Hall of Fame Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson dies at 85
Lute Olson, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who led Arizona to its lone national championship in 1997, has died. He was 85.
"Lute Olson was so much more than a basketball coach," Arizona president Robert C. Robbins said in a statement Thursday evening. "He was an educator, a motivator, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend to so many. He was a true leader in every sense of the word and displayed such an integrity and compassion in every endeavor. While Coach will no longer be with us, his presence will be felt for generations to come.
"On behalf of the University of Arizona, our community and generations of Wildcat fans, we extend our thoughts and prayers to the Olson Family."
Olson became the face of the program and the University of Arizona, in many ways, during his 24 seasons on the sidelines for the Wildcats. He helped guide the program to a National Championship with an improbable run that featured UA knocking off three No. 1-seeds en route to the title – a first for any team in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
He tallied 780 career wins over the course of his career that took him from Long Beach State to Iowa and finally back west to Arizona where he racked up 589 victories for the Wildcats.
UA reached the Final Four four times and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for 23 consecutive seasons under Olson's watch. He also led the program to 11 Pac-10 Championships as the Wildcats' leader.
A total of 34 players coached by Olson at Arizona were selected in the NBA Draft with 14 members of that group selected in the lottery. That group has totaled more than $1 billion worth of NBA contract money in addition to over 20 NBA championship rings.
Olson was selected as a member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2006 he enshrined as a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame before being re-inducted and honored once again in 2019.
He was immortalized with a statue outside McKale Center in April 2018 as a show of gratitude for what he achieved and helped the program accomplish during his 24 seasons at the helm for the Wildcats.
Current Arizona head coach Sean Miller has been tasked with carrying on the tradition that Olson brought to Tucson and UA basketball. The two coaches shared a natural bond as leaders of the West Coast powerhouse program since Miller's arrival in 2009.
"Since I arrived in Tucson almost 12 years ago, I have been asked hundreds of times 'What made Coach Olson so successful?' Having asked his former players, coaches and people in our community the same question, I came to the final conclusion: He had no weaknesses as a coach," Miller said in a statement. "He was a tremendous teacher of the game – he loved the practice environment. He was a relentless recruiter, often being the last coach to leave a high school gym on a hot summer night in Las Vegas. He was an astute evaluator of talent. So many of his most accomplished players were not heavily recruited prospects – Steve Kerr, Luke Walton and Gilbert Arenas come to mind.
"He was a fierce and confident leader. He utilized his iconic presence to make everyone around him BELIEVE in themselves and the team they were a part of. He was more than a coach to all of his players. The family atmosphere he created for each of them might be the most impressive accomplishment of his time. To this day, there is a connection and closeness between generations of Arizona players that will last forever.
"He was a leader in our community and gave his time and resources for more than three decades. The love affair that he created between Tucson and our basketball programs has resulted in the unmatched fanbase and the home court atmosphere that we feel inside the McKale Center today.
"Finally, he was always helpful and supportive of me. I will miss seeing him at our home games and hearing our crowd yell "LUTE." I will miss visiting with him when he would attend our practices. I will miss his support of everything Arizona basketball. My family joins all of the current members of the Arizona Basketball program in sending our condolences and prayers to his wife, Kelly, and the entire Olson Family. I am forever grateful to be a part of the basketball program and community that he impacted so immensely.
"Coach O will certainly be misted, but always remembered by us. Bear Down."
Olson has dealt with health issues since retiring from coaching in 2008, but he often sat in the crowd at McKale Center during Wildcats home games since that time and maintained close contact with the program he built. However, he had not attended a game since early last year when he had a minor stroke that forced him to be hospitalized though he made a full recovery.
Fans at McKale Center continue to chant the Hall of Fame coach's name whenever his face shown during Arizona's pregame introduction video prior to tip off of basketball games. Olson became a monumental figure in Tucson and he always remained happy to oblige requests from fans even after his time on the sidelines came to an end.
"I keep telling Kelly that it's better to do autographs and photos than have people throw things at you," Olson said of his celebrity status among the UA faithful.
Olson propelled Arizona's basketball program into the stratosphere during his time at the helm, but he believed it was the people who supported the program that made it what it is today.
"One thing is really obvious when you come here, the fans are a big, big part of the atmosphere that's been created here," he said. "The fans are rally what make this program special."
Olson was set to turn 86 less than one month from now on Sept. 22.
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