Olson can now hire assistant
Lute Olson is finally free to hire a new assistant basketball coach.
UA athletic director Jim Livengood announced Wednesday that Kevin O'Neill, the Arizona Wildcats' interim head coach last season, has been reassigned to a fundraising role at least though the fiscal year ending in June.
The move effectively means Olson can add a third assistant to a crew that essentially has been operating with only Josh Pastner and Miles Simon since Olson announced April 1 that O'Neill would not return to the staff.
Another assistant could help Arizona in the recruiting process as the spring recruiting season is a crucial time to recruit high school juniors. Arizona could have possibly five openings for 2009 players.
Among those who are indicating interest in the coaching job include former ASU assistant coach Russ Pennell and former Loyola Marymount coach Rodney Tention, a one-time assistant to Olson at UA.
However, Wednesday's move does not resolve O'Neill's potential legal case against Arizona. O'Neill, who received a raise from $375,000 to $725,000 for performing the head coach duties last season, has a verbal agreement for another $375,000 next season. Olson declared April 1 that the UA would be responsible for O'Neill's salary next season.
Livengood has not specifically said how the athletic department would pay for additional expenses but has acknowledged the department has received additional outside funding to cover potential shortfalls.
O'Neill also has a stated promise from Livengood that he would become Olson's eventual successor, a statement that could have legal ramifications, according to some Tucson employment law attorneys.
Livengood declined to comment on O'Neill's status after June 30 or the successor situation, saying only that he and O'Neill would sit down in mid-June to discuss O'Neill's future.
"There are a number of things" to discuss, Livengood said.
O'Neill declined to comment on his plans after June, though he has said that he will consider other coaching opportunities.
"I'm going to report to Jim and I'll do whatever he wants," O'Neill said. "Jim's treating me very favorably."
Olson did not return a phone message seeking comment, but both Pennell and Tention said Wednesday they have spoken with him informally about the possibility of working on the UA staff.
"Coach Olson is real careful about" not filling the position until O'Neill is elsewhere, Pennell said. "That would be unprofessional on his part and disrespectful for Kevin. There have not been any formal offers. We've just had some generalized discussions."
Pennell, 47, spent 14 years as an assistant at Oklahoma State, Mississippi and ASU, working under Rob Evans at the last two stops before he left the Sun Devils in 2004. Pennell said he would be interested in returning to college coaching if the circumstances were right.
"I'm not looking for a job. I love what I do," Pennell said. "That's always been my pat answer the last four years. It's got to be something that's conductive to my wife and daughter."
While serving as ASU's color analyst, Pennell runs the Arizona Premier Basketball Academy and its associated summer-league teams. One of his star players is Gilbert Highland High School freshman guard Matt Carlino, who has attracted serious interest from ASU, UA, UCLA and Kansas, among others.
Tention, 44, resigned at Loyola Marymount last month after going 30-61 in three seasons with the Lions. He served as an assistant under Olson from 1997 to 2005.
Tention said his best opportunity is to try to get back as an assistant coach, adding that he has spoken to Olson informally about any potential openings.
"How could I not be interested?" Tention said of the UA job. "But that's not my decision."
Another former UA assistant coach, Jay John, was announced as an assistant to new California coach Mike Montgomery on Wednesday. John was fired as Oregon State's head coach in January after 5 1/2 seasons with the Beavers.
Olson also acknowledged April 1 that he talked with former Suns coach Frank Johnson, a mentor of ex-UA guard Jerryd Bayless, saying he could not hire anybody at that point because there was no opening.
The UA's assistant coaching job must be posted publicly for a week before it can be filled. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, it had not been posted.
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