Legendary basketball coach Lute Olson has passed away at the age of 85.
The Arizona Wildcats announced late Thursday night that their former iconic coach had died, and wrote, “Coach Olson – We are forever indebted to you for what you did for our program, university and community.” (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Wildcat. Legend. Icon. Lute.
Coach Olson – We are forever indebted to you for what you did for our program, university and community. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/aj9rAbAn6y
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) August 28, 2020
Damn, I’m not going to lie when I say this one hits hard. As any college basketball fan knows, Lute Olson was a titan in the sport.
He wasn’t just a basketball coach. He was an iconic leader. We’ve rarely seen men like him over the past several decades, and we’ll rarely see men like him ever again.
Hall of Fame basketball coach Lute Olson has died at 85 years old. pic.twitter.com/2tyCrkOcNn
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 28, 2020
The man just won basketball games with the Wildcats. All he did was win. As a head coach in college basketball, Olson won 776 games, and 587 of those came at Arizona.
He also took home one national title and went to five Final Fours. Again, the man was born a winner.
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
Death is a part of life, but that doesn’t make it easy. It doesn’t make it any easier at all. I’m a huge college basketball fan and losing Olson just hits differently.
Rest easy, coach. Hopefully, we find a few more guys like you.
“He had no weaknesses as a coach.”
Sean Miller on the passing of Hall of Fame coach and basketball icon Lute Olson. #BearDown pic.twitter.com/ysLHeWS8Hq
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) August 28, 2020