The REST of the Lute Olson story...
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The scoops got it wrong about the Arizona basketball coach.
Who goofed? How about a retraction?
Oh, sure, ESPN’s Dick Vitale got part of the story right when he broke the news Thursday that Lute Olson was retiring at age 74.
But what about the big news? Vitale and others were a little quick to speculate assistant Mike Dunlap would be named Olson’s temporary successor. ESPN’s original story stated, ‘Associate Coach Mike Dunlap will take over the head coaching duties on an interim basis, the source told Vitale.’
In gumshoe Watergate days, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee would have, in his bathrobe, stared Dicky V down on his front porch and told him to go get another source. ‘The future of Arizona basketball is at stake!’
Didn’t happen. Oh, well.
Friday, Arizona announced that assistant coach Russ Pennell was getting the job, with Dunlap staying on staff.
You could call it a little bit curious. Pennell (pictured) only returned to college basketball last May, joining Arizona’s staff after spending the last two seasons running the Arizona Premier Basketball League.
More curious: Pennell, 47, spent eight seasons, from 1998-2006, as an assistant coach for arch-rival Arizona State.
Even more curious, Pennell spent the 2007-08 season doing radio color commentary for Arizona State basketball.
Hey, it’s worked before. The Lakers once tapped Chick Hearn sidekick Pat Riley to coach the team, and Riley led the Lakers to four NBA titles.
This is just a guess, but we don’t see Pennell winning four NCAA titles in Tucson.
-- Chris Dufresne
