Mon, Dec 01, 2008
 Kevin O'Neill has accrued a 159-167 record as a Division I NCAA basketball coach.
jerry Lai / Associated Press 2007
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NBA fun, but Cats' coach-to-be feels 'almost like coming home'Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.19.2007
Throughout his six-week stint as Arizona's interim head basketball coach, Kevin O'Neill has not hid his love for the NBA.
He's talked almost longingly about the frenetic schedule, the constant coaching decisions and the high level of play.
O'Neill, who was formally announced as Lute Olson's successor Tuesday, has even noted that he prefers the NBA over college when watching as a fan. He said he'd rather watch "Law & Order" than a Duke-North Carolina game.
Yet at age 50, with six years of NBA coaching experience under his belt, O'Neill says he's now committed to college basketball at Arizona for the long term.
Why? Emotion has something to do with it.
O'Neill called his first run at the UA, as an assistant coach on the powerhouse teams of the late 1980s, a special time. And now, he said, the Wildcat players have been a pleasure to work with. His wife, Roberta, likes it here. His son, Sean, was born here and transferred from Santa Clara to the UA.
"The stars are aligned," O'Neill said. "I love the NBA. I make no bones about that. Really, the only college situation that appealed to me in the first place, and still appeals to me, is Arizona. This is a special place for basketball."
Since Tuesday's announcement merely places O'Neill officially in line to replace Olson, when he retires, O'Neill is not contractually obligated to stay as of now. His current contract for $375,000 is a year-to-year deal with what O'Neill says is a two-year commitment on his part.
But O'Neill may not want to leave anytime soon, either.
"Not every program is the University of Arizona," said former NBA coach Rick Carlisle, a close friend of O'Neill's who had O'Neill on his Pistons and Pacers staffs in recent years. "This is one of four or five really special situations in college basketball.
"A guy like Kevin O'Neill has been so successful in both college and the NBA that he'll always have an opportunity to go back to the NBA if he wants to. It's just my feeling that Arizona is a special place. I had a chance to spend a week with him in October, watching him and the Suns, and I don't see that as a situation anyone would want to leave."
O'Neill indicated Tuesday that is precisely his long-term belief. He said when he was previously an assistant at the UA he had believed it was a dream job. Now, after running programs at Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern, he's in a position to get that very same job.
"I feel blessed I'm going to have this opportunity," O'Neill said. "I appreciate (AD) Jim Livengood's confidence in me and I appreciate Lute's confidence in me. I want to make it clear that Lute is planning on coming back. It's still his team until he decides to retire."
Olson was not quoted in the UA news releases regarding the official succession plan and he did not return a message seeking comment, but O'Neill said Olson gave him his "blessing" when they spoke about it earlier this month. Livengood said Dec. 7, after Olson extended his Nov. 4 leave of absence for the rest of the season, that he would consider naming O'Neill a permanent successor soon.
In Olson's absence, O'Neill has guided the Wildcats for two exhibition and nine regular-season games. They have won their last four, rising to 7-2 and a No. 19 ranking in two national polls.
While Livengood said in a statement Tuesday that the UA's appreciation of Olson has been "boundless," he also has stated repeatedly how impressed he is with O'Neill's performance.
But now O'Neill is officially in line to succeed a Hall of Fame coach, which is generally a risky endeavor in college basketball.
"The running joke in our business is that it'll be a great job for the second guy" to replace a legend, O'Neill said. "But I don't look at it that way at all. Lute's established such a reputation and tradition for excellence here."
At the same time, O'Neill said he knows it won't be easy. Not only do the Wildcats have one of the nation's toughest schedules again this season, but they also play in a Pac-10 Conference that has gotten considerably tougher since O'Neill left in 1989 to take over Marquette.
The rest of the league's rise has also made it tougher to sneak talent out of some of the traditional recruiting turfs that Olson built his powerhouse program on, such as Southern California and the Pacific Northwest.
"They've dried up a little bit," O'Neill said. "It's a challenging job, but for the most part, challenging jobs are pretty good jobs. And it's not like the cupboard is pretty bare; we have good recruits coming in. But the days of going 17-1 in the Pac are over. For everyone."
Tuesday's announcement was intended, in large part, to at least get Arizona back on a level recruiting field. O'Neill said he's found in over just seven months at Arizona that the Wildcats have had to cope with rival recruiters suggesting Olson's age was a reason not to play for UA.
Now, O'Neill said, he can tell recruits firmly that they will either be playing for Olson or O'Neill when they arrive in Tucson. Livengood said the continuity is important for recruits and current players alike.
"The intent of this is to really give us a plan," Livengood said. "Our plan is for Lute to come back next year, but if in fact, he chooses not to, this is that plan. … It's going to help recruiting big time, and what it's meant to do more than anything else, is for our current team as well, so that there is some perceived structure in place."
Livengood said the rest of the details are still being worked out, including whether O'Neill's $375,000 contract for this season will be adjusted. He also said the plan specifically covers next season, but not necessarily beyond should Olson return.
O'Neill said he remains committed to Arizona for the long term, however, and would "absolutely" be interested in taking over for Olson, even after next season.
"I'm planning on being at Arizona for a long time," O'Neill said. "I've gone to a lot of great places and been in a lot of great jobs. Been in some bad jobs. But being back at Arizona is almost like coming home."
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