Olson departs from mild-mannered image
Just because Arizona men's basketball fans aren't used to Lute Olson's fiery side, doesn't mean the players haven't seen it once or twice.
The traditionally reserved UA head coach was handed his second technical foul of the season last week. It came during the Wildcats' 100-87 win at Oregon, when Olson argued a foul call on sophomore forward Hassan Adams.
Olson's subsequent beeline toward midcourt and heated exchange with OU head coach Ernie Kent ÷ officials used tape to make each coach a makeshift penalty box on the floor, which they weren't allowed to exit without penalty ÷ may have been a surprise to Arizona fans watching the game from their living rooms.
But the energetic reaction wasn't a surprise to his players, sophomore guard Chris Rodgers said.
"He's pretty much always on edge, in my mind. He's a motivator," Rodgers said. "Whatever he sees out there going wrong, he's going to have an opinion about it. That's just him being competitive."
The recent change in Olson's on-court demeanor is just a continuation of the way he handles his practices, say his players.
"He's trying to prepare us for games," said freshman guard Mustafa Shakur of Olson's practice sessions. "During games, he's not out on the court with us, so he can't stop every play and say, ÎYou're doing this wrong, you're doing that wrong.'"
Olson began 2004 in style last month when he called out a group of heckling Arizona State fans during the Wildcats' Jan. 3 visit to Tempe. Arizona led by 26 points with just over three minutes to play when Olson pointed to the scoreboard, giving a little love back to the ever-friendly Sun Devil contingent. The exchange fired up the 69-year-old Olson, leading to an uncharacteristic technical foul in the game's waning moments.
"It was very tense for me. They wanted it badly and the crowd was into it," Olson said after the game. "But I'm glad our guys kept their composure."
While the Wildcats dominated that first Pac-10 game against ASU, Rodgers said Olson's increased intensity of late has to do with the team's up-and-down play during the team's conference schedule.
"I think a lot has to do with how our team's been playing this year, our inconsistency," Rodgers said. "I think he's stepping up as a coach and trying to fire us up and just defend our team."
Shakur added that it has more to do with Olson's track record, including his 20 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and five Final Four trips.
"It must be hard for Coach O to see us play this way," Shakur said. "It's kind of an embarrassment to a lot of the coaches, the way we're playing. Hopefully we can just turn it around and do what we're supposed to do."
Olson said most of his concern comes from the team's lack of communication and inability to play consistent defense ÷ the primary causes of the team's six conference losses and atypical road woes, in his eyes.
"It's not that we have slow-footed guys or that we've got guys that shouldn't be good defenders," Olson said. "We've just got guys that won't communicate, or don't communicate enough and mentally don't concentrate enough on the information that's given to them and the scout team stuff we do in practice. I don't think we're mentally very tough."
Olson added that the team's lack of mental toughness can be attributed directly to the coaches.
"I take a look at what we're doing with them as a staff, and maybe we're just not hitting the right buttons to make them as tough as they need to be," he said.
Despite Olson's dissatisfaction at times, Rodgers and junior Channing Frye said their coach is hitting the right buttons. They agreed on the importance of the coaching staff staying tough on each and every player, especially with the regular season wearing down and the Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments fast approaching.
"He's always tough on us, and I think he has to be with such a young group," Frye said. "I think Coach O wants to win so bad, he'd actually put a jersey on and play for us. I think he has more heart than we do at times."