The basketball world lost a legend in the sport on Thursday. Former Arizona Wildcats head coach Lute Olson died after recently being placed in hospice care.
This report comes via basketball analyst and reporter Jeff Goodman:
Former Arizona coach and Hall of Famer Lute Olson passed way earlier tonight, his wife Kelly told me. Olson was 85 years old.
RIP, Coach.
My Ode to Lute: https://t.co/MZM7qf8zmP
My Ode to Lute:
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) August 28, 2020
Previous reports stated how Lute Olson was in hospice care on Wednesday, but no other details were provided regarding his condition. It is worth noting, however, that Olson reportedly suffered minor strokes in 2008, and more recently in 2019.
Lute Olson is one of the most prominent names in college basketball, having been named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, as well as the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2006 (he was re-introduced in 2019).
Lute Olson was at the helm for the Wildcats for 25 years. He took over in 1983, and was at the center of the rise of Arizona to national prominence in the '80's. Olson had more than a few memorable seasons with the Wildacts, but perhaps none more so than the 1996-97 campaign, wherein he led the team to their first ever NCAA Championship, defeating three No. 1 seeds throughout the tournament.
Some prominent NBA players that were once under the tutelage of Lute Olson in Arizona include Steve Kerr, Gilbert Arenas, Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, Damon Stoudamire, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton, and Andre Iguodala.
On the international stage, Olson also coached the US national team during the 1986 FIBA World Championship, and he holds the record for coaching the last amateur team to have won in international competition.
Lute Olson announced his retirement from coaching in 2008.
Rest in peace to one of the greatest coaches of all time.
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