in the first round, No. 5 Nancy Evans by a 90-10 percent vote in the Sweet 16, and No. 3 Chuck Cecil by an 86-14 percent vote in the Elite Eight.
  

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• KERR: Defeated No. 8 seed Mike Dawson by a 92-8 percent margin in the first round, No. 5 Chris McAlister by an 86-14 percent vote in the Sweet 16, and No. 2 seed Annika Sorenstam by an 89-11 percent vote in the Elite Eight.
  

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• FINCH-DAIGLE: Defeated No. 8 seed Ron Hassey by a 89-11 percent margin in the first round, No. 4 John Byrd “Button” Salmon by a 67-33 percent margin in the Sweet 16, and No. 2 Terry Francona by a 68-32 percent vote in the Elite Eight.
  

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• BRUSCHI: Defeated No. 8 Dennis Northcutt by an 86-14 percent vote in the first round, No. 4 Jim Furyk by an 82-18 percent vote in the Sweet 16 and No. 7 Richard Jefferson by a 57-43 percent vote in the Elite Eight.

REMINDER: The Bear Down Leader competition was created to acknowledge some of Arizona’s finest past and present who represent the Wildcat athletic community the best.

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Ex-UA All-American to face Sorenstam-Kerr winner

>>No. 2 Francona vs. No. 1 Finch-Daigle (poll open through Thursday)
>>No. 2 Sorenstam vs. No. 1 Kerr (poll open through Wednesday)
>>No. 7 Jefferson vs. No. 1 Bruschi (poll closes end of Tuesday)
>>No. 3 Cecil vs. No. 1 Elliott. Winner: Elliott
>>Final Four
>>The Field of 32 bracket
>>Mike Candrea Regional
>>Frank Busch Regional
>>Cedric Dempsey Regional
>>Jerry Kindall Regional

Top seed Sean Elliott, the only remaining Tucsonan in the Bear Down Leader competition field, remains firmly alive, getting past the ever-popular No. 3 Chuck Cecil by an 86-14 percent margin in the Jerry Kindall Regional final.

Sean Elliott was a Godsend for Lute Olson and UA basketball program

The longtime San Antonio Spur, who is a broadcaster for that team, may face former teammate Steve Kerr in the Final Four. Kerr is currently leading Annika Sorenstam in their Elite Eight matchup.

Elliott is part of a small elite group from the UA’s home city to wear a Wildcat uniform. Of the 32 athletes in the bracket, only three others hail from Tucson — Lacey Nymeyer-John, Ron Hassey and the late Mike Dawson.

Former UA coach Lute Olson admitted to reporters in Jan. 1988, when the Wildcats climbed to No. 1 in the rankings, that his program was fortunate to have Elliott grow up in Tucson.

“No question, you have to be lucky to do this as quickly as we’ve done it,” Olson told reporters at the time. “There’s no other way. We found Steve Kerr when nobody else wanted him. That’s a stroke of luck and we were lucky to have Sean Elliott grow up right here. If he’s from Southern California, we don’t get him.”

HOW ELLIOTT GOT HERE:

• Defeated No. 8 Rob Waldrop by an 89-11 percent vote in the first round, No. 5 Nancy Evans by a 90-10 percent vote in the Sweet 16, and No. 3 Chuck Cecil by an 86-14 percent vote in the Elite Eight.

REMINDER: The Bear Down Leader competition was created to acknowledge some of Arizona’s finest past and present who represent the Wildcat athletic community the best.

Terry Francona

Jennie Finch-Daigle

Annika Sorenstam

Steve Kerr

Richard Jefferson

Tedy Bruschi

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Spartans’ coach presently has impeccable image

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• Izzo must consider what the NBA has done to other college coaches
• Michigan State AD ready to act quickly if Izzo leaves to coach in the NBA

By Javier Morales

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo contemplating a move to the NBA is about as awkward as college basketball coaching stalwarts like Lute Olson or Jim Calhoun coaching the pros.

Tom Izzo

“Lute was never cut out to be a pro coach, because like me, he enjoyed teaching kids the game in high school or college,” the late John Wooden told me in a 1996 interview.

Although Olson was highly successful at Arizona, producing first-round NBA talent, his style was not conducive to the pros. Olson, like Wooden, loved to teach the game more than anything. Some NBA coaches teach, especially when rookies and young players are involved, but their operation is more like a business manager than a coach.

Memphis coach Josh Pastner, formerly of the UA as a player and assistant coach, returned a call I placed to him and left a detailed message about the Wooden-Olson connection. The way he described Olson and Wooden was pure and innocent, a far cry from the win-at-all-costs mentality of the NBA.

“It was an absolute pleasure, honor and privilege to learn under Coach Olson, who learned under Coach Wooden,” Pastner said. “A lot of the things I learned from Coach Olson was taken from Coach Wooden.

“They were very much the same. They did not curse. They didn’t talk about winning. They talked about effort all the time. With them, it was always about effort, toughness and doing things right.”

PLEASE READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY AT TUCSONCITIZEN.com

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