‘Cats in transition in Olson’s absence

Those questions are asked more frequently now, and the answer to the latter question appears to be Kevin O’Neill.

Olson’s mysterious absence has created a soap opera-like theme for the Wildcats’ season and put O’Neill in the position of temporarily replacing a legend. According to reports Monday night, O’Neill will be Olson’s permanent successor when Olson opts to retire.

"I’m happy doing what I’m doing," O’Neill said. "It’s Lute’s team until he decides he doesn’t want to coach anymore."

No official announcement has been scheduled on the Olson-O’Neill transition.

Olson, 73, surprised everyone Nov. 4 by announcing he was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. On Dec. 6, Olson said he would not coach at all this season, and the story grew more intriguing when he subsequently filed for divorce from his second wife.

"Nobody saw it coming," said O’Neill, Arizona’s interim head coach. "I think anytime you lose a guy who has been a special coach for many, many year … there’s no real blueprint for this.

"I admire how hard our guys have played. I think the players, as a group, have shown unbelievable composure through the whole situation."

O’Neill will lead the 19th-ranked Wildcats (7-2) against UNLV (7-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

It’s not the first meeting for O’Neill and Rebels coach Lon Kruger. They coached against each other in the Big Ten — when Kruger was at Illinois and O’Neill was at Northwestern — and in the Southeastern Conference — when Kruger was at Florida and O’Neill was at Tennessee.

"I respect their team, and they’re a well-coached team," O’Neill said of the Rebels. "We know it will be a tough game to win."

Arizona and UNLV are in the second year of a four-game series that was worked out between Olson and Kruger. But there is some doubt if Olson will be around to coach another game.

Olson, who has won 589 games and a national championship (1997) in 24 years with the Wildcats, said he plans to return next season.

O’Neill said Olson, signed through the 2010-11 season, stays away from practices but pays "close attention" to Arizona’s games.

"I give him his space and privacy, and when Lute wants to call me, he calls," O’Neill said.

Last summer, Olson called O’Neill for help and asked him to be an assistant. O’Neill, regarded as one of the best defensive coaches in basketball, turned down head coaching opportunities to be the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator.

Arizona played a fast-paced, high-scoring style under Olson. O’Neill is trying to mold the Wildcats into a tougher team that treats defense as something more than an optional diversion.

"We’re definitely a growing team. Most of our top players are freshmen and sophomores, so I think we’re still in the baby-step stages," said O’Neill, a former NBA coach with the Toronto Raptors who also has spent 11 years as a college head coach. "We’re not where we need to be yet, by any stretch."

The Wildcats routed Fresno State 69-50 on Sunday as freshman point guard Jerryd Bayless scored 21 points and sophomore forward Chase Budinger had 16 points and five rebounds.

"Chase has an upside that allows him to be an NBA player," O’Neill said. "Bayless also has NBA ability."

Arizona, anchored in the post by 6-foot-10-inch sophomore Jordan Hill, has victories over Texas A&M and Illinois and narrow losses to Kansas and Virginia.

O’Neill said the Wildcats have been resilient in many ways. They came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Texas A&M on Dec. 2 and, two days after learning Olson would not return, they erased a 13-point deficit against Illinois.