THE FRONT ROW: The six stages

There’s no use sugarcoating what happened on Friday, Wildcat fans. That was a beating for the ages.

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You know those silly movies when the kids hold a huge house party because their parents are away for the weekend? Everyone is having a blast, with a few kids swinging around on the chandeliers when things get a little too crazy.

Right at that moment, the needle on the record always scratches to a stop as the parents come back home early. The party is over, for good.

Friday night’s 103-64 loss to the Louisville Cardinals was that record-scratching moment for the Wildcats. Having a 19-13 bubble team in the Sweet 16 simply struck the Basketball Gods as a little too crazy, so they restored order in the most devastating way possible.

Much will be made about what happened in Indianapolis. Given that this was the city where the Wildcats captured the 1997 National Championship and that the same legendary basketball coach (Rick Pitino) was on the opposing sidelines then and now, the symbolism is hard to miss.

The end of an era never happens all at once. It takes place in stages. At Arizona, stage one happened on March 26, 2005 in the span of four minutes. Up 75-60 with a spot in the Final Four all but assured, the Illinois Fighting Illini staged one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, with Deron Williams cementing his status as public enemy No. 1 in Tucson.

Stage two happened when a few bad apples (I won’t mention names, but the main culprit’s name rhymed with “Barkus Hilliams”) started playing for their own statistics instead of helping the team win games.

Stage three took place on Jan. 28, 2007, when the North Carolina Tar Heels came into McKale Center and handed Arizona a 92-68 defeat — the team’s worst home loss with Olson as the coach.

Stage four was obviously tied to Olson’s leave of absence, which led to the horrifically awkward Kevin O’Neill era. Remember when he refused to speak to his assistant coaches during games or switch defensive philosophies to better suit his personnel? That was fun.

Then we endured stage five — the ultimate transition from Olson to whomever would fill that “interim” tag. Associate head coach Mike Dunlap turned it down, with Russ Pennell stepping in.

Stage five could’ve been an unmitigated disaster, but thanks to Pennell and his staff (along with excellent junior seasons from Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and Nic Wise), there were plenty of reasons to get behind Arizona basketball this year. Between the seven-game winning streak, the anticipation of Selection Sunday and the unlikely Sweet 16 run, this was a fun year to follow the Wildcats.

However, stage six (the Louisville defeat) brought things to a crashing halt. Pennell will head elsewhere, with Hill and Budinger likely heading to the NBA.

What does the future hold? Nobody knows for sure, but Arizona basketball in 2009 will look nothing like it has ever looked before.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747