The legendary former coach, member of the Hall of Fame, Lute Olson, passed away this Thursday, at the age of 85 , according to information provided by the family and local media.

Olson was responsible for making the Arizona Wildcats a national powerhouse in college basketball, although in the end he was only able to land an NCAA title. In addition, he was world champion as coach of the United States in the 1986 World Cup in Spain.

He had an award named after him, the Lute Olson Award , an award given annually since 2010 to the best college player of the season with at least two years playing on the same team.

Thanks to their program, the Wildcats always became a team to follow in the traditional "March Madness" tournament when the competition for the national university title takes place that concludes with the dispute of the Final Four.

Olson was hospitalized last year after suffering a stroke and was recently transferred to hospice care.

Before retiring, in the 24 seasons he was with the Arizona team, Olson was 589-187 in 24 seasons in Arizona and led the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances, 23 consecutive NCAA tournaments and 11. Pac-10 titles, as well as the national title in 1997.

Olson was inducted into the Professional Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and a statue of Olson was erected outside the McKale Memorial Center in 2018.

He finished his coaching career 776-285 in 34 seasons at Arizona, Iowa and Long Beach State.

Arizona won just four games in 1982-83, the season before Olson came to Tucson, and had made the NCAA tournament twice since 1951.

But the Wildcats turned things around quickly with Olson, reaching the NCAA tournament in his second season at the school and advancing to the school's first Final Four in 1987-88, when they finished 35-3.

Arizona reached the Final Four again in 1994 before winning its first and only NCAA title in 1998, when rookie point guard Mike Bibby and junior Miles Simon led Olson and the Wildcats past favorite Kentucky in the championship game.

The Wildcats also advanced to the national championship game with Olson in 2001, when they were defeated by the Duke Blue Devils.

Olson began his coaching career in 1973-74 at Long Beach State , where he went 24-2, before being hired at Iowa the following season.

Leading the Hawkeyes, he led them to the NCAA Tournament five times in nine seasons.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • sports

ACB 2019 - 2020 ACB-FEB agreement: there will only be one promotion next season

ACBThe risky jump of Campazzo to the NBA that dynamites Real Madrid's plans

ACB 2019 - 2020The ACB rejects the promotion of Gipuzkoa, which will go to court

See links of interest

  • Last minute
  • Spanish translator
  • Programming
  • 2020 calendar
  • Horoscope today
  • League classification
  • Santander League Calendar
  • Movies Today
  • Topics