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Dying in the desert
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Removing old-school cactus logo from McKale Center’s court would strip arena’s tradition dating back 22 years
By Bryan Roy
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Sean Miller came here to continue traditions.
And now that the Two Million Dollar Man inked a seven-year deal, why would Arizona opt to symbolically destroy the 22 years of history that attracted Miller to Tucson?
About 50 cameras and media members thought they had captured the transition into Arizona basketball’s next era last Thursday. As Miller took questions at his inaugural press conference, the real transition had already begun.
It happened on the floor, where the action always happens.
The east end of McKale Center’s court looked worse than Reggie Theus would’ve looked in front of the microphone.
Construction workers uprooted stacks of wood, leaving McKale’s base exposed. The barren concrete felt coated with a film of dried-up sweat and tears that had seeped through the hardwood, accumulated from players like Jason Terry, Andre Iguodala and Gilbert Arenas.
As Miller, Tucson’s newest poster child, thanked Lute Olson for attending the press conference, the Hall-of-Famer witnessed the destruction of his namesake’s floor.
The construction only paused for the 50-minute on-air period when Miller spoke, but the silence of the drills spoke volumes.
It’s Miller time: Arizona Wildcats basketball welcomes Sean Miller
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The Pennell era concludes
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By Bryan Roy
Arizona Daily Wildcat
[The back story: Every media outlet missed this opening scene unfolding in the bathroom. It turned out to be the most symbolic point.]
INDIANAPOLIS – The media assembled in Arizona’s locker room following its blowout loss to Louisville, but unknowingly rushed past a touching scene in the team’s bathroom.
The brief exchange spoke volumes.
Unnoticed by the herd of reporters and cameramen preoccupied with player reactions, UA interim head coach Russ Pennell and his father, Dewey, quietly gave each other one last “thank you,” followed by a hug.
Both Pennells parted ways with red, teary eyes. Russ left to do his final post-game press conference as Arizona’s head coach. Dewey lingered around the locker room, absorbing the atmosphere one last time with the guys who accompanied his unusual journey during the past five months.
Tears, not because the Wildcats suffered their all-time worst loss in the NCAA Tournament, but because the ride was over.
In a season where the Wildcats used all nine lives and then some, Indianapolis ended the rocky road of 2008-09.
“I just thanked him for, you know, bringing me along basically,” said a choked up Dewey, almost unable to finish the sentence. “This really meant a lot to me. I’ve really enjoyed working with him and working with the guys. You’re around these guys and you learn to love them.”
Wildcats use full-throttle energy to escape first two rounds
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By Bryan Roy
Arizona Daily Wildcat
[The back story: Not only did the Wildcats leave it all on the floor, but so did we after covering all six games Miami hosted that weekend.]
MIAMI – They left it all on the floor.
Every last drop of energy, drip of sweat and dab of effort – the Wildcats left it all on the floor in Miami.
No regrets. No what-ifs, should-haves or second-guesses: Those are the most painful conversations any competitive athlete must endure after losing.
And over the past two years, you’ve seen plenty of instances in which Arizona played soft or uninspired when it mattered most. You’ve seen lost potential, underachievers and heartbreakers in a gradual decline of the once-elite program.
Not this postseason. Not in Miami.
The Arizona Wildcats are in the Sweet 16.
Can you believe it?
The cost of a new coach
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Everyone’s worried about money, including those buying Lute’s successor
By Bryan Roy
Arizona Daily Wildcat
[The back story: This is an enterprise story about how much financial impact Lute Olson's successor would bear on the entire athletics department.]
As the U.S. government spent an unprecedented $787 billion on an economic stimulus package in an effort to relieve the current recession on Wall Street, UA athletics director Jim Livengood looks to stimulate his own athletic department by hiring a big-name men’s basketball coach in the next month.
Despite the false perception that sports are immune to economic troubles, the UA athletics department is still feeling the effects of America’s current recession.
The money-making program Lute Olson built for 25 years has endured difficulties parallel to America’s plunging economic situation over the past year. Olson, who abruptly retired in October, left the basketball program in its second consecutive season with an interim head coach – both Kevin O’Neill and Russ Pennell were promoted assistants.
The 74-year-old Hall-of-Famer’s contract made Olson the state’s highest-paid employer with an $737,790 annual base salary at the time of his retirement. That would be considered a bargain in today’s big-business college basketball culture.
As the program heads toward a crucial crossroad, Livengood wants long-term stability with a permanent successor who can turn heads around the college basketball realm and boost the program’s image nationally.
But buying out an established coach’s contract and agreeing to a new lucrative contract comes at the most difficult economic time in almost 80 years. “I don’t know that we’re recession-proof at all,” Livengood said. “Whether it’s capital fundraising or fundraising based on our day-to-day operating expenses, most of that comes from people that could have investments in the stock market … I look at the stock market more times a day than I’d like to share.”
Although McKale Center sold out for men’s basketball games this season, Livengood still feels the reeling economy through a ripple effect, as private donations and corporate sponsorships tighten excess spending.
