A History of Arizona Basketball Coaches

A history of the men who have led the University of Arizona Basketball Program from Fred Enke to Sean Miller

The Early Years: Frank Kush and Lute Olson

Frank Kush was the first Head Coach of the Arizona State football team and he compiling a 176-54-1 record in his 25 years at the helm. Kush is credited with helping to start the rise of Arizona State football in the 1960s and 1970s. Lute Olson took over as head coach of the Arizona basketball team in 1983 and he would go on to have one of the most successful coaching careers in college basketball history. Olson led Arizona to 23 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, four Final Fours, and one National Championship in 1997.

The Rise of Arizona Basketball The Late 1970s and 1980s

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Arizona men’s basketball made huge strides as the program became a national powerhouse under the direction of Head Coach Fred Snowden. During this time, the Wildcats produced some of their best teams and players in program history, including future NBA Star Steve Kerr

Snowden took over as Head coach in 1977, following a successful run as an Assistant Coach at UCLA. He quickly turned Arizona into a force to be reckoned with, leading the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1978. The Wildcats would go on to make the tournament four more times under Snowden, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 1980.

player lineup that included Kerr, Sean Elliott, Tom Tolbert, and Anthony Cook. This group helped lead Arizona to its first ever No. 1 ranking in 1987 and back-to-back Pac-10 titles in 1988 and 1989.

The late 1980s were undoubtedly the golden years of Arizona Basketball The team’s success on the court led to increased interest from fans and media alike, helping turn the program into one of the most popular college basketball teams in the country.

The golden era The 1990s and 2000s

The 1990s and 2000s were considered the “golden era” of Arizona Basketball In this time period, Arizona had some of their most successful seasons and produced some of their most famous coaches.

Lute Olson was the head coach from 1983 to 2007 and is considered one of the greatest College Basketball coaches of all time. Under Olson, Arizona won 11 Pac-10 championships, 23 NCAA tournament appearances, 1 National Championship in 1997, 4 Final Four appearances, and 6 Elite Eight appearances.

Olson’s assistant coach Jim Littell, took over as head coach for one season after Olson’s retirement in 2007. Littell was then replaced by current head Coach Sean Miller

In his 11 seasons as head coach Sean Miller has led Arizona to 7 Pac-12 championships, 9 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Elite Eight appearances, and 1 Final Four appearance in 2017.

The Present Day: Sean Miller and Arizona Basketball

In 2009, Sean Miller was hired as the new head coach of the University of Arizona Men’s Basketball team replacing interim head coach Kevin O’Neill. Coach Miller came to Arizona from the University of Xavier, where he had been Head Coach for five seasons. In his first season at Arizona, Coach Miller led the team to a 25-10 record, an appearance in the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen and a ranking of #12 in the final AP poll. The following year, Arizona again made it to the NCAA Tournament this time losing in the Elite Eight. In 2011-2012, Arizona finished the regular season with a 23-11 record and earned a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament After losing in the first round to Colorado Buffaloes (a 13-seed), Sean Miller and Arizona came back strong in 2012-2013. The team posted a 27-8 record in the regular season and made it all the way to the tournament’s Elite Eight before losing to eventual National Champions Louisville Cardinals The 2013-2014 season was another successful one for Sean Miller and Arizona Basketball despite losing star player Aaron Gordon to the NBA draft after just one year of College Basketball Arizona still managed to post a 26-9 record and make it back to the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen Most recently, in 2014-2015, Sean Miller led his young Wildcats team to a 29-5 record and their first ever appearance in the PAC-12 Championship game

A Look Ahead: The Future of Arizona Basketball

In recent years Arizona Basketball has become one of the premier programs in collegiate basketball. The Wildcats have made the NCAA Tournament 31 times, including 14 times in the last 15 years. They have won five Regular Season conference championships and four conference tournament championships. Arizona is also one of only six schools to have appeared in a Final Four in each of the last three decades.

Under head coach Sean Miller, the Wildcats have made seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including four trips to the Sweet Sixteen and one to the Elite Eight. In 2017, Arizona was one of the final four teams remaining in the NCAA tournament

The future of Arizona Basketball looks bright. The Wildcats have one of the best recruiting classes in the country coming in next season, and they are expected to contend for a spot in the Final Four once again.