|
This topic started to emerge in another thread, and I thought it deserved a thread of its own...
How does next season rank in terms of the most important in UA history? Is it the most critical? If not, what season was (or what season will be)?
I personally think next season IS the most important in school history. UA has struggled recently and has been a bubble tournament team the last two years. In that time, Olson's coaching has been criticized like never before (riding Shakur into the ground, not utilizing his bench, poor play calling at the end of close games, etc...), the Pac 10 has become stronger top to bottom (excluding Oregon State) and the UA can no longer be penciled in as a top 3 finisher every year, we lost all of our assistant coaches (including our best recruiter) and this year was an absolute circus. Had UA's success been sustained through this year (at the level we'd been accustomed to throughout most of the '80s and '90s and into the early part of this decade), then I'd agree that missing the tournament next year wouldn't be that devastating. However, coming on the heels of the last several seasons, a poor season next year capped off by missing the tournament could be a blow that will take a long time to recover from. Opposing coaches will point to the "steady decline" of the program, the uncertainty in the coaching ranks and the rise of other programs in the west and recruits will start to look elsewhere. And, UA will be just a little less attractive to elite coaching candidates when Olson retires (although still an awesome opportunity). On the other hand, if UA bounces back with a great year and a deep run in the tournament, then the last few years will be all but forgotten and people will realize that the changes in the program this year were what was needed to get the program back on track. I just believe with the direction this team's been going the last several years, the debacle that was 2007/2008, the changes to the coaching staff and Olson's impending retirement, next year is the most critical in the team's history. It will go a long way to determining this program's future after Olson.
Of course, I'm sure other people have other opinions. AZCATSFAN made some great points in the other post, and I've posted them below to get this started...
It will be a critical season in terms of maintaining their current position, but there have been seasons in the past that helped Arizona move up a step or two to get to the point they're at now. 1986 was a huge season for the overall success of this program. It was the year Olson landed his first great recruit in Sean Elliot and the consequent success of winning his first PAC 10 title catapulted Arizona into the future. 1988 and 1989 made the country take notice. After a while, though, Arizona earned that label as an early-exit team in the NCAAs. 1997 might not have had the anticipated criticalness that the upcoming season does, but in retrospect winning the title legitimized the program in the national eye and extended and improved their recruiting.
This season is important in changing the current perception built by Olson and the media recently, but I'm not sure it is the most important year in the history of the program. As long as Olson is coaching I think they will be fine. Even if they miss the tournament next year, Olson has too many connections and carries too much weight to be undone by one season. When he talks, kids still listen, and he's always known how to recruit with the best of them. Once things stabilize and the team moves forward, things should be fine. I hope I'm not just being optimistic.
|
