Lute Olson is standing outside a locker room at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, reaping the spoils of victory No. 772 in a long, Hall-of-Fame career.

He is wearing a dapper, cream-and-dark-checked sports jacket, looking none the worse for a richly entertaining 96-87 Arizona victory over Washington. Of course, that’s usually the way Olson looks.

He is 72 now, maybe not so much by Joe Paterno standards, but an age when a lot of guys are turning to the garden or the grandchildren. Instead, he is overseeing another team that could rouse itself for a deep NCAA run.

Now, in the aftermath, Olson is asked what it is he enjoys most about a night like this.

“The win,” he smiles, “after it’s over with.”

Fifty years after he first took a seat at the end of a bench at Mahnomen High School in Minnesota (he went 22-3), Olson is still ripe for a challenge. At Hec Ed, he finds one, in an arena where they’re frenzied about the upside of players like Spencer Hawes and Quincy Pondexter.

At times, the game is wildly enthralling. Washington takes a 45-31 lead, 45 points with six minutes left in the first half. Then Arizona puts the skids to the Huskies and takes off on a 15-0 run.

It appears both clubs might score in triple figures. In the late moments, Arizona gets stops and Washington doesn’t, persisting in a zone defense even as the Wildcats shoot the lights out.

This will become the third game in a row Arizona will shoot at least 60 percent, rarefied air in any league. The Wildcats are without significant depth – particularly in big men without Kirk Walters (mono) and temporarily, Bret Brielmaier – but they have good floor balance and excellent shooters.

Olson has long been one to massage a stat sheet after a game to develop a point, and this is one of those nights.

“Look at the stats overall,” he says. “Seventy-six percent in the second half (by Arizona), 60 percent from three and 83 from the foul line. But we still have to figure out a way to stop people.”

True, but if that doesn’t materialize, the ’Cats are liable to outscore you. Sophomore Marcus Williams would be a likely first-round draft pick this season. Sophomore Jawann McClellan came back from wrist and knee injuries last year to bring toughness and an outside shot, even as he’s dragging a bad knee. Chase Budinger is a candidate for Pac-10 freshman of the year in a season with a boatload of them. At the point, Mustafa Shakur is a senior and finally delivering on his considerable promise.

This night, Olson gets taken back in time. Pondexter, the Huskies’ flashy freshman forward, is the son of Roscoe Pondexter, who played for Olson in his first college head position at Long Beach State in 1973-74.

“He played a great game,” said Olson, who told Pondexter after his 25 points, “I thought you were trying to beat us by yourself.”

Arizona gives off two other impressions. Perhaps it’s only a snapshot in time, but the Wildcats seem to have stabilized the talent fluctuation caused by expected NBA entries like that of Houston standout Ndudi Ebi in 2003.

It’s also apparent Olson is without some of the personnel headaches of recent years. The attitudes of Salim Stoudamire and Chris Rodgers are history. If there’s currency to the term, “He likes this team,” that applies to Olson.

“The guys really get along well,” Olson is saying outside that dressing room. They’re very closely knit; you can see that by the way they play. The open man gets the ball. And they’re fun. They have great personalities. Practices are fun. It’s never a case of having to get on somebody for not playing hard.”

If Olson has a road map to the end of his career, evenings like this blur the exit signs.
“I don’t know how to do anything else,” he says. “As long as I have my health and energy and can communicate with the guys, I’ll keep doing it.

“I signed a five-year (deal) last year. I’ll just take it one year at a time.”

The next day, Olson and his Wildcats will battle icy roads in eastern Washington, and then a surprising Washington State team.

“That’ll be a big one,” Olson says.

The Cougars will roust the Wildcats in overtime. His team has deficiencies. But Olson looks like a guy who might see many more big ones.