Arizona opened the 2000-01 college basketball season ranked No. 1. Few raised an eyebrow. Every rotation player returned from the 2000 Wildcats, who had been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re loaded,” sophomore shooting guard Gilbert Arenas said on media day at McKale Center. “We should win it all.”

And why not?

Arizona returned power forward Michael Wright, a double-double threat every night. Seven-foot center Loren Woods, the nation’s most feared shot-blocker, was back for his senior season. Junior forward Richard Jefferson was on the cusp of being a first-round draft choice, and the backcourt, with Arenas and sophomore Jason Gardner, might’ve been the best in the country.

The bench included an enforcer, Eugene Edgerson, and versatile Luke Walton, who would play 11 seasons in the NBA.

To this day, the 2000-01 Wildcats probably fielded the best rotation, Nos. 1-7, of any team in school history.

And then on Dec. 30, coach Lute Olson told his team he would be taking a leave of absence to be with his wife, Bobbi, who was desperately ill with ovarian cancer at the university’s medical center.

Bobbi died on New Year’s Day. Everything changed.

Arizona opened the Pac-10 season at home against No. 2 Stanford and lost 85-76. Interim head coach Jim Rosborough didn’t spend much time talking about the loss; a day later Rosborough and the Wildcats sat soberly at McKale Center with about 7,000 fans for Bobbi’s memorial service.

Arizona dropped to No. 21 in the AP poll.

“We’ve found out there’s a lot more to life than basketball,” said Rosborough, who had also stepped in for Olson in an early December loss at UConn. “This is new to all of us.”

A week later, Olson quietly returned to McKale Center and told his staff and players he would be coaching that week’s home games against USC and UCLA.

“It’s hard to enjoy anything the way I once did,” said Olson. “Everything I did, Bobbi did with me.”

Arizona swept UCLA and USC and the Wildcats began a comeback that would lead them to the Final Four in Minneapolis.

That comeback included a memorable 76-75 victory at No. 1 Stanford in early March and was followed by a Sweet 16 victory over Ole Miss and a tense Elite Eight victory over Big Ten champ, Illinois, a game at which UA basketball legends Sean Ellliott and Steve Kerr sat courtside in San Antonio, doing their best to comfort their college coach.

“Coach Olson has probably done the best coaching job of his career,” said Kerr. “I can’t imagine what inner strength it takes for him to concentrate on the basketball coaching at this level.”

Gilbert Arenas hugs teammates Loren Woods, Lamont Frazier, and Jason Gardner after the Wildcats beat Illinois to advance to the 2001 Final Four. The UA then beat Michigan State before falling to Duke in the national championship game.

A week later, the Wildcats crushed No. 1-seeded Michigan State in the Final Four opener, but it came at a cost. Arenas injured his shoulder and although the Wildcats did not discuss Arenas’ condition publicly, it was later learned that Arenas could barely use his right arm — his shooting arm — without significant pain.

Lute Olson checks on Loren Woods after the UA center hurt his ankle during practice in the NCAA Regionals in San Antonio. Woods, a 7-foot shot-blocker, anchored one of the deepest UA rotations of all time.

Unfortunately, Arizona had 48 hours to prepare for 34-4 Duke, which was loaded with future NBA players Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Boozer and Jay Williams.

Dunleavy and Williams, the Blue Devils’ starting backcourt, combined for 37 points, including seven 3-pointers, and Duke beat Arizona, 82-72.

“We’ll be back,” said Gardner. “I think we were the better team tonight, but a few things went against us in the second half that was out of our control.”

Gardner and most Wildcats and their fans were incensed that two or three critical officiating calls in the second half went Duke’s way. Olson didn’t bite when asked about the officiating.

“You’ve all seen the replays,” he said, and walked out of the interview room with two of his daughters.

No one would have guessed that after playing in four Final Fours in 14 years, it would be Arizona’s last such appearance, covering over two decades.

Arizona's Jason Gardner passes around Duke's Shane Battier during the first half of the 2001 NCAA championship game in Minneapolis. The Wildcats finished within one game of a title during an emotional season that included the loss of Lute Olson's wife, Bobbi.

Jefferson, Wright and Arenas all jumped to the NBA draft, forfeiting their eligibility for 2001-02. Woods had exhausted his eligibility. Even Gardner tested the NBA draft process before deciding to come back. He became the lone returning starter in 2001-02.

“I hope our fans understand how difficult it is to win a national championship,” Olson said later that spring. “We had all you could ask for and still came up short.”

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Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter: @ghansen711