The way Lute Olson explained it Tuesday, there is no telling how good the Arizona Wildcats will be this season nor how long he will be coaching them.
But Olson made one thing clear during Arizona's annual preseason media day: He is back on the floor without any grudges from his seasonlong leave of absence and contentious initial return.
After holding a fiery April 1 news conference in which he announced interim head coach Kevin O'Neill would not be back, Olson later said publicly it was "difficult to see almost 25 years of hard work almost down the tubes."
Instead, on Tuesday, he praised O'Neill and the rest of the Wildcats' since-departed staff for their work on fundamentals and making the best of the season.
"What I'm saying is I think the staff did a very good job with them," Olson said. "It may be that the philosophy was different, but I think they got the most out of them."
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Olson left just before the team's first exhibition game last season, on Nov. 4, then announced a month later he would remain out the entire season. That left the team to O'Neill, whose hard-nosed demeanor and half-court offenses were the antithesis of Olson's style.
During his April 1 news conference, Olson also suggested that it was "good for the fans to realize it's not that easy" as the Wildcats struggled without him, while responding testily to media inquiries about the details of his leave of absence.
On Tuesday, this is what Olson delivered: a soft voice — he said the first week of practice has limited his ability to speak — folded hands and calmly issued responses.
Along with analyzing the Wildcats' mostly young roster and the expanded help he expects to receive from well-regarded assistant coach Mike Dunlap, Olson said he feels "much more energized at this point" than he did last October but issued no timetable about his future.
Olson, 74, said on April 1 that he planned to coach at least until his contract expires in 2011 but was not as specific Tuesday. While he has made a point in recent years of saying he tells recruits that he will be around as long as they are, Olson has a different approach now.
"Everything is a year-to-year situation," Olson said. "I've said that the health, the energy, how well you're communicating with the kids (will decide it). … Anyone who's recruiting against us obviously is saying that 'Coach (Olson) might not be there: Arizona's a good place, but are you going there to play for Coach Olson, or are you going to Arizona for being at Arizona?'
"What I've said with the kids in the fall home visits has been that, that I don't think anyone can make any promises. I've kidded at times about how this started back a number of years ago in the (Pac-10) and none of those coaches are around any more."
Finally, when Tuesday's 40-minute news conference was over, Olson was asked how much he had missed media interview sessions. The question was asked with a joking tone, but Olson responded seriously.
"First of all, in the spring when I had that (April 1 news conference), that came under very difficult circumstances," Olson said. "I've wished I had that hour back many times. I don't know — in 26 years on the job, I don't think it's been a case where the media sessions have been other than very good sessions from a standpoint of interchanges of words and ideas.
"But I guess once every 26 years, you have a right to be other than what you should be."
From the players' perspective, Olson is exactly what and where he should be, UA players said Tuesday.
"Coach is definitely excited to be back, despite all the stuff in the past," senior forward Fendi Onobun said. "He seems really excited, and I'm happy to have him back. He's a great teacher."
One piece of evidence that Olson's style has not changed: He is still hounding his best players more than anybody else, trying to make the most out of them.
"He's been getting on guys, especially me, just to push us," forward Chase Budinger said. "That's what he's known for, to push people in practice."
Olson may have to push hard as the Wildcats have only three proven returnees — Budinger, point guard Nic Wise and post player Jordan Hill — along with five true freshmen and three second-year players who have not spent a full season under Olson.
Preseason projections have placed the Wildcats finishing in the middle of the Pac-10, and their 24-year string of NCAA tournament appearances could be in danger again. But Olson was not projecting anything as of Tuesday.
"I think really it's too early for us to say," Olson said. "The schedule is tougher than nails again, so there's not a lot of breathing room early."
2008-09 basketball schedule, C5
