Lute Olson, the most prominent figure in the history of Arizona basketball, is ailing GOAZCATS.com has learned, and he is reportedly in hospice care according to KVOA. The Hall of Fame coach who guided the Wildcats to their lone National Championship back in 1997 has struggled with health issues since retiring back in 2008.
Olson, 85, had continued to be a regular in the crowd at McKale Center until he suffered a minor stroke in early 2019 and had to be hospitalized.
At the time of his minor stroke last year current Arizona head coach Sean Miller released a statement about Olson as he began the road to recovery.
“We know that he is loved and supported by his wife, Kelly, and the rest of his wonderful family," Miller said. "He is also beloved by his entire basketball family and our great community that the has meant so much for more than three decades."
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 the 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 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.
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