Kentucky and Arizona need attention hires, and a lot of attention

Arizona is Florida State football, where the question is: What becomes of us after Bobby Bowden retires?

Bowden, like Olson, singularly made the program what it is.

Kentucky is a group project: It doesn't care how silly it looks jettisoning coaches left and right because all that matters is getting it right -- eventually.

Tubby Smith, the coach responsible for Kentucky's seventh national title, resigned under the pressure of trying to win the eighth.

Kentucky made a horrible hire in Gillispie, who didn't understand being Kentucky's coach was as much a public relations job as it was about Xs and O's.

So now Kentucky has hired Calipari, who has everything in life except a national title. Calipari is perfect for Lexington. He can handle the press (full-court), the press (media), and the stress (daily).

He'll bring in players, back-slap boosters and sell Kentucky like soap. Arizona's future, we're not so sure about.

The school's first succession plan involved replacing Olson with assistant Kevin O'Neill, named interim coach last season after Olson took a season-long break for personal reasons. When Olson decided he was coming back this season, O'Neill was forced out.

O'Neill is a good coach, but could you imagine Kentucky hiring a guy who once went 5-25 at Northwestern?

As it turned out, though, Olson didn't return. He stepped down for good, under doctor's orders, right before the start of this season.

Interim coach Russ Pennell got to borrow the Lamborghini for a season and led Arizona to its 25th straight NCAA tournament and a surprising Sweet 16 appearance. The run ended last weekend with a wipeout loss to Louisville.

Pennell knew from the start he wasn't the long-term, "big-name" answer for Arizona.

Question to Pennell after Louisville: "Uncertain future for you?"

Pennell: "It's pretty certain." (Laughter.)

Arizona's best hope now, ironically, may be to land Pitino, who is among the few men out there capable of extending Olson's "coach-as-star" legacy.

Arizona has to hope any pushing-60, big-name coach it hires is coming to win, not play golf.

The Tucson Wildcats are on the brink of possible oblivion.

Junior stars Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger are probably bound for the NBA, leaving the prospect of the school's first losing season since 1983-84, Olson's first.

The pressure is on, for once, in Tucson. In Lexington, pressure rises each day.

With the sun.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com