Lute Olson in good condition after being hospitalized with minor stroke

Another legendary former Arizona coach had to be hospitalized as over the weekend Hall of Fame basketball coach Lute Olson suffered a minor stroke. Olson was taken to Banner – University Medical Center in Tucson Saturday after his stroke, but he is currently in good condition while making his recovery.

“Hall of Fame Coach Lute Olson has been hospitalized after experiencing a minor stroke. Coach Olson is not only an icon of our men’s basketball program and all of college basketball, but he is also an embodiment of greatness to Arizona Athletics, the University of Arizona and the Tucson community. Our thoughts are with Coach Olson, his family and loved ones during this time,” a statement released Monday afternoon by Arizona Athletics said.

Olson had a statue unveiled outside McKale Center last spring in his honor to commemorate his time at the university during which he guided the Wildcats to the their lone National Championship back in 1997.

The forrmer UA head coach will have to go through therapy but he is expected to make a full recovery according to David Labiner, MD, chairman of the UA Department of Neurology.

“He is expected to make a full recovery but will likely need some rehabilitiation therapy after his discharge from the hospital,” Labiner said in a statement provided by Banner UMC Tucson.

Olson recently returned to McKale Center as a member of the crowd at the arena where he walked the sidelines for so many years. He and his wife Kelly have been regulars at UA games in the years since his retirement from coaching.

Current UA head coach Sean Miller also released a statement about Olson’s hospitlization Monday afternoon as well.

“On behalf of our Arizona Basketball program, and my own family, I want to wish Coach Olson well on his way to recovery from his recent stroke,” Miller wrote. “At this time, we know that he is loved and supported by his wife, Kelly, and the rest of his wonderful family. He is also beloved by his entire basketball family and our great community that the has meant so much for more than three decades.

“My personal prayers and wishes are with you, Coach O.”

The legendary basketball coach guided the Wildcats from 1983-2008 racking up 781 wins during the entirety of his college coaching career. He was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year seven times and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He entered the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

During his time at the helm for the Wildcats Olson led the program to five Final Four appearances and 11 Pac-10 regular season titles.

His stroke comes on the heels of another legendary Arizona coach having to be hospitalized as legendary Wildcats’ football coach Dick Tomey was recently diagnosed with lung cancer last month and began receiving treatment for the illness as he continued to go through further testing at a Texas hospital. Both coaches spent many years on UA’s campus at the same time through the late 1980s and 1990s.

Olson’s family has asked for privacy at this time as the former UA head coach begins his recovery.