Del Walker, a great guy, was the athletic director, and I recall his telling me when he hired me that he wanted me to recruit players strictly from the Long Beach area, which I did. "Kevin O'Neill, the man originally tapped to replace Olson as Arizona head coach, but who later left the Wildcat program, stated: "I have great respect for Lute Olson.
SOMERS:Lute Olson and Bill Frieder formed an unlikely, and lasting, friendship Damon Stoudamire, now the head coach at Pacific, was the point guard on Arizona's 1993-94 Final Four team. They told me during that time that Long Beach wasn't going to go on probation. "His success was noticed in Long Beach, leading to an opportunity to enter the NCAA coaching ranks in 1973.Olson had been content to stay at LBCC, but was pursued by LBSU. ""He's been involved in the game and been a great ambassador for college basketball for a long time," former Greg Hansen, columnist and longtime Olson critic for the On February 11, 2012, Lute Olson was initiated into the Lute would again be re-inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame with the 2019 class. They beat In the NCAA Semi-Final, Lester injured his knee early in the game, after scoring 10 of Iowa's first 12 points. "I thought, 'well, I'm just going to break that trend.' O'Neill took over head-coaching duties during the leave of absence.On December 6, 2007, it was announced that Olson would miss the entire 2007-08 season.Olson met with the Tucson media during Arizona's annual preseason media day on October 21; in contrast to his April appearance, he seemed in relatively upbeat and positive spirits and ready to coach in 2008.On October 28, 2008, five days after Olson announced his retirement, Olson's personal physician, Steven D. Knope, held a press conference in Tucson alongside Olson's daughters and grandson, in which he showed signs of emotion at times; Olson himself was not in attendance. I appreciate every opportunity he gave me. The trip was deemed to beneficial to Arnold's health.On April 12, 2018, Olson was honored by the University of Arizona, who erected a statue of him outside the At home in Arizona, Olson recently said he tries to go to all home Arizona basketball games, and travels to road games at California and UCLA. It was there, while singing in the church choir, that Lute first met Bobbi Russell. During the inaugural class of 2006 included nearly 180 players, coaches and other contributors to college basketball, the NABC has chosen to re-honor the original inductees in a more formal fashion Lute Olson Leaves an Indelible Mark on the Arizona Program He Built Into a Power. At the time, the university said such absence was not health related. I saw an opportunity. Knope further clarified his position for the In retirement, Olson has visited the University of Iowa on numerous occasions, calling it "a special place" to him, having been inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.Over time, Olson, Lester, Iowa teammates and fans have contributed to help Kenny Arnold, who was the second leading scorer and assist leader for the Hawkeye Final Four squad in 1980.
There are memories of Albert giving his children haircuts that morning before church before collapsing. Drafted were: Cliff Poindexter (Chicago), his brother Roscoe Poindexter (Boston), All-American After one season at Long Beach State, Olson accepted the head coaching position at the University of Iowa.Olson left Long Beach for the University of Iowa and later remarked, "People didn't go from Long Beach to Iowa, they went from Iowa to Long Beach," Olson said. Olson is also one of 13 coaches to lead a team to five or more Final Four appearances. Lute Olson, the Hall of Fame college basketball icon, coached for 35 years, leading Arizona to 1997 NCAA championship.