BACK IN THE SADDLE

“You’ll have to excuse my voice. It’s the start of the practice season.”

This was how a slightly hoarse Lute Olson began his first media session yesterday afternoon. After the most tumultuous season in the history of Arizona basketball, it seemed as if the Wildcat patriarch was exactly where he wanted to be.

Yesterday’s press conference stood in stark contrast to Olson’s last appearance in front of the media. On April 1, Olson was still understandably upset by some of the rumors that had started to swirl during his five-month leave of absence. A handful of his answers took an adversarial tone.

“I often wish I had that hour back,” Olson said, while pointing out that nearly every other press conference in his 26-year career at Arizona had been positive.

Yesterday, Olson spoke in the friendly, optimistic tone that Wildcat basketball fans have grown accustomed to during his tenure. He saved his most glowing responses for discussing Chase Budinger’s development.

This past summer, Budinger tested the NBA draft process, but ultimately decided to return for his junior year at Arizona, immediately becoming one of the Pac-10’s most talented and productive returners. Olson said the 6-foot-7 swingman has shown up to camp shooting the ball better than ever and he’s even taking a more vocal leadership role for this young squad.

“When Chase was a freshman, you could barely get a word out of him,” Olson said. “Now, he’s not exactly the most talkative guy by nature, but he knows how important it is for him to step up and lead this team. So far, that is exactly what he has been doing.”

Last season, Budinger was one of a number of Wildcats who struggled to adjust to Kevin O’Neill’s grind-it-out half-court style of basketball. The team finished 19-15 overall, with a record two games under .500 in league play and a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament.

Olson promised this team would return to the run-and-gun ways of past Arizona teams. However, Olson was quick to point out that O’Neill and last year’s staff “did a very good job, given the circumstances. Kevin’s philosophy was just different.”

A new staff

With O’Neill now coaching with the Memphis Grizzlies, Josh Pastner hitting the recruiting trail for Memphis and Miles Simon taking a more active role in the AAU circuit, Olson’s first order of business was to find a brand-new staff — not an easy task in any situation.

Joining Olson on the sidlines will be top assistant Mike Dunlap, as well as Russ Pennell and former Wildcat Reggie Geary. Olson said this staff has come together very quickly and approaches the first week of official practices on the same page.

“Everyone is very comfortable with one another,” Olson said. “Everyone is a teacher, first and foremost.”

The program’s five freshman — Kyle Fogg, Garland Judkins, Brendon Lavender, Jeff Withey and local product D.J. Shumpert — will receive the brunt of that teaching, not only from the coaching staff, but from the program’s veterans.

“I’ve been hanging around Jordan [Hill] a lot, trying to pick up on how he does things,” Shumpert said. “He plays the way I want to play. I realized early on that you can never take a play off, because these guys are just too good.”

The freshman recruiting class took a big hit this summer when Brandon Jennings — rated the No. 1 prospect by most recruiting sites — elected to pull out of his letter of intent and head to Italy. In addition, Emmanuel Negedu backed out on his commitment during the coaching staff’s fluctuations to enroll at Tennessee.

Withey is probably Arizona’s most high-profile 2008 recruit. He originally committed to Louisville, but the 6-foot-11 center decided to make his way to Tucson. Olson said he needs to add a great deal of lower-body strength, but adds that his shooting touch is special for a player his size. He even threw out a Channing Frye comparison.

The leaders

Budinger and Hill will obviously be counted on to do the majority of the scoring. Last year, the duo averaged slightly more than 40 points per contest.

Everyone is aware of Budinger’s capabilities, but Hill’s emergence took many college hoops’ experts by surprise.

“When Jordan got here, all he could really do is dunk,” Budinger said. “Now, he has one of the best hook shots in college basketball. Nobody can block that thing. He even has a little bit of a jump shot, too. The sky’s the limit for Jordan.”

That is, if he can stay on the floor.

Foul trouble plagued Hill for much of his sophomore campaign. Dunlap has worked tirelessly with Hill, improving his footwork and tempering his over-agressive nature on defense to make sure he can stay out of foul trouble.

Hill also plays to take a page out of a rival’s playbook to help re-invent his image among Pac-10 officials.

“[Arizona State forward] Jeff [Pendergraph] used to be a guy who got into foul trouble all the time, but last year, he’d go up to the refs before the game and say ‘I’ve changed,’” Hill said. “I think I might do the same thing.”

Of course, the engine that makes any Olson car run is at the point guard position. With Jerryd Bayless now suiting up for the Portland Trailblazers and Jennings brushing up on his Italian, Nic Wise will play all the minutes he can handle.

Despite knee troubles that plagued him throughout the summer, Wise said he’s ready to handle the load as Arizona’s only true point guard with any Division I experience.

“Nic has looked awesome so far,” Budinger said. “His quickness is there and he’s shooting the ball great. Of course, his passing skills are what set him apart.”

X-factors like Jemelle Horne, Fendi Onobun and Zane Johnson will have their say in Arizona’s playing rotation, as well.

While Olson said it’s far too early to get a grasp on what kind of success he expects this team to have in 2008-09, he said that he’s excited to find out.

“My energy level is great, I feel good and I’m glad to be back on the floor,” Olson said. “It’s much tougher watching on television than it is watching from courtside, that’s for sure.”

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