Just one of the many reasons that this upcoming season is the most critical in the program's history.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.
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