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Miles Simon is the second assistant basketball coach to exit Arizona's revolving door this spring.

UA athletic director Jim Livengood announced Friday that Simon's contract would not be renewed for next season, just nine days after Kevin O'Neill was shifted into an administrative role.

Livengood declined to specify a reason or say who made the decision to terminate Simon, saying it was a personnel matter he could not discuss.

Head coach Lute Olson does not speak to the Star outside of news conferences but spoke fondly of Simon in a statement Friday.

"Miles will always be a Wildcat," Olson said. "He will be remembered as a competitor, as a leader and a winner. We appreciate his efforts as an assistant on our staff, and as we move forward, we wish him the best of luck."

Simon has not returned repeated phone messages over the past week and issued a statement through UA spokesman Richard Paige on Friday that did not say why he was leaving.

"I would like to thank the University of Arizona and coach Olson for giving me my first opportunity as a coach," Simon said. "I will always be appreciative of that. I would also like to thank the Wildcats fans and the Tucson community for supporting me. I consider Tucson my home away from home, and I will always cherish my time here."

Simon, who earned $92,925 last season, spent three seasons on the Arizona basketball staff after a playing career that included stops in the NBA, Europe and the Continental Basketball Association.

Simon played for Arizona from 1994 to 1998, earning the Most Outstanding Player award during the 1997 Final Four, when the Wildcats won the national championship.

The move leaves Arizona with only one assistant coach, Josh Pastner, in the heart of the busy spring recruiting season.

Olson announced April 1 that O'Neill would not be back on his staff next season, and Livengood moved him to a fundraising role April 23. O'Neill served as interim head coach last season during Olson's unspecified leave of absence.

Arizona finished posting O'Neill's vacated job for the required seven-day period on Thursday but did not announce a replacement yet. One possible reason: Russ Pennell is still coaching his summer-circuit team.

Pennell, a former ASU assistant under Rob Evans, has told his players that he was leaving to become Arizona's assistant coach. But he is committed to coaching his Arizona Premier team in next weekend's Arizona Cactus Classic, according to event organizer Jim Storey, and would not be eligible to coach in it if he were on the Arizona staff.

Olson now must fill a second spot, possibly with a former staffer such as Reggie Geary or Rodney Tention, a former player such as Sean Rooks or an outside candidate such as Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap.

● Former UA wing Jawann McClellan is on a wait list to get into the NBA's predraft camp later this month in Orlando, according to NBA scouting director Marty Blake. However, McClellan said he has already arranged private workouts next month and is hoping to make an NBA summer-league roster.

● Former Wildcats Gilbert Arenas and Damon Stoudamire have become the biggest two sponsors of the third annual Cactus Classic, featuring 32 of the nation's top summer-circuit teams. Storey said he expects that about 30 of the top 50 players in the class of 2009 will be playing, including committed UA recruit Abdul Gaddy and several players the Wildcats have offered scholarships to.

● Champaign (Ill.) guard Verdell Jones III, one of the top remaining players in the class of 2008, opted Friday to cancel a scheduled recruiting visit to the UA this weekend. His father, Verdell Jones Jr., said his son decided to stay in the Midwest despite receiving an offer from Arizona. "He's always liked Arizona," Jones Jr. said. "It's a place for guards. There's a lot to like about it, but when he got out of school today he said it was just a little too far." Jones III has scheduled a news conference Monday to announce a choice between Minnesota, Indiana and Kentucky.