Legendary Arizona coach Olson dead at 85
Lute Olson, the Hall of Fame coach who turned Arizona into a college basketball powerhouse and led the program to its lone national title in 1997, has died. He was 85.
Olson’s family said he died Thursday evening. The cause of death wasn’t given.
“Coach Olson is the absolute best, one of the greatest coaches ever and one of the greatest human beings ever,” Georgia Tech coach and former Arizona player Josh Pastner tweeted.
Olson spent 24 seasons at Arizona, transforming a program that had been to the NCAA Tournament just three times in 79 years before he was hired in 1983.
Olson first took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament during his second season in Tucson to start a string of 25 straight appearances. The Wildcats won a national championship under Olson in 1997 with a team led by Mike Bibby, Jason Terry and Miles Simon.
Olson had a career record of 780-280 in 34 years in Division I, including tenures at Long Beach State and Iowa.
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