Lute Olson makes a messy exit at Arizona

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Lute Olson not only surprised Arizona with his exit as head basketball coach, he didn’t leave the university with an exit plan.

Could this situation have been any more botched?

Mike Dunlap, Arizona’s associate head coach, surprisingly turned down the opportunity to replace Olson on an interim basis, according to multiple sources.

As a result, Arizona is expected this afternoon to name new assistant coach Russ Pennell to take Olson’s place for the remainder of the season.

Arizona reportedly will conduct a national search for a full-time successor to Olson, starting with the 2009-10 season. Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon reportedly are early candidates.

That must thrill the athletic directors at Gonzaga and Pittsburgh, knowing they will have this sort of speculation hanging over their programs for an entire season.

-- Randy Harvey