Arizona should Hire Pat Summitt to coach its Men’s Basketball Team

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WEIRD RAMBLING COLUMN ALERT (just giving you a heads up)

As UW heads to the desert this week to take on the Arizona schools, I look at the University of Arizona and have to wonder what the future holds for the Wildcats.  With Lute Olson gone the Wildcats are in their second straight season with a “Interim” head coach (different coaches each season), and once this season comes to a close and Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill head to the NBA, the Cats are going to be faced with a monumental rebuilding job.

Their entire recruiting class from last year decommitted when Olson retired and thus there will be no infusion of talent for Arizona to rely on to replace Budinger and Hill.  I wonder who Arizona will turn to in order to regain its status as one of college basketball’s elite powers.  What big name is out there that they will go after.  Who can right the sinking ship?  I believe that one name above all others should be considered as the perfect candidate to keep the Wildcats in the national spotlight:  Pat Summitt.

Before I get too far, let me just say that I am perfectly aware that the University of Arizona is not going to hire Pat Summitt away from the University of Tennessee to coach the Wildcat basketball program.  I get that.  Neither side would likely be into the idea. So the point here isn’t to lobby for something that I know isn’t going to happen.  The point is just to illustrate how perfect and what a unique fit Pat Summitt and Arizona are for one another.

Why it should happen:

1.  By hiring Summitt to coach the men’s team at Arizona, the University would be gaining one of the toughest and most experienced coaches in the Country.  A coach who has won more NCAA titles than Bob Knight, Roy Williams, and Jim Calhoun combined.  A coach who will finish this season with over a thousand wins at the Division one level.  A coach who has proven everything there is to prove in women’s basketball and should be ready for the next challenge.

2.  The move makes sense for Summitt because she would be getting the opportunity to coach at one of the premier men’s programs in the country.  A program that has won a national title in the last 15 years.  A program that goes to the NCAA  tournament almost every year (this year: pending).  A program who has lost an icon and needs a coach who has a personality and an ego big enough to step in and make the team their own.  A program with a loyal fanbase that can be rebuilt quickly.  A program in a major conference featuring coaches like Mike Montgomery, Herb Sendek, and Ben Howland (Romar status as a featured coach: pending).

3.  After this season the Wildcats will be searching for a name that will make a splash and gain national recognition.  They will need someone who will not fall under Olson’s shadow and who has a personality sufficient to establish the job as their own.  At the same time, they need a damn good coach.  They will be facing a talent deficiency the likes of which they haven’t seen in years.  They need recruits to come back to Tucson and need a coach who can instill a system that is both exciting to the players and fans.

4.  Summitt almost owes it to herself to take a shot at coaching Mens’ basketball.  She has accomplished all she can in the womens game.  Her legacy is secure.  But, a coach of her stature should not be forced to take some lower tier D1 job just because she is a woman coach.  She is a legend and should only consider an opportunity befitting her status.  It would be unfair to take a mens’ program with zero prestige and ask Summitt to build it up like she did Tennessee.  That stage of her career is over.  She is established amongst the elite.  By taking a job like Zona, Summitt would get the almost perfect situation.  A well established powerhouse that has fallen on hard times and needs to move past Lute Olson.  Everything Summitt did starting next season would be building on the solid infrastructure that already exists.  But because of the unique set of circumstances that has transpired, Summitt would get Arizona at a time when they lack an identity and are in need of her star power to regain their prior stature.

5.  Arizona is a nice state to lead into your retirement years.  Tucson is especially nice.

In short:  This should happen.

Why it won’t happen

1.  I don’t see Arizona stepping out and making such a bold move.  Hiring a (gasp) woman coach to take the helm at their program.  The concerns over whether recruits would come play for Summitt would likely be voiced very loudly, as would those concerns as to whether Summitt’s style of coaching would work at the D1 Mens’ level.  Basically, I believe that the reaction from Arizona fans to this idea would be, “  This is a great idea, but we are Arizona and are above being an experiment regardless of how much star power Pat Summitt has.  We will just get whoever else we want who has already won at the D1 men’s level.”

2.  I’m not sure Summitt is ever going to step up and take the challenge to coach men.  She should.  She really should.  But she stands to lose a little luster on her overall image (not at Tennessee or at the Womens’ level) if she takes a mens’ job and then does not succeed.  At this point in her career, would she risk that?

3.  Summitt probably realizes that at the mens level there is waaay more parity than there is with the women.  Women’s basketball has about 2-4 great teams every year, and then about 10 more that are pretty good.  But the great teams are so much better than everyone else that there is little chance for an upset on any given night.  Take this season for example.  Go look at UConn’s record and what they are doing to people.  It’s sick.   At the mens level, Summitt would have to recast what her notion of “success” was.  She could not realistically expect to be in the final four every year.  Rather, she would need to understand, as would the public at large, that making the NCAA tournament every season, with runs to the sweet 16, elite 8, final four, once every recruiting cycle is pretty damn good.

4.  Prejudice.  Plain and simple.  Summitt is a woman and no woman has ever succeeded as a coach at the men’s level.  I’m not sure if a woman will ever be given the chance to do so.  It’s too bad, because Summitt’s unique blend of attitude and experience would be perfect for Arizona, but it will likely never happen.

Back to this week – Zona won’t have either Lute Olson or Pat Summitt  coaching them when the Huskies come to town.  They are talented, but need to stay out of foul trouble to have a chance against the Dawgs.  If they can do that, it should be a great game.  We’ll see I guess.

Tags: Pat Summitt