UA associate head coach Jim Rosborough will not be returning for his 19th season at Arizona next year.
Rosborough was offered another position in the basketball department, which would have involved his same duties sans on-court coaching.
Rosborough, 62, declined the offer, a source close to the team confirmed, and is considering serving in an advising position to UA athletic director Jim Livengood, as well as retirement.
He oversaw most daily office operations, was in charge of players’ academic progress and directed Lute Olson basketball camps, among other duties.
Rosborough did not return repeated calls for comment. UA head coach Lute Olson has been unavailable for comment while recruiting out of town.
The Roz File
? 62 years old
? 33 years as a
collegiate coach
? 27 years as an
assistant under Lute Olson
? 18 years at Arizona
? 10 years as UA associate head coach
? 3-2 during Olson’s leave of
absence in 2000-01
? Head coach at Northern Illinois for three years (1987-89)
? Member of Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame
– Arizona Daily Wildcat
Rosborough last helped with a workout Thursday morning, and by Saturday his desk was cleared out, but the plaques still hung on his wall.
The open position on Arizona’s staff was posted Friday morning, said UA spokesman Richard Paige. Livengood said the opening doesn’t close until Thursday, so Arizona cannot hire a new assistant until Friday at the earliest.
Because Arizona is allowed only three on-court assistant coaches, if Rosborough had accepted a new position it would have been a newly created one, which Livengood said would have worked under Arizona’s budget.
“”We understand our budget,”” Livengood said. “”We have our budget, and we’ve always stayed under it. We have to stay under it.””
There’s a “”strong possibility”” that new assistant will be former UA assistant Kevin O’Neill, a source close to the team told the Wildcat.
O’Neill is a noted defensive specialist and star recruiter who served as an Arizona assistant from 1986-89. O’Neill coached the Toronto Raptors in 2003-04 and is currently a consultant for the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers did not return a call seeking comment from O’Neill.
Besides his 18 years at Arizona, Rosborough worked with Olson for another nine years as an assistant when Olson headed the Iowa program.
“”It’s always tough to say goodbye to somebody not on staff anymore,”” Livengood said. “”It’s not about saying goodbye. I will certainly see coach Rosborough in the future as well.””
Rosborough has been an Arizona assistant for three Final Four runs and the school’s only basketball national championship, in 1997. He also went 3-2 as the head coach in the middle of 2000-01 when Olson took a leave of absence after his first wife, Bobbi, passed away.
“”He was an excellent employee,”” Livengood said. “”He did an excellent job in the basketball program and the department.””
