OT: Lute Olsen passes away

[uconnbill]

Lute Olson, Arizona coaching great, dies at 85

Lute Olson, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who turned Arizona into a national powerhouse, has died, his family said Thursday night. He was 85.

www.espn.com

My prayers are with his family

 

[CL82]

Wow very sorry to hear it.

 

[TheChamps990411]

RIP Such a big part of my childhood basketball experience.

 

[formerlurker]

I wonder if Kevin O'Neill comments publicly on Lute's passing.

 

[Mr. French]

RIP Lute. Always liked his AZ teams, starting with Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves in ‘93.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Sad news. Just saw it a moment ago. He was one of the greats.

 

[Travelman6]

For about a decade they were my second favorite college ball team, maybe from the mid-90s until the mid-2000s (06 or so). (UConn was 4-0 during that time span, other than those 4 games, liked them a lot). Liked them a lot less in the late 2000s and 2010s especially. My sister is a Zona alum (I was visiting her in NYC in 2001 when UConn beat them 100-98 in OT, remember to this day, beautiful warm sunny afternoon) but her son cheered for Zona over UConn in 2011 so I stopped liking them by that point, partially over spite and partially because once Miller took over, could not stand him.

Anyway, that one team he took to the finals, vs Duke was sick. Too bad he could not take out Coach K.
That team, vs Illinois (lost in OT 90-89) was also super talented and that was a very tough loss to watch, toughest Non-UConn loss I have seen in college bball. He had some deep runs, but could never quite get that second ring.

 

[Mr. French]

For about a decade they were my second favorite college ball team, maybe from the mid-90s until the mid-2000s (06 or so). (4-0 in that time span, other than those 4 games, always liked them). Liked them a lot less in the late 2000s and 2010s especially. My sister is an alum there but her son cheered for them over UConn in 2011 so I stopped liking them by that point.

Any way, that one team he took to the finals, vs Duke was sick. Too bad he could not take out Coach K.
That team, vs Illinois (lost in OT 90-89) was also super talented. He had some deep runs, but could never quite get that second ring.

That's how I was ... I always liked their players, loved their uniforms ... they were my west coast team, basically. I didn't "root" for them like the Huskies but they were definitely my "favorite" non-Husky team.

Since about '93, I remember watching Khalid Reeves and Damon Stoudamire tear up the tournament. Always loved Bibby, liked Miles Simon, Jefferson, Walton, even Edgerson with the fro and high socks!

 

[BlueDogs]

Father Time is still undefeated and he just keeps coming. Definitely one of the greats. Seems like only yesterday.

 

[Palatine]

Great coach.

 

[superjohn]

Some of the most exciting and best games Uconn ever played were against Arizona and UConn always won. RIP Lute.

 

[Dean Wormer]

Hard to root against Arizona in those years. Their big run started when they recruited Sean Elliot but i also remember the Steve Kerr and Jud Buschler teams from that era.
Olsen always seemed like a true gentleman. RIP

 

[ZenConn]

Sad. Hell of a coach. His Arizona teams were always fun to watch.

 

[UConn_Top_Dog]

Extending my condolences to the Olson Family and the AZ basketball family.

God please protect Coach Calhoun from 2020. Unbelievable how his year has been the year of the Grim Reaper... horrible times.