Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is the latest personality to heap praise on legendary NCAA coach Lute Olson, who passed away on Thursday.
Kerr, who himself played under Olson with the Arizona Wildcats, reflected on his time under the tutelage of the Hall of Fame coach via Twitter:
It’s hard to put into words how much Lute Olson meant to me.He was an amazing coach & a wonderful man. Being part of the U of A basketball family changed my life forever.I will never forget Coach O, those awesome nights at McKale and all my teammates. Thank you Coach- I love you! pic.twitter.com/GUvtSFr9Lm
— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) August 28, 2020
Steve Kerr was recruited by the Wildcats in 1983, where he would play four seasons under Olson. Kerr was not the most highly-recruited player coming into college, but under Olson, he developed into one of the top guards in the country. The 6-foot-3 guard was named into the All-Pac 12 first team twice, as well as into the NCAA Tournament All-Region squad. As described above, Kerr credits Olson for having a tremendous impact on his young career.
Now a prominent coach himself, it would not be surprising if Olson also holds a lot of influence on Kerr's own coaching career.
Olson spent 25 years coaching the Wildcats, and was the man at the helm when Arizona won their one and only NCAA title in 1997. Kerr is only one of the many players that Olson helped develop in Arizona, with other prominent names including Mike Bibby, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Terry, Andre Iguodala, and Damon Stoudamire, to name a few. Olson is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NCAA history.
Olson was hospitalized in 2019 due to a stroke. He was moved into hospice care early this year. We likewise offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of a legend in the sport.
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